Upgrading factory exhaust with a Pacemaker King Brown system.
Ditching the ‘Lux’s factory tailpipe and opening up her airways with a proper set of three-inch pipes was part of the plan from the beginning.
After chatting with Damien Richter from Pacemaker Headers, I was excited to bump the job up the priority list and do away with the stock components in favour of one of their sleek, durable and highly rated King Brown exhaust systems.
Why would you want to replace your 4WDs exhaust system? Isn’t the factory exhaust fine? Where do I even start…
Lots of reasons. No. Right here.
WHY UPGRADE?
The initial reasoning behind upgrading the factory exhaust was for improved throttle response (who’d say no to a little extra power?), plus the mean exhaust note that a straight-through system can provide. But the improvements certainly don’t stop there.
Factory exhaust systems are built thinner in order to reduce noise output, but end up effectively ‘choking’ the vehicle, as it has to work harder to remove spent exhaust gases.
Fitting a wider exhaust like a King Brown allows exhaust gases to be more efficiently removed, and in the process reducing Exhaust Gas Temperatures (EGT), thus reducing strain on the vehicle.
Pacemaker pioneered mandrel bend technology, which is now commonplace throughout the Australian high performance exhaust industry.
In this context it refers to an exhaust system that’s had its curves bent in a manner that prevents the pipe from crushing and changing internal diameter. Thus eliminating the opportunity for anything that could impede exhaust flow and reduce the vehicle’s efficiency and power.
BOOST POWER + TORQUE
So what if you could justify an upgrade by taking strain off your rig’s engine and protecting your investment, but in the process, improve the power and torque readings on your bottom line?
That’d be a no brainer, right..?
Well…
It’s true that your 4WD’s motor will continue to produce more power and torque, the quicker its turbo can spool up. So, which factor dictates how quickly your rig’s turbo can spool up?
How much restriction there is in the exhaust system.
A larger diameter exhaust system, particularly one that’s been designed with mandrel bands for uniformity throughout, allows your vehicle’s turbo to spool up more easily, with less resistance. Resulting in it being capable of producing more boost throughout the rev range.
This means that if you fit a larger diameter exhaust to your 4WD, you’ll find that it creates more power lower down in the most usable part of the rev range. Translating to an increase in readily accessible, real-life usable power.
This is ideal for those times you just need a little extra squeeze to blast up that sand dune, overtake on the highway or need a quicker takeoff around town.
IMPROVE FUEL EFFICIENCY
If you’re still looking for ways to justify this mod, apart from reducing strain on your vehicle and likely improving its longevity, as well as improving its performance, then it’s time to look at fuel efficiency.
With all the fuel you’ll be saving from tuning up your rig with an aftermarket King Brown exhaust, you’d practically be throwing money away if you didn’t make this upgrade!
The factory exhaust systems that manufacturers develop and fit to new vehicles have a primary objective of quiet operation. Even if performance suffers and the engine has to work harder to get rid of exhaust gases and ends up with more load on it.
In a lot of off and onroad driving instances where readily accessible performance is key, a choked up, low performing engine results in more right boot being applied in order to get the job done.
Fit a wider aftermarket King Brown exhaust and you’ll be freeing your engine up to remove exhaust gases more efficiently. The engine will be working less for an equivalent level of output, resulting in less fuel being burned and improved economy.
There’s also something to be said for hearing and ‘feeling’ the jump in performance and engine output when you put your right foot down. With a King Brown exhaust fitted, you feel more in tune and ‘synced up’ with your vehicle, and don’t need to keep stomping on the gas and forcing your rig to work harder and harder.
FITMENT
I had the King Brown exhaust system sent out and fitted up at my local workshop when the ‘Lux was due for a recent service, but it’s a simple and cheap job that you can do yourself at home with basic tools if you’ve got the space and inclination.
While it’s not like driving a totally different rig with a totally different engine, the uptick in performance is instantly noticeable and verifiably real.
Exhaust note changes noticeably, but it’s not obnoxiously loud. And it’s nice to know that the engine has been freed up of restriction and can ‘breathe’ properly, plus there’s that little extra horsepower in reserve to call upon when needed.
Made from 409 stainless steel and designed to stretch and flex from the normal torsion loads generated by heat stress and engine vibration, a King Brown system is an easily justified and quality upgrade for any 4WD.
Pacemaker have been researching, building and fine-tuning these systems for many years now and they’re available for most popular Toyota, Nissan, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Holden, Ford and Mazda 4WDs on the market.
