I lost my low end torque again. I'm sure everyone here is aware of what I have recently done. If not here's a recap.
1.) I put on a 2.25 straight pipe with no cats to a factory 2.3l mustang muffler with a turn down pipe. Not to bad of a loss.
2.) I changed the exhaust manifold to a 95' Ranger tubular header. Noticed more of a loss.
It felt better with the factory pipe and a turn down. It also sounds like the engine surges at stops in drive. I can feel it surge when I idle. And I noticed my $15 in gas on sunday didn't last as long as it did last week. I like the pipe and header and would like to keep them both.
What can I do to fix this?
It's only 2.25. I was told that was fine by plenty of people, including some here. If thats the case, what about a tailpipe from a 2.3l (2")or a 5.0l (2.25")
the pipe may be fine, but the addition of the header and loss of the catty is where the backpressure/torque was lost...
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1995 Mustang GT Cnv 347(427 stroker being built!) almost done!
1996 Cobra with Kenne Bell 2.1 Supercharger and every other conceivable part you can bolt on it...650hp upgrade in the works
2003 Infiniti M45 V8 340 hp...a methadone treatment for reformed Mustang drivers
i tried to tell you you were gonna loose low end torque, however you might have gained high end rpm power but thats another issure.
Summit has catco downpipes with high flow cats that might add some back pressure, also get a chambered muffler, the stock 2.3 muffler is a POS, get a nice chambered one and you will gain some back pressure and get some low end torque back.
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91 Mustang GT: BBK Cold Air Intake, BBK Ceramic Coated Shorty Headers, BBK Off Road H-Pipe, Flowmaster Cat-back, Msd Blaster Coil, Msd Dist. cap, Msd Wires, Pro 5.0 Shifter, A/C and Smog Delete, Steeda Adjustable Clutch cable, quadrant and firewall adjuster, summit rotors.
Ok quick senerio. An engine is basically an air pump. The more air and fuel it can pump the more HP it makes and that includes torque. I run huge diameter exhausts on my cars. And believe me i make low end TORQUE. A 2 1/2 " exhaust is fine for a 2.3. I run it on my Turbo coupe and my 2.3 mustang. Repair the tranny like chandler pointed out and your ride will have plenty of gettup and GO
I recently was running just a 2" down-pipe and I was getting lots of high end rpm chasing ponies. That 2.3 really started pulling hard when it hit 3500-4000rpm. I put on a full 2" exhaust with a muffler and it now gets some really good off of the line torque but doesn't pull quite as much in the higher rpm band. It depends how you drive the thing too. If you are looking for off the line torque and good gas mileage in the city, more back-pressure is probably a good thing. If you have that auto shifting at red line a lot then it's probably good to keep that set-up.
Atleast we now know for sure what a big difference those headers make.
Here is the scoop. At the track the 1320 guys run open headers and they run much faster than with a closed exhaust. We did back to back runs at RACEWAY PARK many years ago to see the difference and the difference is BIG. When talking exhaust BIGGER IS ALWAYS BETTER. 2 1/2 all the way back and enjoy the RIDE.
Here is the scoop. At the track the 1320 guys run open headers and they run much faster than with a closed exhaust. We did back to back runs at RACEWAY PARK many years ago to see the difference and the difference is BIG. When talking exhaust BIGGER IS ALWAYS BETTER. 2 1/2 all the way back and enjoy the RIDE.
Tom. I got 2.25" all the way back to the ford muffler and a turndown. It's slower off the line now then when I had the cracked, stock exhaust manifold, with no gasket, and 2" pipe to the muffler with an open end, no turn down. Granted, when I floor it at about 2500 RPMs, It hauls some ass for a 2.3l mustang. It also takes more gas to go back and forth to work during the week.
I agree with you about the more air, I seen it when I made my 91' Crown Vic Cop car special pretty f'in fast by opening the cats, Flowmasters, 2.50" straight pipes with the chrome tips, real cai, 70mm TB and some other little thing and whatever the police did to it. (I was doing mechanics at the time.)
I'd like to keep the setup, but make it work better on the low end too.
Hi 93 when you let an engine breathe it can pump more air. Back preasure is basicalln a no no to an engine. Here is a senerio you may understand better. The early cats used to be very restrictiveover 900 cells. Modern cats are are free flowingand are only 200 cells. The quest to improve fuel milage has increased exhaust diameters. Look at some new cars and see the huge exhausts on them. Actual dyno tests proove that a free flowing exhaust makes more HP and torque. To an extent the exhaust can make an engine loose low end torque but it would have to be like a 4" exhaust on a 2L engine. A 2 1/2" exhaust on a 2.3 is fine.
Losing low end torque 
