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When it comes to exhaust designs, the choice between an H-pipe and an X-pipe comes down to personal taste or performance desire. And H-pipe typically delivers a more robust tone along with improved torque, while an X-pipe’s personality skews toward a higher pitch, and better performance at the top of the tach. Steeda decided to find out what happens if you combine the two designs in one exhaust system.
“We tried the X-pipe and the H-pipe. As everyone knows, they make completely different sounds on a vehicle and shockingly make different power levels, especially on the S650,” Scott Boda, Director of Manufacturing at Steeda, explained. “So we thought to ourselves, let’s take both of these and make them into one.”
Curious about the effects of combining H- and X-shaped crossover pipes, Steeda joined the two concepts into one pipe and put it to the test on the company’s in-house chassis dyno. (Image Credit: Steeda)
To do so, the company’s in-house techs welded the two designs together in a configuration that would be a direct replacement for the factory 2024-and-newer Mustang exhaust piping. The results were interesting on multiple levels.
“We had no idea what this was going to do. Combining an X-pipe and an H-pipe. Clearly, it sounds different,” Boda added. “Down low, it’s got the deep sound of an H-pipe, up top kind of screams like an X-pipe. But then when you get off the gas, you get that deep tone back right away. So it definitely sounds a little different, but what does it do on the dyno?”
In comparing the stock exhaust with H-, X-, and HX-pipes, the peak results were similar, but down low, the HX design showed some impressive gains, including 10 lb-ft of torque at around 2,800 rpm.
While the H-pipe was the peak output winner, all the numbers were pretty close at the top end, while the HX-pipe shone brighter at the bottom end, with a 10 lb-ft advantage just before 2,800 rpm. As many commenters on the video above mentioned, it would be interesting to see if these characteristics shifted by swapping the placement of the two designs, but it’s always fun to see the results of these kind of experiments, and it sounds like Steeda isn’t done testing this design, as trying out the HX-pipe on an S550 is the company’s next plan.
