A lot of people often neglect what’s going on beneath their cars in favour of what’s going on beneath their hoods, and they don’t really realize that both of these parts are tightly connected and relevant to each other in the way they perform. It’s quite a shame, as there are many people who neglect this and are missing out on a lot of horsepower, torque and fuel economy. Upgrading your stock is cheaper than upgrading what’s under your hood, not just regarding performance, but also visual and noise upgrades.
This is especially useful for vehicles that have turbo or forced induction. When the throttle shuts in a turbo driven engine, there’s a build up of extremely high pressure as air is forced out of the turbo. When you pull it up, it’s the same effect as plugging a sign. The flow stops completely and water builds up and makes a mess in your kitchen. In order to prevent this from happening, a good solution is investing in a dump pipe exhaust and a larger exhaust system to allow your engine to breathe freely, allow more power and spin faster.
To make things more understandable, let’s put it this way: assume the engine is not burning any fuel, thus not using any oxygen. This results in the turbo being under constant pressure which can damage the pipes or the turbo engine itself, as it can potentially split the pipes apart as it attempts to rush backwards via the turbo. This causes a cluttering noise, also known as compressor surge. This surge can cause the turbine to spin in reverse direction which will cause a strain on the bearings.
Such an exhaust pipe is fit to the waste-gate, right after the muffler and its function is to alter the voice and help the exhaust when the turbo is running at full potential. Quality dump pipes are manufactured with a clever design, which reduces turbo lag and helps the turbo spin longer. Another more noticeable difference when using a dump pipe exhaust, is the sound your vehicle will produce.
You should highly consider consulting with a mechanic or your dealer before investing money in dump pipes, as they will most likely require you to modify your vehicle to some extent in order to fit properly. It’s never a good idea to do these things on your own, and it’s even less advisable to try to fit the pipes onto your stock exhaust.
