An exhaust system is usually tubing used to guide reaction exhaust gases away from a controlled combustion inside an engine or stove. The entire system conveys burnt gases from the engine and includes one or more exhaust pipes . Depending on the overall system design, the exhaust gas may flow through one or more of:
- Cylinder head and exhaust manifold
- A turbocharger to increase engine power.
- A catalytic converter to reduce air pollution.
- A muffler (North America) / silencer (Europe), to reduce noise.
Design criteria
An exhaust pipe must be carefully designed to carry toxic and/or noxious gases away from the users of the machine. Indoor generators and furnaces can quickly fill an enclosed space with carbon monoxide or other poisonous exhaust gases if they are not properly vented to the outdoors. Also, the gases from most types of machine are very hot; the pipe must be heat-resistant, and it must not pass through or near anything which can burn or can be damaged by heat. A chimney serves as an exhaust pipe in a stationary structure. For the internal combustion engine it is important to have the Exhaust System "Tuned" (refer to tuned pipe) for optimal efficiency.
Motorcycles
In most motorcycles all or most of the exhaust system is visible and may be chrome plated as a display feature. Aftermarket exhausts may be made from steel, aluminium, titanium, carbon fiber or kevlar.
Motorcycle exhausts come in many varieties depending on the type of engine and its intended use. A twin cylinder may flow its exhaust into separate exhaust sections, such as seen in the Kawasaki EX250 (also known as the Ninja 250 in the US, or the GPX 250). Or, they may flow into a single exhaust section known as a two-into-one (2-1). Larger engines that come with 4 cylinders, such as Japanese supersport or superbikes (such the Kawasaki ZX series, Honda's CBR series, Yamaha's YZF series, also known as R6 and R1, and Suzuki's GSX-R series) often come with a twin exhaust system. A "full system" may be bought as an aftermarket accessory, also called a 4-2-1 or 4-1, depending on its layout. In the past, these bike would come standard with a single exhaust, as seen on the Kawasaki ZX-6R 2000 and 2001 models. However, EU noise and pollution regulations have generally stopped this practice, forcing companies to use other methods to increase performance of the motorcycle. This has often led to a decrease in fuel economy, because of increased weight of the exhaust system and manufacturers forcing more fuel into the engine to gain extra power.
Trucks
In many trucks / lorries all or most of the exhaust system is visible. Often in such trucks the silencer is surrounded by a perforated metal sheath to avoid people getting burnt touching the hot silencer. This sheath may be chrome plated as a display feature. Part of the pipe between the engine and the silencer is often flexible metal industrial ducting, as in the image in the section "Terminology". Sometimes a large diesel exhaust pipe is vertical, to blow the hot noxious gas well away from people; in such cases the end of the exhaust pipe often has a hinged metal flap to stop debris and birds and rainwater from falling inside. Sometimes this exhaust pipes have some flex connector attached with it. This helps in minimising the vibration from the engine to be transferred into the exhaust system.
Two-stroke engines
In a two-stroke engine, such as that used on dirt bikes, a bulge in the exhaust pipe known as an expansion chamber uses the pressure of the exhaust to create a pump that squeezes more air and fuel into the cylinder during the intake stroke. This provides greater power and fuel efficiency. See Kadenacy effect.
Ship's or large boat's onboard engine
With a ship's or large boat's onboard below-decks diesel engine:-
- Lagging the exhaust pipe stops it from overheating the engine room where people must work to service the engine.
- Feeding water into the exhaust pipe cools the exhaust gas and thus lessens the back-pressure at the engine's cylinders' exhaust ports and thus helps the cylinders to empty quicker.
Outboard motors
In outboard motors the exhaust system is usually a vertical passage through the engine structure and to reduce out-of-water noise blows out underwater, sometimes through the middle of the propeller.
Terminology
Manifold or header
In most production engines, the manifold is an assembly designed to collect the exhaust gas from two or more cylinders into one pipe. Manifolds are often made of cast iron in stock production cars, and may have material-saving design features such as to use the least metal, to occupy the least space necessary, or have the lowest production cost. These design restrictions often result in a design that is cost effective but that does not do the most efficient job of venting the gases from the engine. Inefficiencies generally occur due to the nature of the combustion engine and its cylinders. Since cylinders fire at different times, exhaust leaves them at different times, and pressure waves from gas emerging from one cylinder might not be completely vacated through the exhaust system when another comes. This creates a back pressure and restriction in the engine's exhaust system that can restrict the engine's true performance possibilities.
A header (sometimes called extractor in Australia) is a manifold specifically designed for performance. During design, engineers create a manifold without regard to weight or cost but instead for optimal flow of the exhaust gases. This design results in a header that is more efficient at scavenging the exhaust from the cylinders. Headers are generally circular steel tubing with bends and folds calculated to make the paths from each cylinder's exhaust port to the common outlet all equal length, and joined at narrow angles to encourage pressure waves to flow through the outlet, and not back towards other cylinders. In a set of tuned headers the pipe lengths are carefully calculated to enhance exhaust flow in a particular engine revolutions per minute range.
