Many people often wonder why people would spend large amounts of money on an aftermarket exhaust system for their vehicle. Is it for the performance aspect? Is it for the sound and attention it creates? These questions have raised a debate for many years, and performance exhausts can be utilized for either reason. It is often wondered if these exhaust systems give better performance, and how they do this.

Many people purchase performance exhaust systems purely for the sound they provides. They like the low growl at idle and mean roar it gives off when accelerating. If you aren't interested in the sound, then you are into the performance aspect of aftermarket exhaust systems. The difference in power they provide depends on two main factors.

The first main factor that determines the benefit of a performance exhaust is engine size. Many small compact tuner cars with small engines have been equipped with aftermarket performance exhaust components. In this case, it produces much more sound, but you don't see much horsepower and torque improvement the majority of the time. This is because there really isn't excessive backpressure in the exhaust system, so not much improvement can be made. With a big engine, there is a much higher volume of exhaust gas produced, so more gains can be had. Also, since they start off with more horsepower to begin with, they are naturally going to have a more significant amount of horsepower in proportion to a smaller engine. Neither engine is going to have a very large increase, and, if you want to feel a big difference, you should look elsewhere for modifications