2.5 complete exhaust VS a 3.0 complete exhaust

Joe Dokes said
jos51700,

Pretty good observation, "Street driver looks at magazines and little else." Part of the problem is we don't have the time, money, or resources to test the claims of parts manufacturers. Unfortunately magazines are beholden to their advertisers so they are rarely if ever critical of any products in their magazine.

This is wrong.

None of us really know the cost or benefit of a 3" exhaust on a street car with 400-500 Horsepower. Does it really make it "louder" or simply "lower" and thus shake the fillings in our teeth? Does it make more top end HP at the expense of mid range torque? Which exhaust system provides more power "under the curve?" Which car is faster 0-60 and in the quarter mile the one with 2 1/2" exhaust or 3"?

We won't ever know the answers to ANY of the above questions. Why, because it would hurt the advertising dollars in Hot-Rod Magazine et. al. If everyone knew that the there was no benefit to a 3" exhaust system, or it was only worth a couple of hundredths sales of 3" exhaust systems would plummet. Can't have that.

Regards,

Joe Dokes

I only subscribe to one magazine (Mopar Action), because their tech is spot-on and they post it when they make mistakes. Generally speaking, they are not sponsor-driven like most (So it seems, anyways).

MCG is OK and I'll subscribe to get a free shirt but the authoring is, um, not to my liking.

That said, I urge every enthusiast to cancel their magazine subscriptions, and go to at least one car show or race or bench-racing session a year, instead. Guaranteed more knowledge, better connections, and typically factual information about a given setup ("Here's how it sounds. Let's go for a ride and see what you think!")

Like I said, empirical evidence es el numero uno.