Quiet, legal Exhaust

[summerisway2hot]

I know there are a number of other posts on quiet exhausts, but my situation is slightly different. I bought my Talon (after it sat for a few years) and everything was fine for a few months. I have had the normal problems that anyone would have with any car that sat for as long as mine did, but nothing that was too big of a deal.

I was under the car doing an oil change and I remembered that it had been louder lately. I finished my oil change, started the car up and went under looking for the exhaust leak. Voila-a hole right in the middle of the catalytic converter...

Now, since I need to replace the cat, I'm figuring I'll go all out and do a turbo back. That being said, I have a few big things that I need with my exhaust and was hoping that someone could give me some suggestions.

1. It NEEDS to be legal- I do need a cat.
2. It NEEDS to be quiet- I drive this car to and from college and work on the weekends, high flow is awesome but I do not want this car to sound like rice, in fact I'm shooting for quieter than stock.
3. Price is a factor- I am a college student... no further explanation needed.

I don't intend to make more than 300ish HP when im done with the car (after graduating college in a few years) so I dont need a 3 inch.

Any suggestions for a relatively inexpensive QUIET exhaust?

 

[BoostFrenzy]

The majority of aftermarket exhaust makers for the AWD turbo DSMs make them in 3" for performance benefits. But I'll go along with it.

Downpipe of w/e maker you'd like.
High flow cat
Custom catback exhaust with a vibrant muffler of your choice on it.

The HFC will lower the decibel and the Vibrant mufflers are known to be very quiet.

Just as a reference, here is my friend Mike's setup:
NewMuffler.flv video by ammomike82 - Photobucket

 

[Beemer92]

You do realize that you could install a "fake" cat convertor and get away with it providing your car can pass a emissions test don't you?? I'm not sure if the laws in Maine require emissions testing or not. If they don't, then I would personally lean more towards the "fake" cat convertor. It will save you a couple hundred bucks. On the exhaust...There is a muffler company by the the name of Varex that makes a very nice Dr. Jeckle/Mr. Hyde exhaust system. It ain't cheap though. All the Apexi types will make the car sound ricey. Look up the cat on ebay. Seller name is either tacotaco, or Ilovetacotaco. The part is for a evo 8, but will work nicely. comes with the bung holes already installed. Good luck.

 

[Clinical]

look into an Apexi N1 if it's in your price range.

Mine is nice and quiet and just a low hum when driving. When getting on it, it's not extremely loud but it just sounds good in general and shows off the real sound of the 4g63. I love it.

 

[frankenstein406]

I have a apexi and 2.5 back. It was really loud with the silencer in it but i took it out so theres nothing in there and its a nice low growl. All my friends like it and there not into rice.

 

[pboglio]

Well, I've run GReddy in the past and by far hands down, the quietest exhaust on the planet. I have my GReddy SP exhaust for sale if your interested, fits all 2g AWD. It is the quietest exhaust I've ever run, and is basically as stock sounding as any aftermarket exhaust will ever get without active mufflers etc. Its a 60mm or 2.36" exhaust. I've personally run more than 300 w.h.p. on it and its sufficient for that. It is not light or small since the muffler is huge and packed internally with foam cubes for the most sound absorption. I'd also recommend a 2.5" highflow cat and 2.5" downpipe as well if your going to be making some power.

I'd have recommended any number of cheap new exhausts in the 2.5" size but none are going to be as quiet as stock without dumping more money into them by adding extra mufflers. Though its definitely an option if you can handle a more sporty tone.

 

[Jesse__c]

gotta hate emissions test.

 

[cookmeup272]

"Legal" is relative. In NY, technically any exhaust is illegal. doesnt matter what the dB rating is. Any modification to the exhaust system is illegal.

 

[Beemer92]

"Legal" is relative. In NY, technically any exhaust is illegal. doesnt matter what the dB rating is. Any modification to the exhaust system is illegal.

Remind my to NOT move to NY. Sounds some some idiot law just to give you a ticket. Didn't realize NY was worse than the Communist Wealth of VA!!! Guess I was wrong. Good Luck.

 

[cookmeup272]

Its not too bad , i get by haha

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

For a 2g Thermal has to make the best exhaust hands down. I have a 3" RRE downpipe, high flow cat, and 3" cat-back and during cruising you can hardly hear the exhaust in the car. At WOT it does make some noise but it is very quiet compared to many exhausts out there. At idle and free reving it actually comes in at under 94db which is the max for an exhaust here. I have tuned a car with the Greddy SP and in boost it was pretty loud. Nothing like an Apexi or eBay one though. At idle it was fairly quiet.

 

[Lawn_ornament]

I had a similar problem with exhaust after the car had been sitting for a bit (holes eating out all around the back facing on the muffler). I picked up a 3"inlet/3"outlet muffler from Megan Racing that also included a silencer. I believe I paid a little over $100 for it. A side perk is that the tip of the muffler has a blue finish to it, and has a wrap of carbon fiber around the body of it (if you're into that look).

