x pipe worth it on firebird

[blackpontiac]

hi guys this is my first post on your forums.

I'm planning on putting an exhaust on my 79 trans am that I put together using parts from 15-20 different cars. It has 2.73 gears(soon to be 3.23) a 4 speed and a 400 pontiac from 75 with 6x8 heads and a small cam. It needs a new exhaust since there are multiple holes in the one that is on the car. I don't want to spend more than 350 bucks for a system. I do have new headman headers on the car. I am wondering whether I should cheap out and buy the 175 dollar kit from summit, or whether I should buy one of the pypes systems that cost 325 from summit. How much extra power on average would the pypes system give me over the summit kit?

[sporter]

What are the differences between the two kits? My only experience with a Summit x-pipe kit was not good, the construction/welding was so poor I returned it. I hear good things about the Pype's kits.

The sound of my exhaust system changed dramatically when I changed my h-pipe to a Dr Gas x-pipe. Much smoother sound. I'd recommend the system that has the x-pipe in it. Also, a good exhaust shop could probably build you a decent 2.5" system within your budget. I know our local shops are kinda slow these days.

[blackpontiac]

the summit kit would be a just straight true duel system. I was just wondering how much extra power the summit x pipe would give me over the true duel system.

[funbnme]

I had a dual pipes on my car that weren't connected to each other. The car had a droning sound at low RPMs...just driving at 2500 rpms, you'd hear a reverberation in the car that sounded like I was inside a bass cabinet.

I couldn't fit an x-pipe, so I had a shop put a tube that looks like an H between the two exhaust pipes. Once I had that installed, the car sounded 100% better. No more droning sound.

[jst8a5.0]

Please for the sake of everything that has ears, don't run that dual setup from summit. If you enjoy that hammering noise that sounds like a old ford farm truck then by all means get it. But if you'd like to sound halfway decent, get the summit kit, get some dynomax or magnaflows and do turn downs. Deal with the extra noise for now. Later buy some flowmaster tail pipes. I am going this route because it is all mandrel bent stuff and even though the welds on the summit kits are not pretty, it works and it's under the car. The power is still there and there are no kinked up exhaust tubes.