550 Pipes (again)

X-pipes are great!

If you want more, try Capristo, or Fuchs

I have the Capristo exhaust and it is amazing, while not being too loud.

 

I have the full Capristo exhaust system.

I have heard from many members that just changing to x-pipe has satisfied them.

John

 

Tubi X-pipe on a 550 is apocalyptic. Really, it sounds like the second coming of Genghis Khan. Fearsome, to say the least.

 

I changed to an X Pipe, Performance airfilters and then had the stock mufflers "wired" open all the time.

Still looks stock but unmistakedly better performance and better sound--but not as loud as Tubi solution. Just what I wanted.

 

If my car did not come with Capristo I would have done exactly that.

X-pipe, BMC, Wire open...

John

 

I would do the tubi's first. If you are happy with the tubi's, step up to the x-pipe. X-pipe is awesome. Not bad at all on the highway. Order the BMC filters now. Why not? It does not hurt.

 

In my case, I found that the Tubi exhaust only enhanced the sound at lower revs/speeds. Once you were into the higher parts of the rev band, you could barely hear it over the engine. I added the Xpipe (also tubi) so that the sound would be enhanced at the upper revs as well. It is definatly louder, but I think its just right. For what your looking for, I think that combo might tee off your wife....

I would suggest just getting the tubi exhaust...it only is a little louder and rumbly at lower speeds and revs (not unpleasantly so...), yet quiets down at higher speeds and rpms.
At least arrange to hear and drive in one with just tubi...so you will know what your getting into.
As a caution, there was a big difference in the 550 tubi exhaust pre and post 2002...make sure you listen/get the post 2002 tubis. Apparently, the resonance with the pre-2002 550 tubis was somewhat unbearable at times.
It was only sweet sounding for me and my post 2002 tubi....

One problem with just getting the tubi exhaust, is that you will actually lose a little bit of power ( I believe some people quoted about 10hp). So, this is strictly a sound enhancement,

on the other hand,

If you go with just the x-pipe and change your air filters at the same time...you should pick up some power...as much as 35-50hp from some estimates Ive read on the board. If you can arrange to hear a 550 with just the x pipe and the filters...you might like that sound, save some cash, and get a faster car too!! An almost unheard of plus, plus, plus situation for a Ferrari mod!

 

ferrarifixer just installedone of his X pipes on a 550 with the new Tubi's. The car is too quiet IMO, not a lot louder than stock. My car with Tubi's and X pipe was 75Db (measured at 30metres) at track days, which is the limit. A 360CS or a 430 is 83-84Db stock on song. With my cats removed the car is now 84-85Db. ie not much louder than a stock 430 at full acceleration.

 

I have a 1998 550 and we made up and x pipe changed air filters, and had
the butterflys in the muffler to stay open all the time. It sounds great even
a little more HP I think. And You can talk to your partmer in the car at
6000rpms.

 

This is the way we made up our x pipe for the 550, so it just kissed in the middle.
I have a 2005 575 and it has straight pipes from the cats to the mufflers.
sounds a little more aggresive, but good.

 

Elegie to FerrariFixer's X-pipes:

O Danny boy, the pipes, the X-pipes are calling
From glen to glen and down the mountainside
The central muffler's gone and all the roses falling
'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide.

Frederick Edward Weatherly, 1848-1929

 

Just a side note on how good the Fuchs SS silencers sound on the Maranello.
If you want a great sound don't forget about them.

FVD distributes for Fuchs in Florida and are good people.

 

Just a note that the 575 looks like plain straight pipes, but has it's bullet resonators closer to the motor out of sight from the bottom of the car. Fuchs makes an X-Pipe that removes the resonators (like the 550 has in the center) and adds the X-crossover.

The 575 defintely has no H or X in it's straight resonator pipes. Not sure if straight sounds better than X or not. How much of the sound improvement is the resonator removal vs. the X?

 

When we removed the resonator we made up and X Pipe that just kissed in the center. I think It sounds much better. We also put K&N Filters in the air box's and wired the the muffler valves open. It made the car a little Crisper.

 

Just a follow-up.

I tried both an X-Pipe and the stock 575 Straight Pipes. The straight pipes were better. I'd go with custom straight pipes on the 550 also and remove the center bullet resonators.

 

Better sounding, or performing on the dyno?

 

Hi Anders

The flow is a blend of gasses, it does a bit of both... thats the scavenge principle. It helps the gasses get out, which rasies power marginally, but it also makes the noise tranfer to give a smoother 12 cyl sound instead of 2x 6 cylinders.

Regards the new spec Tubi. YES, the new Tubi's are very quiet. I fitted a silenced )( pipe to a new Tubi car and it is still too quiet,, albeit a bit louder than it was, especially as the rpm rises.

This is the THIRD type of Tubi rear box, not the second which is almost as loud as the first but less boomy. I should have got the part number off it I guess, but I didn't. Anyway, you can tell easily, because the THIRD Tubi has perforated tube up both tail pipes as far as you can see. The 1st and 2nd type don't.

The difference is so much that I don't think even an unsilenced )( pipe will be enough. I'm now trying to broker a zero $ deal between two customers (both with silenced )(pipes)... one has a the old Tubis and one with new... one wants more noise, the other wants less, and the difference is HUGE.

 

Better sounding, no dyno test.

I'm sure your 550 gain came from removing the center resonators tho. So, the gain should come either way. I normally tune exhaust for sound and focus on other mods for power.

Removing cats or other restrictions like the resonators, especially the closer they are to the motor normally shows power gains.

Found a big difference in the sound tho and am 100% happy to be back to straights.
X-Pipe (Fuchs $2500) is in the dumpster now. Ouch.

 

Ouch indeed, you guys really get ripped on the price of mods IMO. A custom pipe made by a specialist would only be a third, to one half of that here in Aust.

I have some interesting dyno results from different exhaust configurations thast I'll post shortly. The car is being dropped off with the dyno sheets today, so it won't be until tomorrow until I can scan and upload the graphs.

 

OK here are the graphs.
i'll go into more detail later, but the comparison was simple, same dyno, same day. Phil's MK3 siamese centre versus straight pipes.
For anyone trying to compare dyno results
These dyno's are used (chassis and engine) by a number of V8 supercar racing teams including HRT (the factory Holden team -nee GM). A 458kw(622hp) V8 supercar motor shows around 345kw (470hp) at the rear wheels, using the exact same dyno load cell. The assumed drive train losses are approx 25%, which is extremely high IMO. To compare an American Dynojet number or pre- 2005 Dyno Dynamics in shoot out mode, you need to add approx 15% and for a Dyno Dynamics in shootout mode with the latest software, released late last year add 10%.
Anyway, the absolute numbers are irrelevant, the comparison is what is important.
The car gained close to 20kw at the rear wheels (35hp at the flywheel) using straight pipes.
I will have another exhaust modification completed next week which is hoped to yield another 10kw.
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Thx for the data!

When you say 'straight pipes', do you mean straight centers only? Or straight to rear without a muffler? We're talking stock headers & stock cats, eh? Which mufflers are used in your current testing?

Reading the data, both noted crossover in the description. Was one a straight center section? Also, did the SAE correction factor change between the runs affect anything?