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Best choice exhaust for N/T?

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Trav83

10+ Year Contributor
1,936
0
Mar 10, 2009
Binghamton, New_York
What is the best choice for a N/T exhaust? 420a owners may chime in as well. I want the absolute best choice for acceleration power.



Choice 1 - All stock/oem

This is where I would use the original stock exhaust manifold, 2 1/4" piping, a normal catalytic converter and an oem muffler. This is where I believe I would gain some back pressure, which some argue is good and others say bad.

Choice 2 - High flow

This is where I would use an aftermarket header, 2 1/2" piping, a test pipe and a high flow muffler. Only thing I don't like about this choice is it makes the car very loud.

Choice 3 - Mixed

This is where I could mix up the choices for best results, like for instance I could put on an aftermarket header, 2 1/4" piping, test pipe and an oem muffler. Obviously there are different variations available.
 
Choice 1 the axle cat back from the gst fwd cars.

Choice 2 an ebay N1 type make sure it comes with the removeable silencer and
and the Gst axle back exhaust will work also.

For choice 3 both ebay n1 style-tsudo, and gst axle back exhaust.
 
Well since ny doesn't do emission testing on 95 and earlier cars you might as well do 2 1/2 straight pipes.

But that's also the loudest you can get.
 
Seems like when you remove the resonators from a non-turbo exhaust it tends to get buzzy really quickly. I had a 2.5" catback system on my '97 GS at one point which had no resonators, and I wasn't at all satisfied with the sound and the car seemed to lose all of it's torque.

The torquiest system I've used on that car thus far has been the OEM 2.25" midpipe with the resonators in place and over-the-axle piece with a 2.5" Dynomax UltraFlow muffler welded at the back. The car has all of the torque that it had when the factory muffler was in place, but it definitely seems to rev smoother and the sound is exactly what I was looking for....not too loud, no annoying drone.
 
The torquiest system I've used on that car thus far has been the OEM 2.25" midpipe with the resonators in place and over-the-axle piece with a 2.5" Dynomax UltraFlow muffler welded at the back. The car has all of the torque that it had when the factory muffler was in place, but it definitely seems to rev smoother and the sound is exactly what I was looking for....not too loud, no annoying drone.

And what about stock exhaust manifold vs. performance headers on a N/T? Also what did you use for a catalytic converter for best results?
 
Headers don't do anything for a daily driver except increase the engine bay temps and require constant attention either in the form of gasket replacement or welding of cracks. Headers are meant for racing applications- not daily drivers which are started, driven 5 miles, allowed to cool down, then started again and the cycle is repeated.

My results are on the stock manifold, downpipe, and converter only. Any modification was done behind the cat, but still offered a drastic change in sound and performance.
 
So basically what you're saying is "Get yourself a Dynomax UltraFlow muffler and keep everything else stock" ;)
 
Why not keep the whole thing stock? You'll not lose the torque that you will lose from an upgraded exhaust and the 3hp you gain at 7800rpm will not be missed.

I'm not an N/T basher by any means, but a Civic Si/RSX gains a total of 6-8whp from i/h/e. Guys in my town have spent $1500 on i/h/e on their NA's and of course they couldn't be told otherwise, but I mean what's the point? I'm not going as far as don't mod an NA vehicle, just that a flashy exhaust will pretty much have you lose as much a 10ft.lbs when you really need it and exchange you for 5hp when you don't.

My NT would have a stock exhaust. And I'd take it to the track with $100 against the same car with a modified exhaust. That statement isn't to be arrogant or even to show how certain I am that a stock exhaust is "better". What it does indicate, however, is that I feel a stock exhaust will provide me with a greater sensation of power during 99% of my driving. Even when I want to play.

Headers don't do anything for a daily driver except increase the engine bay temps and require constant attention either in the form of gasket replacement or welding of cracks. Headers are meant for racing applications- not daily drivers which are started, driven 5 miles, allowed to cool down, then started again and the cycle is repeated.

My results are on the stock manifold, downpipe, and converter only. Any modification was done behind the cat, but still offered a drastic change in sound and performance.

Could you quantify "drastic change in .. performance?" I mean we are talking about a catback on an NT.
 
