Exhaust H-Pipes vs. X-Pipes: What You Need to Know

Back in the sixties and seventies we would install our exhaust system without the H pipe initially. Spray some cheap white paint on the exhaust pipes starting 6" behind the collector For an additional 18". Take the vehicle out and drive it for about an hour and put it back on the lift. A short heat discolored area will show up on the pipes. That's where you install your balance tube. Works equally as well without headers. Just spray a longer area. This may sound crude, but it worked quite well. Sometimes you will find that but heat spots are not in the same location on both pipes. Some people would take the average distance and weld the pipe in there. Others would install the balance tube exactly where the heat marks were.

Placement is key here, old school trick is to draw a line running back along the pipes in crayon, run the engine, where the line stops burning is where you put the crossover. 👍

After watching the video and reading comments I am more confused than ever🤔

It all comes down to what RPM range and throttle opening you drive the most with. If you spend most of your driving time at or near WOT higher RPMS, go for the X-Pipe. If not, go for the H-Pipe. There's a reason the OEMs still use H-Pipes in their exhaust systems even on their higher output engines, and the majority of people will be well served by an H-Pipe over an X-Pipe.

H Pipe= Old-School Classic Rumble. X Pipe= NASCAR/Exotic Car Sound.

Ive spent around 15grand at summit and never once was I let down. Had one item that needed to be returned but that was due to manufacturer flaw. Thanks summit.

I went with an H-pipe on my '06 Merc CLS500 because I wanted the old school V8 sound. Glad I did.

There is one other consideration which was not mentioned. Yes, we all want more power, but is there something else we want? Yes! Sound quality....it's one of the reasons so many of us love Ferrari's. They just sound so damn good. I place "X" pipes on all my cars, not just for better performance, but for a noticeable improvement in the exhaust note, with the same mufflers. I learned about this when I was a spectator at Laguna Race Way....I noticed some V8s sounded better than others. After the practice session, I went to the pits and asked the crew why their car sounded so good, compared to the others. They told me they were using an X pipe, vs what the other guys were using: H or Y pipes.

Engine masters just did a dyno shoot-out comparing straight duals, H-pipe, and X-pipes. They did multiple pulls with each, exhaust size and muffler's were the same for each test. The variance between the three was shy of 4 ft/lbs of tq and 1.5 hp. Maybe NASCAR finds those numbers important, but for the rest of the planet running full exhaust you'll never notice any power difference. The real difference is sound, and packaging. The X-pipe sounds best, and is the hardest to fit under the car.

I put an 3", stainless steel x pipe kit on my 81 Camaro with 511hp. I started it up, and it sounded really bad. Sounded European. I immediately dropped the exhaust, cut a slit, and then slid a plate of stainless into the slit and welded it all up. The plate kept each pipe separate. WOW WHAT A DEFERANCE! true dual exhaust sound, almost stereo... Beautiful and gurgaly. Also, the set of headers used on the dyno weren't that great. I revved it up, and on the deceleration of the engine, it would kinda back fire here and there. Once I got it installed in my car, with equal length, long tube, 1.75" primarys, ceramic coated hooker headers, no more backfires at all. Just pure revs and decelerations. So glorious.

Great video on the very basic on how exhaust gasses pulsate , and how a properly turned exhaust system promotes vacuum scavenging . ... COOL

Let me save you 5 minutes of your life. Video summary: The H pipe may be better in your application or the X pipe may be better in your application or maybe even the Y pipe may be better in your application.

My experience removing my H pipes for X pipes is. I noticed that the H pipes sounds better and deeper, X pipes it sounds good but not very deep, the X pipes gives you arround 4 hp or little more than H pipes. I honestly miss my H pipes I regret removing it. I drive 2002 mustang Roush stage 2 with side exhaust. By the way every engine will sounds different. With new mustang will sound better than mine, 5.0 cayote sound good. mine is 4.6 2v. I will do a cayote swap when this engine goes bad. Future plan. I hope this will help guys. X and H

X pipes are more raspy, H pipes are deeper more rumbly in V8s at least

How about crack pipes?

It’s a great explanation of how exhaust systems work. So many automatically think that larger diameter pipe is better. However, I have seen a number of tests showing that there is little to no scavenging effect after the cats/test pipe area—so an h pipe or x pipe would play little role in that realm

While I needed to listen to this explanation twice, I finally understood the nuances that helped me make the right choice. Thanks for posting.

Im just going to use all 3, then I can't go wrong

Love his straight talking delivery on Concepts. I am a relative new entry & just bought a '65 Convertible with a '68 302, auto and am looking to get around 350+/- HP and relative torque. Much of the Media" I see around Mustang resot/mod,... are dunk on uber garage lingo that can be a barrier to entry for me. I am also a conceptual learner, rather than step by step. Kudo Carl Pritts!

Who else was dizzy watching that exhaust pipe flow? I need a drink.