Which is the Better Product

I have a 2006 Legacy Spec B ,and I am considering an aftermarket Exhaust Kit.It appears that two companies offer a replacement package for the exhaust system.

 

Magna Flow,as well as Borla have kits suitable for a spec B,and or GT turbo.

 

Which is the superior product and do each of them come with the necessary hardware to install them...Both claim they do,,but I wonder.Im also concerned about the fit,,I've read they don't fit properly.

 

Any info,,,will be well received..

 

Happy Holidays

 

P.S. Is it true that both offer a lifetime guarantee for their systems........One other thing,,the Borla comes With 3 Mufflers,,,,and the Magna Flow has only 2 mufflers,,why is that?

The Magnaflow has two glaring downsides:

 

- The DP junction is 2.5" in diameter

- The other junctions in the system are slip joints

 

 

 

If you replace the taper with 3" piping and either weld the slip joints or replace them with flanges, it's a rock solid offering. If the slip joints don't bother you, then hey.

 

My biggest gripe with the Magnaflow was the drone - and I had a resonator welded into the midpipe which mitigated about 90% of the highway annoyance. Other than that, it looks great, it's quiet at idle, and rumbles like hell when I get on it.

The Magnaflow had everything I needed, and aside from having to do a little wiggling to keep the axleback section from hitting the swaybar, it fits just fine, even after the two midpipe modifications I had done.

I can't say I'm positive which companies are still making their kits and which aren't, but at the very least, if you're not hell-bent on buying new, there are many more than two options:

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/exhaust-audio-video-clip-compilation-thread-102170.html

2 systems? Bro, there are a LOT more catbacks than that available. Do some searching here.

Well thank you for the endless expertise shown on this thread.

My problem is I live in an apartment house,no garage available,,,,not to mention I don't have the skills necessary for do it yourself installation......

 

What I was searching for is the best product to be shipped to a garage,,,and have them do it.Thats why I mentioned the fit,,,,alignment ...

 

Is it necessary to weld these kits...I was under the mistaken impression they were press fitted .....

 

Again...I salute you all !!

Whoa,,,,,

 

Mr.Invar...out of NYC,,,,,I was born raised in the Bronx,,,I'm right over the river from you...

 

I thought you all took,,,,,,,,,,subways........

Unless I'm mistaken, there really shouldn't be any welding necessary (at least, there wasn't any for me), just some wrestling with old rusty bolts, haha. As far as shipping to a shop, that shouldn't be a problem, but you should check with the specific shop first, of course, to make sure they're cool with it. As far as fit and alignment, there's always some tweaking that needs to happen. Just have them bolt everything up but not really tighten them down until everything's all lined up.

 

Oh, and don't forget to get gaskets! Specific sizes will obviously depend on which exhaust you end up buying.

Well thank you for the endless expertise shown on this thread.

My problem is I live in an apartment house,no garage available,,,,not to mention I don't have the skills necessary for do it yourself installation......

 

What I was searching for is the best product to be shipped to a garage,,,and have them do it.Thats why I mentioned the fit,,,,alignment ...

 

Is it necessary to weld these kits...I was under the mistaken impression they were press fitted .....

 

Again...I salute you all !!

 

 

 

 

Welding isn't necessary, no. The Magnaflow offering works just fine as is. But I don't like slip joints, and it's more of a personal preference than anything else.

For these installations,,,,had this shop in Palisades Park do tires ,,,,brakes,was satisfied.

 

I find it mondo that I'm on my 3rd battery,3rd set of tires( first set summer performance original equipment did not stop in light rain ,,rear ended ) and brakes 2nd after only 20 .7 K miles,and finally a clutch....

 

I learned to drive on a army 3/4 ton truck in a place called DiAn ,,,,many miles away......I just wonder why these repairs Are Needed after so few miles......

Well thank you for the endless expertise shown on this thread.

My problem is I live in an apartment house,no garage available,,,,not to mention I don't have the skills necessary for do it yourself installation......

 

What I was searching for is the best product to be shipped to a garage,,,and have them do it.Thats why I mentioned the fit,,,,alignment ...

 

Is it necessary to weld these kits...I was under the mistaken impression they were press fitted .....

 

Again...I salute you all !!

 

Whoa,,,,,

 

Mr.Invar...out of NYC,,,,,I was born raised in the Bronx,,,I'm right over the river from you...

 

I thought you all took,,,,,,,,,,subways........

 

Can't... tell...if... being...sarcastic. :confused: ?!?

 

Anyway, there really are a ton of bolt up catbacks available. You just have to do a search and look in say... the "Intake and Exhaust" subforum.

 

If you're bone stock, a catback isn't going to make a lick of difference in your performance. None at all. You might feel faster because of the noise, but that's all in your head.

 

So any of those 2.5"-3" tapers and openings that people are talking about aren't going to matter on a totally stock car. It won't even make a difference even on a car that's stage 2. If you get a catback designed to mate up with a 3" DP and your DP is the stock one you might have a slight fitment issue. However, if the opposite (catback designed to mate with stock DP and you have 3" DP) there is an adapter for that.

 

So it all comes down to sound, style, craftsmanship, fitment, and of course, cost.

 

So start here:

http://www.fredbeansparts.com/all.html?subaru=272&search=View+Products&cat=44

 

And there are more than that available from other places too.

 

BTW, I'm in the 5 boroughs, but not Manhattan, so I can drive to work.

Look at the new TurboXS midpipe and y combo. You use the stock mufflers, but it brings out a little more noise.

