I think everyone can tell you the first time he heard the roar of a load exhaust and whether or not it gave you cold chills up your spine or just hurt your ears. For me it was my dad's 1970 Monte Carlo and how much I loved that sound. That is what turned me onto cars. Well you may not like loud exhaust, but you will have to admit the sound of car can make or break the lasting impression of your ride. Exhaust systems are a very important part of your rides construction. Not only to allow your engine to breath but for looks, and overall appearance of your frame and underside. There is nothing more upsetting when I am judging at a car show to see and rusted and discolored exhaust system. Well let's break this down into some smaller parts. First we will start at the engine and then to the pipes themselves, the mufflers, and finally to finish of the system.

Our first task is the engine, do we go with manifolds or headers. Again as I have talked before it all depends on the theme and type of ride you are building. If you are going with an all original car or truck then stay with the manifolds. That's what it came with and you should stay with that theme. If you building a street or G-machine style of ride then headers is the look you trying to go for. If you are trying to build a period correct car, which seems to be the new fade we are running into our there, than headers or rams horn manifolds is the way to go. The big thing when choosing either is finish. Again back to the rusty exhaust system. There are several different products you an choose from, companies like Eastwood restoration supply or POR- 15 both sell a do-it yourself paint that will last for some time. You can choose from a Varity of color options, such as light or dark gray or cast iron look-a-like paint. If you are using headers I would recommend getting ceramic coated. I just had this done a few weeks ago on a complete exhaust system and it looks awesome. I had mine done by Jet-Hot and was very pleased with the price and service. Do not be fooled by the term ceramic coated, that is just not the chrome look-a-like stuff, most ceramic coaters have a Varity of coatings from the chrome look-a-like, you can get the multi colored grays, copper colored, and many other options this will also stand up very 5 to 10 years depending on the color you choose.

If you are building an all original ride then I would look into finding a company that will supply you with a ready made kit that is just a bolt on product. All of the guess work has been done for your. Most of these are available in either stainless or aluminized coating. The stainless is my personal choice because you never have to worry about it rusting. Also you could polish it if you wanted to. The aluminized system will work just fine it is about 30% to 40% cheaper than stainless and will last, but keep in mind it will rust over time. No if you are building a 1970 chevelle coupe and you have dropped in a Ramjet 502 crate motor with Sanderson headers than I am sorry to tell you no one is producing a ready made bolt on exhaust kit for your ride. However there are some of what I call half engineered kits out there. In other words, companies like Flowmaster, Borla, or Pipes make kits with multi fit options. They will usually engineer the kit from the mufflers back and then give you multiply pipes from the mufflers forward. You will have to some of your own leg work with these kits. The reason for this is the companies have no idea what you combination of engines and headers or manifolds you are using. The options are endless. Keep in mind when dealing with these kinds of systems you are doing things that no one ever thought of when the car or truck was being designed and built way back when.

Our next topic is Mufflers. There are so many types and models you could go blind just thinking about them. You have the name brands of Flowmaster, Borla, Pipes, Cherry Bomb, and so on and of course you have the ever popular turbo muffler or the standard muffler that you can buy from any exhaust shop. My self I like it loud, I using Flowmaster delta flow 50's on two of my cars right now and I am very happy with them, but do not take my word for it, go to a car show and listen to exhaust then ask the owner what he or she is using. Trust me they will tell you, if there is on constant in the universe is ask a car guy or gal about their ride and you will have ask them to stop talking.

Custom wheels come in all shapes and sizes and finishes. The major thing you should keep in mind is what the wheel choice is going to do to your suspension and handling. You should always keep in mind what back spacing you need and how will this spacing relate to you brake system. If you chose the wrong back spacing then you can run into fit problems in relationship to your brake calipers. To make sure that you will not run into problems. Make sure you deal with a wheel shop or supplier that will take the time to research what the proper back spacing will be with the brake and suspension choices you have made. Also do not go out and buy wheels until you have made the brake and suspension choice. If you do then who knows what problems you will run into. One last thing when dealing with a wheel supplier is if you hear the words they are all the same, run the other way.

Well as you can tell when it comes to exhaust, the possibilities are endless, but do not take my word for it go out and get head under a car or truck and see what it's owner is using. Remember these are just some of my own thoughts and ideas, make up your own mind and if possible try to come up with something new when building your exhaust, just following the trends makes you a follower, if you come up with something new you will be talk of you local shows or cruise night, at least until the next guy comes up with something.