Best Exhaust for a Tahoe?

[TurboTahoe]

Hi guys,

I've been thinking of upgrading the exhaust on my Tahoe. I've been told many things:

• 4" exhaust will not fit on the Tahoe because of lack of space between fuel tank and frame.
• 4" exhaust is available from SS, but exits before rear wheel, and uses a REALLY small muffler (i.e. it is LOUD)
• Diamond Eye will fit
• Diamond Eye won't fit
• 3.5" is the largest, and that's what Kennedy has

Can anyone tell me the real scoop (e.g. someone who actually has a Tahoe) is, and recommend the best solution?

Thanks!

-Rob

 

[Matt Bachand]

Get a diamond Eye and drop it off at a good exhaust shop and have them weld the system in. Paint it with HIgh temp grill paint first.

 

[Mad Maxx]

Corsa now Sells JUST the Muffler for Diesel Apps.

That'd be your Best Bet for Quiet / Loud. It'll be Stock Quiet at Cruise, Inside & Out, but at WOT it'll be Damn Near Straight Pipe Loud.

 

[Acesneights1]

Just go to a GOOD Muffler shop that does custom diesel work. My Tahoe had 4 inch with no issues and it cost me 450$ INSTALLED.

 

[TurboTahoe]

Just go to a GOOD Muffler shop that does custom diesel work. My Tahoe had 4 inch with no issues and it cost me 450$ INSTALLED.

Hi Kenny!

Yes, that's exactly what I remembered, and I also remembered that you went to a custom shop. I just don't know any shops that work with 4" tubing. I'll need to check around. Thanks for the tip!

-Rob

 

[ak diesel driver]

I've been told there are only 1/2 doz shops in the country that can bend 4"

 

[TurboTahoe]

OK guys,

I've made a bunch of phone calls to specialty exhaust places in Portland, Oregon. One guy stated flat-out "No one around here can do 4" ". I told him that there are places on the East Coast (referencing Kenny) and he said "I know, but not around here..."

Hmm. That implies that Kennedy's kit is probably the largest I can get without taking a risk on buying a Diamond Eye and trying to force fit the thing myself (or with the help of a shop).

OK, that begs the question - would 3.5" be sufficient for a Tahoe? Is there that much difference between a 4" and 3.5"

OK, area of a circle is pi-radius-squared.

Radius of 4" diameter pipe = 2"
pi-radius-squared = 3.14159*2*2 =12.56 sq. inches

Radius of 3.5" diameter pipe = 1.75"
pi-radius-squared = 3.14159*1.75*1.75 = 9.62 sq. inches

That's a difference of about 2.94, or 3 square inches in area, or a 31% increase in cross-sectional area.

Right now, the pipe is 2.75" in diameter.
This is a 5.93 sq. inch cross sectional area.
Moving to a 3.5" would give me a 62% increase in cross-sectional area, moving to a 3.5".

It's not quite as good, but it appears that moving to a 3.5" would theoretically improve the flow rate (neglecting the restriction through muffler, etc.) by 62% based on cross-sectional area improvement.

What say you guys?

-Rob

 

[TurboTahoe]

Well, the other idea is to buy the Diamond Eye that is engineered specifically for the Suburban, and see if I can't cut to fit the Tahoe. If I fail, then I just upgrade the Suburban. If I succeed, then I order an additional unit for the Suburban...

Hmm....


-Rob

 

[ak diesel driver]

I would try that

 

[Matt Bachand]

Well, the other idea is to buy the Diamond Eye that is engineered specifically for the Suburban, and see if I can't cut to fit the Tahoe. If I fail, then I just upgrade the Suburban. If I succeed, then I order an additional unit for the Suburban...

Hmm....

-Rob

Do that. Bring it to a exhaust shop and let them put it on a lift and make it fit and maybe even weld it in. Easy work for them once they have that kit in hand. It only took me a few hours by myself on my back to do my exhaust, I can't imagine it
taking a shop more than 2 hours on a lift, and thats welding everything.

Its what I would have done if any exhaust shopps could lift my truck on their lift, let alone fit it in their bay.

 

[TurboTahoe]

Thanks for the encouragement Matt, I'll likely go that route.

However, why weld it when we could put these in? (i.e. it's a picture of a stainless steel exhaust band clamp)

That would allow any adjustments in the future (e.g. change mufflers, etc.)

I guess I'm not sure what welding would buy me. Can you guys explain?

Thanks again for all the advice!

-Rob

 

[Matt Bachand]

Being about 10 bux a piece, welding may be cheaper.

I'd be just as happy with those Band clamps.

The ONLY thing on my DE exhaust that is rusting is the clamps.

1/2 way throught the 2nd SALTY Plowing Winter and just rusty clamps. I did paint the system first. Not sure if that is helping or not.

I'd be just as happy with the band clamps.

The Downpipe comes off easily either way, and I'm not sure why you would ever have to remove the exhaust if it wasn't to replace it anyhow.

 

[rekocisko]

Thanks for the encouragement Matt, I'll likely go that route.

However, why weld it when we could put these in? (i.e. it's a picture of a stainless steel exhaust band clamp)

That would allow any adjustments in the future (e.g. change mufflers, etc.)

I guess I'm not sure what welding would buy me. Can you guys explain?

Thanks again for all the advice!

-Rob

Rob, nice to see another diesel Tahoe in the same situation as myself. I just registered here after googling 4" Tahoe diesel exhaust and finding this thread. I have a 1996 diesel Tahoe with some wake 'em up mods, but need an exhaust. The stainless band clamps work extremely well. I used those clamps on a C5 Corvette with a Borla XR1 exhaust about 9 years ago and they were flawless.
Have you made a decision on your exhaust? I have seen your truck on the SSdiesel site before and it looks like a nice one. Any help for a fellow oil burning Tahoe?

Thanks, Robby.

 

[minisub]

I've had Kennedy's 3.5" system in mine since late '99 or early 2000. How does it compare to 4"? I have no idea. 4" for a Tahoe wasn't considered an option back in the Diesel Page days...

It is a nice improvement over stock, and I cannot believe that most of it is still intact after all of these years. They mine road salt here in Cleveland and as a result supply is plentiful and the highway departments do not skimp....

For any aluminized system I would recommend spraying the outside radius of any bend with cold zinc.

Also, if you are going to use band clamps with butt joints, look for clamps that are designed for it. If I recall they are different than the slip-joint clamps...

 

[1995yukon65]

Not trying to highjack this thread or anything (pertains to a 2door yukon for exhaust also) but I've been talking to a couple exhaust shops about doing a dual exhaust on mine with it exiting on each side of my hitch. I have a couple of questions to ask, now according to my calculations dual 3" would give me 14.14 square inches of area and stepping down to 2.75" would give me 11.88". The one shop i talked to told me they may be able to squeeze the 3" in there but 2.5" may be the limit (only giving me a total of 9.82 square inches). Now if they can't do the 3" but can do the 2.75" do you really think that the 2.26 square inch difference will hurt anything? Its gonna be a couple weeks before i get the exhaust done but i would like to get a gameplan together before i go back. btw they said between $350 and $450 depending on the size we go with

 

[vegtech]

I heart my dimond eye system, cant beat the price