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Exhaust gases leaving your engine pass through three to four different stages before finally leaving your exhaust tip at the rear of your car. The first exhaust gases pass through an exhaust manifold or header which re-directs the exhaust from each cylinder into a single outlet or two outlets on depending on the type of engine.

Then the exhaust gases pass through a catalytic converter,through the cat-back section of the exhaust tip. Turbocharged vehicles have a turbocharger mounted to the exhaust manifold that is spun by exhaust gases. The primary purpose of the factory cat-back exhaust is to muffle the sound and redirect the exhaust to a suitable place of exit.



Upgrading to an aftermarket cat-back exhaust is a great place to start tuning your car. On turbocharged applications the manufacturers often design the exhaust to be restrictive to keep boost near stock levels. On some turbocharged applications simply changing an exhaust can free up 25-30hp. On a normally aspirated car an aftermarket exhaust becomes essential if you plan on seriously tuning your car. Headers typically add 8-10hp depending on application.



Different designs alter the torque and horsepower characteristics for different powerbands. Long primaries can boost top end power while shorter 4-2-1 designs can tune in more low to mid range torque. Depending on how flow restrictive your stock exhaust system is will determine how much power gains you get by upgrading to an aftermarket system.