I have JBA midlength coated headers, JBA h-pipe and JBA exhaust along with a b-cam in my 5.0 swap. Love the sound and power.

 

Really.. Every manufacturer is going to say our X or H is better for this/that/wherever reason. Tests that output performance charts for a companies product will be setup, in 1 configuration or another, to display the best charts for said company. This is of course called marketing and adds to fuel sales. To say "A properly designed x performs better than an h at all rpms, regardless of the technical reasons." well I'll call a big huge fat BS on that one. I like the comment "properly designed" in there. If there was any truth in that statement every manufacturer would be designing X pipes.

Every exhaust system is a tad bit different. Newer engines, older engines, flows, mags, cherry bombs, exhaust pipe size, welded joints, clamped joints, manifolds, headers, cam, etc, etc, etc ALL factor into the sound and performance.

For 95% of us any performance/power gains from an X vs H pipe is useless. We don't race and will never use the cars power to its maximum cruising down main street or opening it up on the highway now and then. Debate this all you want its just the simple truth. For 95% of us the major thing we'll want is the best sounding idle and this goes back to every setup is different.

As for smoothing out a raspy exhaust both X and H pipes will aid in this. Again, how much 1 works better will depend on the entire setup. I know my fathers car was raspy with mags on it and it had a bad drone. After the H pipe was installed it cleared up the raspy sound and drone and smoothed out the sound.

To each his own I guess. All I can say is buy one, install it and chances are you'll like what you get. If not swap it out for the other. Who knows.. you may like the 'other' even less! Now your looking for a change of muffler. now which one is going to sound best???....

Have fun lol

 

X = louder and raspier
H = slightly quieter but deeper

Changes in performance are minimal, pick by the sound you want

 

The Dr. Gas x pipe design is what is used on the NASCAR Cup cars. When people first started using them, others though it was all BS too. But the Dr. Gas equipped cars were faster on the track. And still are. Their system was designed specifically to mitigate as much as possible the exhaust flow imbalances in a 90* crankshaft V8 engine.

90* V8 engines are a nightmare when it comes to exhaust tuning. Balance pipes are an attempt to limit the power loss from the poor firing order. To design a system that attempts to solve those issues as much as possible takes time and money. Many manufacturers do NOT spend that kind of time and money, and instead opt to produce a "better than nothing" product that is cost effective to manufacture and profitable to sell. Most x pipes aren't specifically designed to balance the exhaust as much as possible, they're little more than an x junction that has some effect on bank to bank balance, but could be a lot better.

As far as performance, for most people it may not matter. But an engine is an entire package, including the exhaust. Performance is dependent on a multitude of variables. And while some particular part may only be good for an extra 1-2 horsepower, it's the combination of parts that matter. 1-2hp here and 1-2hp there start to add up when it's with 15 different parts. If you can maximize performance for roughly the same cost, why not? It's the difference between a car that performs decently, and one that performs extremely well.

If all you care about is sound, then get whatever sounds best to you. Just don't complain when other people out perform you.

As far as the performance of the systems, x vs h can go either way because most x's are just as simplistic as most h's, it's just some crossing tubes. Dr. Gas doesn't post a bunch of dyno crap on their setups to try and sell it. It's simple, the cars running their systems are faster than the ones that don't(though now as a result virtually every Cup car runs a Dr. Gas balance setup). The few dyno tests I've seen that individuals have done show the Dr. Gas x pipe producing measurably more power across the entire rpm range.

Take it for however much you think it's worth.

 

^^^^ working for Dr Gas? lol

I too went through the dilemma of deciding magnaflows vs Flowmasters. I came to the conclusion that flowmasters were right for me. Then I had to address the x vs H problem. I couldnt decide, so when I went to the shop where I was getting it installed, the guy showed me how he did X's and H's, to me there was a minimal difference in design. So I have an x pipe similar to that of DR GAS' with Flowmaster super 44's. Yes they can be loud but at idle I'd like to think that an x keeps the tone within the qualifications of a muscle car sound (of course this is my opinion and many may disagree). It's not as deep/throaty as I'd anticipated it to be, but it definitely shows that it has bass when you mash the throttle.

 

A friend of mine convinced me to go with the X... So I canceled the H...

I spent today wiring up my parking brake and drive shaft safety loop so that the shop can work around it.

I will be getting to the shop for the install sometime next week. Still a debate I don't find a final conclusion on... but decided to stop the debate in my head and just go with the X

 

Alright so I got my X installed today, 2.5" galvanized piping from my long tubes to the X to my flowmasters which dump down before the rear exhaust. I could hear a difference vs. the straight pipes the previous owner had installed. The vehicle seams to run smoother, better balanced and the sound is nothing that I regret. Overall, A+ to meineke. They did a great job and the guys there was good at bending pipe and with his welding. I only really drove it 3 miles back home so I am excited to hear it on the highway. With some of these thunder storms in GA this weekend, not sure if I will have the chance. Wish I took pics under the car when it was on the lift.