Thread: A new person to muscle cars basic exhaust question

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hello all

first post

I am a long time BMW E36 BMW enthusiast who has tuned 3 differant bmws, i currently own an e36 M3 and have grown up in a family who collects muscle cars, so i bit the bullet and picked up a 1970 Chevy Nova with a 350 .030 over





My question to you is the car is running hedman headers to a 2 INCH exhaust, now my guess is that a 2 inch exhaust with some off name mufflers is a very restrictive exhaust, the motor has a eldbrk. 600 CFM carb and intake manifold. So i guess there is lots of air coming in, but going out is another story? what would be prime to upgrade to? a 3 inch or 2.5 inch, IS THERE ANY KITS MADE FOR SIDE EXIT EXHAUST?


thanks for your time and looking forward to replys.

for this 2 1/2 would be good or 2 to 2 1/4 tails you will have to look around or find a good muffler shop . i can not help on that . i have allways made my stuff

I had a 350 in my nova and put in hooker comp headers with 3 in collectors and a 2.5 in exhaust system running dual 40 series flowmasters. This setup worked great for me, however i am now puttin in a 383 stroker and will be upgrading to 3in exhaust with turndown straight outta the mufflers for the most flow. I would say go with the 3 in exhaust and some good flowin mufflers and you will have much better flow and plenty of room if you decide to make more power. (dont we all?!!)

Originally Posted by 70_"SuperNOVA"

I had a 350 in my nova and put in hooker comp headers with 3 in collectors and a 2.5 in exhaust system running dual 40 series flowmasters. This setup worked great for me, however i am now puttin in a 383 stroker and will be upgrading to 3in exhaust with turndown straight outta the mufflers for the most flow. I would say go with the 3 in exhaust and some good flowin mufflers and you will have much better flow and plenty of room if you decide to make more power. (dont we all?!!)

haha yes more power is great, since im such a noob what kinda power gains do you get out of a 2 1/2 exhuast or a 3 inch exhaust are we talking 4-5 or are we talking 10-15? is a 3 inch too big for a minor motor like mine, dont i need backpressure?

well why stop at 3 inch?you never said any thing about sound i have built some 3inch and 3 1/2 and 4inch and the bigger stuff make alot more sound .some where there is a guy with one ear drum still ringing from one of my 4inch tail pipes

Originally Posted by Quiicksilver

hello all

first post

I am a long time BMW E36 BMW enthusiast who has tuned 3 differant bmws, i currently own an e36 M3 and have grown up in a family who collects muscle cars, so i bit the bullet and picked up a 1970 Chevy Nova with a 350 .030 over





My question to you is the car is running hedman headers to a 2 INCH exhaust, now my guess is that a 2 inch exhaust with some off name mufflers is a very restrictive exhaust, the motor has a eldbrk. 600 CFM carb and intake manifold. So i guess there is lots of air coming in, but going out is another story? what would be prime to upgrade to? a 3 inch or 2.5 inch, IS THERE ANY KITS MADE FOR SIDE EXIT EXHAUST?


thanks for your time and looking forward to replys.

the ? is do you want a good sound or to make a lot of noise. i'd use 21/4 all the way back, with 2 good turbos. the bigger it is the more noise.

yes mike your are right. i see it like this you do not have a drag car? your engine is a mild build .so do not go nuts less you are lonely and like cops

we agree on something! we should celebrate.

Originally Posted by lt1s10

we agree on something! we should celebrate.

i did .i am eating four day old cold pizza with lots of sriracha on it. that is HOT chili sauce

Originally Posted by pat mccarthy

i did .i am eating four day old cold pizza with lots of sriracha on it. that is HOT chili sauce

that sounds like me "old and cold" with a little chili sauce.

My brother and I once made a whole exhaust system out of driveshaft tubing and 3 1/2 inch tractor mufflers with the baffles punched out. Any money we saved by doing it ourselves was soaked up in the first of many tickets, but we were heroes of the street for quite a while, and the sound was incredible! 440 Magnum, 4spd. in a '64 Dodge 2dr.

There's nothing wrong with 2" pipe on that car for street driving.

It all depends on what you see in your crystal ball for the future. If you are wanting to go fast, 2.5" is the size, if you want to be seen(heard) straight through mufflers are an option, if you just want to putt around on the street 2" is just fine-especially with a 600 edelbrock feeding 355 inches. What is your realistic intended usage of the car? I would leave it alone unless you want to step up to a performance program(750 carb, cam, good heads). Headers with a 2" true dual system is a pretty good flowing arrangement for most situations. I run headers with straight through bullet mufflers and 2.5" pipe all the way back, but I race with a 389 inch stroker. It's not too loud IF you keep your foot out of it.

2 1/2 is fine. 3 inch is not needed especially for a little plain 350 engine. I see guys putting on 4 inch exhaust on their 302s and 350's and they sound good but is just stupid. They think it's helping them when actually sometimes it's not, you need that backpressure to a certain extent.