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Custom Exhaust done - Pics!


GT_Red

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Ok,

 

I haven't been around for a while, and I had bought initially a CNT catback exhaust at the stellar price of $399 shipped. Well, after waiting a whole week for some kartboy exhaust hangers I finally went to have it installed and to my dismay, it didn't fit! I called the sales guy at CNT and he had no explanation other than to issue a refund, which was painless since I still had the box and packaging, props to their friendly service.

 

The problem I had with the CNT was that it required you to remove the heat shield, and upon doing so, it did not clear the small bracket that holds the rear drive shaft in place. Even if it was bolted in touching the bracket, there would have been a 1mm gap at the top of the flange, besides that it would be resting and rattling against the bracket making it a very poor choice.

 

What I did instead, was to take my car to a local place called Exhaust Works, here in Tucson, AZ. They quoted me $450 which includes a resonator, two magnaflow mufflers and some silverline oval exhaust tips. Not to mention a completely fabricated piping and custom Y-pipe 2.5" all the way.

 

For $50 more than a poorly fitted kit, for a fully sealed and welded custom, sounded pretty good to me. Granted its not shiny polished stainless steel with mandrel bends, but neither was the stock system.

 

So I watched and waited for about 4hours as the guy measured and welded, and when he got it wrong he tossed it and started over. I have to say he showed me the Y-pipe and it was nice, it had equal flow at the split and the welds were excellent. For the price, these guys did a smashing job and nicely lined up the tips flush with the valance. This guy was very good for just eyeballing it, which means he's got serious experience.

 

The tone of the exhaust is very mellow. A deep tone and silent when idle. Its not over stated doesn't annoy anyone around me, but its got a terrific rumble on acceleration. Very stealthy and it has improved the drivability through the power-band, much smoother delivery of acceleration. I am very impressed with it. I reccomend them to anyone in the Tucson/Phoenix area.

 

I will now attempt to upload some pics, my phone died at the end so I couldn't get a shot of it all i one piece from under the car.

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so its does not have madrel bends? seems pricey for not having them. a local shop quoted me 275 for full stainless mandrel. not to poop on your birthday cake.

 

all that matters is you like it.

 

I hope you took them up on that deal, but is the guy a master welder, what brand muffler, tips, and resonator with it custom welded and sealed from end to end?

 

If so, thats a steal and you'd be crazy not to do it. $275 is less than the cheapest kits out there. The CNT I ordered was only $399. Fitment and how the system seals up is more important than a mandrel bend. People make too much of it, unless you're a race car driver or drag racing and need that extra .001 sec, you don't need it. It looks better than it actually performs (mandreal bends).

 

I am happy with what I paid for what I got, the power band is very smooth, and it doesn't lose anything at the top end, its very consistent throughout.

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I hope you took them up on that deal, but is the guy a master welder, what brand muffler, tips, and resonator with it custom welded and sealed from end to end?

 

If so, thats a steal and you'd be crazy not to do it. $275 is less than the cheapest kits out there. The CNT I ordered was only $399. Fitment and how the system seals up is more important than a mandrel bend. People make too much of it, unless you're a race car driver or drag racing and need that extra .001 sec, you don't need it. It looks better than it actually performs (mandreal bends).

 

I am happy with what I paid for what I got, the power band is very smooth, and it doesn't lose anything at the top end, its very consistent throughout.

 

 

actually i left a part out. i did pay 225 for a hks carbon muffler. had it for a bit. and i did take him up on it. its currently in the works

 

so infact the total was 500. oops :cool:

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No it's not, the stock exhaust is extremely restrictive, especially above 4500rpm. I've done this on more a couple cars now and it does make a difference.

 

Unless you are stage 3+, the stock CBE doesnt restrict. Plus, saying no to iNVAR is like telling your math teacher that 2+2=5.

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No it's not, the stock exhaust is extremely restrictive, especially above 4500rpm. I've done this on more a couple cars now and it does make a difference.
it's different on other cars. take my word on this, search the forums.

 

if you had a 5th gen, it'd be a different story because strangely enough a simple catback and tune on those makes a difference.

 

but you have a 4th gen. the biggest restriction you have is located in your up pipe and downpipe. the up pipe has a cat in it which will slow spool a bit and the down pipe has two cats in it which will create a lot of back pressure. in addition, the stock down pipe has a flat plate positioned directly in front of the wastegate's opening which makes for crappy boost control.

 

all of these factors are way more important than your catback. until you remove those, the catback won't improve anything except the sound of the car.

 

even at stage 2 after you've removed those things, the catback won't be a restriction. again, confirm with searching. No reason for me to lie to you about this :)

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it's different on other cars. take my word on this, search the forums.

 

if you had a 5th gen, it'd be a different story because strangely enough a simple catback and tune on those makes a difference.

 

but you have a 4th gen. the biggest restriction you have is located in your up pipe and downpipe. the up pipe has a cat in it which will slow spool a bit and the down pipe has two cats in it which will create a lot of back pressure. in addition, the stock down pipe has a flat plate positioned directly in front of the wastegate's opening which makes for crappy boost control.

 

all of these factors are way more important than your catback. until you remove those, the catback won't improve anything except the sound of the car.

 

even at stage 2 after you've removed those things, the catback won't be a restriction. again, confirm with searching. No reason for me to lie to you about this :)

 

 

I appreciate the information, which I already am aware of. But you guys are over estimating my statements. I am simply saying it makes a difference, but I didn't say how much. Please don't assume that I am a ricer that thinks a cat-back is going to add 20whp and an intake will add 10whp. I know the effect a cat-back has is minimal, my statement was about drivability and a smoother power delivery, not power gains. I plan to take care of those pesky cats with custom up and down pipes with high flow cats. I would love to eliminate them, but I don't want to go through all the work around to get rid of the CELs. The high flow cats may themselves cause a CEL, not sure. Do you have information on that?

 

I did take a video, but the sound got blown out with the window down, should I post it anyway?

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You really, really need to do some searching and reading. Removing the cats (or replacing with high flow) requires a tune. Forget about worrying about a CEL for missing EGT (easily fixed); you'll be throwing a CEL for hitting your overboost cutoff too!

 

Do a search for stage 2.

 

Again, any improvement in driveability is in your mind. I'm not saying what you did is bad. Sounds like they did a nice job and you're happy with the work. But the catback isn't going to do anything on a stock setup.

 

If you just wanted driveability improvement, a simple stage 1 tune will help.

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@iNVAR

 

Yes I plan to do that, its amazing how sensitive these cars are. I put in a simple panel filter and it went ape$*** on me.

 

Again, I understand these things, I appreciate the help.

 

Little by little, I don't plan to spend big $ on a car thats 7 years old with 88k miles on it. A stage 1 will be perfectly fine with me.

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Stage 1 gives you a small power increase, but power delivery is much smoother and torque comes up much sooner than stock. If all you're aiming for is stage 1, you don't need to change any more hardware; you just need someone to do your tune. I believe (going off memory here) that Stage 1 should get you to around 210-215 WHP give or take and depending on tune...
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