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Why hundreds of dollars on a pre made axle back when you could have one made?


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This is probably a complete noob question but can someone explain to me why anyone would spend hundreds of dollars for an axle back exhaust opposed to buying some pipe and having it custom bent by an exhaust shop for way cheaper?

 

For example; I drive an 07 outback xt and am interested in the nameless performance axle back muffler delete. It cost $350+ dollars. Its basically a straight pipe with tips that any exhaust shop could put together for me at a fraction of the cost.

 

What are the pros and cons to this? Can I have a shop also make me a downpipe? Thanks for the replies!

 

p.s. If it makes a difference I have a cobb V3 connected to the car.

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Perfect fitment out of the box, unless you buy an ebay exhaust.

 

Personnally I would buy an aftermarket DP for fitment (you can find used DP for cheap if you search the classified sections) and go to an exhaust shop for the rest : catback / axle back

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Custom quality CBE from a shop will cost a lot more than a jig manufactured CBE. You can get a cheap CBE made but it will be made out of thinner ga. 409 steel, have crush bends where needed and wont hold up as long (road salt/harsh enviro/heat cycles) and flow as smooth as say a 304 system with mandrel bends.

 

Now the question of: how much of a restriction do crush bends introduce? The answer for 99% of LGT owners is none, same as how the stock CBE isnt a problem for 99% of LGT owners. Also: what do I care if cheaper steel discolors and is thinner and may rot?

 

Well that is up to your eye and preference. My personal experience with what you proposed was great. I bought all my materials first, then took them to Perfection Muffler in Roanoke VA (near my home place). They ran everything logically with minimal bends and when one was needed they were crush bends. Also they MIG welded all the joints and took the time to align the Magnaflow mufflers in the rear cutouts before welding them into place.

 

This was done in the winter and the salt is heavy back home and I could see the metal starting to pit ( I bought 409) but once it warmed up i took it off and coated it with 1500F Rustoleum paint no problems. I eventually took it off in favor of various other CBEs and setups and sold it to a guy in my local Flat4 group.

 

It wasnt easy to get on or off b/c the shop welded everything in three big pieces, also the tone was never right, even with the 4" Magnaflow resonator. Now to have the system made such that i could get it on and off like a CBE you buy, would have cost more and I was trying to save $$$ so i skipped that but it made swapping difficult.

 

For Mid and Y pipe the cheaper "eBay" CBEs ($280-$350) are a great alt you simply bolt your stock cans back on. Now mufflers are a different topic, for that i would go custom I would buy the two you like most and have a shop fab up the connections to the Y pipe.

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Aside from adding a high-flow catted or catless DP, the rest of the exhaust won't gain you any performance unless you are putting down some serious power. Some people argue they've seen dyno increases of 5-10 HP, but you're never going to feel that while driving.

 

Looks and sounds are really what it comes down to.

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Great replies guys thank you.

 

Is there any performance increase from upgrading the cbe? Now I'm thinking of just slapping on some new mufflers and maybe tips for aaesthetics and bark.

 

I would go with vibrant or flow master 60 series absolutely love them on subarus elegant tone and compact body very stock looking. As far as tips S2000 stock tips are popular choice as well as all the magnaflow double walled tips. You want double walled bc they hold up well over time

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