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For car enthusiasts, buying a car and leaving it alone can sometimes seem like an impossible task. Whether it would be in the name of personalizing your ride so that its look matches your own personal aesthetic better, or whether you modify in the name of boosting the performance of a car, tuning and tweaking is all part of car culture.

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While the list of possible modifications to any given car is seemingly endless, one of the most popular modifications for enthusiasts to carry out is to install a new, or modify the existing exhaust system. Tuning the exhaust can be as cheap or as expensive as you like. 

For example, a lightweight titanium muffler for an R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R can easily cost upwards of $1,000, whereas some aftermarket and universal exhaust tips will only set you back around 1/10 of that figure. This is because, not only are exhaust tips less complex and have less material than a muffler or full system, they are less effective as well. Sure, an exhaust tip can improve how your car sounds, by affecting either the volume, tone, or both, but it won’t improve performance in the same way a full system would.

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So, why do some people look to fit modified exhaust tips if it doesn’t improve performance? One reason is because fitting a wide or flared exhaust tip can change the sound of your car — typically, a larger opening will result in a louder sound, and if a sportier sound is what you’re after, this is a great low-budget way of acquiring the desired result.

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Also, an aftermarket exhaust tip is an easy way to upgrade your older car — resulting in a sportier appearance. If the look and sound is all that you’re after, then there really is no need to break the bank and splash out on a full system, when a quick change of the tip will provide what you’re looking for.

Most aftermarket exhaust tips are easy to fit — they simply slide over the existing tailpipe, and then clamp down to ensure a tight fit. Some cars will have clamp-on exhaust tips as standard, so be sure to remove these before adding on an aftermarket tip, to ensure a secure fit.