Need advice on modding exhaust on 2000 TA

[G.A.S.]

For starting out like you are the 2 1/4 give you that wide range you are looking for at this point of the game.
You can add all that you mentioned and still be fine.
The engine can breathe, and that is what matters.
In the future you can even step up to 3" exhaust pipes and go 2 1/2 tails. That is if you get that radical with the engine, Or another to drop in.
And to be truthfull, You should have your engine figuared out as to how big your gona build it and then match the exhaust.
My opionion was based on you starting with a stock engine and slowly building it to a point of street driveing. Sound good and move now.
Your donig just fine.

[cuda_dude]

Long tube headers and a Borla Tuneable exhaust... best set-up to work from... you get the flow and the option to make the car louder or more quiet with 5 minutes of work.

[Netskimmer]

Well, I did find what appears to be dual exhaust systems from Borla but the only tunable one I saw for my car was 3” not 2.5”. If it would be better for me to get the engine figured out before the exhaust them perhaps I should put the exhaust system on the back burner and focus on modding the engine first. I’ll start a new thread regarding the engine and see where it goes. We can continue this discussion also and possibly steer it in the right direction as I zero in on the engine mods I want to make.

What brand of headers would you suggest?

[cuda_dude]

What is it that makes you dead set on a dual exhaust? You will get all of the flow you need out of a 3'' cat-back. Mr Luos is the only one that has a dual on his Ls1 but it's pure custom and still not a "true" dual. Exhaust, headers and Intake are always great first mods to make since they allow you to expland upon them with every other engine mod you make. A good cat back like Borla and some good long tube headers (Kooks if you have the money) are all you will need for pretty much any mod you do to the rest of your engine.

[poormillionaire2]

Technically, the first mods you make should be the basic bolt-ons. Like Cuda said, intake and exhaust are probably the best places to start. Everything else comes from there. If your engine can't breathe, then all other mods are useless.

And I don't understand why you are so worried about exhaust tubing. There are guys out there running over 1,000hp on a Y-pipe exhaust setup.

[Netskimmer]

I was under the impression that dual exhaust would sound better and improve performance over y pipes and since adding headers was going to require a reworking of my exhaust system anyway this would be a good time to go dual.

[cuda_dude]

Well, the thing is... our cars aren't designed to be able to run true duals but that's alright because you will get all of the flow you ever need out of a 3" Y and it will sound just great.

[2.2 Straight six]

Originally Posted by poormillionaire2

And I don't understand why you are so worried about exhaust tubing. There are guys out there running over 1,000hp on a Y-pipe exhaust setup.

Yep, Nascar racers run y-pipe setups, longtube manifolds into a y-pipe and side-exit.

[Netskimmer]

Ok, well I already have what appears to be a Flowmaster muffler, from the look and sound of it, and 3” Y pipe so should I just get the headers and have an exhaust place fit them to my current system?

[G.A.S.]

you sure can. The only thing you lost there is the sound. Whitch takes us back to the original post.

[Netskimmer]

Will dual exhaust sound a lot better than my Y pipes? From what I’m reading here there would be no advantage performance wise to go from my Y to duals so the upgrade would be solely for the sound and dropping a grand just to improve sound seems to be a bit excessive.

[G.A.S.]

Originally Posted by Netskimmer

Will dual exhaust sound a lot better than my Y pipes? From what I’m reading here there would be no advantage performance wise to go from my Y to duals so the upgrade would be solely for the sound and dropping a grand just to improve sound seems to be a bit excessive.

Duels with headers will sound better , increase the hp and performance.
Did you notice the post in reguards to nascars, Y out the side. What size pipe and is there a muffler?
When you force pressure from two pipes into one pipe you have more restriction, thats all I will say.
relieve the restriction and increase the hp/performance. The sound comes with that style system.

[cuda_dude]

True Duals aren't possible on these cars so you wouldn't notice much of a difference in sound. The biggest sound improvement will be Long Tube headers. If you want to make your system more free flowing, the stock manifolds are the most restrictive part, so that is the best place to start. The headers will give you the agressive tone in your exhaust and then you can fine tune that sound with which cat-back system you choose. In order to see any difference in performance from a 3" y pipe setup to a dual exhaust setup you would have to be pushing some serious HP. It would be a waste of money to try and force a dual exhaust setup on your car. Invest your money in headers and other engine mods. With the hp you're car is pushing now and in it's modded future, with a 3" Y-style exhaust it's the equivilent of throwing a hotdog down a hallway..

[Netskimmer]

Wow, those Kooks are pricey, but I’m assuming they are worth it. I guess I should get the set that has the AIR and EGR fittings and I’m sure I’ll need the extender for the O2 sensor as well. Should I get them coated? I’ve read that factory coating doesn’t last but I seem to remember hearing good things about JetHot coatings which are optional.

What about my converter? Would it be worth it to get a “high performance” converter? For all I know the thing already has one, is there a way to tell a normal cat from a performance one? (other than the whiskers that is )

“With the hp you're car is pushing now and in it's modded future, with a 3" Y-style exhaust it's the equivalent of throwing a hotdog down a hallway..”

What if the hotdog was a Ballpark Frank? The plump when ya cook’em ya know. But seriously, why are true duals impossible? If I’m going to stick with the Y pipe I guess I’ll just add the headers to my existing system and see how they sound. If I don’t like what I hear I have no idea how I’m going to determine which cat back system to get as I would have no way of hearing them. I suppose I could download vids from youtube of TAs with different systems on them and see if any catch my eye…er ear. If that doesn’t work I suppose I’ll get a tunable Borla system and see what happens.

[cuda_dude]

I recomended Kooks because they are stainless (99% sure) and never need coating since they don't rust. You can get cheaper headers and a good brand for that would be pacesetter.