How to Improve Vehicle Efficiency by Concentrating on Your Car's Exhaust
Posted on: 18 May 2018
If you have an older car and are not too happy about its fuel economy, you may be wondering what you can do to put things right. Certainly, it may be possible to initiate a full engine rebuild so that all the performance parameters are reset, but you may want to look at how exhaust gases are being extracted, as this could be the root cause of your problem. What could you be overlooking here?
How Poor Exhaust Systems Can Contribute
While manufacturers spend a great deal of time today to make sure that your fuel economy figures are as competitive as possible, this may not have been the case when your car was originally configured. Certainly, steps were taken to remove exhaust gases following the combustion phase as efficiently as possible, but this process may inadvertently have created less than optimal conditions. It's possible that exhaust gas restrictions are causing elevated fuel consumption, and it's something that you can rectify by redoing the exhaust system.
The Limitations of Old Exhaust Systems
Usually, it's impossible for manufacturers to fit one continuous and uninterrupted pipe from the exhaust headers (next to the engine) to the rear of the vehicle. This is simply unattainable, due to the design of the vehicle and the intrusion of the passenger compartment. Therefore, exhaust systems are composed of a variety of different pipes with a multitude of bends that have been created at various angles and radii. Crucially, however, the cross-section within the pipe (wherever a bend occurs) has to be consistent, or the flow of gases will be interrupted. This can, in turn, introduce unnecessary back pressures which can affect engine performance.
In fact, when a high level of restriction is present it's not inconceivable that waste gases could be reintroduced to the cylinder after they have been initially exhausted, which would then mix with the new supply of fuel and intake air. This could cause premature combustion and very poor efficiency, leading to an elevated cost at the petrol pump.
Specialist Tools
You may like to consider a complete redesign of your vehicle's exhaust system using special tools and to ensure that the internal parts of the pipe are optimally set. This will require the use of mandrel bending, where an aluminium and bronze component is inserted into the pipe during the bending process, to carefully engineer the outcome.
Moving Forward
Have a word with performance experts and specialist accessory providers, to make sure that your new exhaust system is uninterrupted and helps contribute to overall budgetary savings.
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