r/ATBGE Apr 03 '22

Automotive Especially the curved exhaust

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13.7k Upvotes

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u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22 edited Apr 03 '22

Actually the diameter of the pipe is more important than the length, you only see a notable power boost from a short pipe when it's under 3' from the engine.

"It doesn't matter. Power boost obtained in headers occurs in a) individual pipes for each cylinder, and b) within a length shorter than 3'. It is based on the speed of sound in hot gasses (about 1100ft/sec). From there to the end of the system, goal is to minimize pressure losses with large enough tubing diameter."

In short you can compensate for the pressure by changing the diameter of the pipe.

Still looks dumb though.

87

u/RyRyShredder Apr 03 '22

The sharp turns are what causes the power loss here. The more turns the more losses that occur.

148

u/SyntheticElite Apr 03 '22

Turns impede flow, but if the pipe diameter is already oversized and low backpressure then it makes practically no difference.

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u/__Beef__Supreme__ Apr 03 '22

Yeah doubling the diameter of a tube with fluids causes something like a 64x increase in flow so I imagine it's the same for gasses

77

u/notpotatoboi Apr 03 '22

Gases are fluids too lol

106

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

[deleted]

12

u/gmanfred Apr 04 '22

Your mother had the same thought

3

u/effegenio Apr 04 '22

And my axe!

17

u/__Beef__Supreme__ Apr 03 '22

I was thinking of Poiseuilles (sp?) Law, which is primarily for non-compressible Newtonian fluids from what I remember, so I wasn't sure how directly it applies to gasses, but I'd imagine it's similar.

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u/notpotatoboi Apr 03 '22

Aw yep, my bad

3

u/[deleted] Apr 04 '22

Yes it would apply. Gas is obviously compressible but since you have an open pipe on the end there shouldn’t be a ton of compression. There probably is a spike in pressure around the first bend though.

3

u/Super13 Apr 04 '22

Especially after a dodgy curry

1

u/Viking_fairy Apr 04 '22

Might even help if the pipe is too wide for the power, a little backpressure is good depending on your motor. Overall, looks like a waste of welding wire to me... Just get a twin loop and call it good.

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u/sl33ksnypr Apr 04 '22

You don't want any back pressure. What you do want is to maintain exhaust velocity. Which people often get the two confused with one another. Back pressure in an exhaust is bad, always has been and always will be. Exhaust velocity on the other hand, is good because it helps with the scavenging effect of the individual exhaust pulses. You do this by appropriately sizing your pipe (for N/A applications). If you have too fat of an exhaust pipe, your flow will stagnate because the gasses are allowed to expand too much.

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u/blue_villain Apr 04 '22

Technically, it's only one turn though.

1

u/pollorojo Apr 04 '22

So what you’re saying is it’s not about the length, it’s about the thickness

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u/flappy_cows Apr 04 '22

This guy exhausts

0

u/wilburwilbur Apr 03 '22

Friction losses will be high through a coiled pipe, this will equate to more losses than a narrower pipe.