Fun: anyone run open headers to exh. shop to finish exhaust? - Exhaust - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

jetucker00 · 11-29-2008, 03:29 PM

Been away from the car and on off this board for awhile. (I have the bug again)
Now that it has finally cooled off here, I've got the cat back installed, I need a Y-Pipe fabbed.
Car is running great, I have a shop that is less than 2 miles on back streets.
I am seriously considering driving it instead of renting a trailer or dealing with AAA. I am in Florida...
Any horror stories?

sailtexas186548 · 11-29-2008, 04:04 PM

ive done it, on the normal route, no back roads. i actually drove the 6 miles to school and bak every day for a week, until the parts came in from jegs so the shop could finish up my y-pipe. it was LOUD AS HELL having open headers, i couldnt go above 2500 rpm without killing my ears. i actually had a cop follow me, real close, for a couple miles, then he backed off, and drove away, ill tell you though, i drove SLOWWWW with him behind me

IROCThe5.7L · 11-29-2008, 04:19 PM

I drove around with open headers for days just for fun. Keep it light on the acceleration and your fine. Just cruzin around 40-45 was not loud at all. Give it more than 1/4 throttle and the gates of hell open-lol

online170 · 11-29-2008, 04:36 PM

I did it once on the way home from the drag strip at 10:00pm

It was out in the countryside, and not in FL, but the cops are usually anal about noise here. VERY VERY LOUD!

Theres a sweet spot you can hit usually around 2000ish rpm, where the car will seem to get quieter. I have shorties, so its a bit less than that. Something to do with a "standing wave". The exhaust exiting forms a sinwave for sound, and if you get the frequency (rpm) right on, you will produce a standing wave, that cancels itself out for the most part. So you notice the car actually got quieter.

Drive at that sweet spot and you'll be fine.

irocboy8292 · 11-29-2008, 09:39 PM

naw me and my friends have done it a couple times and nothing happened iam actually going to do it this up coming week when i go do my next exhaust

EvilCartman · 11-30-2008, 02:01 AM

Friend of mine has done it and I've done it, no problems.

kcb37 · 11-30-2008, 02:03 AM

Your biggest worry will be the cops,
I bought my 89 with open shorties.
Drove it for about a month. It was louder then my friends harley.
Thought it was kinda funny, we were yelling at each other in the car, and his mom or dad would call him, hold on I'll call you back I can't hear anything in the car.
Sucked going thru tunnels, or by retaining walls, sound bouced back, at higher rpm, it's loud.

myvmax1 · 12-01-2008, 01:42 AM

When I put the new engine in truck I added headers and had to drive like 30 minutes with them open. Pretty loud, like being at the track. Like online170 metioned above, you will find a point in the RPM range that the car appears to be quieter. The same applies with a full exhaust installed, has to do with primary length/diameter and engine characteristics.

I'll add though, I have heard of engines being damaged from extended run time without the back pressure. Not true for all, but I'd say its more likely on a stock engine.

Max,

jetucker00 · 12-01-2008, 11:47 AM

I am going to do it..screw it.
I hear some harleys' around here louder than I will be for the 10 minutes it may take to get there.
I haven't had any tickets so if I get popped, maybe I will get lucky with a warning.
Thanks for the replies....

dixiebandit69 · 12-01-2008, 08:55 PM

I drove to San Antonio and back (I live in the Rio Grande Valley, a 500+ mile round trip) with the exhaust pipe broken off right at the Y-connector, even drove it around for awhile (about a week) because I didn't have the cash to get it fixed. Not much louder than the big-block pickup I used to drive with dual 3" Hooker Aerochambers.

irocz28boy · 12-01-2008, 11:26 PM

What part of Orlando are you in? I'm about 25 minutes away from any point in Orlando and if I tried that, I would have a ticket in a heartbeat. Cops in all the towns around here suck.

Dans87GTA · 12-01-2008, 11:43 PM

Irocz28boy,

you live in winter springs where cops are dicks, im right down the road from you in oviedo well they are alittle better. now to answer your question this happen to me twice once about 6 years ago i put a new 355 in my truck and all i had was long tubes and i thought the same you did cause i didnt want to get a ticket well i had the truck on a tow bar ya well it came unhooked and ran into a bobwire fence lucky nobody got hurt and minor damage to truck anyways i got a ticket for the accident and when the cop asked me why dont ride drive it i said theres no exhaust and then he asked to to start it up and tells me its not loud i wouldnt pull you over sounds good and laughs. so about a year and half ago i put long tubes on the bird and say F this im driving it so i drove 25 miles to work at 6 in the morning lmao!! and during my break drove it another 10 miles threw downtown sanford and nothing so i say go for it if you do get pulled over just explain most cops are cool(expect winter springs) seminole county are really cool. good luck
BTW we all should meet up sometime and hang out take it easy

Daniel

noroxus · 12-01-2008, 11:47 PM

i just did this after replacing most of my engine, it was pushing 11.5:1 compression, my lord was that thing loud. make sure to open it up once as you wont be able to do that too often after its all said and done.