Headers are generally made by aftermarket automotive companies, but sometimes can be bought from the high-performance parts department at car dealerships. Generally, most car performance enthusiasts buy aftermarket headers made by companies solely focused on producing reliable, cost-effective well-designed headers specifically for their car. Headers can also be custom designed by a custom shop. Due to the advanced materials that some aftermarket headers are made of, this can be expensive. Luckily, an exhaust system can be custom built for any car, and generally is not specific to the car's motor or design except for needing to properly connect solidly to the engine. This is usually accomplished by correct sizing in the design stage, and selecting a proper gasket type and size for the engine.
Header-back
Header-back (or header back ) is to the part of the exhaust system from the outlet of the header to the final vent to open air — everything from the header back. Header-back systems are generally produced as aftermarket performance systems for cars without turbochargers.
Turbo-back
Turbo-back (or turbo back ) is to the part of the exhaust system from the outlet of a turbocharger to the final vent to open air. Turbo-back systems are generally produced as aftermarket performance systems for cars with turbochargers. Some turbo-back (and header-back) systems replace stock catalytic converters with others having less flow restriction.
With or without catalytic converter
Some systems (including in former time all systems) (sometimes nowadays called catless ) eliminate the catalytic converter. This is illegal in some places if the vehicle is driven on public roads.
Cat-back
Cat-back (also cat back and catback ) refers to the portion of the exhaust system from the outlet of the catalytic converter to the final vent to open air. This generally includes the pipe from the converter to the muffler, the muffler, and the final length of pipe to open air.
Cat-back exhaust systems are a very popular aftermarket performance enhancement. They generally use larger diameter pipe than the stock system. Good systems will have mandrel-bent turns that allow the exhaust gas to exit with as little back pressure as possible. The mufflers included in these kits are often glasspacks, again to reduce back pressure. If the system is engineered more for show than functionality, it may be tuned to enhance the lower sounds that are lacking from high-RPM low-displacement engines.
Tailpipe and tip
With trucks, sometimes the silencer is crossways under the front of the cab and its tailpipe blows sideways to the offside (right in UK, left in USA looking from the back of the car). The side of a passenger car on which the exhaust exits beneath the rear bumper usually indicates the market for which the vehicle was designed, i.e. Japanese (and some older British) vehicles have exha
HKS USA Turbo Exhaust
Specifically engineered for turbo applications that require greater flow capacity than naturally aspirated applications, Turbo Exhaust systems use a straight through design.
exhaust system AUDI TT 2.0 Turbo FSi (200 Hp) '07 –›, exhaust ...
20091201 Supersprint.com: automotive exhausts systems AUDI TT 2.0 Turbo FSi (200 Hp) '07 –›, Pipe Kit for turbo charger with metal Kat., Pipe Kit for turbo charger.(Replace Kat ...
SALE! TurboXS Full Turbo-Back Exhaust System (02-07 WRX/STI) - TurboXS ...
SALE! TurboXS Full Turbo-Back Exhaust System (02-07 WRX/STI) Want a full-on high-performance exhaust solution in one easy step? This system can handle as much horsepower as you can ...
Dynomax Performance 17340 - Dynomax Super Turbo Exhaust Systems ...
Dynomax Performance 17340 - Dynomax Super Turbo Exhaust Systems: These Dynomax Super Turbo cat-back exhaust systems are designed to optimize the power potential of your vehicle.
YouTube - JIC Cross Porsche 997 Turbo Exhaust System
www.vividracing.com shows off the JIC Cross exhaust system for the Porsche 997 Turbo.
Racing Beat Results Set
1987-91 TURBO REV II Complete High Performance Exhaust System* This is the ultimate exhaust for any Turbo II RX-7! Let your turbo breathe to it’s full potential with our “turbo ...
exhaust system BMW MINI Cooper S 1.6i Turbo "John Cooper Works" '08 ...
20091125 Supersprint.com: automotive exhausts systems BMW MINI Cooper S 1.6i Turbo "John Cooper Works" '08 –›, Pipe Kit for turbo charger(LHD + RHD)(Replace kat.), Front pipe ...
Super Turbo Exhaust Systems by Dynomax at StylinTrucks.com
Find Super Turbo Exhaust Systems by Dynomax for Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hummer, Jeep, Lincoln, Nissan and Toyota at StylinTrucks.com
TURBO MUFFLER EXHAUST SYSTEM on Yahoo! Video
Just attach our Turbo Whistler to your car muffler exhaust pipe and it will make it sound turbo! Your friends will wonder what you have under your hood. www.TurboWhistler.net
HKS Turbo Exhaust Systems
Guaranteed lowest prices on HKS Turbo Exhaust Systems plus free shipping! Shop online and read our real customer reviews or call 1-800-883-6437 for one of our experts.