I purchased the Apex'i N1 downpipe and catback exhaust system a few years ago and thought I'd share my thoughts on it with you guys.
Fit and Finish:
The fit and finish of this piece are top-notch, the N1 system for the 1G's only comes in aluminized steel with a stainless N1 muffler, the welds are what you would expect from a seasoned tig robot
They're great. Everything bolts up with no modification of any sort and all the pieces mate perfectly with one another, no grinding or wrestling with anything to get it to fit.
Documentation and Installation:
There's a decent set of installation instructions and info on the exhaust included with the product and installation is very straightforward. The hardest part of course is breaking the bolts free on your old rusted exhaust.
Performance and Sound:
This particular exhaust has only been used on my 2.0 setup with a 14b turbo but I will say that once the downpipe and catback were installed it really woke the car up! Spoolup increased dramatically, and the car really seemed much much faster. The exhaust tone was aggressive, deep, and powerful, but not overly loud or obnoxious in any way. In fact this exhaust is fairly quiet! No doubt in part due to the two resonators welded in to the catback. There was no "honda" buzzing, no raspiness, and no farting either. I love the way this exhaust sounds.
Aesthetics:
The exhaust tucks in very nicely with the 1G lines and has a very slight "angled muffler" look to it. I've recieved several compliments on how nicely it looks with the ol' 1Gb that I have.
NOTE: This IS a fartcan/melon shooter type exhaust. If you put this on your car you ARE putting yourself right on the "pull me over" list!!! This exhaust is by no means super loud or overly obnoxious but I have been pulled over for "excessively loud / illegal exhaust" even though I was merely putting around campus at about 2500rpm. It IS quiet, however one look at the muffler and that was all it took. The ticket was dropped since the officer had no decibel measuring equipment but the point is, it attracts attention that is sometimes unwanted and unwarranted.
Parts included:
The downpipe comes with all stainless hardware for a tidy install.
The catback comes with an adapter to bolt to your factory catalytic converter if you're unlucky enough to still have one, there is also a silencer that fits in to the muffler tip, and all stainless hardware needed for a smooth install.
Final thoughts:
I like this exhaust quite a bit but there are a few things bother me about it.
1. The downpipe starts out about 2.5" 'til the flex section, and then is closer to 2.8" for the rest of the downpipe. The catback also is not a TRUE 3" catback, closer to 2.8" and in general noticeably smaller than a standard 3" exhaust.
2. After a few years the aluminized steel has begun to oxidize and slight surface oxidation is starting to appear. Though this does not hinder performance in any way it's still unsightly and annoying to look at.
3. Cost, cost, cost.... Back when this was purchased there were no cheap alternatives or "Megan" style exhausts on the market. You can now have a full 3" stainless exhausts for MUCH less than what I paid for this, hell you can have a full generic stainless turbo-back for what I paid for the catback portion probably, and in my opinion, I would rather have one of those.
That is all, it's a quality exhaust and I like it, but be aware of other alternatives. I hope this has been helpful to some of you. Take care.
Fit and Finish:
The fit and finish of this piece are top-notch, the N1 system for the 1G's only comes in aluminized steel with a stainless N1 muffler, the welds are what you would expect from a seasoned tig robot
They're great. Everything bolts up with no modification of any sort and all the pieces mate perfectly with one another, no grinding or wrestling with anything to get it to fit.
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You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Documentation and Installation:
There's a decent set of installation instructions and info on the exhaust included with the product and installation is very straightforward. The hardest part of course is breaking the bolts free on your old rusted exhaust.
Performance and Sound:
This particular exhaust has only been used on my 2.0 setup with a 14b turbo but I will say that once the downpipe and catback were installed it really woke the car up! Spoolup increased dramatically, and the car really seemed much much faster. The exhaust tone was aggressive, deep, and powerful, but not overly loud or obnoxious in any way. In fact this exhaust is fairly quiet! No doubt in part due to the two resonators welded in to the catback. There was no "honda" buzzing, no raspiness, and no farting either. I love the way this exhaust sounds.
Aesthetics:
The exhaust tucks in very nicely with the 1G lines and has a very slight "angled muffler" look to it. I've recieved several compliments on how nicely it looks with the ol' 1Gb that I have.
NOTE: This IS a fartcan/melon shooter type exhaust. If you put this on your car you ARE putting yourself right on the "pull me over" list!!! This exhaust is by no means super loud or overly obnoxious but I have been pulled over for "excessively loud / illegal exhaust" even though I was merely putting around campus at about 2500rpm. It IS quiet, however one look at the muffler and that was all it took. The ticket was dropped since the officer had no decibel measuring equipment but the point is, it attracts attention that is sometimes unwanted and unwarranted.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Parts included:
The downpipe comes with all stainless hardware for a tidy install.
The catback comes with an adapter to bolt to your factory catalytic converter if you're unlucky enough to still have one, there is also a silencer that fits in to the muffler tip, and all stainless hardware needed for a smooth install.
Final thoughts:
I like this exhaust quite a bit but there are a few things bother me about it.
1. The downpipe starts out about 2.5" 'til the flex section, and then is closer to 2.8" for the rest of the downpipe. The catback also is not a TRUE 3" catback, closer to 2.8" and in general noticeably smaller than a standard 3" exhaust.
2. After a few years the aluminized steel has begun to oxidize and slight surface oxidation is starting to appear. Though this does not hinder performance in any way it's still unsightly and annoying to look at.
3. Cost, cost, cost.... Back when this was purchased there were no cheap alternatives or "Megan" style exhausts on the market. You can now have a full 3" stainless exhausts for MUCH less than what I paid for this, hell you can have a full generic stainless turbo-back for what I paid for the catback portion probably, and in my opinion, I would rather have one of those.
That is all, it's a quality exhaust and I like it, but be aware of other alternatives. I hope this has been helpful to some of you. Take care.
