monk3y

I bought this exhaust from carol last friday. it was in good shape, though i'm missing a bolt that i should be able to pick up fairly easily.

the install was straightforward, though it took some oomph to get the OE nuts on the b pipe to budge (too tight for the cordless impact, used 8" pipe, 3/8" rachet, and my right lug to break torque) and the heatshield edges are very sharp! once i found a way to quickly take the OE exhaust off the hangers it was pretty quick (PB blaster, pliers).

When i started the car it sounded normal at first, until i heard that sinister grumble from the new exhaust. I was a little afraid that it would be loud even at idle, but it purrs very softly and quietly at idle and low RPM's. Driving out onto the street, i discovered that its possible to drive quietly by laying off on the throttle.

Once i hit open road, i floored it (the gutcheck 110N onramps in my hood require nothing short of drag race launching to get on the freeway) and heard the throaty note of the exhaust. once again, deep but not overpoweringly loud. once i hit cruising speed (80mph) i could hear more of the exhaust than say, my stock exhaust, but it wasn't an irritating sound and there was no annoying resonating drone at cruise. decibel-wise, it's barely louder than the intake, but much at a much lower frequency so you'll notice it more.

in the power department, the butt dyno didn't feel any real gains--maybe a little up top, but until i figure out a header solution to go with this exhaust and the AEM CAI, i probably wouldn't feel anything anyway. There's a VAFC waiting to be installed, so i should be putting up a dyno at some point of my car (5th gen 01 base) with the basic bolt-ons and VAFC.

I'll update this thread with pics and more thoughts as they arise.

KB798

This is OT, but what kind of cordless impact do you have? Where did you get it and for how much?

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Brian

98SiR S Spec

any pix of how it looks on your car?

monk3y

i got it from harbor freight for about $130, i think. it's a chicago electric 19.2V 220 ft-lb cordless impact. it's a great piece for the price. battery lasts an hour, charges in a little less than an hour.

i'll take some pics of the exhaust tomorrow after my calc final.

NotoriouSH

My experience is that mods start to show more of an improvement after you've had them installed for awhile. The best combination I ever had was a short ram intake, testpipe, and universal muffler welded onto the sock exhaust. I was able to hit fuel cut in 5th gear at will, so there was definately a power improvement.. but I didn't like the loss of bottom end torque, the soot all over my bumper, and the extremely bad droning.

I say give your a car a week and then you'll notice if the exhaust made a difference or not.