Help!! X vs. H (another one...)

[ras50gt]

Im still trying to decide if i should get an H or an X pipe. As of right now, Im leaning more towards getting the x pipe, but i have read so many posts that say an H will be louder and i also really like a nice muslce car sound. I'm also still not sure if i should use the dynomax bullets and do turn downs, or get the bullets connected to the tail pipes. Does anyone know how it would sound with a catted magnaflow h pipe and bullets? i think im for sure ditching the over used flows that are on right now... Please guys or ladies, post some sound clips or videos! So right now, im deciding between these options, what do you think?

1.) catted magnaflow X pipe, bullets, turn downs at rear axle
2.) catted mangnaflow X pipe, bullets, connect to stock tail pipes
3.) catted magnaflow X pipe, magnapack catback system
4.) catted magnaflow H pipe, bullets, turn downs/or tail pipes
5.) catted magnaflow H pipe, magnapack catback

Like i said before, im looking for something loud. I have heard a few short clips of the magna x with bullet, not sure if it had tail pipes or was dumped but it was pretty loud. Anyone have any of these setups? Or advice? and if you are able to post some sounds, that would be nice!

 

[Lyncher]

wow that was wayyy to long for me to read right now lol...

It just comes down to what you like...no one will know better than you

generally an H is a deeper more muscle car sound
and an X is more of a nascar sound...

good luck deciding

 

[304billet]

X-pipe w/ Magnaflow catback and cats.

 

[ras50gt]

I know its a lot to read, and i appreciate everyones help on this....

wow that was wayyy to long for me to read right now lol...

It just comes down to what you like...no one will know better than you

generally an H is a deeper more muscle car sound
and an X is more of a nascar sound...

good luck deciding

 

[luckythirteen13]

if youve read countless posts and cant decide, how is a few more posts going to make a difference?
H-pipe will make a deeper sound
x-pipe will get you a couple hp up top

 

[GNN60GT500]

H pipe will be deeper

X pipe will make more torque and hp both bottom, mid range, and top end power...

How do I know?

Well I work for Magnaflow and have seen first hand the results of our X pipe vs our H pipe...

If an X pipe is only making more power in the top end...it is built WRONG.

Unfortunately there are alot of these incorrectly built X pipes out there....gives us who actually do the research a bad wrap....

 

[huRACEmentPSR]

go pick up the new issue of mm&ff...it has an awesome write up on h's and x's, how to get your desired sound, so forth and so on. and its no bulls#it either...the guy who wrote it is the master exhaust tech for ford and knows his stuff. he stated x's actually give a little more low end, despite rumors. h's are typically louder and amplify the loping of a cam, and a more throaty sound. i learned a whole lot from that article. he also said to make your h have more "bark" make the "h" its self(crossover pipe) smaller...it actually makes it louder. it basicalll explains how to "tune" you exhaust, and is definitely a good read to get your desired sound.

 

[fiveohGT]

 

[RacEoHolic330]

cliff notes?

 

[WhiteHeat306]

I would go with an xpipe. They are still plenty loud, even at idle (esp with a choppy cam), and you still get that signature Mustang sound especially with the Flowmaster mufflers. But after about 3000 RPM the xpipe absolutely screams and your exhaust sounds like a racecar. Here is a clip of mine at idle and revving a couple times. But I get complimented ALL the time when I'm out on the road. I really like the raspy sound that the xpipe gives right at around 2500 rpm. It makes the car sound a lot more pissed off than an hpipe. I'll just post the standstill clip on here. If you have aol IM me and I'll send ya a driveby clip. My name is Biggie210 on there.

http://www.joesboostedstang.com/files/dynoday 014.MOV

 

[PhillyB87]

whiteheat.. your car sounds bad as hell ... what kind of cam you have in it??

 

[50bomber]

uhhh, I have had both Magnaflow X and H catted pipes....Guess what X is for sale, the H stays on the car.....The H DID give me more low end, noticeable actually by the ol' butt dyno, and they were about the same up top, with a slightest edge going to the X.....Anyhow, the sound is waaaaaay better with the H pipe, especially from like idle-3000 rpm, more like a musclecar vs. the X is much smoother, kind of like a German V8 like a BMW. Hope this helps.

 

[sunil6784]

50bomber, how much for the magnaflow x?

 

[Michael Yount]

The dyno tests I saw (magazine) of various X pipes and one H pipe showed virtually no difference in power/torque levels at all - across the entire range of rpm. All the X pipes were within a HP or 2 of each other (this on a 340rwhp engine), and the best X pipe made 3 more HP than an H pipe. The biggest difference noted was that the X pipes were noticeably quieter than the H pipe running through the same mufflers.

So - ras - I don't think it's gonna make a big difference what choice you make. Also, there are MANY variables that control what one sounds like besides muffler and crossover choice. So don't think that your buddies 40's are necessarily gonna sound the same on your car. Someone else said it -- YOU have to decide what you want. And even then, the only way you're gonna know what it's gonna sound like is to put them on. And be prepared that you might have to make a change.