It's very quiet at idle and doesn't drone any more than the previous coffee-can "muffler" that was on the car when I first bought it.

EDIT: I believe they had mufflers down as far as 2" but I'm not certain. Here's the price line of what I'm running, quite a bit more than $100 as it turns out:

"Megan Racing M-Spec II MU-MSPECIIT 1 139.00"

linky

 

[gsxeclipse97]

I agree with n1 being very quiet, I have a down pipe with no cat and the car sounds almost the same as it did when I had the stock down pipe with cat on it. except for at wot then its slightly louder but nothing unbearable.

 

[joey tek]

"Legal" is relative. In NY, technically any exhaust is illegal. doesnt matter what the dB rating is. Any modification to the exhaust system is illegal.

what part of NY u live in? I live in the bx and i dont get messed with alot..only when its the end of the month they stop me sometimes and i just hit them with " i just got the car it came with the exhause im gonna fix it" and show them a pba and they let me go

 

[jrohner]

If you want it quiet, why not just keep stock exhaust? Just dope up your cat and leave the exhaust alone, or like someone else said, fake cat.

 

[SD_TSI]

I've got the perfect option for you! I'm a college student as well, and when I was looking for exhausts I saw the SR*S 3" catback on eBay as an option. Its only like $250 shipped I think, and once its on the car it is EXTREMELY quiet. The exhaust has two resonatators between the cat and the muffler which removes the cabin drone. When I'm on the highway I hardly notice the exhaust whatsoever, in fact, when not under boost I almost think the exhaust could be as quiet as the stock one.

 

[saturnshadow]

Do a 3" down and put a electric cut out on it. stock cat back.

 

[Clinical]

in iowa there are no emissions testing of any kind.

However it is technically illegal to modify the stock exhaust system at all in any way - but it isn't enforced at all, or at least I've never seen it enforced unless a car was ridiculously loud at night or something.

9/10 trucks here have aftermarket exhausts - same with most of the mustangs/camaros/firebirds.
Theres only a few turbo cars in town being me and a couple friends - and I probably have the quietist, the other (turbo honda)has a medium-level ebay catback and the other two (turbo honda and another 93 DSM) each ran straight pipes for awhile and never got hassled to my knowledge.

Thats the only thing I like about Iowa, when it comes to vehicles - the state really doesn't give a crap about modifying or anything.

 

[summerisway2hot]

In Maine I believe the rule is that catback is legal so long as the noise isn't too loud, but the cat is supposed to be untouched. In the situation I am in, it doesn't seem to make too much sense, but hey, what do I know? Its the lawmakers that know everything...

I want a free-er flowing exhaust than the stock one, but I am a true fan of the sleeper car idea (a friend of mine built an old Volvo wagon with a 454...) and I don't want to attract undue attention. I will have to check again on the emissions laws here, but I don't get sniffed when I bring it in for inspection so I need something that looks like a cat or a high flow, Ill decide that once I start putting everything together.

So far I seem to be looking at buying a downpipe, a high flow or fake cat, and then a catback (which doesnt surprise me since many people upgrading exhausts take out the cat). Is there anything else I should be aware of? I do not have a lift, so how has install been for those of you that have done it?

Edit: Upon more research, Maine law (at least in most of the state, including where I live) says that so long as the cat is there, doesn't have any holes, and doesn't leak at the flanges on either end that it is ok... this really helps out my options, so I got some research to do... and probably money to spend in a bit too...

Thanks again.

 

[cookmeup272]

what part of NY u live in? I live in the bx and i dont get messed with alot..only when its the end of the month they stop me sometimes and i just hit them with " i just got the car it came with the exhause im gonna fix it" and show them a pba and they let me go

Well in my avatar thingy, it says utica so thats where i live . about 45 mins east of syracuse if you know where that is. Right in the middle of NY, and im not even joking. Its not really enforced too too much, but if they pull u over for another reason they will most likely ticket you for it. After my first one, i just kept telling the cops that i already had an exhaust ticket and that the court said i had 30 days to fix it .

 

[joey tek]

Well in my avatar thingy, it says utica so thats where i live . about 45 mins east of syracuse if you know where that is. Right in the middle of NY, and im not even joking. Its not really enforced too too much, but if they pull u over for another reason they will most likely ticket you for it. After my first one, i just kept telling the cops that i already had an exhaust ticket and that the court said i had 30 days to fix it .

o ok ol..i heard of that place but they are "cracking down" they used yo stop me for tints and try to pull it but there is alot of loud hondas my car is quiet compared to them

 

[summerisway2hot]

Bringing the thread back from the dead...

Alright, so after some research, I found that it is a visual inspection where I live (no need for a true cat to pass inspection). Considering I want it quiet, what would be the best way to proceed? Would it be smart to grab a downpipe, straight through cat, cheap cat back and then throw in an extra muffler to quiet it down? Any other ideas/suggestions/etc?

Thanks again for all of the help.

EDIT: Also, anyone with something like I am looking for that is looking to sell it, let me know. I am open to many different options.