In many respects, your car is very similar to you, as a human being. It can create a lot of energy in order to move quickly, just as you would if you were taking part in a triathlon, but it won't perform very well unless it can breathe in and out with great efficiency. You may be forgetting this basic characteristic if you're fiddling with special components, sensors and remapping tools to improve performance. All of this work could come to naught unless your engine can breathe out effectively. Why should your attention now turn to your exhaust?
Overcoming Standard Systems
Turbochargers and other devices can help your engine take a very deep breath to generate its power, but if the exhaust system is "stock," it's going to restrict any outflow and stifle this power at its source. The problem is that standard exhausts are made in a production line environment and designed to be perfectly functional, but no more. After all, car manufacturers use the most basic tools to ensure that the exhaust is good enough for average performance, but once again this will hamper your goals as you upgrade.
Achieving the Compromise
As you know, your exhaust system goes through many twists and turns as it moves from the manifold all the way back to the tailpipe. In an ideal world, this system would be composed of a pipe that is perfectly straight with no bends whatsoever in order to maintain a uniform diameter within. In the real world, an engineer can get much closer to that scenario by twisting the pipe carefully with special tools.
Bending With Purpose
When a high-performance exhaust system is crafted, higher-grade materials are used, and special equipment helps ensure that the all-important dimensions are maintained. A pipe bending "mandrel" is inserted within the raw metal before it is heated and twisted accordingly, so the internal diameter is always uniform. Without this tool, imperfections would certainly arise, and while these may be quite difficult to discern with the naked eye, they would absolutely impede the flow of air and cause a performance bottleneck.
Making Priorities
Before you do any more work to upgrade the overall performance of the engine, make sure that you order an exhaust system that has been specially crafted in this way. You will be able to pair this system with a suitable catalytic converter and silencer so that your vehicle can breathe freely.
