single or dual?
#1
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single or dual?
well every now and then i see a fc with a single exauhst and just about everyone else runs duals. so whats the pros and cons of both systems?
#5
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basically weight and looks, u will not notice a difference between and single and dual. As for weight, that also isnt a huge difference, unless your racing and every pound counts. But its mostly looks. Since the FC bumpers have the 2 cut outs for the duals i think it looks better but a single would look great if u had the other cut bondoed over.
#6
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Originally Posted by Turbo23
As for weight, that also isnt a huge difference, unless your racing and every pound counts.
#7
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yeha but unless ur runnning a turbo( hight boost or bigger turbo) or racing u dont need to change to a single for less weight. and for flow doesnt racing beat make a true dual ( by which imean one pipe for every exhaust port) system
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#8
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Originally Posted by Icemark
Hmm 35+ lbs is a considerable amount... its the equivent of tossing out a seat.
Originally Posted by OptimusPrime
yeha but unless ur runnning a turbo( hight boost or bigger turbo) or racing u dont need to change to a single for less weight.
The two most inportant things to consider when deciding between single and dual is cost (single is cheaper) and noise (single is louder). Apperance is also important, since most people have a pretty firm idea which one they think looks best. Performance is a non-issue if the system is designed and built properly (i.e. they perform similarly) and unless it's a race car, a <1% weight difference will be impossible to notice.
Last edited by NZConvertible; 04-13-05 at 05:59 AM.
#11
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NZ: go grab and hold a STOCK TII turbo back and then go weigh a single outlet 3" Turbo back like my SS AUTOCHROME.........then you can tell me about the weight......I can hold my TURBO-BACK with ease......I had a BITCH of a time installing an old-school HKS CAT-BACK by myself because that thing was too heavy... I like the duals becasue it looks nice but I chose to go single becasue of weight.....I have a gutted GTUs so I have saved quite a bit of weight...
#12
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Originally Posted by Madrx7racer
NZ: go grab and hold a STOCK TII turbo back and then go weigh a single outlet 3" Turbo back like my SS AUTOCHROME.........then you can tell me about the weight...
Go compare the weights of single and dual aftermarket exhausts made by the same company, then you can tell me about the weight.
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I agree with NZ, similar aftermarket setups with similar performance in single and dual is more likely to be about 20lbs. My custom dual catback (which is longer than the stock one) isn't even that heavy really, it's all one piece and I can lift it easily myself and almost get the entire thing up and hanging/installed while under the car, which is hard with only 2 hands when trying to connect all the hangers (which is why I can only ALMOST get it in by myself heh).
#14
Originally Posted by OptimusPrime
yeha but unless ur runnning a turbo( hight boost or bigger turbo) or racing u dont need to change to a single for less weight. and for flow doesnt racing beat make a true dual ( by which imean one pipe for every exhaust port) system
Last edited by djpacman; 04-14-05 at 12:08 PM.
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well i just went single straight exhaust and the weight compare to the dual is a huge difference i can lift this one up by myself so i say it's got to be under 15 punds while the dual i needed help lifting it to put it on the car so it's really heavy and on the top end my N/A takes no time hitting 100mph while it took me longer with the the dual and it would be hard to keep those speeds without giving it a lot of gas.
#16
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Originally Posted by DrifterX
well i just went single straight exhaust and the weight compare to the dual is a huge difference i can lift this one up by myself so i say it's got to be under 15 punds while the dual i needed help lifting it to put it on the car so it's really heavy and on the top end my N/A takes no time hitting 100mph while it took me longer with the the dual and it would be hard to keep those speeds without giving it a lot of gas.
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It's not just weight. Having single exhaust creates a flow of gas coming out of the cylinder of your exhaust pipe which is constant, because all of the ports are going through the same tube. Having duals creates a sort of pause in between fires and doesn't let the air flow as well. But I still love the look of duals.
#19
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Go for dual.
4 issues as I see them:
Looks - IMHO Dual exhaust on an FC is the only way to go. A single pipe just looks wrong on an FC and unless you did radical mods to the bumpers or bought a kit designed with a single-pipe in mind, its going to look off.
Muffling - a single pipe with a race muffler will be LOUD - like hellishly loud. Duals are better than singles in terms of noise control in almost all conceivable situations since you have twice the muffler and half the flow through each.
Performance - This really all comes down to the mufflers you use - a 3" pipe with a race muffler is going to flow just as much as a dual exhaust with a race-muffler - the exhaust isn't a restriction in either case.
Smaller pipes will give you more back-pressure, but you'd need to be running a pretty high-HP engine to be getting restricted by a 2 or 2.5" turbo-back straight-through-muffled exhaust anyway.
Mufflers are going to be the biggest source of restriction - if you choose 3-pass mufflers, they won't flow as well as straight-through mufflers.
If you are using 3-pass mufflers, a dual system will flow better than a single.
If you use straight-throughs, theres no difference until you get to stratospheric horsepower levels, at which point you won't need advice from us because you will know what you want.
Weight - a total non-issue. The weight of a muffler and a short bit of pipe+ a Y-splitter isn't going to be more than a few kgs. - why drive an FC which is already a heavier car than it could be if you are that concerned about weight?
So, personally I say go for dual unless you want an excessively loud street car or the car is intended purely for the racetrack.
Looks - IMHO Dual exhaust on an FC is the only way to go. A single pipe just looks wrong on an FC and unless you did radical mods to the bumpers or bought a kit designed with a single-pipe in mind, its going to look off.
