Oversized Exhaust

Lately I have seen more than a few 2nd Gen Rams passing me on the highway with huge exhaust pipes. I believe the stock exhaust system was 3" ?

I had one friend go up a size, I think to 4"?

Does going up in exhaust size improve performance? Some of the trucks I have seen have an extremely huge pipe, and it sure does sound good, almost like a semi rolling by.

Does going up an inch or two from the stock pipe improve the performance enough to warrant upgrading an exhaust system that is in decent shape?

Are you describing entire exhaust diameter, or could they just have larger exhaust piping/tips after the muffler?

Casper said:

Are you describing entire exhaust diameter, or could they just have larger exhaust piping/tips after the muffler?

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Wekk one guy I ran down ant talked to said he had a "magnaflow" 4" system from the turbo back.

I went to the magnaflow website and the site said they had no system for my 1997, the guy I had talked to had a '98

What you chased down may have been a 2500 with a 5.9 Cummins which would have had a larger exhaust. Not too sure the odds of finding someone who has turboed one of these gassers considering the NA performance they can make.

My current exhaust setup is as follows:

Factory manifolds (hoping to get some shorties soon), 2.25" y-pipe, 3" single inlet/outlet cat, single 2.5" downpipe, single inlet/outlet muffler and a 3" tailpipe.

Compared to the factory setup, I gained a tad bit of cruising power and the truck held higher speeds slightly easier. However, I still had the "death flash" at the time, so nothing that I did was going to make a huge difference anyway.

I now have a tune and feel that aside from the factory manifolds, the setup is quite dandy. I'm thinking of maybe swapping the 2.5" downpipe to a 3" down the road and increasing the tailpipe diameter to 4" but haven't really decided yet.

It's worth noting that while increasing the exhaust volume can increase mid-top end power, you'll almost always lose some in the low range and the larger the pipes are, the more pronounced the difference will be. That's why I stick to a single-pipe setup to help offset the low-end losses.

EDIT: Ah, didn't realize you were talking about diesels. I really don't know much about those so maybe they benefit more from a huge exhaust setup than gassers.

An exhaust that big will hurt performance, even on a 1000HP car.
Good luck finding someone with a 4" manderal pipe bender.
4/5" is normally the diesel guys for sure.

I should have given more info to begin with, yes I have a '97 2500 with the Cummins and a five speed.

I'm seeing more and more 2nd gen Cummins with big pipes at the end of the system, and a real throaty sound to them. Will replacing from the turbo back do much for you, or only if you replace the whole system? I already have an aftermarket air filter, a B&D I believe.

Yes exhaust helps.

Watch this for a great explanation. I don't feel like typing a book. Skip to 8:52

https://youtu.be/3zfLnOnnW2A

07MegaCabRam said:

An exhaust that big will hurt performance, even on a 1000HP car.
Good luck finding someone with a 4" manderal pipe bender.
4/5" is normally the diesel guys for sure.

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Thats not true at all