How to Improve Your Car's Exhaust System, and Why It Matters
Your car's exhaust system affects many details of the engine's overall performance, including your car's gas mileage, the vehicle's ability to accelerate, and the amount of pollutants the car produces. Note a few tips on how to improve your car's exhaust system, and why each of these can be an important upgrade for your car.
Headers
In the engine, there is a large amount of exhaust that is created because of the combustion that powers the engine. This exhaust is pulled out of the engine and through the exhaust pipe, where it is vented out the tailpipe. If this exhaust builds up in the engine chambers, the engine needs to work harder to create combustion. In turn, your gas mileage may suffer and the car may not have as much pickup.
Headers are pipes that are attached to each chamber of the engine and then to the exhaust pipe. This allows for the venting of more exhaust from the engine, as each chamber now has its own exhaust pipe, rather than one pipe being attached to the entire engine. The engine will work more efficiently as those fumes and emissions are quickly and easily pulled from the engine block, and the car may get better gas mileage and better pickup on acceleration. You may want to consider upgrading your pacemaker headers.
Custom exhaust pipe
The exhaust pipe that is installed by a manufacturer may be somewhat small, and may have been shaped by a machine that simply bent the pipe to get it to fit around other parts under the car. This bending can leave dents in the pipe that restrict airflow. A custom exhaust pipe can be larger and may be put through a machine that gently rolls it into shape, creating a curve rather than a bend. This allows for more exhaust to be vented out of the engine; as mentioned above, this can mean better pickup and better gas mileage.
Upgraded catalytic converter
The catalytic converter works as a filter for the exhaust system, trapping pollutants, fumes, and other emissions from the engine, and then converting or cleaning them before they are vented out the tailpipe. It's always good to replace the catalytic converter as needed, but actually upgrading it can mean better and stronger filtering. In turn, there is less risk of exhaust and emissions backing up into the engine compartment. Not only will this mean less wear and tear on the engine, but an upgraded catalytic converter also means fewer fumes and emissions that are released from the car, and fewer pollutants in the environment.