Tsudo N1 Catback Exhaust

[wret]

I held off changing my exhaust for a couple of reasons: one, I am a reformed mod addict and I try to limit myself to replacing things that are broken, and two, I have always liked the low, subtle purr of the stock muffler. Replacing it would be a step into the unknown.

After nine years of owning the car, I am now convinced that the stock muffler was never going to wear out. A local tuner told me how inexpensive some of the kits were selling for on ebay. I checked into it and sure enough, Tsudo N1 2.5 inch catback, stainless steel exhaust kits were selling for a couple hundred bucks. On an impulse I ordered one. $200 and $60 S/H.

The kit arrived a week or so later. My eyes lit up pulling those big shiny tubes out of the box but the when I pulled out the last piece, I spotted a sizable dent in the bend before the muffler. But I also noticed something else. The kit was 3-inch, not 2.5 that I paid for. Probably worth a few bucks more. After looking things over and pondering, I decided to keep it. It would have been a major hassle sending the thing back and waiting for a replacement, and I determined the bent section was still at least 2.5, the diameter I intended to get. Aside from the damage, it was a great looking kit. Mirror polished tubes, two resonator sections and the large canister muffler. It came with a restrictor screwed into the end with only about a two-inch opening. I guess that’s for stealth mode.

I installed the kit this morning. Installation was very easy. The only snag was cutting and drilling the hardened bolts out of the catalytic converter. I burned up half a dozen drill bits. After removing the old sections, installing the new pieces was a snap. The only things needed were several 8mm 1.5 bolts for the hangers. Every one of the old ones broke during removal.

The sections lined up perfectly. All the hangers were in the right places and lined up perfectly with the stock rubber pieces. Finish and weld quality appeared to be excellent. But the real surprise was when I finished and started it up. I expected that the tone would be loud and buzzy or just plain too loud. The tone was louder than before to be sure but not annoyingly so. It was a pleasant, deep purr. Even when getting on the throttle, the tone crescendoed somewhat but did not transition beyond a tolerable level.

There is nothing negative I can say about the Tsudo N1, aside from the huge round tip that I am not a fan of. It’s a great value.

Edit: Word has it the dent in the bend before the muffler is deliberate to provide clearance over the frame member (thanks Greg).

A couple days after installing the Tsudo, I cut a bevel in the tip to match the line of the rear bumper. Much better appearance in my opinion.