i dont know too much but. i know there are the headers, some h/x pipe and the tips i guess. :[can someone tell me in better terms than i describe and if i missed anything?
Nothing goes in an exhaust pipe, 'sep maybe a 'tater.
on the side of the engine you have an exhaust manifold with a pipe coming out from the piston ports. Usually four ports blend into one pipe and on a V-8 eight ports blend into two pipes which come under the car to one or two(depending on how many exhaust pipes) catalytic converters that aid in environmental cleanup of the fumes. From there extension pipes lead to the muffler(s) and then another extension goes out the back or side of the vehicle; often times to a tuned exhaust tip. Some racers incorporate an exhaust cutout in the system before the catalytic converter to divert the gasses to a straight pipe for higher horsepower. This is a loud, usually illegal modification but winning is everything in the streets. All this is suspended from the car by a series of U shaped bolts and nuts attached to rubber connectors and the body of the vehicle; and there are gaskets at the manifold to prevent noisy blowby at the manifold.
well you start with the exhaust manifold, go down to the downpipe, to a catalytic converter, across some more pipe, to the muffler, then to the tips.
