I want straight pipes.

Rock182 · 09-01-2009

My car:
1992 Mustang convertible LX 2.3 4 cylnder.
It has 139K miles on it. Well my tail pipe fell off and it made it sound like a badass 4 banger stang. I love the sound but i know i gotta put a new tailpipe on and possibly a new muffler (it's holy).

but then i got to thinking why not skip the muffler and just do straight pipes? I've thought about this and asked many people. One guy says NO, it will put to much back presure on the engine and ruin it, because it's a lil engine with alot of miles.

Another guy i talked to said yes do it, my truck has 270K miles and i have straight pipes. (it's a 93 Ford F150, V6)

I use AFM alot and trust i will get the best opions.
ALSO! ALSO ALSO!
I made my 1st major repair on my car. I replaced the rack and pion (along with the outter tirods) I'm so proud.

Buy anyways, please let me know what you think..

boosted stang · 09-01-2009

k the guy saying you would have to much back pressure is a fool im pretty sure you wouldn't have enough back pressure

DBT4220 · 09-02-2009

agreed you would lose back pressure. not gain it. i wouldn't trust that guy.

if i was you i would find a better muffler and just do a turn down. and call it that. you'll get the loud "beefy" sound you want but still be street legal.

Rock182 · 09-02-2009

Well what if I do a short muffler and a tail pipe?

TOM RENZO · 09-02-2009

Here is what i would do. I would install a high flow cat at the downpipe and finish the exhaust with a no muffler full system all the way back to the stock location. I base this system with many a 3AM dyno pull in my shop. Running a complete non muffler system sounds real good and is very efficient. You can get commercially bent 2 1/2 pipes and do the system from front to back. The cat will act as a muffler to some extent. I run my TC this way and it sounds great. And it is ok sound wise. Not to loud for the local KOJACK WITH A KODAK.

ExtrmZ · 09-03-2009

the smaller motors need a fair amount of backpressure, unless you are running a turbo. i wouldnt put bigger than 2.25" dia. pipe on, and put a nice muffler on. I have a flowmaster 40 series. its loud but not obnoxious. its a good sound

1990orangestang · 09-03-2009

i have a 1990 2.3 and mine is straight pipe all the way back and i noticed better gas mileage and a little more horsepower it is loud but at an idle it sounds like a 5.0 it sounds really nice

toddturbo · 09-08-2009

you guys who say that you need backpressure...what for? What benefit does back pressure have on our little 2.3's? Contaminate the incoming fuel/air charge?

IMO, I'd put the quietest exhaust possible. 2.3's sound like tractors. My '93 still has the factory exhaust on it (176,000 miles) and I think it's too loud. It doesn't sound ANYTHING like a 5.0 even with a plug wire off of it. It's a flat plane crankshaft 4 cylinder, there is no way on earth that it will ever sound like a 5.0. The ONLY way a 2.3 sounds remotely good is with a turbo and at 9000 RPM +. Or a cross plane crank...those sound nice!

I had several turbo 2.3's, all with "louder" exhaust. All but one had 3" exhaust on them. The other one was a 4" downpipe to a 3.5" single pipe all the way to the bumper. Because the 4 cylinder only has 2 firing pulses per revolution of the crankshaft, you will feel every pulse coming out of the tailpipe, which makes your teeth rattle, makes the interior rattle, all the interior screws fall out, etc (well...maybe exaggerating a little but you get the idea).

I'd put some quiet exhaust on it and ENJOY your mustang. Or I guess you could always put a fart pipe on the back. About the same thing as a fart pipe on a Honda. Does nothing for the car but make it sound obnoxious.