[olddog]

To me bone stock family car engines with open exhaust sounds sick, and a good muffler gives the same engine a nice tone.

Open pipes generally sound bad to me unless the engine is making power in mid range rpm or higher.

You may also want to consider how the general public feels about the sound of your pipes. As much as I love the sound of a Harley with good pipes, I have heard a few that are pure annoying, nerve racking, ear hurting noise. I ovoid them, because I want to drive over top of them. Of course my intellect overrides the emotion, but nevertheless the emotion is there. Do you really want to be driving beside someone who would like to run you over, but has to stop themselves from actually doing it? These seem to be the times that more and more people are lacking the intellect to control themselves in a civilized manor. Not to mention all the people who want a new law every time they feel the slightest offence.

PS.
There are enough people out there to vote our hobby out of existence, if we give them reason to. I think straight pipes on the street is a bad idea and most likely illegal in most states. We should be aware of how we are perceived by the general public and not abuse or annoy them.