is street machine wrong?

[Soybean]

just got the new street machine and its buick v6 modification article inside, and it says that bigger is better for your exhaust they recommend a 3 inch exhaust?
is this true or are they raving on about something they have no idea about?
plus they said it gives a wicked note????

 

[1991_Vn2nV]

Why is a 3 inch exhaust 'wrong'?

A 3 inch exhaust is a bit overboard maybe on a full stocko... But the article is about tuning the V6 buick, its not for stock as rock cars.

But theres more to an exhaust than just the setup, muffler and resonator choice etc. are vital in flow rates too, so it depends on the entire setup. Whats the entire setup they talk about in the article? I read it a few nights ago at work but have since forgotten.

And a 3" zorst will give a better (as in louder/meaner) note than a 2.5" zorst...its bigger

 

[sircruisealotVS]

what i imagine they mean (i havent read this article) is that you would get more hp from a 3" exhaust, because as you would notice alot of articles in that mag and others like it rate performance "worthyness" as how much you can make on a dyno or down a 1/4 mile...and on a dyno you would make more top end power with 3" pipes (lossing alot down low...thus not great for street driving)

 

[Soybean]

alright guys thanx for the info

 

[deathsminion]

Actually, the best size exhaust for a stock EV6 is 2 3/4... But you can't really get that size off the shelf.

 

[greenfoam]

If you have the right size headers in the first place you can put a 10 inch exhaust on after it if you want and you wont loose bottom end. But since the right sized headers for the V6 are about 45 inches long and no sane person is going to go to that much effort for a commercial of the shelf header, you need to play with the rest of the exhaust to find the extra low end power

 

[Immortality]

haven't read the article yet, we don't get the mag on the shelves till the 2nd week of the month it's for over here in tille ol' NZ. but from what others are saying and is common in the street machine fashion, you make more peak power with the bigger pipes but the slightly smaller pipes would give a much better torque curve and and there for much more drivable on the street and on top of all that probably not a hell of a lot slower over the 1/4 mile as well. exhaust tuning is all about the length and diameter of the primary pipes (which is not normally something you can change) and more importantly the diameter and lenght of the secondary (something you can change) and the type of muffler after the secondary pipes etc. afterthat it's not that consequencial as long as it doesn't become restrictive etc. a good book to read about exhaust tuning is "how to build Chevy small blocks on a budget" by David Vizard. looking forward to reading tha rticle though, is there any other good stuff in it?

 

[1991_Vn2nV]

Nah the article is pretty crap. Just common knowledge they have put in writing.


The only good bit is that they have the numbers and contact details for various part makers in the article.

 

[Immortality]

finally found acopy of Street Machine on the shelves at the local shops last night. most dissapointing really the article on V6 tuning guide. does showthat the lil' ol' 3.8 V6 has lots of potential though.