92whiteta · 12-02-2008, 11:30 PM

i drove my first firebird (84) about 2 miles down the main street in town to the exhaust shop with open headers and 2 crossed spark plug wires so it was LOUD and backfiring i had alot of fun. i passed 3 cops on the way and not one of them gave me any problems.

rs coastie · 12-07-2008, 05:02 AM

i tooled around the block and then opend it up on the main road for a sec. then brought it home. if your just going straight to the shop you should be good, of course if i did that where i live now in newport ri i'd prolly get tarred and feathered.

jetucker00 · 12-07-2008, 05:14 PM

I'm in Winter Garden, Fl for the guys from Florida asking.
The cops here are not making huge money and are likely more concerne about speeding.
I figure if I just keep it cool, try to find that "sweet spot" everyones' talking about I should be good.
I know for a fact, half the ride is down a cow road out of my neighboorhood, where I could drop the top and listen to the 1 3/4"s open in full fury!
Gonna be fun....hopefully Wednesday, if everything works out right this week.

89IROCZ28 · 12-07-2008, 06:32 PM

If you get stopped, just tell them you have a hole in your exhaust manifold the size of the Grand Canyon and you're on the way to the shop to get it fixed.

1bad91Z · 12-07-2008, 11:11 PM

After I finished installing the current motor (in sig.), back when it was new, I drove it 15 miles to the exhaust shop with no hood and open long-tube header. I spun it to 6,000 once at a red light and scared the crap out of the people next to me! Was pretty funny....

Here's how it sounds with a muffler.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfLWpAy0c1o

CraZ-28 · 12-08-2008, 11:04 AM

I did the exact same thing without any issues. I had to drive across town to get my exhaust put on so I ran open header for about 15 miles. I think that if you actually have the exhaust in your car and you can show that your really on your way to the shop they most likely wont mess with you. Also, as long as your not hot rodding it they should leave you alone. Good luck with your adventure!

Darkshot · 12-08-2008, 11:29 AM

I ran open Y-pipe for 2 weeks in the city while I was waiting for my exhaust parts. I had my cousin's muffler shop make me a fake "appointment card" so I could show any cops that pulled me over that I was just waiting for parts to come in and I had an appt to get it fixed. Never ended up having a problem. It was fun but by the time 2 weeks was over I was definitely ready to get a muffler on there.

89T-top · 12-18-2008, 10:50 PM

I drove my mustang with open headers to the exhaust shop after I put my new tranny in. it was like a 30min drive, just baby the gas and you'll be OK.

Samurai_Of_Dawn · 12-23-2008, 03:55 AM

Boy, this reminds me of when I first got the car. I bought my iroc back in oct of this year, and it had no muffler, so I was pretty much running it open. I honestly loved the sound of it. It did sound like the gates of hell, and it's quite funny when you go to a friends house at 10 at night, and he warns ya to be quiet because he lives in a gated community (so peaceful and quiet until the beast drives through). lmao, "damn man, I heard you from down the street, wth dude!?!?

*sigh* it's more tame now since everything is put back on along with the muffler.

89lt1 · 12-23-2008, 08:15 PM

i drove for a couple months on open headers it got old pretty quick but it was always funny to see people get mad.

loneroad · 12-23-2008, 08:38 PM

ill give a shout back for winter garden. lived there for awhile. Parents still live there.The wgpd is to busy writing speeding tickets in front of the new mall. let her rip.

5_Speed · 12-24-2008, 04:28 PM

I can't imagine open headers, my buddys 87 LT (headers to glass packs exiting out the side before the rear wheels) lost a glasspack going over a speed bump, and holy crap was that car loud! Haha

88350formula · 01-05-2009, 09:28 PM

lol my 64 corvair's muffler rusted and leaked so i took it off so im running open manifolds with a y pipe and have drove all over for the last 6 months and never got pulled over. What i can't believe is that the old people in town actually stop and wave when i drive it.

Kevman · 01-05-2009, 09:36 PM

Mine broke off after the cat, here in Ontario, it's not the cops, but the Ministry of Transportation. Similar to the Gestapo in WWII Germany...

yupitsdadsbird · Yesterday, 05:28 PM

now see when I was putting mine together my set of hedmans had the o2 RIGHT at the collecter and in the 2 mile run to the exhuast shop it started stalling