Exhaust question

I have a 2000 Silverado Z71 4x4 with the 5.3L engine. I want to upgrade my exhaust but need a little advice on the best way to go. I was originally thinking of installing a "true" dual exhaust with crossover pipe and dual mufflers. I've made no performance mods to the engine other than the cold air intake. I know this system would be expensive and difficult due to the lack of room under the truck. Would I be better off just installing a performance muffler? Any feedback would help. Thanks.

I just ordered from summit a exhaust system for my 2002 with a 4.8 its a cat back system, with a single inlet and dual outlet turbo muffler. It was cheap and it should be really easy to install. And if you want to talk about no room under the truck for true duals, take a look at what some people do with a third generation camaro with true duals, no there is no room under those but they make it fit some how. I think there is plenty of room under these trucks for true duels, but thats just my opinion.

Thanks XJ but it really wasn't the room I was overly worried about. My point was is it overkill to put in a high performance dual exhaust system with a crossover pipe (H or X) or would I be better off installing a cat back system, which would be cheaper.
As it is now there is a pipe off each exhaust manifold back to the catalytic converters then it merges into a single pipe and back to the muffler and out a single tailpipe.
What I'm looking to do is increase the performance and gas mileage. This is my daily driver and it's off road about once a month.

Im not sure about gas mileage or performance, but im going to install mine tonight, im just looking for some cool sound to be honest, but i will let you know how tough it is to install, and maybe you could find a good off the shelf system that will give you what you want for a better price than a custom job.

Thanks XJ but it really wasn't the room I was overly worried about. My point was is it overkill to put in a high performance dual exhaust system with a crossover pipe (H or X) or would I be better off installing a cat back system, which would be cheaper.
As it is now there is a pipe off each exhaust manifold back to the catalytic converters then it merges into a single pipe and back to the muffler and out a single tailpipe.
What I'm looking to do is increase the performance and gas mileage. This is my daily driver and it's off road about once a month.


I believe that you will be wasting money to install a dual exhaust on this vehicle....if you think it will increase/or change mileage or power....these exhaust sytems from factory are quite large enough....I have seen plenty of fords with this dual set up but thats because the factory exhaust is small.......

Ok, i installed my summit brand cat back system last night its a 3" pipe from the Y pipe to the muffler and then 2.25" duals from the muffler back, they have a 3" from the muffler back kit available but you have to permanantly remove your spare and i really didnt want to do that, plus i have the 4.8 i really didnt deem it necessary. Anyway it only took about 3 hours to do, maybe shorter if you jack the truck up or have a lift, my truck sits high so i didnt have to jack it up but a little more clearance probably wouldnt have hurt. Also i could have knocked off about 45 mins if i didnt snap the studs off the Y pipe flange that connects the straight pipe from the muffler to the Y pipe, and i had to drill them out and punch out the studs. Anyway the removal of the old system probably only took about 20 mins. Everything just hangs from rubber hangers and pops off. And if your studs on the flange at the Y pipe look rusty, spray them with some penetrating lubricant and let them sit, I barely put the wrench to the first one and it snapped right off. The second one took a little more but also snapped off and there isnt really a whole lot of room to drill these suckers out, so be carefull, then after all of that is out, its was pretty much a peice of cake just peiceing it all together under the truck and tightening all the clamps. Its sounds better and it might just be me but i think i have better throttle response and maybe a hair better overall performance its just feels better. I dont know though. But for $169 and 3 hours of work, i feel it was well worth it.

Thanks XJ and J-CAT. I'm gonna go with a cat-back system.

Thanks XJ and J-CAT. I'm gonna go with a cat-back system.

the studs at the Y pipe should be replaced and any other rusted/damaged hardware ....get some high quality hardware I like to use s/steel ..... removal of the spare tire will give you plenty of accessiblity ....check the shields for corrosion on hardware also....use wire brush on rusted threads then spray penetrating oil...

Ya, i really want planning on the studs snapping off, its a 2002 with 60k on it. Ive pulled exhaust off my 89 camaro without snapping studs, especially 3/8 bolts with a simple turn. So i didnt have any SS hardware so i used some regularbolts nuts and lock washers and everything went back together fine. I didnt have to remove anything extra to install this kit, and i left the tail pipe extensions off for now leaving my exhaust stopping about a foot short of clearing the back of my truck cause im going to get some chrome tips for it.

