hey all... I have to replace my muffler soon on my 99 XJ and the question had been brought up to me about straight piping it. Never done it before since I have always lived in a state where it was illegal. Just wanted to see if anyone knew some pros and cons.

 

First off this isn't a build thread.

For your question I have a buddy who has his 4.0 straight pipes and it sounds pretty bad, a lot of drone, and like a ricer down the highway. It'll give you headaches.

 

Straight pipes are terrible sounding and offer no back pressure, so it's not good for the engine. I really like the Banks Monster catback exhaust system.

 

Straight piped Cherokees sound just like a tractor. There are plenty of exhausts out there that will better suit you.

 

Just put a halfway decent cat on, and reasonable muffler. straight pipes are for idiots who have Harleys & Hondas

 

1) Stepping on the gas is like stepping on a wet sponge.
2) The ridiculous noise just makes it more obvious it would be faster to get out and walk.
3) Silly sounding exhaust =

 

Is your motor stock?

The only time straight pipes ever sound good is on a modified motor that is either stroked or has an aggressive cam or both, and even then it's usually going to be too obnoxious for street use. A stock XJ motor will sound terrible with a straight pipe. Someone above said tractor, and that's pretty close. I personally think they sound like giant lawnmowers with all the drone. When you put straight pipes on a stock motor, it gives you a poser sound, a lot of noise without the power to back it up.

If you want it to sound good, spend the money on Banks or Gibson. Either one will give you a low rumble that won't wake the neighbors and won't drone. If you like the lawnmower sound, you can cheap out and go with Flowmaster.

 

If you straight pipe it your engine will explode.

Your not going to notice any loss in power from straight pipe, most people base that opinion on their butt gauge.

Like others have said though, it is obnoxious. Best to just run a muffler. Thrush turbo mufflers don't sound too bad and they are pretty quiet

 

Hey... thanks for the advice... sorry about being on the wrong feed... New to this form and I have to do everything off my phone...

 

Loud exhaust is overrated, especially if you don't even have a fast ride

I threw on a V8 Explorer muffler and it sounds GREAT. Deep and throaty at just above idle, and gets quieter through the midrange. But still quiet enough to creep into my neighborhood late and night, and illegally camp at all my favorite spots without getting caught

Lots of great mufflers out there, Dynomax has always sounded great on I6 motors, same with Borla. Not a fan of any flowmasters I have heard on a Jeep to be honest (too raspy). Same with glasspack/cherry bomb mufflers

 

Sometimes it's best not to draw attention to yourself on the street, it may cause red lights behind you for little things like a license plate light out or 4 mph over the speed limit. Which neither might have been noticed if not for the noise.

 

does the banks of more of a throaty deep sound to it ?