 

spec.B has no specialness over the regular LGT, so a system for either will work.

spec.B has no specialness over the regular LGT, so a system for either will work.

 

Except the B's did get the upgraded intercooler that is soap-proof.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and the cherry-picked more powerful engines.

Except the B's did get the upgraded intercooler that is soap-proof.

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and the cherry-picked more powerful engines.

 

soap proof? I neeeedz that@!

if you are going to a shop, might as well find a pair of mufflers you like and take them to the shop and have a custom exhaust setup...

 

but I love my Invidia Q300

Welding isn't necessary, no. The Magnaflow offering works just fine as is. But I don't like slip joints, and it's more of a personal preference than anything else.

 

There is nothing wrong with slip joints... In fact if you weld them up some times the exhaust won't fit on to other cars. Slip fits are what make the exhaust system fit any LGT. If you weld it up fitment is only guaranteed for that particular LGT.

 

I am speaking from personal experience here. I bought a Borla that had the drivers side slip fit welded to the y-pipe and it fit the original owners car just fine but on my car the tip hit the bumper. Now I had to cut the welds (that look like Ray Charles welded) and I'm waiting for a dry day to weld on a new section of pipe so I can make it a slip fit exhaust again.

Id teach him the piano

 

Anyway,,I've spent a lot on the B recently,,Pirelli P zero nero's ,interstate battery,new front brakes as well as a entirely new clutch......all done at extreme dealership costs.I have since learned my lesson.

 

The problem is ordering a muffler kit,,,having it sent to a garage(so far so good) ,but I need to make it as simple as possible for these mechanics,meaning all parts will be supplied.I was recently told to order gaskets?as I said,I want everything for even a mediocre mechanic a chance at success.

 

By the way,,what is the life expectancy of a 2.5 turbo Downpipe .

I assume this is the pipe coming directly out from the motor.......

 

Again,,,thanks again for all the help,,,,,I have only 20.7 K miles on it...

 

PS yes,,,sorry bout that subway remark,,,,,I even hunt& fish,,,,,,,and yes ..I'm from NYC

+1 Invidia Q300

I hate to admit it,,but I'm damn near incapable of auto mechanics,,,,believe it or not I was a building engineer in the wall street area local #94 operating engineers...

 

I now find myself ,retired,,in an apartment house,,,with no garage...

 

When I hear people speak of phase 1 ,,or two modifications ,,I'm at a complete loss,,,however I can imagine..

 

The point I was trying to make was simply this.....

 

I will not deal with my local Subaru dealership....

 

I will need a new muffler system ,,,soon,,I was asking what would be a equivalent system,,,,,,,that would fit on my original (down pipe) see I learned...and not present a normal,,,,again normal mechanic a muffler set that would not overwhelm him.All parts,,,clamps,,,,and even gaskets would be needed to give him a decent shot at completion.

 

I have Kinda settled on the Borla system ,,,from summit a cat back system for the 06 B ........price about $753

 

 

Am I wrong here.......?....

Every exhaust made for our cars usually fits right up, but some have their issues. All fit to the downpipe. For instance my Q300 is bigger diameter ( 3 inch) and bolt right up to the factory DP using a donut gasket. All the hangers match up and everything. What is so overwhelming about this? There is much more out there and some can be cheap too. Never settle!

By the way,,what is the life expectancy of a 2.5 turbo Downpipe .

I assume this is the pipe coming directly out from the motor.......

 

ok, downpipe comes off the back end of the turbo and leads out to the atmosphere.

___________

 

If you want to change out your exhaust, you're basically looking at the following parts:

 

1) gasket between turbo and downpipe

2) downpipe

3) gasket between downpipe and midpipe

4) midpipe

5) gasket between midpipe and Y-pipe

6) Y-pipe

7) 2 gaskets between Y-pipe and 2 axlebacks

8) 2 axlebacks

 

You can probably reuse the bolts you currently have on there, but I guess it all depends on what shape they're in. You should also be able to reuse the exhaust hangers you have on the car.

 

Some exhaust systems have the midpipe and Y-pipe as one piece.

 

In terms of the gasket sizes, it depends on the size of the pipes of the specific system you choose. You'll need to do the research yourself, but the gaskets themselves should be available at your local car parts store, or you can certainly get them from http://www.fredbeansparts.com, for instance.

 

I don't think I forgot anything, but anybody please feel free to jump in and correct me if I did.

Oh, yeah, I forgot the uppipe...that's another story. I'm guessing you should probably just chill on that one until you get a handle on the turboback portion of your exhaust (all that stuff I listed above).

Both exhausts use slip joints/clamps instead of flanges. Both neck down to 2.5" at the mid pipe to mate with the stock DP.

 

Differences: Borla is more quiet, has a resonated mid pipe, Magna flow is straight through. Borlas tips are a bit smaller and oval tips (stock looking), Magna flow has 4" angle cut tips.

 

Between the two, I'd go with Borla. But that's just me, exhausts truly are totally personal preference. I've had 3 different aftermarket exhausts and am now back to the stock cbe

Magnaflow sounds good, but have terrible looking welds/inner tips. Have you considered Nameless? Their product is fantastic and the customer service is top tier.

Thanks for the info

 

As mentioned...apartment house living has its drawbacks,,,no garage etc.

 

I'm much more well equipped to make a decision now,,,,than I was....

 

Enjoy the new year,,,,

 

Make sure you dose up with Clear Eyes,,,,,,,Tic. Tacs,,,,,,,before you venture on the roads....

 

I'm not kidding,,,both of these saved me once........