Ya, i really want planning on the studs snapping off, its a 2002 with 60k on it. Ive pulled exhaust off my 89 camaro without snapping studs, especially 3/8 bolts with a simple turn. So i didnt have any SS hardware so i used some regularbolts nuts and lock washers and everything went back together fine. I didnt have to remove anything extra to install this kit, and i left the tail pipe extensions off for now leaving my exhaust stopping about a foot short of clearing the back of my truck cause im going to get some chrome tips for it.

you want the exhaust to clear the rear /side somewhat because the exhaust gases can easily get into the cab.. so until you finish the install be careful of this..

No, i think it will be fine, i have the long bed and the tips just stop about a foot before the end of the bed, and last night when i ran it, it was cold and i could see the exhaust or most of it clearing the back of the truck.

XJ is there a chance you could post some pics of what that exhaust looks like? I have been looking at the same one for some time now and am just curious about where the pipes come out the back? I am considering the side exit one as well but it depends what the other one looks like. How does it sound? Louder at idle/load? Better than stock? Thanks for your input, its getting warmer and i am getting itchy to get working on this thing again!

Ya, ill try to get some pics, i was under the truck this weekend and could have taken some pics, but i just got your last message this morning. It does sound better at idle and load, a lot better than stock, and its not an obnoxious loud roar like you can get from some systems, its just a nice rumble, you can hear it a little in the cab, but not enought that you have to turn the radio up. The two pipes exit just to the outside of the hitch frame and just a little outside from the trucks frame rails. I left mine short and didnt install the tail pipe extensions they sent with the kit cause im going to get some chrome tips for it. Also one thing i would get also if you would buy this kit is going to the parts store and getting another exhaust hanger, one that has the strap steel with the holes in it and you hang it from a clamp on the exhaust. You hang the passenger side tail pipe with the OE rubber hanger and a clamp modifided to hang from the OE rubber but in my kit it looked like the hanger was going to fall out of the rubber when i hit a big bump so they send you a hanger that im telling you to buy for the driver side that never had an exhaust before and it works very well, so i went and bought another one of those and installed it instead of using the OE rubber. Then at that point too you have some control of making the two tail pipes hang even out the back. But i will try to get some pics up for ya.

great thanks! I would go with the chrome too and the non rubber hanger does sound a little more stable.

Its deffinately more stable, now i used the include hook hangers to hang the rest of the exhaust from the OE rubber hangers around the area of the muffler and Y pip and they seem fine, it was just the one at the tail pipe on the passenger side.

I took some pics but didnt get them off my camera yet, ill try to get to it tonight, and good thing i took the pics last night cause its snowed about 3-4 inches over night and im not rolling around in the snow under my truck for a couple pics, but ill get them posted though!

I have a question about the y pipe:

The y pipes come into a collector at the end so my question is can I cut off the collector and weld an X pipe in there? At my work we have a exhaust bender so I think I can handle the two pipes the legth of the truck.

Possibly, they would have to be a narrow X pipe the Y pipe collects off to the passenger side of the truck not in the middle, you might have more luck cutting the Y pipe way up right behind the cats on both sides and go from there. Its possible, it will just take a little working.

I decided to go with the single side exit Summit system. It is 3 inch all the way and I dont think it will hurt any. All I am really looking for is better sound. And for 175 shipped it is cheaper than just buying a muffler and having it installed in my area. I will post back when I get it put in.

So i didnt have any SS hardware so i used some regularbolts nuts and lock washers and everything went back together fine. D'oh.
I had a Jegs brand exhaust on my '02. If its the same as the Summit brand (I bet it is, or at least similar) you get about a year out of it, then it rots off. I wish I would have seen this thread sooner, I think you guys wasted your money. Sorry.
I didn't gain any mileage and little to no performance gain. I seemed only to have gained mileage with a throttle body insert. But I did do a bunch of stuff in a short period of time.
I have a stainless steel exhaust for a diesel on mine now. It has a short jumper pipe off the cat to connect it to the diesel pipe. We'll see how long it lasts.....I had several exhaust set ups on mine. The cheap stuff rusts out quick, that I DO know.

