Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

Jon H · 1K+ Club

X pipe vs H pipe vs?

Larry Lucast · Active Member

A lot of our Corvette customers had the bent "H". And you know how picky Corvette purists can be. I can't see why it would be a problem.

Derek69SS · Founding Member

Any balance pipe is better than none. An "X" will be a little quieter/smoother sounding and make a bit more power. I wouldn't expect a huge difference though.

Jon H · 1K+ Club

What I have read is the X pipe is a little higher pitched and make more power for cars that make higher RPMs and the H pipe is more old school for muscle cars and help make more power in the lower RPM range. I am sure there are as many opinions as there are cars.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Now that it feels like Fall...I started thinking about winter projects for the Malibu, and one thing it needs for sure is a new exhaust system since the white painted headers and glass packs are nasty, and the tailpipes are run under the gas tank and exit out near the rear bumper, which the Hankster says "Those look like SH&T!!!).

I just saw on Facebook that Pypes is now offering an H Pipe system and found this comparison video to their X Pipe system:

You can definitely hear the difference in the video.

I'm leaning towards their H Pipe system with either Race Pro (quieter despite the name) or their Street Pro (louder despite the name) mufflers. Seems like it has more of a muscle car tone while improving torque vs the X Pipe that increases HP and has more of a modern car sound.

The stainless construction and mandrel bent tubes are worth the money to me, and there are more expensive systems out there that I personally don't think sound or perform as good. Just my .

Enjoy

Lost in the 60s · President

The tail pipes under the tank are a classic mis-installation of a Summit system, made by Heartbeat in MN. The pipes WILL fit in that orientation, but are supposed to be on the opposite side and will follow along the outside of the frame rail. You could swap them and have it look "normal".

I have the Pypes X system on my Camaro and went with the Race Pro mufflers for the same reason you discovered. Many people, in reviews, claimed the race mufflers were quieter on the street than the Street Pros...

UNTIL one finds the carpet with the loud pedal and THEN, they will come to life and sound nasty... I really like the system.

more ambition than brains · 1K+ Club

Biskwik has the X pipe.
Son Scot's 78 Malibu, X pipe.

Blue Elky, White Elky, and White 82 Elky all have the X pipe systems.
Those were obtained in the last two months
All Systems are from PYPES.
Still being fitted and installed.

We have both the street pro and race pro mufflers.
Scot's 78 Malibu has a 355 with a gentle, warmed up cam.
Slightly lumpy idle.
About the only original parts on that motor are the Block and Crank.
I love the sound of that car, much better than Biskwik with a stock unleaded fuel 454 truck motor.

I will report back which mufflers the BU has.
Either way PYPES is a quality exhaust system.

Karl

-- Edited by more ambition than brains on Thursday 10th of September 2020 01:00:54 PM

more ambition than brains · 1K+ Club

The Small Block 355 78 Malibu has street pro mufflers.
Sounds really great!

Karl

Derek69SS · Founding Member

I have 3" Pypes X-pipe with 18" Race Pro mufflers and dumps in front of the axle.
It's a little louder than I'd like, but I can't get full tailpipes through my Watts Link to the back of the car. That, I'm sure would make it very comfortable inside. Even with dumps, you can carry a conversation in my car at 80mph, you just need to speak up a bit.

I really like the tone of the Race Pros.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

I called Pypes this morning and asked about the Race Pro vs. Street Pro and the guy I talked to basically said the Race Pro's are quieter for longer cruises and less annoying than the Street Pro's if a car is driven on the highway for any extended amount of time, which is pretty much me. Having said that, like Mitch he said the Race Pro's are fairly quiet at idle but when you hit the throttle they wake right up and you know you've got a V8 in the car. He said the Race Pro's have some insulation in them and the Street Pro's are a chambered muffler, which makes them louder/more dronier (if that's a word). So, Race Pro's with the 2.5" H pipe system it is.

Exhaust will likely be the first project on the new lift this winter. There's still some good driving weather for the next month, so trying to stay out of CAC by not tearing into the car yet. Plus with my shoulder healing for the next few months, I shouldn't be working on cars anyway.

Lost in the 60s · President

2.5" is a good size for the warmed over big block upgrade too. You'll just need to re-align the pipes at the collectors...

Lost in the 60s · President

Jon H wrote:
I am thinking about changing mufflers on my exhaust system. I have been reading a lot about the difference and advantages/disadvantages of an X vs H crossover pipe. When the guy who built my system 10+ years ago did mine he put in a bent H pipe. I am wondering if this is an acceptable design of an H pipe or if he just got it wrong. As much reading as I have done I have never seen an alternative to the standard H pipe.

So Jon, what did you end up doing with this ?

dashboard · 2K+ Club

SShink wrote:
Thanks everyone for the feedback.
I called Pypes this morning and asked about the Race Pro vs. Street Pro and the guy I talked to basically said the Race Pro's are quieter for longer cruises and less annoying than the Street Pro's if a car is driven on the highway for any extended amount of time, which is pretty much me. Having said that, like Mitch he said the Race Pro's are fairly quiet at idle but when you hit the throttle they wake right up and you know you've got a V8 in the car. He said the Race Pro's have some insulation in them and the Street Pro's are a chambered muffler, which makes them louder/more dronier (if that's a word). So, Race Pro's with the 2.5" H pipe system it is.
Exhaust will likely be the first project on the new lift this winter. There's still some good driving weather for the next month, so trying to stay out of CAC by not tearing into the car yet. Plus with my shoulder healing for the next few months, I shouldn't be working on cars anyway.

Stan, with Race Pro's or Street Pro's is there any conflict created when removing or installing the driveshaft. Yes "more dronier" must be word, we all understand it.

Jon H · 1K+ Club

Lost in the 60s wrote:
Jon H wrote:
I am thinking about changing mufflers on my exhaust system. I have been reading a lot about the difference and advantages/disadvantages of an X vs H crossover pipe. When the guy who built my system 10+ years ago did mine he put in a bent H pipe. I am wondering if this is an acceptable design of an H pipe or if he just got it wrong. As much reading as I have done I have never seen an alternative to the standard H pipe.

So Jon, what did you end up doing with this ?

Mitch, I am still pondering. I have the Magnaflow which as described by Kevin above has a bit of insulation (if it hasn't burnt out by now) and was thinking of trying the chambered in the Magnaflow.