Do you want more power from your car? If so, a catback exhaust system is one of the best answers.
The typical OEM exhaust system is designed to extract wasted exhaust gases from your engine and expel them into the outside air. It consists of various tubes, mufflers, silencers, catalytic converters, hangers, bolts, brackets and tips. The purpose of the car manufacturer is to meet federal air quality standards, reduce loud noise all at the littlest cost. Seldom is their purpose to increase power or have a great sound come out of their system.
Aftermarket exhaust systems can substitute all or just part of the original system. The term “catback” refers to a system that replaces all of the hardware from the catalytic converter to the exhaust tip. Running without a catalytic converter is illegal, and since you must have one, it makes more sense to replace just those parts that cost you horsepower.
Why do you lose horsepower with a factory exhaust system? If you think about an engine you may remember that incoming gas and air are compressed and then burned in the cylinders. This waste exhaust gas must be removed to supply fresh gas and air to enter for the next cycle. The engine must push these wasted gases out of the cylinders. If the exit path is blocked in any way, then the engine must push harder to clear a path. This extra push takes horsepower. Since an engine can develope only so much H.P. and torque, using some of it for the exhaust means that less is available for moving the car.
What can then block the exhaust flow? Several things can do this. To start, any bends in the exit tubing will restrict and slow down the waste flow. 2d is the factory design of the muffler. While a muffler must deaden some of the exhaust sounds, car designers typically put the reduction of sound ahead of reducing the horsepower loss of a restrictive exhaust system .
An aftermarket catback system on the other hand is designed to assist and not restrict the flow of waste gases. It restores some of the originally lost horsepower. It may increase the exhaust sound, but many people both like the increase in lower frequency sound and restoration of the lost horsepower. It does this with larger piping and less restrictive mufflers and lighter weight parts. Typically the better products also use stainless steel parts so that they last much longer than the original equipment components.