I've gone through Flowmaster, Bassani, SpinTech and Magnaflow mufflers on mine (and various combinations of those) before I finally found what I wanted. And it turned out to be the Boss 429 OEM replica muffler (single transverse muffler dual inlet/dual outlet) offered by Mustangs Unlimited. Go figure.

 

[GNN60GT500]

uhhh, I have had both Magnaflow X and H catted pipes....Guess what X is for sale, the H stays on the car.....The H DID give me more low end, noticeable actually by the ol' butt dyno,.

There is the problem...the butt dyno....

Here is what you are feeling-

Because the X pipe makes so much more power on the top end, the power band is essentially moved, as the higher the RPM, the better the X pipe works...

So it makes it feel as though the car is not as strong on the bottom end when in reality its just because there is so much more on the top end that the power curve actually moves to the right a little-

Its like riding in a car with a peaky power curve and a flat power curve..the car with the flat power curve never "feels" as fast as the one with the peaky power curve-


However if you look at actual dyno numbers....

RPM for RPM a properly designed X pipe will make more power then an H pipe- hp and tq

THis coming from a company that makes H and Xs-

On a STOCK 99-04 Mustang GT we did a test- keeping the factory converters....just simply replacing the H pipe with an X pipe - keeping the the piping size the same- same mufflers- exc..

The X pipe made on average 4-5 more rwhp and 4-5 rwtq then the H pipe through the entire powerband-

Sound of course is all opinion, and the final decision is always up to you, as if you just hate the sound of the X pipe, then the 4-5hp might not be worth it to you-

nothing wrong with that- how boring it would be if we all built our cars the same-

Brent
Magnaflow Performance

 

[fiveohGT]

I've gone through Flowmaster, Bassani, SpinTech and Magnaflow mufflers on mine (and various combinations of those) before I finally found what I wanted. And it turned out to be the Boss 429 OEM replica muffler (single transverse muffler dual inlet/dual outlet) offered by Mustangs Unlimited. Go figure.

Got any sound clips for those mufflers?:SNSign:

 

[50bomber]

There is the problem...the butt dyno....
However if you look at actual dyno numbers....

RPM for RPM a properly designed X pipe will make more power then an H pipe- hp and tq

Yeah, I know, it may be due for a calibration . However, I like the powerband of the Hpipe better. Also, to give you guys props....Excellent quality, and great cats, the car makes squaky clean emissions through NJ inspection and when you fire it up in the garage, you just smell a little HC, not like before when it made my eyes tear w/ stock cats .

PS. How come you Hpipe crossover is the same diameter as the pipe itself, I thought it was supposed to be like 1-2 sizes smaller ? esplain pleeze.

 

[GNN60GT500]

Yeah, I know, it may be due for a calibration . However, I like the powerband of the Hpipe better. Also, to give you guys props....Excellent quality, and great cats, the car makes squaky clean emissions through NJ inspection and when you fire it up in the garage, you just smell a little HC, not like before when it made my eyes tear w/ stock cats .

PS. How come you Hpipe crossover is the same diameter as the pipe itself, I thought it was supposed to be like 1-2 sizes smaller ? esplain pleeze.

Thanks man-

as far as to why the cross over on the H is the same size- I dont have an honest answer for you-

SEMA is next week, so everyone is running around here pretty crazy right now- but if I can get you an answer I will- otherwise I might not have anything until after next week-

(not to mention we have a bunch of guys over at Overhaulin' right now working on a car that is due to be finished a week from today-

If I forget and you are really curious- just PM me- and I will remember-
Sometimes with everything that goes on going up to/ during SEMA everything is so crazy I dont get back to people as quickly as I should-


Thanks again-
Brent

 

[WhiteHeat306]

whiteheat.. your car sounds bad as hell ... what kind of cam you have in it??

Thanks man. I have the Comp Cams XE274 in it.

 

[Michael Yount]

The crossover - be it X or H pipe - is there to help stop or dampen (provides a reflection point) the pressure waves generated by each cylinder/bank. The bigger it can be the better -- and the closer to the collector it can be the better.

FiveOHgt - sound clips are worthless. Sound quality, recording quality, speaker quality all conspire to make the clip usually sound nothing at all like it does in real life. And then you have the issue of what the microphone 'hears' vs. what our ears hear - almost always 2 entirely different things. Not to mention what it sounds like outside, revved up and not under load is usually ENTIRELY different than what it sounds like inside the car with a load on it. Furthermore, recordings will rarely pick up and recreate the buzzing/booming that certain resonances often create. Add to that every combo is a bit unique -- things like intake air inlet piping, different combos (heads, static CR, cam choice, headers, exhaust configuration) can make one sound completely different even through the same mufflers. Lastly -- my experimentation (up until the current system) was with a 3" single exhaust a la F-body style - so that REALLY makes it different than a Stang's normal exhaust. Take it all together = sound clips are useless.