Three-piece stamp formed connector for achieving equal length exhaust pipes

摘要

A connector (10) is provided for joining two upstream exhaust pipes (22,24) with a downstream exhaust pipe (28) and for substantially offsetting any difference in length that may exist in the upstream exhaust pipes. The connector includes first (32) and second (34) external shells that are secured on opposite respective sides of an internal divider plate (36). The external shells (32,34) and internal plates (36) cooperate to define unequal travel lengths within the connector to offset the unequal travel lengths of the upstream exhaust pipes (22,24) leading to the connector. The two separate exhaust flows with travel lengths equalized by the connector converge with one another into a chamber (40) defined by the connector, and exit from the connector through an outlet. Expansion of the converging exhaust gas streams into the chamber contributes to acoustical tuning of the exhaust system. The equal lengths of the respective exhaust gas streams also facilitates acoustical tuning performed by a downstream muffler.