I know the topic on the X pipe vs. H pipe has been brought up numerous times. My question though does not necessarily have to do with which one to pick but rather, why put an X or an H at all? Keep in mind I do have Kleemann headers and downpipes and am running completely catless and no resonator.

Has anyone done a TRUE DUAL as in, run two straight pipes individually, one to each muffler. No X and no H. I see on past threads that people place the X to cut down on rasp and loudness.... I WANT the AMG bark, not really worried about the loudness either. The rasp is also OK in my book.

Loss of power is what I hear is the issue and I assume its due to back pressure? I'm not sure what to believe guys! Help me out here.. I want loud, I want the barking exhaust but I dont really wanna lose out on torque..

Thanks in advance guys!

From my understanding the design behind a X or H pipe is to connect both sides to make sure the back pressure is even on both sides. My guess is uneven back pressure would probably effect your overall power gain so it would probably give you less power than what you started off with.

As my experience with true dual,each side to muffler straight in my CLK55,i advice you to go for it,you cant imagine the sound u will have,the sound will definetly change,go for it but since u have kleeman headers you should put resonator on each side to avoid the extremly loudness due to ur kleeman headers.
You could run without resonator if u had not the headers,but since u have the headers,u need resonators on each side...
Do it and you will enoy it,since i did my true dual exhaust , the ride has extremly changed to amazing different ride....

Which do you want more? Power or noise? Power favors the X/H-pipe whereas noise favors separate duals.

Not sure with cars as the crossover pipe is so far from the motor/headers, but on bikes it helps make more power as one side kind of pulls on the other and vice-versa. I believe it's called scavenging.

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles..._installation/

From a muscle-car site, but they DIY and know their stuff. X vs. H-pipe is discussed (X is better as exhaust flow follows the path of least resistance and a 90 degree turn is NOT it) and scavenging and why it's important.

L8 apex is right on the money...H and X pipes improve exhaust scavenging (more for the X than the H) with the apparent side effect of toning down raspiness in the case of the X, but you still have the Y pipe and single 3" to the split at the mufflers, right? If that's the case, I wonder if you would even notice a loss in torque by going true dual. I've read that Y pipes do have some scavenging effect, but I wonder if it's enough to be noticible with the factory rear setup.

I think you should try the true dual out; if you aren't happy with your torque curve, it'll be quick and cheap to add a H or an X

I'm thinking of adding 14" race mufflers with V-bands for track days in the next 2-3 months, more for weight savings than sound, but I'll post some vids when it's done. If you haven't pulled the trigger yet, maybe you'll like what you hear

One thing to add (as it's a pet peeve lol)...IMO, backpressure is the wrong area to focus on when it comes to exhaust tuning/design...loss of exhaust velocity is the key. Momentum = velocity x mass. The mass of the exhaust is relatively constant, so for maximum momentum (and the resulting scavenging effect), the exhaust needs to be sized for maximum velocity.

I'll weigh in on the H/X pipe vs true duals. There is a reason that the companies that make them sell hundreds of thousands of them a year... They make power. Will it quiet up the exhaust, a little but unless you're willing to give up power in the name of sounding cool, an H-Pipe will be your friend. Worst case, the drone from an H-Pipe proves to be too loud so you cut it out and replace it with an X-pipe but any way you look at it, you have to tie the two sides together or you better be dumping at the collector.

I knew I'd catch your attention with this thread haha Ive even thought about leaving it as it is... I really do love the rasp and the obnoxious screaming of AMG exhaust in between 2-3k RPM. I dont believe the X pipe's 5 horsepower is enough to make me jump on the wagon. And the more I hear people speak about it, the less I think of an H pipe

By the way Rudy, that carbon fiber lip that I had? Well it flew off when me and George were doing some runs on 90..... in Mexico.