2.5 or 3 ? exhaust???

[90' TSi Kid]

hey i visited a sound and performance store last night to see what kind of deals i could get on a new system put in and we kinda drifted into a conversation about the performance of the car....and i told him what i planned on doing and when i said i was gonna go with the 3 inch exhaust instead of 2.5 he told me it would be a waste of money and the 2.5 would be a betetr deal and give me more power. He was going on about somehting that since the 2.5 is sammler the back pressure isd higher and the turbo spools and give more boost. Is this true or what? thanks

 

[90tsi]

It all really depends on your goals, if you plan on running 11's, 10's go with 3"
I bought a 2.5" a while back and am now going with a 3" system. I wish I would have done that the first time.
Oh and that backpressure stuff he told you is bullshit. BACKPRESSURE IS BAD FOR ANY TURBO CAR!

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

Regardless of your goals a 3inch is alwasy best for spool up. I made the mistake of buying 2.5 inch first and now am re-spending my money to got 3 inch.

Later,

 

[NosLaser]

3 inch is always going to be better. But hey, it's trendy to say I'm wrong, so you'll prolly have a flood of people saying 2.5 inch exhaust is better. Get ready to be all twisted up!!

Regards,

 

[GRNDSM]

That all depends on your goals. A good 2.5” system will take you into high 11’s without slowing you down. So if your are shooting for 12’s, stick with the 2.5” system. They are cheaper, lighter, quieter and have more clearance.

You can get BR 2.5 press bend system for $285, if you want stainless mandrel bend, it will be $375.

However, if you have aspirations to run low 11’s or even 10’s someday, then 3” system is the only way to do!

BTW, I see that you are from Lowell, have you looked into New England Club DSM?

 

[NosLaser]

A 3 inch exhaust will also prolong the life of your exhaust valves and the turbine wheel of your turbo because EGT's will be less with 3 inch than with 2 1/2 inch. There are plenty of advantages to going with 3 inch exhaust.

Regards,

 

[Tevenor]

Originally posted by NosLaser
3 inch is always going to be better. But hey, it's trendy to say I'm wrong, so you'll prolly have a flood of people saying 2.5 inch exhaust is better. Get ready to be all twisted up!!

Regards,

The bigger the better. Finally I can agree with you.

 

[GRNDSM]

Consider this: John S. ran 11.3 on HKS 2.38” cat back and BR2.5” press bend DP. He swapped that system in favor of BR 3” system and went 11.2.

Clearly, 3” will flow more, but you will not notice any difference between 2.5” and 3” systems on a 12 sec car. I have seen it first hand...

I like to give people options and let them make an informed decision if bigger is really better in THEIR case.

 

[NosLaser]

...Consider this: John S. ran 11.3 on HKS 2.38” cat back and BR2.5” press bend DP. He swapped that system in favor of BR 3” system and went 11.2. ...

He could probably have put a stock exhaust on the car and run 11.5. What's the point? He asked which is better. 3 inch is better. Are you really going to argue that point? A Honda Civic is a good car. A Mercedes-Benz CL55 is better. What are we going to argue next; whether or not the sky is blue?

 

[jdmawd]

Are you really going to argue that point? A Honda Civic is a good car. A Mercedes-Benz CL55 is better. What are we going to argue next; whether or not the sky is blue?

:laugh: sorry i could not help that one, noslaser is very funny.

 

[NDgsx]

http://www.usionline.net/122.htm

Check out Andy's turbo back. I haven't seen his TEL exhaust yet, but I've seen one on a GVR4 and it was very nice.

I always recomend 3", because plans change over the years, the less parts you buy twice the better. Do be aware though that you will have to do something about your o2 housing to avoid boost creep. Porting the turbine housing and exhaust manifold collector wouldn't hurt either.

 

[GRNDSM]

> He asked which is better. 3 inch is better.

Better for what? Did you bother to ask him what he is looking for? Different things are better for different people.

