V6 Dual Exhaust

[chris7869]

Alright, I cannot find any visuals for the bottom of a mustang and what each system would look like under a V6. I want to get true dual exhaust and understand a 1 peice H-pipe built for mustangs would help facilitate any GT take off's for my 2002. In order to install that H-pipe do they cut the Y pipe right after the headers, and if so, then do i have to buy another cat convert or should the GT take off already have 2 cats & 2 muffs. I want to stick with 2 1/4 inch tubing since I know thats best for v6 performance since I dont want to loose any torq due to lack of pressure, but I can only find 2 1/2 from a catalog.

I wanted to just give up and get the MAC cat back dual exhaust w/resinator tips that has everyting coated blk for rust reasons. But it's on national back order. Priced at $329 S&H waived. Best price/best preformance. I dont want to buy 1 sidways muffler and put 2 tips on it (Flowmaster). Any exhaust enthusiast want to put in there 2 cents?? Looking for the best direction that I can picture in my head since I cannot find anything to look at that is already set up.

[lowflyn]

Ok, let me see if I have this straight, you have a 2002 v6, and you want dual exhaust.

Ok.

You can have an exhaust shop cut your y-pipe and run two pipes down each side independent of each other, meeting with the factory driver side pipes and running a new one down the passenger side. When you do this they can also put in new mufflers and weld tips of your choice on the end.

Or...you can buy a GT take off exhaust, which will require them to cut your y-pipe off and weld about 2 feet of pipe in place on each side to connect the factory piping with the take-off exhaust then fabbing some hangers for the rest of the pipes.

Or...you can buy a bolt-up system as you mentioned like the mac system that bolts to the y-pipe and leaves you without true duals as you said you wanted.

I ran mach-1 takeoffs on my car for a while, welded up true duals. Then I cut everything from the mufflers back off and ran a set of mufflers dumped before the axle. Then I put the piping back in place and ran it back out the back with new tips. Most recently I've put an offroad x in place of the factory midpipe.

[SpectorV]

i had a shop custom fab from right before the pipes come together back to tips in stainless steel 2.25 pipe with flowmasters and it was around 300 bucks. Dont expect any real gains in performance, its there just not very much

[chris7869]

For now, I think I like the first idea lowflyen, thanks! But about the "H" pipe,neccesary? I have read that becuase the way the engine & headers are set upon a v6, an H pipe would be meaningless (something about "it" coming out of the same place unlike a v8 which would require x or h pipe. I saw an add online for a v6 2002 for $80 1 peice bolt on H, quoting it wasnt ideal to go with 2 pipes welded together for the H. Should I bother w/the expense or just put that towards the project.

Just to clarify, I would buy 1 more catylitic converter, 2 mufflers, 2 tips of choice, but for the remainder of the piping (2 1/4" from cat to muffler on passngr side & the one that goes over the axel? Do I have the muffler shop bend one there (mandrel). What should I leave to the muffler shop (pipes,hangers,etc.) and what should I bring is my main question I guess. Dont want to get "bent" over at the shop just because they can. Went to midas last time, didnt car for the job they did w/my Hookers on another car. Love soaking up knowledge, it's just hard to find.

Also, really just looking for a good throaty sound that isnt mellow. Would going 2 1/2 at any point matter in that case? I understand the HP gains might be minimal either way, but with CAI and Dual exhaust, a chip should make the 2 realize the true gain due to the air/fuel mix with the new intake . I've seen a dyno on a v6 2000 3rd gear, and only under the chip, the 2 bolt ons jumped 10hp + torq. The curve was nice, identical settings. If going for sound whats recommended that isnt an arm and a leg like some I have seen. Flow 40 series?

[lowflyn]

Why do you want to buy 1 more cat?

The v6 mustang already has a cat on each side and a precat on each side.

[maximus]

i have always been told not to do true dual exhaust. not gunna be benefitial for 6er.

[chris7869]

I didnt know it had a "precat on each side already. I have no diagraming to look at. I bought the manual (lol) but no diagrams. I thought you had to have 2 cats when you ran true dual exhaust, but if you say I dont need any more than I already have, then great! However if Max is right, then I guess why bother with the expense other than just knowing its truly dual? I'd rather just go for tone if its just going to be a wash either way? Thats the magic question?

