*Review* RNR 3" o2/cat Eliminator Turboback Exhaust.

[98TsiAWD]

Here is my review of this exhaust. I got it and it appears to be very high quality work. I did order a flange between the 02 housing and the downpipe for ease of pulling the downpipe off the car. They forgot to put the flange in, that is the only complaint I have.

Now on the o2 housing area I did notice that the o2 sensor mounts at the very top whereas with the stock exhaust it mounts down by the alternator. This may cause a problem and make me cut a hole in my lower heat shield in order for it to fit. *EDIT* The o2 sensor fits better in this spot than the stock location and did not need to modify the lower heat shield to fit.

Here are some pics:

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[98TsiAWD]

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And here is a pic of the box when received:

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That is for Ryan just to show him that there needs to be some tape put over that seam at the top before shipment.

Now the 4" SS tip option that I got appears to simply be made from 4" SS piping. so anyone that doesnt want to pay $50 for the SS tip option could probly simply make that themselves for real cheap.

I am doing the install tommorrow morning and will post more then.

 

[RedTurboEclipse]

good review.. all these great reviews and pics of the RNR setup.. so looks like u got all the options? full stainless steel dp/catback with 4" tip.. internal dump.. the pics u guys are postin up are better than the ones shown on RNR's website.. heh.. theres really no high quality pic of it on their site..

so u think the 4" tip option could be done ourselves for cheaper? if thats the case.. i mite just do that..

 

[Megaman]

Originally posted by RedTurboEclipse


so u think the 4" tip option could be done ourselves for cheaper? if thats the case.. i mite just do that..

most defenitely

 

[Megaman]

i just noticed that the 2g awd piping is so much different from the 2g fwd piping. so much more bends on the fwd...especially the dp

 

[WATTSPXR]

What type of increase in performance has this setup proven already?

I'm considering this as my next purchase....

 

[98TsiAWD]

so u think the 4" tip option could be done ourselves for cheaper? if thats the case.. i mite just do that..

Im pretty sure, I can tell that they just cut a section of 4" SS piping off and then cleaned up the edges of it with a grinder of some sort. Then tack welded it on.

I am off right now to install it and will be back with a review of that.

 

[echo]

sounds like they do some quality work, but i dunno. i am starting to lean towards not getting one from there. i have read review after review and altough the piping and welds seems to be good there is always a little something they left out. like the flange on yours and also having to hack up the heat shield to get it to work. i know something like that would bug the hell out of me.

hmm, well we will see how you like it once you get it on.

 

[RnR Racing]

I already emailed you about the flanges. We could put the two flanges on the 02 housing because then you wouldn't be able to take your oil filter off.

I couldn't see any of the pics. We are always open to suggestions from customers. We look to improve our business all the time. Always making changes to better serve our customers.

The 2g FWD piping is much different then the AWD models. There are a lot more bends involved in the FWD models and this is why we charge a little more for them. I use a side exit exhaust on my FWD to get rid of all the bend needed.

The 4" tip looks sweet on the car. It looks very very simialr to the N1 muffler and tip combo. Finding a tip like this and then cutting it and making fit and look like that is little harder than it sounds. Also the 4" tip option is $40 extra, but well worth it in the looks department.

You also don't need to trim your heat shield. The 02 sensor will fit without triming and it also keeps your 02 sensor away from your alternator.

 

[98TsiAWD]

I think Imagestation is down and thats why the pics arent showing.

Just got home from installing it. Took me just short of 4 hours to pull the entire old exhaust and put the new one on. This included getting the car up on jacks and back down etc.

Like Ryan just posted the o2 sensor fits just fine and I actually think where RNR puts the o2 bung is better than the stock location.

The only problem I really had with the install of the 3" exhaust was that the rear section didnt want to fit together (the slip fitting). But with a little tapping of the hammer and a screwdriver to pry the opening a little bit it slipped rigth together. The only other thing is that the bolt closest to the engine and the ground could not be put back in (on the o2 housing). The big 3" piping makes it so you cant get a wrench of any kind up there. But I think that should be ok, hopefully it doesnt leak.

I sprayed the entire exhaust with Rustoleum 1200 degree flat black BBQ grille paint to prevent rusting since I did not get the SS piping.

I did have to do some tweaking to the lower heat shield to get it off the car when the original exhaust was on because it is damn near impossible to pull the o2 sensor out with the shield on. So I cut a slit in it and lifted it out from the top. If you remove your fan on the radiator (4 bolts and an electrical plug, very easy) you have ALOT more room to work with.

The front ground strap on the exhaust I had nowhere to put it so I left it hanging, will that cause a problem?
The rear ground strap (by the rear o2 sensor) I got onto a hanger. I also tied my 2nd o2 sensor to the metal hanger on the exhaust so that was not a problem either, and no CEL yet.

Now to the performance side of things, it seems to pull a little harder and now I am hitting 17-18psi of boost however so that is probly where the increase in power is coming from, I need to turn that down to 15. From the rear the 4" SS tip looks pretty good.

As for the sound, it is VERY loud over 3k rpms. I would NOT recommend the 3" o2/cat elim exhaust for a daily driver. I would either keep a cat on there or get a 2.5" downpipe or something to muffle it down a little bit.

I also think I have some exhaust leaks, it sounds like it. This is more than likely the slip fittings, but I have been told that after a little time they will seal up so I guess we'll see about that.

I will also post if I lose or gain any mpg from this exhaust.

 

[RnR Racing]

We actually recommend and use the full 3" system on all our daily drivers. I don't think it's loud at all.

Glad the install went good and hope you enjoy the new sounds.