Now, the guy who told him that 2.5” will make more power was just plane wrong. He probably spends all his day selling parts for Civics. Which is good reason to stick with proven DSM tuners.

But that does not mean 2.5” system is not right for this guy. I would have asked him why he wanted a 3” system in the first place. Too many people get blinded by “bigger is better” mentality and loose track of what they really want…

>Are you really going to argue that point?

Yes…

>A Honda Civic is a good car. A Mercedes-Benz CL55 is better.

Again, better for what? Is it better if you enter it in fuel consumption competition? Would a CL55 be a better car for a poor college student commuting 20 miles each way to school?

Can you open your mind for just one post?

 

[90' TSi Kid]

im not really going to use trhis car on the track until everything is done on it im just looking to see what is best in the long run, i dont wanna spend money on something that im gonna have to replace when the performance comes into play. But thanks anyways guys im gonna go with the 3 (Majority Rules). i will have before and after pics of my car up here soon too FYI just got a new paint job!. And GRNDSM no i havent looked into it whats their website? thanks

 

[GRNDSM]

>GRNDSM no i havent looked into it whats their website?

Go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewEngDSM/

And make sure to fill out the public profile info before you join.

 

[NosLaser]

...Better for what? Did you bother to ask him what he is looking for? Different things are better for different people. ...

Okay, you're right. 2.5 inch exhaust i cheaper, and quieter, and MUCH better for preventing unwanted horsepower.



3 inch exhaust is better for EVERY aspect of performance. PERIOD. INCLUDING gas mileage if you decide to argue fuel consumption again.

*EDIT* Bottom line, he is talking horsepower. Not gas mileage. Not driving back and forth 20 miles to college. Not a Conway Twitty look alike contest. Horsepower. Instead of arguing with me, you could have answered his question with "yes, a 3 inch exhaust is better"; Because it is. Other than being quieter, name one advantage to 2.5 inch exhaust. Or, were you just arguing with me for the sake of arguing?

 

[GRNDSM]

>Or, were you just arguing with me for the sake of arguing?

No, because I sell performance exhausts and 2.5" exhaust systems outsell 3" exhaust systems 3 to 1. If they were so worthless, why are they even made?

Anyone who sells a more expensive 3" system (over 2.5") to someone running high 12's/13's is looking out for their own bottom line...

 

[Ludachris]

NosLaser, you're wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!!!!!! just kidding.

Tsi Kid, the reason I went with a 2.5" over a 3" was simply cost and the fact that I wasn't shooting for anything better than high 11's or low 12's. If your goals are beyond mine, and/or cost isn't an issue, go 3".

EDIT** Let me correct myself here - I have a 2.5" Downpipe and Cat - but a 3" exhaust! Oops....

 

[NosLaser]

...Anyone who sells a more expensive 3" system (over 2.5") to someone running high 12's/13's is looking out for their own bottom line.....

Anyone who sells a 3 inch exhaust over a 2.5" exhaust is making sure their customer is buying the RIGHT thing. That's like selling an AFC to someone with a Red Turbo instead of recommending a PMS or standalone. "You'll get by with the AFC, and I'll make you spend less money because I'm Mr. Nice Guy." If I owned a shop, I'd make sure my customers bought the RIGHT parts. I'd explain to them the costs involved, and if they want to take that plunge, they will have a VERY fast car. If not, they should consult another shop that will sleep well at night knowing they let their customer settle for less than ideal. I'd be one of those expensive shops that has customer cars that HAUL ass. They would be expensive jobs because it would be done the right way, not the "well, you COULD get by.." way. And I certainley wouldn't be working on DSMs because only about 3% of DSM'ers are that serious about going fast. The other 97% settle for 2.5" exhaust and are very up to date on 'bling.'

Regards,

 

[GoFastTSI]

If I owned a shop, I'd make sure my customers bought the RIGHT parts. I'd explain to them the costs involved, and if they want to take that plunge, they will have a VERY fast car.

