The car wouldnt lose power.....it may shift it around in the curve which is perfectly fine for a car that lives at the strip, and even on the street at 700-800HP. You cant "put" down that type of power effectively on the street anyways. The KB test showed some loss/gain under the curve in different areas.
I believe at some point an 1-5/8th is a restriction. I figured if it was a huge issue I would of seen it in my combo. My car trapped 139mph @ 3700lbs which indicates its power and held the 6spd, IRS record for over 1 year, and still is the quickest stock head/stock cam all blower 6spd/IRS car in the land.
Although, its speculation at best when throwing around 1500-2000 bux of your hard earned cash. I'm a budget minded modder and enthusiast. I exhaust every possible avenue before throwing down more coin on sketchy parts. I do value tests like KB did, hince one of the reasons I run stock rails on my car cause KB has tested them up to 1k HP in test subjects
I am in the process of a new build after loosing an oil pump and basically the whole motor. 9:1 Teksid, new heads, with Comp Cams...so a comparison in my sake would be null and void. I have thought about installing my currrent exhaust which is 1-5/8th MAC's, 2.5" Lethal X, and 2.5" Bullets back into the car. I have realistic goals and expectations for the car due to higher compression, and more aggressive cams. If it approached 800whp uncorrected I would say the exhaust is not a huge limiting factor. More importantly, I think alot of it depends on the collector also.....which in the MAC case it is shit :nonono::nonono: I have measured it at 2.25" ID....not good when your running a 2.5" X pipe. Although most ball connectors/collectors are like this....
I will leave with this and more discussion. There is a guy who owns a 03 Cobra who has an OEM longblock, and the car has been a best of 9.06@149 and weight 3450lbs with driver. This car runs ARH 1-3/4 h eaders with 3" Collector, 3" X and 3" Mufflers.....It has made 740whp thru an autotomatic, 9" and slicks on E85. So in all reality thru a T-56 AND STREET tire it would push the 800whp area in my book.
Trust me, you are not the only one who is dabbling in this theory, I have been back and forth for a while. I think Muffler choice is key also, chambered mufflers like MAC (eventhough they claim non chambered) and flowmasters kill HP.....alot of people overlook this. Fortunately most of your companies that the 03/04 world deal with maggy, bassani, dynomax are using straight thru style mufflers.
Thanks for some detailed information with real numbers finally!