[maximus]

i was told that you will loose some hp/tq if you go true dual bcuz the 6er needs more backpressure n stuff since its only got 6 cyl. believe me, i did a couple things to my 6 and i was plannin on doin true dual but after finding that out, i decided against it. got a flowmaster weld in and toss that on. thats what i did and it really gave it a very nice tone. what all have you done to it so far?

[chris7869]

I guess I just want the best sound in the end since the HP/Tq gains/loses are debatable. So what would have a better grumble would be my next question, true dual, catback dual, or just a really good resinating muffler w/2 unique tips that enhance the sound? The only mod on my car currently are Exterior/interior only, Just staring on the performance mods, CAI install tomorrow, exhaust when I map out a plan. Then chip - rear gears 3.73 for 5speed I believe & TLok, stop that one wheel crap. Then work in a new TB and maybe ad a EGR spacer, anyone have any objections to the EGA spacers out there. I want to lower it an inch for greater stability. Cant decide If I want heavy rims or just stock 16's. I dont feel like buying really expensive light weight rims when I could put that money elsewhere. Just trying to get move the angles. I dont plan on puting the TLok & Gears, I have researched it and you have to buy more that just that it seems to recalibrate,lube, etc. so I want to find out more about the subject any way I can. However from looking at threads, it seems to be the majority order of things. pic in prof.

[maximus]

i think ya need to reword the last part of all ^. cant understand what ur tryin to say. want the best grumble? take all the money your gunna be putting out for mods, trade the 6er in and put it into a GT. remember, you got a 6, it can only grumble so much.

[Stumpy]

i have true dual and have not lost power. i did gain some. the v6 already has 2 cats. for some stupid reason, of which i have yet to understand, the v6 runs dual from the manifold to a Y pipe to one single muffler. they cut my Y off and ran additional piping down the pass side from there and replaced my muffs with two flowmasters. no H pipe necessary. 400.00 was all i was charged.

[maximus]

thats good and all if you didnt lose any. but have you dynoed it to get r/t numbers? you might have lost like 3-6 hp, which you wouldnt feel, but would see on the sheet.

[Herbstang]

I have true duals !!!!!!!!!!! I gained about 3 HP Your not gonna see alot of gain, You don't lose HP/Tq it just get moved up the power curve

[maximus]

yea but did u do other mods along with it, or did you throw on the true dual and dyno it?

[chris7869]

Okay somewhat conflicting info, but I get the point. Just want a good sound at the end of the day. Whether I gain or loose 2 to 4 hp or even gain that much, I just want a throaty sound. Yes, I know it is only a 6, but that is why I want to know which system would sound most like the v8. Is it true to think that 2 mufflers sound better that 1 on a V6? Would there be a sound difference it was true dual vs Cat back dual? I dont want to cheap out and get 1 muff w/2 tips, but if the sound diff isnt close, I dont want to waste that money when I might as well put it towards true duals. And thanx for the info, glad to know the H pipe for the 6 is meaninless, saved me 80+S&H, lol! thanx

[Herbstang]

Duals were my 2nd mods,CAI was 1st !!! I at first thought I lost HP, But then I noticed there was a little more pull at the bottom end of 2nd gears and all the way through the power curve
Other mods that followed were short throw shifter, 3:73,t-lok, 25% UDP and SCT Chip and tune

[lowflyn]

Don't worry about power differences...
I personally like the look of duals, so that's what I went with.
Now with the offroad x I can tell the power was moved up in the power band somewhat opposed to the factory midpipe.

If you are going to do exhaust, go ahead and get 2 mufflers, it will probably be cheaper than having the exhaust shop somehow run the exhaust back to the passenger side for that 2nd tip.

[chris7869]

kewl, Installing my CAI this weekend (bbk 3" chrome), exhuast next project in the works, then chip. Anybody really like there chips for the v6 1999+. I have an 02.

[lowflyn]

I had a chip for mine, diablo chip. I then found the world of handheld tuners. I now have an Xcal2 from vmptuning.com. To be completely honest though...you're not gonna see big gains, especially not from a 5 speed since the majority of the difference you normally see is the shift points in an automatic. If you are just wanting to flash it to change your speedo for gears, you can get a thing called a dallas speecal to recalibrate your speedometer for the gears without spending the money on a chip/tune that really won't make that big of a difference.

[maximus]

^100% correct. i agree with you guys, i love the look of the dual exhaust, dont get me wrong. im just tryin to give you some info that was passed on to me.