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So basically what you're saying is "Get yourself a Dynomax UltraFlow muffler and keep everything else stock" ;)
Trust me- if you drive the car every day, you'll appreciate a quiet system with a large oval muffler over a straight pipe with an N1 at the back. ;)

Could you quantify "drastic change in .. performance?" I mean we are talking about a catback on an NT.
The "drastic" change was more in sound than performance. Every system I tried sounded completely different than the other. Again, the larger the piping and less-restrictive the muffler is, the less user-friendly the car will be for daily driving. Sure you may gain power in the upper RPM range, but you hardly ever touch those RPMs just driving around...and you'll notice the loss in torque more than anything. Hell I rarely touch 4k in my GS unless I'm pissed off at someone or merging into traffic, so the loss in torque is more noticeable to me than a slight gain in power from 5k to redline.
 
Thanks you guys, this all helped :thumb: I'm more interested in getting power at low rpms (for better take off) like you guys say it makes more sense with a daily driver. I know I'll love the quieter tone that's for sure. So having said that I will be going back to stock, although I'm not having much luck finding a good website for these parts.
 
I would also say to go with a stock setup and have a custom axle back made with a nice muffler, dynomax, magnaflow, etc, something that will give a nice growl but will not be loud as hell and drone on the highway. I have a full exhaust on my car and there was not any noticable gains in hp and it is just loud and annoying. It was fun when I was 18 but now im tired of it. My header is now all rusty and looks like crap and my engine bay temps are hot, and the n1 muffler drones on the highway.
 
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Yeah exactly, same situation here. The older I get, the more tired I have become of how loud it is. It's especially annoying having to always feather the gas pedal whenever I'm around a cop.

Here's what gave me a little more incentive to go ahead and replace my current exhaust...

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I was driving around the other day and I noticed it had a slight hollow sound to it and the more I drove the worse it seemed to get. So sure enough upon inspecting it underneath I found a problem.
You can see it where the pipe broke right off the flange. This had been on the car for a very long time, so it's definitely not a quality issue, I blame NY weather.
 
I have the same problem here in jersey, when I originally bought my car it only had a cat back on it, but it was custom made by a local shop. What I had was an Apex N1 muffler with a straight pipe all the way to the cat, no resonators. It had an amazing sound to it, and I loved it, literally best sounding 2g nt I have ever heard. After a while my exhaust began to get louder and louder, to the point where the decibels hurt my ears when on the hightway. Eventually I found the cause when switching over to my winter wheels. I noticed what looked like a small hole in the back of the muffler, so I went to feel it with my hand and found that more than half of the back of the muffler had rusted away.
 
Soooo... PM me if you're interested in my complete oem 1Gb exhaust system. Right now I think I should hold onto the downpipe and cat, but the mid-pipe and muffler are up for grabs. It came off a car from Spokane, WA. It snows there, but they use sand on the roads. The car has never seen salt. All of the nuts and bolts came out without any stripping or breakage! I was able to unbolt the cat with my hands, some blaster, and a box wrench! I even have BNIB OEM gaskets for the back of the cat and the joint above the axle.

Got 2 manifolds, too. Both in perfect condition, no cracks.

My $.02.
 
I actually had some luck finding oem style exhaust parts online, looks like I have 2 brand choices - Walker or Bosal... Anyone have opinions on these brands?

Also, I have this on my eclipse right now (or at least something very similar) Stainless Steel Performance Exhaust Catalytic Converter should I just keep this or should I buy a real oem catalytic converter?.. Which are a lot more expensive, but I'm going to assume they're only more expensive because of their ability to filter exhaust fumes.
 
Trust me- if you drive the car every day, you'll appreciate a quiet system with a large oval muffler over a straight pipe with an N1 at the back. ;)


The "drastic" change was more in sound than performance. Every system I tried sounded completely different than the other. Again, the larger the piping and less-restrictive the muffler is, the less user-friendly the car will be for daily driving. Sure you may gain power in the upper RPM range, but you hardly ever touch those RPMs just driving around...and you'll notice the loss in torque more than anything. Hell I rarely touch 4k in my GS unless I'm pissed off at someone or merging into traffic, so the loss in torque is more noticeable to me than a slight gain in power from 5k to redline.

Like reading my mind. Good discussion.
 
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