whats the best way to build a custom exhaust?

so im buying headers and i want to build a bad ass exhaust system. i work in a shop so me and a friend are going to do it. the headers im looking at have 3" collectors so im gunna do a 3" system. dose it sound better if i go from the header to a X pipe them to two cats, or should i go to one cat and then split it??? witch sounds better, and by better i mean i hear some trucks that just sound like ass when u get on em, like a JR dragster(if u know what the is, a 5HP Briggs & Stratton that runs on alcohol) i want mine to sound like a TRUCK yall know....so who has the best set up???

ps hers what i have now ...i was thinking of doing this just with two separate every thing...then if i didn't like it then id add mufflers...etc

Here's how I like to run mine. Simple, easy & effective. An *actual* X-pipe seems like a lot of work especially with the tranny crossmember & Xfer case to ddeal with. I'd maybe put in an H-tube to balance the flow but, really, even *that* isn't necessary and I sure wouldn't put one on my own truck.

Bigger is only better up to a point. 2.5" makes for a real fine exhaust. Start running 3" and you're in danger of people thinking you're just saving up for those big 5" chrome exhaust tips & a set of 22" rims w/spinners.

I'd just run the headers into a cat on each side & then a decent turbo muffler. If you kick it out in front of the rear tire the whole exhaust is pretty much a straight shot & will sound pretty good just because it's not very long & you don't have an bends in it. Or run it back up & over the axle, it'll still sound good. But for the performance levels we see in our street trucks there really isn't a lot to be gained by using a crossover design, that sort of thing help provide some balance & assists exhaust scavengine at high revs but you just wouldn't see much benefit from it in anything less than a competition or off-road-only truck.

lol oh i forgot to tell ya'll i work on C5 & C6 corvettes...so thats the reason for the 3" we have sooo much extra tubing just laying around. im just planing on running the exhaust to right under the driver and passenger seats. its like 2 feet see right now i just cut the stock exhaust off at the cat, right next to transfer case and added a 12" turndown so i could get my emissions done. was thinking of doing that just with 2 pipes. just wander what sound best, cuz i want it loud & good

it will all be up under the truck...u wont be able to see it at all. some pics..so u can see what i workin with

oh yea croos over was cuz with it on 35's with no sway bars i didn't want it to ride like a big cammed motor, and rock "alot" from side to side.

dsgb9840 said:

oh yea croos over was cuz with it on 35's with no sway bars i didn't want it to ride like a big cammed motor, and rock "alot" from side to side.

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Hmmm, never really gave that one any thought. To be honest I always kinda liked the way my 460's would rock the truck when I blipped the throttle @ a light but I always chalked it up to the tall Softride springs, no bars & the weight of the reciprocating assembly. You really think a balance tube would make that much of a difference ? I've never run anything other than true duals or the stock single so it's something I really have no experience with. On the other hand I prefer fenderwell headers and they make running a crossover a bit difficult and it would look *more* than a little hoakey.

i don't know if it will affect a bronco as much but. a viper makes it hard to add an x pipe and when u do headers and **** there's no way to really = out the exhaust, and u end up with an exhaust that pops and if u did any cam work it would magnify it a lot. i've just never worked on a truck and didn't know if the same thing would happen.

Well man, I've never spent much time wrenching on Vipers or Vettes, but I honestly don't think a balance tube will make much of a difference in your garden-variety Bronco. Now I'll grant that I haven't made a career of it but I've built a couple/three 475/500HP 460's and never bothered with balance tubes on any of them. Now maybe I gave up a few ponies because of it but truth be told *I* sure didn't notice their absence. Now it's always been my understanding that the whole X-pipe, Balance-tube deal was something for the high-rev/Go-fast crowd and not something that held a whole lot of benefit for us rockcrawlers & mudbugs. On the other hand, I've run my share of local & regional mudbogs and know full well that 7500rpm is something you see more often than you admit to so there just might be something to the idea. But fact of the matter is that I really just never spent enough time above 6K to worry about those things and I've always understood that the real benefit of a crossover didn't come into play until somewhere around or above 6K. So I guess it's one of those things that if you think it's worth the hassle & $$ then sure, go for it because at the end of the day it *IS* your damn truck and it should be something that you like, enjoy & are proud of.

I'm sure you know this but when my exhaust pops I usually just jet down a size or two <grin>

My exhaust doesnt pop and I have a baby cam and my exhaust lengths arn't near the same either. I have an "H" pipe if that's what you want to call it. It's where the stock O2 is with maybe a one inch pipe is for it. Other than that, the best way to "build a custom exhaust" is with pipe, a pipe bender and some welding skills... couldn't resist...