I am looking for recommendations on how others secure their exhaust pipe from the header back? I was told to leave the pipe very loose on the header so the tabs that connect to the header don't break from being too rigid. During my last race my header broke. The tab that connects to the exhaust pipe broke off leaving a 1 inch hole in the exhaust header. This of course hurt my lap times the rest of the race. Ironically when I bought the car one of the first things I had to address was the tab on the pipe so this has happened to me more than once.

I am curious if others secure the pipe firmly or leave it loose as I was advised. Are there any other tricks or suggestions?

I was contemplating adding a support to the roll bar like the one at the end of the pipe with the rubber grommet. Perhaps this would allow the exhaust to hang freely without added pressure to the header.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks!

Generally, if it's bolted snug at the tabs they will eventually either crack/break at the bolt hole, or worse, pull out a chunk of the exhaust pipe. Double nut to the point that it's slightly loose, but not rattling freely. Make sure the rubber hanger is actually providing a bit of support to the tail pipe. Also ensure that there's not another issue (e.g. broken/loose motor or transmission mount) that might be causing excessive movement of the engine.

Thanks Bob, I'll take a look at the mounts and tighten up the exhaust pipe. Staying off the rumble strips might help too:)

I ended up just giving up and shade-tree mechanic'ing my pipe connections. I overlap the (broken) tabs as much as possible, drill a hole if required, and safety wire them together. That alone won't do the trick so then I use a hose clamp and lock that sucker down as tight as I can get it.
After years of break, find, weld, break, find, weld ad nauseum, since I've gone to this strategy I have had exactly zero issues with the connection point in the last 3-4 years.
I don't have the car with me but if I remember to do so, I'll take a picture at Watkins and post it here.
It ain't pretty, but it works well.

Racer (ain't pretty) X

Thanks for the tips!!! I think mine was way too loose so I tightened it up a little for now.

That is an area where Enterprises has made a big improvement in quality over the past few years. It used to be having the connection too tight could shake the header apart. We have been doing them a lot tighter lately.