SSAutochrome/XSPower Turboback Exhaust Installed (PICS+VIDS)

[jm1080]

Ok here it is the ssautochrome 3" turboback exhaust that many been asking about. I finally was able to install it with a huge help of fellow members on this site

Anyways here are pics of what it looks like compared to the stock exhaust:

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Im not here to post a tech guide because kenamond already posted his Its really easy install, just takes so much time . We had a problem with the O2 sensor and it wouldnt come off, we tried everything from PB blaster to using mallot and nothing. We managed to get the O2 out once the entire exhaust was removed. We just cut the wires off, of course I got a check engine light. We will fix that soon though. Other than that we had to make holes bigger in the DP flange, heres comparison:

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It took a while but it finally got in there:

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Other problem was the hanger was built on the wrong side, I think kenamond said manufacturer had to do that or something, he just twisted it the other way so it can get on the rubber hanger here a pic showing it on the wrong side:

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Other than that everything seemed to fit in properly. Just time consuming. The muffler is real close to the bumper though, dont know how we can fix that, atleast it sticks out a bit. It also real close to the carrier bearings/driveshaft. Here are pics of it installed:

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As for the sound, it is not ricey, it actually sounds nice and deep, but it is kind of loud, like kenamond stated. I might change muffler, but maby in the future as I dont have any money now. You instantly notice a huge difference in power. And all of you been asking for a vid clip, I have 4 comparing next to my friends apexi turboback exhaust.

Apexi revving

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SSAutochrome revving

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Apexi startup

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SSAutochrome startup

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Tell me what you guys think

 

[SnowBird]

sounds great for the price. As people were talking about the megan exhaust, I myself have a 2.5 downpipe to 3" straightpipe all the way back to the angled MEGAN muffler, and I love the sound. Mean as hell.

 

[jm1080]

thanks guys, yea funny vid . Anyways I dont know why it has a bend in the muffler, its made like the stock muffler how it bends. For some reason though, its beginning to sound louder and annoying, maby its just me. This is when im not in boost. It seem a bit raspy, I dont know if its cause of the check engine light or what. Could check engine light decrease performance or something?

 

[kawboy]

Probably getting an exhaust leak.

Retighten all the bolts

 

[droppinbottom]

In my experience mufflers will change their sound a little bit after they have been broken in. Normally in just a couple of days driving. You can always try adding a longer resonator to it.

 

[jm1080]

Hmm never thought of exhaust leak, even though it just installed? Were going to retighten everything as well just incase. My friend heard the exhaust when we were driving and he said there was no raspiness and it wasnt as loud, but he does have exhaust, so maby he just couldnt hear it that well . But inside the car it sounds loud to me. Getting sort of annoyed.

I have a question though, should I put another resonator? where the pipe eliminates cat? or would that be bad? Or should I put a race cat? Which one would make me not lose performance and quiet the exhaust?

 

[MadScientist92]

Killer deal. Even if you replaced the muffler still a good deal. I would throw a resonator in there if you're worried about the loudness and/or raspiness.

 

[toojung2die]

Killer deal. Even if you replaced the muffler still a good deal. I would throw a resonator in there if you're worried about the loudness and/or raspiness.

These inexpensive eBay cat-back import exhaust systems used to come with more resonators. I have a 3" Tsudo "Fireball" cat-back I bought on eBay a few years ago. It hasn't been offered for sale for a long time. It has two resonators and a muffler with a 4" angled tip. It increased noticeably in noise volume in the first few months as expected but it isn't harsh or annoying. It sounds better IMHO and isn't getting any louder.

I wish I could quickly provide a photo of the mid-exhaust resonator on the Tsudo exhaust I have. It's twice the volume (size) of the muffler at the tip. The first resonator in the series looks like the baby one in the exhaust you are looking at. I believe the exhausts you are looking at on Ebay now are engineered to be lower cost than the ones available a few years ago. To my ears the latest sound clips posted here are what I call 'Fart Cans' and too harsh.

The prices you are seeing are less expensive compared to what I remember I paid but the reason I believe is a downgrade in product quality. The less expensive exhausts sell better than the better quality exhausts; imported and domestic manufacturers inclusive. The less components required the lower the cost. One less big resonator = lower cost. At least they're still polished SS.