Muffling - a single pipe with a race muffler will be LOUD - like hellishly loud. Duals are better than singles in terms of noise control in almost all conceivable situations since you have twice the muffler and half the flow through each.
Performance - This really all comes down to the mufflers you use - a 3" pipe with a race muffler is going to flow just as much as a dual exhaust with a race-muffler - the exhaust isn't a restriction in either case.
Smaller pipes will give you more back-pressure, but you'd need to be running a pretty high-HP engine to be getting restricted by a 2 or 2.5" turbo-back straight-through-muffled exhaust anyway.
Mufflers are going to be the biggest source of restriction - if you choose 3-pass mufflers, they won't flow as well as straight-through mufflers.
If you are using 3-pass mufflers, a dual system will flow better than a single.
If you use straight-throughs, theres no difference until you get to stratospheric horsepower levels, at which point you won't need advice from us because you will know what you want.
Weight - a total non-issue. The weight of a muffler and a short bit of pipe+ a Y-splitter isn't going to be more than a few kgs. - why drive an FC which is already a heavier car than it could be if you are that concerned about weight?
So, personally I say go for dual unless you want an excessively loud street car or the car is intended purely for the racetrack.
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Originally Posted by DrifterX
well i just went single straight exhaust and the weight compare to the dual is a huge difference i can lift this one up by myself so i say it's got to be under 15 punds while the dual i needed help lifting it to put it on the car so it's really heavy...
...on the top end my N/A takes no time hitting 100mph while it took me longer with the the dual...
Originally Posted by theman4444
Having single exhaust creates a flow of gas coming out of the cylinder of your exhaust pipe which is constant, because all of the ports are going through the same tube. Having duals creates a sort of pause in between fires and doesn't let the air flow as well.
#21
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Originally Posted by ikekrull
Weight - a total non-issue. The weight of a muffler and a short bit of pipe+ a Y-splitter isn't going to be more than a few kgs. - why drive an FC which is already a heavier car than it could be if you are that concerned about weight?
Also a single exit cat-back is usually cheaper then a dual so more $$ for other stuff.
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weight
Yeah but comparing stock exhaust which is built for emissions and low noise levels to a 'racing' single pipe/muffler setup and then saying that a dual muffler setup weighs too much is not really comparing like with like.
A muffler (especially a 'straight-through' muffler) isn't going to weigh more than a few kgs - like, way less than 10, and a bit of 2.5" pipe+ a y-splitter is probably only about 2 kilos.
If youre going for a dedicated racing scenario - then yep - save every kg and go for a straight-single-pipe with minimal silencing. However, you won't be able to drive that on the street unmolested by cops because of the noise, and it'll look like crap on a stock FC.
Getting a single pipe down to a reasonable noise level is going to offer you less flow than getting a reasonable noise level from a dual-muffler setup.
If your one and only metric is racing performance - single offers a minor benefit over dual in terms of simplicity, weight and flow - if you want a car that you can drive on the street, you can acheive a reasonable noise level without sacrificing flow with a dual exhaust.
And you should compare the weight of the two 'aftermarket' single vs dual not aftermarket single ws stock dual.
Also, if your car has around about 200HP, have you calculated how much impact on acceleration even 36lbs is going to have? I mean, go for worst case and see what a dent 50lbs is going to put in your time down the quarter-mile.
I'd wager the amount is so insignificant its going to get lost in a rounding error - not to mention the fact that past a certain point on a stock suspension setup, youre going to get worse traction if the car is too light.
This is of course my opinion, but after switching from a single 2 1/4" setup to a dual 3" (primarily for cosmetic reasons but also for headroom to match future mods) theres no way i would go back to a single-pipe system.
A muffler (especially a 'straight-through' muffler) isn't going to weigh more than a few kgs - like, way less than 10, and a bit of 2.5" pipe+ a y-splitter is probably only about 2 kilos.
If youre going for a dedicated racing scenario - then yep - save every kg and go for a straight-single-pipe with minimal silencing. However, you won't be able to drive that on the street unmolested by cops because of the noise, and it'll look like crap on a stock FC.
Getting a single pipe down to a reasonable noise level is going to offer you less flow than getting a reasonable noise level from a dual-muffler setup.
If your one and only metric is racing performance - single offers a minor benefit over dual in terms of simplicity, weight and flow - if you want a car that you can drive on the street, you can acheive a reasonable noise level without sacrificing flow with a dual exhaust.
And you should compare the weight of the two 'aftermarket' single vs dual not aftermarket single ws stock dual.
Also, if your car has around about 200HP, have you calculated how much impact on acceleration even 36lbs is going to have? I mean, go for worst case and see what a dent 50lbs is going to put in your time down the quarter-mile.
I'd wager the amount is so insignificant its going to get lost in a rounding error - not to mention the fact that past a certain point on a stock suspension setup, youre going to get worse traction if the car is too light.
This is of course my opinion, but after switching from a single 2 1/4" setup to a dual 3" (primarily for cosmetic reasons but also for headroom to match future mods) theres no way i would go back to a single-pipe system.
#24
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Originally Posted by JagerII
36 lbs or so (I'll weigh my stock exhaust vs my CS exhaust) to me is quite a bit...
For street cars, this argument comes down to three considerations; how much you're willing to pay, and much noise you want to make, and what you like the look of. Performance and weight are non-issues.
Last edited by NZConvertible; 04-18-05 at 05:02 AM.
#25
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Originally Posted by djpacman
If so where can i get the true dual cause i'd love it it seems like you'd have better performance from a true dual instead of a Y pipe also does it hurt to take off all the cats including the main cat if you have a good muffler system?