stock GT H-pipe on a V6?

[vikingsouthpaw]

Hey, my friend has a 2000 GT which he put a bassani X-pipe on, and he still has the stock H-pipe, he offered it to me for 50 bucks. I have a 2002 V6 and was wondering if it would hook up to my stock exhaust headers. I have been wanting to upgrade my exhaust for a while now, and I would obviously have to get a cat back system along with this h-pipe, but before I do that I just wanted to know if this H-pipe would work, otherwise I am going to have to get a new H-pipe along with the cat back. Thanks for any input you have.

 

[kstang69]

if the cat back you bought is for a v6, the gt h-pipe will not connect to the catback without modification due to the y-pipe. and the h might not fit to the headers(prob not) but not 100% positive. the gt h-pipe is no better than yours, you just have a y-pipe, so cut that off and modify the catback to fit or if the catback is for a v8 there is a true dual converter kit for v6 mustangs that you can get. i think steeda makes one so maybe check it out.

 

[Skymarshal]

You do not need an H-pipe.

A V8 uses an H-pipe for exhaust scavenging between banks of cylinders, which makes power by improving the cylinder's ability to get rid of the exhaust and fill with air/fuel mixture. The V6 has an even firing order, which means there is no need for an H-pipe. You won't harm anything by adding one, but I wouldn't go to the trouble.

I'd be careful adding too much exhaust to your six. The 3.8 needs some back pressure to make torque, so whatever exhaust mods you add, keep the Y-pipe to maintain the backpressure you need.
You should never add true duals to a V6 unless you are running forced induction.

 

[Tru_Blue_104]

You should never add true duals to a V6 unless you are running forced induction.

Finally, someone actually realizes this. I had an 89 4-banger for the longest time and I always read about people putting dual 3" exhaust on them and then they asked "why does my car have no balls?" Geeze! This is true though, our cars need backpressure to have torque. I think a kickin exhaust would be a custom system off the headers with two high flow cats, then branch off to dual mufflers of your choice. Im sure many people have tried this setup and it seems to make the most sense to me out of all the setups.

 

[MrStang123]

So does that mean if you have a smaller exhaust you will get more back pressure and that will give you more torque? But I suppose that would restrict some of the hp?

 

[98stangv8]

the gt H will not fit....different mounting widths off the headers..

when mine was a 6, I had the stock y pipe cut and made into a true dual...didn't lose any backpressure..I think it was 2 1/4" pipes all the way back...it sounded a lot better than stock...it will never sound like a GT with a 6, but it will sound better..

 

[Tru_Blue_104]

So does that mean if you have a smaller exhaust you will get more back pressure and that will give you more torque? But I suppose that would restrict some of the hp?

No, if you go too small, you will restrict hp. And you may get too much back pressure, which is also bad for your car. Im not sure on that one though. I suppose going true duals would be ok too, its something that I havent heard enough about. But Im still sold on the 2-1-2 setup.

 

[vikingsouthpaw]

Thanks for the input fellas. I was actually reading on a website just the other day about the backpressure and how you can't let it go too low or your car will get sluggish due to the loss of torque. I will probably just go with a ypipe catback, as some of you suggested, for the dual exhaust look, one with decent mufflers on it so it makes some noise. I have been looking around a lot and the one I like a lot is the MAC, the magnaflow, bassani, and borla ones are really nice but most of them are really expensive, MAC seems like the best deal. Thanks again for the advice, I'll let you all know what I go with, when I go with it.

 

[Soccer13en]

I have true duals with an H pipe. I have seen no loss in power, but very little gain. The sound though is quite different. Even idle sounds deeper and meaner. If its sound you are going for, true duals can satisfy that desire (more than anything else as of yet), but if you want power gains, spend the money on a different element of the car. Lucky for me, I bought mine this way and didn't have to invest my money in it.

 

[Skymarshal]

I put the MAC cat-back dual on my car, and just made the first long distance road trip. I got 30 MPG! OMG! I thought these 3.8s got like 26 MPG on the highway. I wonder if adding the cat-back had anything to do with that?