If your choices are currently limited then buy a cheap loud exhaust and pay later to have an additional resonator or better muffler installed. Even better, plan to include a high flow catalytic converter in your exhaust. It may be all you need to get the sound you like and it will keep you legal.

 

[jm1080]

These inexpensive eBay cat-back import exhaust systems used to come with more resonators. I have a 3" Tsudo "Fireball" cat-back I bought on eBay a few years ago. It hasn't been offered for sale for a long time. It has two resonators and a muffler with a 4" angled tip. It increased noticeably in noise volume in the first few months as expected but it isn't harsh or annoying. It sounds better IMHO and isn't getting any louder.

I wish I could quickly provide a photo of the mid-exhaust resonator on the Tsudo exhaust I have. It's twice the volume (size) of the muffler at the tip. The first resonator in the series looks like the baby one in the exhaust you are looking at. I believe the exhausts you are looking at on Ebay now are engineered to be lower cost than the ones available a few years ago. To my ears the latest sound clips posted here are what I call 'Fart Cans' and too harsh.

The prices you are seeing are less expensive compared to what I remember I paid but the reason I believe is a downgrade in product quality. The less expensive exhausts sell better than the better quality exhausts; imported and domestic manufacturers inclusive. The less components required the lower the cost. One less big resonator = lower cost. At least they're still polished SS.

If your choices are currently limited then buy a cheap loud exhaust and pay later to have an additional resonator or better muffler installed. Even better, plan to include a high flow catalytic converter in your exhaust. It may be all you need to get the sound you like and it will keep you legal.

I was going to get that Tsudo exhaust, but then I found the SS one real cheap, so I was like what the heck, it cheap. Exhaust sounds ok, i guess. Not used to fartcans . But could a resonator go where the cat is eliminated? I still dont know if I should get a race cat or just get another resonator to tone it down. But then again I dont want to lose any performance.

 

[toojung2die]

I was going to get that Tsudo exhaust, but then I found the SS one real cheap, so I was like what the heck, it cheap. Exhaust sounds ok, i guess. Not used to fartcans . But could a resonator go where the cat is eliminated? I still dont know if I should get a race cat or just get another resonator to tone it down. But then again I dont want to lose any performance.

"Race Cat" is a euphemism for test pipe. It's not a catalytic converter. Here's a picture from Ebay of an exhaust that's very similar to the design of the Tsudo Fireball. It has two resonators and the larger of the two is in the straight section to the rear of the cat. The muffler in this picture has a bigger tip than mine. Two resonators and a muffler results in a less harsh sound IMHO.

 

[Gamble97]

For the price, I guess it's worth it, but I love my apex.

 

[jm1080]

"Race Cat" is a euphemism for test pipe. It's not a catalytic converter. Here's a picture from Ebay of an exhaust that's very similar to the design of the Tsudo Fireball. It has two resonators and the larger of the two is in the straight section to the rear of the cat. The muffler in this picture has a bigger tip than mine. Two resonators and a muffler results in a less harsh sound IMHO.

Oh I see, so its basically 2 resonators, but are on separate pipe. On mine its 2 on midpipe, but IMO its still loud for 2 resonators. And nevermind I thought there was such thing as a race cat . So if I put another resonator at the end of the DP, where the cat was supposed to go, it will tone it down alot more? And wont lose performance? Wish it was possible to have stock sound back, but just aggressive .

 

[white_dsm]

Just wondering, ssautochrome doesn't make this 3" tbe for the 1g awd? Searched up and down and couldn't find anything.

Shoot would your 2g tbe fit on my 1g?

 

[jm1080]

Just wondering, ssautochrome doesn't make this 3" tbe for the 1g awd? Searched up and down and couldn't find anything.

Shoot would your 2g tbe fit on my 1g?

No they dont make for 1g awd. Ive only seen for 2g and evo. I have no clue if the 2 one would fit on 1g, probably a lot of modifications .