 

[WATTSPXR]

You say performance increase seemed to come mostly from additional boost levels, interesting. I'm assuming you had the stock exhaust on previously right? I've been shopping around and this is the exhaust I'd like to get though in SS. Hacking things to make it fit with bolt-on systems like this is kind of normal. As far as noise levels, I hope it won't be any louder than my 2.5" straight through exhaust on my highly modded N/A SVT Contour....HMMmmmm

Anyway, I'm new to the boards so I haven't noticed if you have any 1/4 ET's yet I'm very interested to see if there is a difference since the install of your RNR Exhaust...

 

[98TsiAWD]

Originally posted by RnR Racing
We actually recommend and use the full 3" system on all our daily drivers. I don't think it's loud at all.

Glad the install went good and hope you enjoy the new sounds.

I am overall pretty pleased with teh product. The flanges missing between to 02/downpipe is ok, I can deal with that since you could not get it to work.
The only thing that Im now not really happy about is that I have exhaust leaks on the slip fit joints.... And I can hear the leaks.

 

[98TsiAWD]

Originally posted by WATTSPXR
You say performance increase seemed to come mostly from additional boost levels, interesting. I'm assuming you had the stock exhaust on previously right? I've been shopping around and this is the exhaust I'd like to get though in SS. Hacking things to make it fit with bolt-on systems like this is kind of normal. As far as noise levels, I hope it won't be any louder than my 2.5" straight through exhaust on my highly modded N/A SVT Contour....HMMmmmm

Anyway, I'm new to the boards so I haven't noticed if you have any 1/4 ET's yet I'm very interested to see if there is a difference since the install of your RNR Exhaust...

As far as teh noise level It will probly not be any louder than the 2.5" exhaust on your contour because the turbo kind of muffles our exhaust to an extent.
I havent got to run the car at the track yet since they are all closed right now because of snow So I cant really give you any numbers there.
The increase in power MIGHT be coming from the 2psi more of boost. I will turn down my MBC to 15psi tommorrow and see what it feels like then.. The ground is covered in snow right now so I cant really test it out to much.

 

[WATTSPXR]

Well I'll keep myself tuned in to any updates about your opinions regarding performance. Fortunately for us here in Hawaii we need to drive above 12,000' to touch snow.

 

[RnR Racing]

You shouldn't have any leaks at all. We test fit the system to insure that everything is tight. You also said it took a little work to get the slip fit to fit. I think it might have been do to shipping.

The slip fits we use are real tight and insure a good seal, but if they have been damaged then that might be the problem. I would say throw a clamp on it and am sure that will fix any small leak.

 

[98TsiAWD]

Originally posted by RnR Racing
You shouldn't have any leaks at all. We test fit the system to insure that everything is tight. You also said it took a little work to get the slip fit to fit. I think it might have been do to shipping.

The slip fits we use are real tight and insure a good seal, but if they have been damaged then that might be the problem. I would say throw a clamp on it and am sure that will fix any small leak.

i cant find any 3" exhaust clamps in my shi*thole town

 

[McGruffAWD]

Dude the exhaust leaks you are getting is from the 02 housing..I cant believe you didnt take the time or find the right tool to put that bolt back on. The slip fits i used where awesome..i also added a exhaust clamp for a little more support. I Dont mean to be a prick but it sounds like you did a piss poor job of putting it together. The first ground can be placed on the hanger and just wrap a steel band clamp around it. Find the really small one. As for the 02 housing bolt. Get a very very small 14mm wrench. It fits in there barly with the bend in it. Hope everything gets fixed. I love me RNR and have no problems what so ever with it.

 

[98TsiAWD]

Originally posted by McGruffAWD
Dude the exhaust leaks you are getting is from the 02 housing..I cant believe you didnt take the time or find the right tool to put that bolt back on. The slip fits i used where awesome..i also added a exhaust clamp for a little more support. I Dont mean to be a prick but it sounds like you did a piss poor job of putting it together. The first ground can be placed on the hanger and just wrap a steel band clamp around it. Find the really small one. As for the 02 housing bolt. Get a very very small 14mm wrench. It fits in there barly with the bend in it. Hope everything gets fixed. I love me RNR and have no problems what so ever with it.

No i revved it while under the hood. The o2 housing is not leaking. I will try again to get that bolt in but I had no luck. I have also heard alot of people say they cant get that bolt back in...
As far as the ground, you are saying ghetto wrap it around the hanger then ghetto clamp it?

 

[Thalomos]

I'll tell you how i got the bottom back bolt of the o2 housing in... (although mine was an ATR 3" o2 elim)

I got a itty bitty teeny tiny bolt.. like the equivilant of a 10mm (or less, it wasn't metric, it was from home depo, i think 7/18ths)... long enough to poke out the other side of the turbo. I put a normall washer on the o2 side... and got 2 lock washers and a nut for the other side (because the 14b is round, not flat) and tightened it down... (because with the ATR 02 housing, the 14mm bolt couldn't even be put in.. that was a stupid ####ing design) I did this with two normall wrenches.

Anyways, it cured my leak, and lasted fine... it also was easy to take off (wasn't stuck.. like i thought it might be)

 

[RnR Racing]

You can get the back bolt in with the right selection of sockets and extensions.

Use a short extension with the right size socket. You will also want to remove you dip stick tube to get to it.

 

[DSMu4ia]

Is that a special coating or just the stainless pipes?

Ryan, I'll be getting my side exit soon .

 

[eyebrowski]

i dont see the side exit offered on your site. do you sell it or is it something you made up for your self? any pics or prices? thanks

 

[RnR Racing]

The side exit is something we offer, but isn't on the site yet. We offer it for the 1g FWD and 2G FWD becasue there are so many bends in the back. We just bring them out the passengers side before the back tire. They are really sweet looking. This is something I have on my daily driver.

 

[eyebrowski]

how much? i am very interested.