Cut My Exhaust?

One of the (few) things I liked about my wife's previous car was the clean look of the exahust.. i.e. the exhaust pipe wasn't visible at all.

A picture of sombody's Passat:




I'd like to get the same clean look on my truck, but don't know if it's worth the effort or if it might have some adverse effects. The pictures below show where I'd cut it. The pipe isn't supported anywhere after the muffler except for the one piece of metal that's welded near the 90 degree turn behind the wheel. I don't think it would be a good idea to cut it before that support as the entire pipe that runs above the rear axle would then be unsupported.

I plan to cut it where the red line is in the pictures below. I might also paint it black so it blends in even more.

I have two questions...
First: Would this cause any problems? I read a few other threads saying that the excess heat might mess with some of the components back there, but I think that the person was talking about cutting their pipe further from the end. It was also a 1st-Gen truck, I think. Another concern is that I have a camper top that I sometimes use. I don't want fumes to build up in it.

(We have no inspection in AL, so I'm not worried about that.)

Second: Do you think it would look stupid? I like the clean look of it, but if I'm the only person in the world who likes it, it'll be tough to sell to the next guy. I'm really not set on doing it yet. I've just run out of (cheap) things to do to my truck and cleaning up the look of the exhaust is something I've been considering.

ALTERNATIVE... Maybe I should just use some grill paint and paint the pipe black? (I'm blacking-out the rest of the truck, too.)

 

you can cut the pipe there....isnt gonna hurt anything. maybe a touch louder...but i doubt it. i painted mine black with some high temp paint.....looks ok, but it bakes on,so make sure its what you want if you go thAT ROUTE.

 

How I plan on doing mine

 

I cut mine exactly like that and had no problems. The sound actually got a lot quieter for me...maybe because I only have a muffler

I love the look.

 

^^^ Did you add something to hold the pipe above the axle, or is it the last point of contact on the pipe the muffler?

EDIT: nm... you said it's how you PLAN on doing yours... so I guess that's not your truck. Do you think you'll need to add some support?

 

I was consisting the same cut. One less bend MIGHT make a minor mpg change. Doing it more for looks though. Concerned about increased noise re sound under the bed after the cut.
Anyone do this and have feedback on noise level?

 

Holy thread revival

 

Lol Might be worth mentioning but cutting the exhaust short might cause inspection issues as your not supposed to cut it.

 

No way.

Wow this might be a zombie thread record.

 

Well. Got impatient and just went and cut it.
No noisier at all and at least 10 more HP lol!
Painted the part behind the axle to the hanger where I cut it, and its invisible.

 

did that on my FJC for clearance on the trail, id do it again in a heart beat!

 

There are officially more replies to this thread in the last two days than there were since 2009.

Such a sad little poll, too... Just two responses.

The truck is sold now, so I guess it doesn't matter anymore. FWIW, I didn't end up cutting the pipe.