I've got a 355 TPI in my All Wheel Drive S-10. I'm going to ditch the current exhaust (it was designed for the 2.8 that was in my truck).

I'll be getting Sanderson 1-1/2" headers. What size pipes should I use with this setup? I can't go any larger than 2-1/2" because of clearance reasons. Is 2-1/2" too large anyway??

And what mufflers do you recommend? I don't want a really loud exhaust, but I do want one that sounds good. Right now my exhaust sounds pretty quiet...I'd like it a little deeper than that.

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1982 S-10 Wildside
355 TPI, Accel High-Flow Intake, Ported Plenum, Arizona Speed & Marine Runners, TPIS AFPR, Edelbrock BBK 52MM Throttle Body, 1993 Typhoon Drivetrain

 

Since you are only running 1.5 inch primaries, you could go as big as you wanted on the exhaust and still maintain plenty of backpressure. Dual 2.5 will flow just slightly more than single 3. Since single 3 is about what all the aftermarket TPI systems are, I would go dual 2.5. As far as good sound but not too loud, I would go with Dynomax or something comparable.

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Black 89 IROC...355, Solid Crower Cam, TFS heads. 12.0 @ 120.3mph with a 1.9 60ft...all motor

 

I'd say if you're going with the typical Sanderson "shorty" conversion headers go to 1 5/8" primaries. The shorty's will kill your low-end, and 1 1/2" primaries will restrict your top-end. The 1 5/8" primaries will relieve some backpressure(remember back pressure is not something you want or need in an exhaust system). Some folks still believe the old wive's tale about needing backpressure to build torque(quite the opposite is true).

2 1/4" duals will do ya fine if you limit the amount of bends and don't plan on taking it past 5000 rpm on a regular basis. If the system needs more than 180°'s of total bends or ya plan on winding it on the high side, you might want to move up to 2 1/2's.

Don't forget to add a crossover between the pipes(and ahead of the cats) to balance the flow. H-pipes are cheaper, but X-pipes are more efective.

BTW, Hooker and Hedman also make conversion headers for the V-8 into S10(Hooker also sells engine mounts for the swap). Try to find the headers with the longest primaries and collectors(Hookers, last time I checked) as this will help to broaden your torque curve.

I had the Hooker 1 1/2" headers put onto my S15 Jimmy(and used their mounts) when I stuffed an LB9 into it's engine room. The shop that did the work were impressed by the ease of the install. At that time, I let the shop convince me to go with a single 3" and Flowmaster setup. I was very pleased with the results, but I have to think with duals and an x-pipe the setup might have been more effective(did a lot of research after the fact). Ah well, live and learn.

Good Luck!

[This message has been edited by 88IROCs (edited June 14, 2001).]