Isuzu has had a blasting couple of years Down Under, largely thanks to the record sales of the new D-Max. Buyers appreciate the interior space and comfort, a slew of safety tech, class-leading diesel engines with proven reliability, and affordable pricing, especially compared to its main rivals. The savings leave room for extras or mods to make a decent ute even better.
If you want more responsiveness when on the pedal, consider an premium Isuzu DMax performance exhaust. This exhaust addresses the major shortcomings and cost-cutting measures of the stock piping, namely, the narrow and winding tubing and subpar materials that let down both the bigger 3-litre and more frugal 1.9-litre diesels. With an aftermarket D-max exhaust straddling the underbody, the engines get a breath of fresh air and pull out more horses from the stable.
Why Have a Performance Exhaust for Your D-Max?
Apart from looking and sounding the part, an aftermarket D-max exhaust brings quite a few benefits to your ute:
- Improved airflow—Aftermarket exhausts use wider and straighter tubing and proprietary designs that reduce airflow restriction resulting from backpressure or spent gases making their way back to the combustion chamber. The simpler designs let the engine breathe and go about its business. While airflow has been improved, an aftermarket exhaust also abides by strict emissions laws, so pollutants are lower or on par with the stock system.
- Increased power and torque – with less in the way of spent gases, a D-Max exhaust upgrade helps the engine produce higher power figures. Unique header and mid-tubing layouts draw spent gases easier in what is known as exhaust scavenging, enabling the next air and fuel burn. Significantly more power is also enabled by increasing the speed spent gases exit the car or exhaust velocity. Something you can feel with a more responsive acceleration pedal.
- Durability – aftermarket systems are built better. They do away with the crush-bent mild steel of the stock unit and instead, go with stronger and more heat-resistant mandrel-bent stainless steel. This also fares better in adverse road and weather conditions, being less susceptible to punctures from road debris, bumps or rocks and is more resistant to rusting.
- Lower weight – the D-max might be heavy and not exactly aero, but a full exhaust swap also sheds roughly 20 kilos off of the overall weight of the ute. Savings that put the pennies back in your wallet when filling up with slightly lower fuel use.
- Better Sound – The unique layout and the fact that gases exit the tips faster produce a louder exhaust sound with more substance. You can hear the diesel engine rumble and work its way to higher RPMs. This is the fun factor in a new exhaust system.
- Customisation options – exhaust builders have defined lines and axle-back, cat/DPF-back or turbo-back configurations, but also let you mix and match different parts. such as proprietary headers, downpipes, cat-deletes, straight tubes and mufflers to get the results you want.
Choosing What’s Right For You
Materials and build, layouts and widths are the three most important things to look for in an Isuzu DMax performance exhaust. High-grade stainless steel is the entry point into performance systems, ensuring high strength, impact, rust and heat resistance and lower weight than mild steel. This is optioned in thicker pipe walls that also prevent ruptures. Buyers can additionally choose aluminised steel, found mainly as a top coating over mild steel in mufflers at a lower price point and in utes that don’t see much off-road or work use.
If cash isn’t an issue, then exotic materials like titanium, Inconel and carbon fibre in different guises and areas in the exhaust tubing make more sense. These can handle substantially higher temperatures, enable better airflow, and last longer. They also shed more weight and can be tailored in different finishes (especially the tips) to get the look you want.
In terms of build, mandrel bending ensures tube integrity and strength, while seamless welds prevent leaks and retain a pleasing look. Steel can be coated and treated for further protection. Parts and full systems are also supplied with mounting hardware with the same high-quality build. These ensure a tight fit, without needless rattling and vibrations seeping into the cabin.
As for layouts and configurations, axle-back systems are the cheapest and consist of new hardware from the rear axle to the exhaust tips. Most use proprietary muffler designs to tune the sound, with insignificant power gains. For this, you’ll need to size up to a DPF-back exhaust that adds a wider mid-pipe from the DPF filter. This improves airflow, gets an even deeper sound and adds a couple of horses. Turbo-back systems change out all of the stock piping. They include revised headers to draw spent gases faster, specially designed downpipes and wider mid and end sections to get the best power numbers. Well-built systems can increase power and torque up to 10 per cent over stock numbers, leading to much-improved acceleration, towing and overtaking.
Lastly, wider tubing aids airflow. 3″ piping is standard on aftermarket systems, with the extra realty space keeping exhaust temperatures at sane levels and preventing unwanted engine stress. Locate respected builders in your area, and use the savings to accessorise the D-Max with other essentials, like toolboxes and canopies for work or off-roading purposes, or bull bars and other front-end protection.
