Review: RNR 3” Turbo back exhaust (1G AWD)

Review
Manufacturer: RNR Racing
Part: Standard 3-inch turbo back exhaust
For: 1G AWD
Material: Mild Steel
Muffler type: Bullet
Options: Stainless 4-inch tip
Price: $640 with shipping



Ordering:
The order was placed over RNR’s online service. The site is easy to navigate to select the options you want. I selected their mild steel 3-inch mandrel bent turbo back system due to its excellent price point for a friend who wants a fast car on a tight budget. RNR’s products are very reasonably priced however; there is a long wait for the product to be made. I waited about 3 months for the exhaust to arrive, which is to be expected from smaller shops and from custom fabricators such as RNR.

Arrival:
The exhaust arrived in a large cardboard box. I was a little disappointed by the packaging, there were only two pieces of tape on the bottom of the box, which the mid-pipe effortlessly punched through and was hanging out. I was also disappointed that the muffler was not protected in any way and the result was several dents in the can caused by the down pipe hitting it, luckily on the top, which will be hidden after installation.

Inspection:
Besides the aforementioned dents, the exhaust is a well-crafted piece. All of the welds have a good overlap and no signs of popcorn welds. The front of the down pipe and flex section was sprayed with silver exhaust paint, but only the front half. The down pipe is also dimpled to allow a socket to get in the area to tighten the retaining nuts. No hardware is included with the exhaust. I purchased two new Easy Seal ban clamps to secure the pipes which also tacked on an additional $20. I reused the stock down pipe nuts and exhaust gasket.

 

[GVTalon]

Installation:
Removing the stock exhaust is simple and only takes about ten minutes. Trial fitting the new exhaust only required another ten minutes, however the fit was not perfect, the rear section hit the differential case. As to be expected from a custom exhaust, it needed to be tweaked to fit my particular car. After a half hour of twisting and pushing and thinking, I wound up heating the mufflers hangers with a blow torch and bending them one inch to the right when looking at the exhaust from the top, tip in facing me.
The downpipe fits perfectly and getting the two retaining nuts tight isn’t a problem. Each section slid snuggly into each other and sealed tightly using the easy seal clamps. The piping just clears between the rear differential case and suspension arm mount. The muffler is a little set back from the bumper and does hang a little high, but spent exhaust clears the bumper so melting the actual bumper cover is not a problem.

 

[GVTalon]

Performance, style and sound
Just as I mentioned, the muffler sits back below the rear bumper so it’s not so much of a “Look at me” type of exhaust. You can see some of the 3-inch piping if you kneel down in the rear, but not to noticeable unless you’re a fellow car enthusiast who knows what to look for in a performance oriented car.

As soon as I turned the key a loud deep throaty tone could be heard throughout the neighborhood, no hiding it folks, this exhaust is loud. Its straight through piping design offers very little restriction just like the straight through design Bullet muffler. Out on the road heads will turn as you roll through the streets, if your shifting gears at high RPM your greeted with a loud deep throaty sound. Stapled to the sound of performance, is an actual noticeable performance increase throughout the power band, with most of the benefit at top end. Without a doubt, this exhaust allowed the GSX’s ported Big 16G with ported exhaust mani and ported O2 housing to get rid of expelled gases quickly.

Conclusion:
With a relatively inexpensive price tag when compared to other turbo back exhaust, the RNR system has a lot to offer. Yes, I did have issues with the wait, packaging and lack of hardware, but the performance of the exhaust flushed those concerns down the drain. It’s on the loud side, but its tone is one other drivers won’t mess with and the highly noticeable performance increase brings new life to the car. With RNR’s turbo back exhaust your car will be a monster on the street and will surely show a time reduction on the track.