Hi All,
Our '94 RT/10 has had "build new side exhaust system" on its list long enough and I finally got around to building it up today. The stock exhaust sound did not match the car well (in my opinion) and I felt like there was some performance improvements to be gained if I changed it.
After doing some research, I found that there weren't too many side exhaust options out there and all of them required welding (including the Borla cat-back side exhaust which retails at $1,238.99). Not too satisfied with what I found, I set out to build an exhaust system here in the shop.
I cut the factory exhaust off just forward of the catalytic converter. From there I installed a short 2.5" id to 2.5" od pipe, round high flow catalytic converter, a 2.5" to 3" venturi tube to make a smooth transition (the exhaust comes out of the cat hotter, so I figured we could use a little larger pipe diameter for the increase in volume), a Borla XR-1 5" round with 3" inlet / outlet stainless steel race muffler, rear muffler hangar rods and a 3" stainless steel turnout.
In these pictures, it's all tack welded together. As a finished product, I welded everything except the forward pipe which slips over the original exhaust pipe and the turnout. To install the completed assembly, I slid the muffler end all the way back into it's hangar, then slid the assembly forward to connect it to the stock exhaust pipe. it was very straightforward. I used a clamp to fasten the turnout so that I could set the pipe in the center of the factory side cover outlet.
The car sounds great now and I'm sure it picked up some more power. I'll dyno test soon, but it should have been worth about 20 HP.
My question is, are others interested in side exhaust upgrades like this? I can make a jig and copy what I just built. I figure the total price would be about $950 for both sides completed with the fore and aft clamps.
Let me know.
Our '94 RT/10 has had "build new side exhaust system" on its list long enough and I finally got around to building it up today. The stock exhaust sound did not match the car well (in my opinion) and I felt like there was some performance improvements to be gained if I changed it.
After doing some research, I found that there weren't too many side exhaust options out there and all of them required welding (including the Borla cat-back side exhaust which retails at $1,238.99). Not too satisfied with what I found, I set out to build an exhaust system here in the shop.
I cut the factory exhaust off just forward of the catalytic converter. From there I installed a short 2.5" id to 2.5" od pipe, round high flow catalytic converter, a 2.5" to 3" venturi tube to make a smooth transition (the exhaust comes out of the cat hotter, so I figured we could use a little larger pipe diameter for the increase in volume), a Borla XR-1 5" round with 3" inlet / outlet stainless steel race muffler, rear muffler hangar rods and a 3" stainless steel turnout.
In these pictures, it's all tack welded together. As a finished product, I welded everything except the forward pipe which slips over the original exhaust pipe and the turnout. To install the completed assembly, I slid the muffler end all the way back into it's hangar, then slid the assembly forward to connect it to the stock exhaust pipe. it was very straightforward. I used a clamp to fasten the turnout so that I could set the pipe in the center of the factory side cover outlet.
The car sounds great now and I'm sure it picked up some more power. I'll dyno test soon, but it should have been worth about 20 HP.
My question is, are others interested in side exhaust upgrades like this? I can make a jig and copy what I just built. I figure the total price would be about $950 for both sides completed with the fore and aft clamps.
Let me know.
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