No, you would exercise your will over them of what you would buy because you think your word is gospel in the DSM tuning community because you supposedly had a 500hp/500tq fwd. I'm not going to argue with you any further, but I've personally seen people run the same/nearly equal times on a 2.5" versus a 3". If the original poster was on a budget and wanted the best bang for the buck, a 2.5" is more than adequate, and leaves money in the wallet for other upgrades. Hell, people have gone deep into the 12's on Buschur's 2.5" PRESSBENT turbo back. Of course, if you owned a shop, you'd also have everyone buying NOS because it seems that's the only way you run a "fast" car.

Joe

 

[NosLaser]

Okay, so if I owned a shop, wouldn't that be all about offering my knowledge, or my opinion, or 'excersizing my will' as you put it? Of course I would! I'm gonna go out on a limb here, but I'm assuming you've had no experience with a REAL shop have you? A shop that builds 1000+ HP cars. There is NO SUCH THING as bang for the buck on a 1000HP car. Do you see where I am going with this yet? I would be a shop like Lingenfelter. You don't see John Lingenfelter doing oil changes do you? You see him building 150mph Twin Turbo Corvettes! Do you honestly think the kind of person that buys that car is looking for bang for the buck? You need to look beyond the DSM crowd my friend. There are people out there that want FAST cars done RIGHT, cost no object. People drop their cars off at Lingenfelter, and pick them up MONTHS later and have bills in the area of 30-60K+++ dollars. You need to look beyond the cheapskate "I don't want things right, I want them cheap" DSM community. There are other things out there. And YES, just so you can finish your thought about me being a know-it-all; I wouldn't open a shop unless I thought I knew what I was talking about. About the ridiculous nitrous comment, if the customer wanted nitrous, I would definately set their car up to run nitrous. I ran nitrous on my car because I wanted to. I can make horsepower without it there skippy, but I chose to exploit my combination and push the envelope. So I did. You DSM'ers seem to have a problem with anyone who thinks outside of the box. Does the fact that I went beyond the norm scare you or something? I really don't get it... I would welcome people like that because those are the type of people who create advancement. But, since you are so happy with complacence..
I apologize that I didn't have a 16g, HRC sidemount, AFC and 550's on my car. I'm sorry for going beyond the norm. I'm sorry for using nitrous and making horsepower. I guess that makes me a bad person.

 

[Tevenor]

Sorry. Don't mean to post but damn this is starting to sound like a lot of other posts and its getting really tiresome.

 

[NosLaser]

...Sorry. Don't mean to post but damn this is starting to sound like a lot of other posts and its getting really tiresome....

Amen. If you have opinions about me, or problems with me, then send me an email, and we'll take it up one on one. If you only have an opinion about me when there are people to back you up on the forum, or when it is popular to do so, then flame on(!) I guess.

 

[Tevenor]

Originally posted by NosLaser
Amen. If you have opinions about me, or problems with me, then send me an email, and we'll take it up one on one. If you only have an opinion about me when there are people to back you up on the forum, or when it is popular to do so, then flame on(!) I guess.

This type of 'everyone hates me' attitude is what I was referring to. Why can't someone have a differing opinion from yours without 'having a problem' with you?

On second thought. Don't answer. It will just propogate this thread going off topic.

On topic: What is the best for the turbo and best for the customer are 2 different things and they don't always agree.

 

[NosLaser]

Tev, let's just say I know where I stand with people. Go back and read some of the responses. It goes a LOT further than having a different opinion than me; especially when it's the SAME people over and over again. I have no problem with differing opinions, but I'd rather argue them constructively...but I do recognize I'm less than a sweetheart in my responses which I can't help.

Regards,

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

I just saying in my instance I was told get 3inch. I didn't. Now I'm spending money all over again to go 3inch. At first I wanted "Bang for the Buck" but now that I have a bigger turbo I want to extract the most power and quickest spool time. I should have listened to the person who told me to go 3inch.

Later,