If all the cheap stuff rots off quickly i would think companies like jegs and summit would change it cause i know there are people out there that would complain till the were blue in the face, ive had several cat back setups and never seen one rot off within a year. This metal is the same as some of the more expensive metal, and if all the setups that were not stainless rotted out than i think alot of exhaust companies would be out of buisness. Not calling you a liar but i find it hard to beleive that all the cheap exhausts just rust off. I think i would have seen a few more posts in here about cat back systems rusting away.

If all the cheap stuff rots off quickly i would think companies like jegs and summit would change it cause i know there are people out there that would complain till the were blue in the face, ive had several cat back setups and never seen one rot off within a year. This metal is the same as some of the more expensive metal, and if all the setups that were not stainless rotted out than i think alot of exhaust companies would be out of buisness. Not calling you a liar but i find it hard to beleive that all the cheap exhausts just rust off. I think i would have seen a few more posts in here about cat back systems rusting away.

you have to be careful when buying steel exhaust systems....the metal used can be of soft low quality and in 2years the metal will fail.... I have been there too many times.... cheap or expensive if the parts have no warrantee this is for a reason.....

The kit i have has a one year warranty. And if the metal is soft and going to rust quick, i just put it on so im going to wipe off all the exhaust and spray it with silver engine enamel to protect it, cause the exhaust barely gets warm past the Y pipe so i think some high heat engine enamel will hold up to the heat, or lack there of.

The metal is aluminized (thats what it says on Summit) and ive used some cheap exhaust extensions and peices from Advanced auto and havent had anything rust away.

Not calling you a liar but i find it hard to beleive that all the cheap exhausts just rust off. Maybe its Ohio's excessive salt usage..:dunno: But I know I put a lot of cheap exhaust on my truck due to rusting out....Please post an update when it does rust out...:biggrin:

I live in Michigan and have always used the cheap stuff. The only time I have had a problem is when I took it somewhere and had a "mechanic" fix the exhaust. I ended up replacing his stuff with more cheap stuff and no problems. To me it is worth the risk to go cheap and the if it does rust off in a year replace it, but I have had some pretty good luck with summit brand exhaust.

I'll keep and eye on it and in the mean time im going to paint it just for good measure.

I'll keep and eye on it and in the mean time im going to paint it just for good measure.

one time i had an exhaust that looked good it had a very niece stainless finish ......not stainless though.... and in less than 2yrs the pipes had holes small holes but no rust... I got a pair of channel locks and it collapsed that tail pipe like apiece of plastic......so the exhaust gases are the corrosive factor inside the pipe......not just the road salts..if your not gonna keep vehicle or take long trips use the rusting exhaust but only pay the cheapest price as they will all rust out....in a short time 2years maxxx....

I had a cheap summit cat-back that I bought b/c their tallmadge store is right down the street. $130 and after a year and a half there was some surface rust on the clamps but it held up in ne ohio. This was on my jeep though.

I think it depends on how the car/truck is designed. My first car was a tempo, had it 3 years and went through 2 exhaust systems whereas my truck has the factory stainless and it still looks new.

Well 1.5 hours later I have a new exhaust system. The only really difficult part was I had to trim about 8 inches out of the center piece and I couldnt find any Saw-z-All blades... so the hacksaw it was. Sounds good, little performance gain, but I expect more when I put my K&N on next week. Next up will be a Tune... now nelson or wheatly?!? Different thread for a different day...

what kit did you end up going with?

I went with the single outlet 3" system.

From summit?

Yes and there seems to be a little difference in midrange power and acceleration. I expect this to be a good start to my future mods.

Yes and there seems to be a little difference in midrange power and acceleration. I expect this to be a good start to my future mods.

i have read complaints of lower MPG with the larger exhaust if you could it would be helpful if you posted any MPG changes....

So far there has been no mpg changes. I expect it to stay that way. It is a single exit system, that is why I went with a 3" pipe. It is not really that much larger than stock.