This is pretty much all I was trying to say. Al, what a guy feels on the track and what translates to a dyno DON'T necessarily match up. I was simply stating FACTS of my own experience. I tried a couple different things and that's what I found. SORRY I didn't use scientific language or mathematics to explain my point. I'm not a mathematician nor a scientist. I'm a RACER and what translates to my language is ACTUAL RACE RESULTS. Not sitting behind a keyboard playing hero in text.
Let me say this, then Tim and Al can have more fodder to argue their points. EVERYTHING is based on math and science. EVERYTHING we know as racers was developed by SCIENTIST and they used MATHEMATICS to come up with the solutions. Years ago. WAAAYYYY before even Alvin J Nunley.
Final thoughts. Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, KTM, and what ever other manufacturer, have spent MILLIONS of dollars doing scientific and mathematical studies to make their exhausts work with their engines to work better than the other guys. $$MILLIONS AND MILLIONS$$$. In both 2 stroke and 4 stroke configurations. Now, aftermarket companies have spent COUNTLESS more dollars to develop their pipes to make the engine performance even better. So when I say DON'T straight pipe it from my own experience, I mean that is what I had found. When my straight pipe didn't have the "power" (TORQUE) off the corner but hit good "power" (HORSE) on the top but it was very "narrow" (came in hard and signed off quickly, about 1500 rpm), I decided to go back to the FMF power bomb pipe. When I did, the motor was MUCH happier all around. It pulled harder and smoother (TORQUE) coming off the corner and pulled hard all the way to the 13,500 rev limit (HORSE). There was no noticeable bottom end lag (giving up TORQUE) nor was there a violent, narrow top end (HORSE) spike. The FMF made the kart very predictable and easier to drive. I believe all you SUPER SMART engine guys and mathematicians, like Taft and Nunley, call that a LINEAR POWER CURVE.