Exhaust tips are accessories that weld or clamp onto your vehicle’s tailpipe to improve its appearance. Whether you have a bare pipe or old, rusty tips, a new exhaust tip can vastly heighten the look of your rig. Exhaust tips come in a wide variety of styles, including the following:

• Straight cut
• Angle cut
• Intercooled
• Rolled edge
• Single wall
• Dual wall
• Turndown exit

Each type of exhaust tip provides a slightly different look, and some also add other effects to your vehicle besides visual. Exhaust tips are often chrome finished, but they also come in black powder matte finishes and stainless steel.

Do Exhaust Tips Change Sound?

Aside from striking visuals, many people install exhaust tips for the change in sound that they provide. Installing exhaust tips will upgrade your car’s sound to a deeper, more powerful sound. Some types do this better than others.

For example, the turndown exit type has a tip that angles towards the road. The downward exit causes sound waves to bounce off the road and back into your vehicle, which yields a louder sound.

While exhaust tips won’t give you the full roar of a revamped exhaust system, they do generally create a louder, more aggressive sound.

What Do Exhaust Tips Do?

The primary point of exhaust tips is to create an attractive visual appearance for your exhaust. Chrome-finished or matte black powder finished tips look a lot better than the average rusty tailpipe.

Some exhaust tips also serve to give your rig a more powerful sound. Let’s take a look at the most popular types and what they do.

Angle Cut Tip - This is one of the most popular exhaust tips for trucks and 4x4 vehicles. The outlet is cut at an angle for a sharp and muscular look.

Intercooled Tip - These exhaust tips feature turbine-like fins in a second tube that gives your vehicle a high-performance look.

Rolled Edge Tips - These tips feature a thick, curved-inward look with a rounded outlet edge. This makes the exhaust system look larger than it is.

Single Wall Tip - Most tips are in fact single wall tips. It’s simply a type of exhaust tip that has one layer of metal tubing.

Dual Wall Tip - These tips feature two walls of tubing that run out of one connector tip that fits onto your tailpipe.

Turndown Exit Tip - This tip looks a bit like a faucet and is sometimes called a dump-out tip. The exit of this style of exhaust tip is pointed to the ground. As mentioned earlier, this is one style of tip that can modify your exhaust sound.

How To Clean Exhaust Tips (including chrome)

Since your exhaust tips are the last thing to come in contact with exhaust smoke as it leaves your vehicle, you can probably imagine that they get pretty dirty. The buildup is usually black soot, which is hydrocarbons.

Start your cleaning routine with regular soap and water. For very dirty tips, you’ll also need a wheel cleaner or degreaser. If you have a heavy buildup of soot, you may need automotive steel wool to remove it.

For chrome or stainless steel tips, the best way to clean them is with a dedicated exhaust cleaner, then steel wool, and finally a metal polish that is applied with a microfiber towel.

How To Install Exhaust Tips

Exhaust tips for diesel trucks and other vehicles are actually quite easy to install. The first step is to make sure you get the right exhaust tip for the size of your tailpipe. If you have a stock tailpipe, you should be able to narrow down your choices by the make, model, and year of your vehicle.

However, if you have an aftermarket exhaust system, then you’ll need to take actual measurements. 4-inch exhaust tips, 5-inch exhaust tips, and 6-inch exhaust tips are common sizes. You will also need to make sure that you have proper clearance with your bumper cutouts.

It’s not recommended to modify your bumper unless you’re a pro, so if you don’t have clearance, you’ll need smaller tips.

For the installation, start by using WD-40 to lube the exhaust tip and then fit it on the tailpipe. It’s absolutely essential that your vehicle is stone cold before you do this, or you will risk the tip not fitting, not to mention burns.

The next and final step is to tighten the provided screws or weld the tip to the pipe. If you use a screw-on tip, you’ll need to take a look at it in a few weeks and re-tighten the screws.

How Much Are Exhaust Tips?

Exhaust tips for sale can range in price from pretty inexpensive with plenty in the $40 range, or they can be over $100. The more expensive tips are usually ones that are more than just basic metal, single wall tips. They may have fancy designs or more performance shapes. In other words, it shouldn’t be difficult to find exhaust tips to fit just about any budget.

Visit Action Car and Truck Accessories for a wide range of exhaust tip styles and prices. We also sell an extensive selection of many other parts and truck accessories for your vehicle, including exterior, interior, and mechanical parts.

Search our website to find exactly what you need, or visit one of our well-stocked stores to get expert advice and available installation on certain parts.