Can Exhaust size hurt performance, check here!

[SilverRT4]

I found this on the Synapse Motorsports forum. Figured I could share some info.

Below is a porsche 1984 Porsche 911 carrera racecar. We played with a few things, and finally tested a full race exhaust vs. a more mild exhaust system. The customer was shocked when he saw the race exhaust lost alot of power through the whole rpm range. This was due to improper exhaust sizing, he assumed that this particular exhaust that made 15 whp for 3.6l porsche would do the same for his 3.2L. Well here is the graph, and you can see for yourself how a performance exhaust can be counterproductive.

Stock=Dotted Race=Sold


EXHAUST THEORY
As the piston approaches top dead center, the spark plug fires igniting a fireball just as the piston rocks over into the power stroke. The piston transfers the energy of the expanding gases to the crankshaft as the exhaust valve starts to open in the last part of the power stroke. The gas pressure is still high (70 to 90 p.s.i.) causing a rapid escape of the gases (blowdown). A pressure wave is generated as the valve continues to open. Gases can flow at an average speed of over 350 ft/sec, but the pressure wave travels at the speed of sound (and is dependent on gas temperature). Expanding exhaust gases rush into the port and down the primary header pipe. At the end of the pipe, the gases and waves converge at the collector. In the collector, the gases expand quickly as the waves propagate into all of the available orifices including the other primary tubes. The gases and some of the wave energy flow into the collector outlet and out the tail pipe.
Based on the above visualization, two basic phenomenon are at work in the exhaust system: gas particle movement and pressure wave activity. The absolute pressure differential between the cylinder and the atmosphere determines gas particle speed. As the gases travel down the pipe and expand, the speed decreases. The pressure waves, on the other hand, base their speed on the speed of sound. While the wave speed also decreases as they travel down the pipe due to gas cooling, the speed will increase again as the wave is reflected back up the pipe towards the cylinder. At all times, the speed of the wave action is much greater than the speed of the gas particles. Waves behave much differently than gas particles when a junction is encountered in the pipe. When two or more pipes come together, as in a collector for example, the waves travel into all of the available pipes - backwards as well as forwards. Waves are also reflected back up the original pipe, but with a negative pressure. The strength of the wave reflection is based on the area change compared to the area of the originating pipe.
This reflecting, negative pulse energy is the basis of wave action tuning. The basic idea is to time the negative wave pulse reflection to coincide with the period of overlap - this low pressure helps to pull in a fresh intake charge as the intake valve is opening and helps to remove the residual exhaust gases before the exhaust valve closes. Typically this phenomenon is controlled by the length of the primary header pipe. Due to the 'critical timing' aspect of this tuning technique, there may be parts of the power curve where more harm than good is done.
Gas speed is a double edged sword as well, too much gas speed indicates that that the system may be too restrictive hurting top end power, while too little gas speed tends to make the power curve excessively 'peaky' hurting low end torque. Larger diameter tubes allow the gases to expand; this cools the gases, slowing down both the gases and the waves.
Exhaust system design is a balancing act between all of these complex events and their timing. Even with the best compromise of exhaust pipe diameter and length, the collector outlet sizing can make or break the best design. The bottom line on any exhaust system design is to create the best, most useful power curve. All theory aside, the final judgement is how the engine likes the exhaust tuning on the dyno and on the track.
Various exhaust designs have evolved over the years from theory, but the majority are still being built from 'cut & try' experimenting. Only lately have computer programs like X-design or high end engine simulation programs been able to help in this process. Practical tools like adjustable length primary pipes and our B-TEC and DynoSYS adjustable collectors allow quicker design changes on the dyno or in the car. When considering a header design, the following points need to be considered:
· 1) Header primary pipe diameter (also whether constant size or stepped pipes).
· 2) Primary pipe overall length.
· 3) Collector package including the number of pipes per collector and the outlet sizing.
· 4) Megaphone/tailpipe package.
There are many ideas about header pipe sizing. Usually the primary pipe sizing is related to exhaust valve and port size. Header pipe length is dependent on wave tuning (or lack of it). Typically, longer pipes tune for lower r.p.m. power and the shorter pipes favor high r.p.m. power. The collector package is dependent on the number of cylinders, the engine configuration (V-8, inline 6, etc.), firing order and the basic design objectives (interference or independence). The collector outlet size is determined by primary pipe size and exhaust cam timing.

[mikecentola]

yeah I read that over there as well I think it applies more to N/A cars than to turbo ones...

[SilverRT4]

It's pretty interesting to read tho.

[mikecentola]

Originally Posted by SilverRT4

It's pretty interesting to read tho.

definitely

[bigjorge3g]

Yep your right, my car would run best w/ no exhaust... turbo cars love as much room as possible generally...

Jesse remember when we started it up w/ the open downpipes... = sex

Originally Posted by screaminfast

yeah I read that over there as well I think it applies more to N/A cars than to turbo ones...

[STiPete]

Silly N/A cars and thier pipe size issues :lolghey:

[skyphix]

I'll give you a ride in my oversized exhausted GS and you can feel how doggy it is compared to what it should be.

You can actually hear it... almost sounds like when you try to make noise by blowing through a paper towel roll instead of a trumpet or something.

[Moai]

it's pretty simple.

with N/A cars, you're adjusting the exhaust velocity at a given rpm, by messing with piping diameter.

if you go with smaller pipe diameter, you get great velocity at lower rpm's and you wheeze uptop as the piping proves insufficient for the flow generated by elevated revs.

if you go with MASSIVE pipe diameter, you get great potential for velocity at high rpm's and you suffer down low, because the exhaust cfm isnt sufficient to take advantage of pipe diameter and be ushered away from the engine. It just kind of puffs out and lingers in the piping, while pulses from behind ram into it and cause issues with flow laminarity.

of course there is one caveat to massive pipe diameter: sure you can build an exhaust capable of ushering large mounts of gas away from the engine quickly and smoothly, but at that rpm level, is your engine capable of producing that level of cfm or is the volumetric efficiency crappy and the motor running out of breath?

these are the questions of our times....

[mustangraven]

too little back preasure can deffinitly rob power thats not news but the dyno deffinitly drives the point home for naysayers good post!

[Pete]

Originally Posted by STiPete

Silly N/A cars and thier pipe size issues :lolghey:

LOL! Wow, I just laughed at something I said under my old screen name from back in the old Rspeed days.. I think I'm losing it