Hooniverse Asks- Dual Exhausts, Brah! Or Blah?

By Robert Emslie Jun 20, 2013

dual exhaust

Have you ever considered contradiction? I mean really given it some thought? When it comes to cars, it’s pretty plain that some of us engage in inconsistency in the view of our end game. And so do a number of car makers. We all know that the key to speed and efficiency is light weight- which is why I always poop before jumping in the commute-mobile for the trip home from work. 

Still, car makers keep adding weight to their cars, and one of the ways they do so is a multiplicity of exhaust pipes. We keep on buying them because of those dual exhausts just look so cool. Heck, a certain sub-set of us adds the extra plumbing when the manufacturers fail to do so in the first place. I for one don’t see the value in having two (or more) chrome tips on my ride instead of just one, and I’m wondering if you feel the same way.

Oh sure, I know about the necessity of providing the engine with proper breathing, and the gains to be made with balancing exhaust pulses and back pressure and all that. . . but I still think it could be achieved with a single pipe system that doesn’t add another 50 or 80 pounds to the car. Plus there’s the added cost of doubling your pleasure with cats, 02 sensors, and mufflers to consider. What’s your take on dual exhausts, are they Brah! or Blah?

Image source: Chivethrottle

58 thoughts on “Hooniverse Asks- Dual Exhausts, Brah! Or Blah?”
  1. My '13 Altima has dual exhaust. It's more pleasing to my eye than a single exit any day of the week. In a lot of ways, it's one of those quintessential "American" things. Most people don't even realize what size engines are in cars today and putting dual exhaust on everything makes it that much harder for the untrained eye. People, in general, believe dual exhaust means power… whether it's real or not. It's something else for them to talk about.

    1. Sadly, the zoomies on the Mad Max interceptor as built for the movies were as fake as the supercharger on top of the engine.
      It's my most favorite movie prop car, but it's still a prop.

  2. Single exhaust, dual exhaust, I don't care. What I want to know is whether or not it has 180 degree headers. Seriously, youtube that.

  3. The lead image makes me sad every time I see it.
    Anyways, dual exhausts. Can look good but IMO are so overused today. When a Camry has it, it shows how much the effect has been cheapened.
    Apparently every 88-98 Chevrolet has had a recall or something ordering a mandatory dual exhaust made of the cheapest materials and dangling precariously at odd angles.
    A rare positive point is the dual exhaust on the new Dodge pickups.
    I have always loved lake pipes, and also the dual exhaust on a single side like some Lightning pickups.

    1. " The lead image makes me sad every time I see it. "
      Well, if it's had a diesel swapped into it, I could almost approve.

  4. I love dual exhaust.
    So much that I thought about putting it on my Geo Metro.
    But then I thought, "How do I plumb three cylinders into two pipes?"

    1. Three-cylinder Triumphs have 3 into 2 pipes, so it's certainly possible.
      Desirable Metro mod? Probably not.

  5. While I like they symmetry of them, unless there is a good reason for it, which there can be even on I6 engines, unless it's an V or an flat motor, pass.
    I don't see any point in putting 'dual' outlets when they're coming out of the same resonator, however.

    1. If the muffler design, however, is such that it's more efficient or quieter or smaller because it has two outputs instead of one, then I won't tell them not to.

  6. I'm ok with true duals on sports cars and trucks, so long as its done tastefully.
    NOT OK with dual chimneys out the back of diesel trucks.

  7. It depends on how necessary it is. On a lot of cars that are moving a lot of exhaust flow, you simply can't fit a single pipe of sufficient size. It can get very hard to route a single 3.5" pipe under a car that needs it, whereas a dual 2.5" system will flow as much or more and can be significantly easier to route while maintaining ground clearance. Same goes for mufflers. It's a lot easier to package 2 smaller mufflers than one large one in many cases. And for a V configuration car, especially a V8, it makes more sense as you have two flow paths anyways.

    1. But when it isn't necessary from a functional perspective, I'm more torn. I often find dual exhuasts more aesthetically pleasing than singles, even on people pushers like Camrys or Fusions, and they often sound better. But my engineer brain just can't quit mulling the fact that it really is just unnecessary weight and cost. It's why my LS2 swapped RX7 has a single exhaust. So this is really one that comes down to a case by case basis.

      1. Isn't it easier to muffle lower frequency vibrations with 2 smaller diameters rather than one large one.I thought that dual exhasts came about because of the need to keep exhaust flow up while effectively quietening the more penetrative,( & effectively louder), lower frequencies i.e. the annoying exhaust boom.

  8. Since the exhaust on my car just broke right after the cat not even an hour ago… I can say its just nice to have an exhaust. Its funny cause the D.O.T are out in force today.

      1. Yeah, not on the '04s. They changed it up quite a bit for the 05/06, going up to 2.5" from 2.25" pipe, and going to a single center resonator from the dual resonator setup on the '04s. Makes it really easy to delete the resonator and add an x-pipe piece…
        <img src="http://i.imgur.com/2lK04YZ.jpg&quot; width="550">

      2. Sure there's a crossover. It's right there by the rear wheel, one pipe crossing over the other. 😉

  9. I knew a guy who put dual exhaust with Flowmasters on his pastel green F-150 with the I-6. Sounded like a can of angry bees every time he shifted.

  10. True duals. Love em. My Comet had long tube headers and non-crossed-over true duals with Flowmaster 40s dumping at the rear axle. Sounded like pure sex. ACVWs also sound really good with true duals. Especially something like a dual-cannon. Then I of course love side pipes, be they on muscle, van or truck, or even certain Locosts. Pickups with dual stacks? Still love em. I'd rather something smallish like a 3-4" not the 6"+ miters I see but I still think they look/sound good even though its a split after the turbo, not a true dual.
    <img src="http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc368/buzzboy7/DSC00760.jpg&quot; width="600">

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 64 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here