 

[Twistaye]

Looks about the same as my a'pexi downpipe+catback! Although I had no problems installing mine whatsoever, only took us about 15 minutes to install. PB blasted all the bolts the day prior, when I got my downpipe and catback it didn't have a gasket that would fit the stock o2, so we ordered a stock exhaust gasket, which took about 4 minutes to get to the shop "express delivery!" . That's why it took us about 15 mins, we had to cut the stock exhaust to get it out from ontop of the crossmember, other than that very easy install and the power increase is phenomenal!

Don't mind the nice oil stains on my exhaust, oil pan gasket was leaking really bad which has been fixed! The "rubber" gasket was brittle plastic and was breaking with little to no pressure applied to them!

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Sounds like I could have saved some money going with the SS exhaust, but other than that very happy with the a'pexi! Your car doens't sound too bad at all, however I think you should change that muffer for sure! I would love to hear an exhaust clip at WOT!

 

[jm1080]

twistay, seems like a fast job for you. I like how apexi exhaust sounds, it real quiet in idle and driving normal I think. Yea i will be changing muffler as well, was thinking of the magnaflow for quieter exhaust? What else is recommended to be quieter?

By the way heres a vid of me driving in boost, inside car:

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In vid exhaust dont sound as loud, but it really sounds loud, that the car seemed to vibrate a bit. Today we actually fixed the hanger and now its bolted up properly, the exhaust is not hitting the bumper no more as well. So maby that will help, still havnt test drove it after we did that though, hopefully vibration was cause of the muffler hitting bumper.

 

[RedTurboEclipse]

FOR YOU 2g AWD guys, the chance is now to get this again. It was on a VERY LONG BACKORDER, but they are finally BACK!

I got mine for $240 shipped, this includes, downpipe, catback, silencer, new gaskets and bolts, and adapter if you are just going to install the catback, its a 3" to 2.5" adapter.

this thing is absolutely amazing for the price. I have an RRE downpipe and Greddy Power Extreme, both are 3" also, on my other 2g GSX that I've compared the quality to. The PE catback alone is $500+ retail, and the RRE downpipe is another $200 alone. So for $240 shipped, WOW.

the BIGGEST ISSUE, with the SS Autochrome/XS Power Ebay turboback (they actually call it "super exhaust") is the flange on the downpipe that connects to the o2 housing. The flange is slotted, but the holes need a bit of filing down. Not too much though.

another smaller issue is the very last hanger for the muffler on the catback. They welded the hanger just a tad bit too low. At least with mine, but I could assume this maybe the same for everyone else. A quick solution is unbolting the hanger from the frame of the car. It is on with 2 bolts. Then just move the hanger frame down one hole, so it only connects with one bolt. check my pictures and it will show what I mean. Now I could actually just leave it as stock, but it would put a lot of stress on the rubber hanger. However, that is not the biggest concern. The main problem is it will push the piping to a point where it would be touching with something on the car. I forgot what part exactly. This would ding up your catback piping, and add to vibrating noise of metal/steel hitting each other.

So you pick which one is more important to you.

another small issue, is one of the hangers have to be reversed. Very easy fix. It should be a give in, once you get to it. Very obvious, and easy fix. Owning a DSM, no need to explain, troubleshooting should be in your DNA.

Other than that, the rest of the fitment was great. The gaskets were fine, and so were the bolts.

RESULTS:

- How Does It Sound? (Without Silencer)
I'm coming from a completely stock system. So it was much louder than stock. But very nice grumble. Not buzzy. There is a lot of drone inside the car, but that should be expected. At cruise below 3000rpm, it's not too loud. Get on the throttle though and you will know it's there.

- How Does It Perform?
Now this is an odd route I took. I have an MHI Ported Big16g, fmic, upper ic pipes, intake, bov, DSMLink etc, etc. Pretty much EVERYTHING to support it, but stock exhaust. I know right? So I was curious to see how much more power it would give me. Well the power gain is definitely there. It pulls much harder. The butt dyno definitely felt a good gain.

This is a very great product for the price. I am very satisfied with this. Another one to chalk up for EBAY/SS Auto

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[jm1080]

Nice review, I been trying to fix mine...It is annoyingly loud , but maybe because I had it for a while. Note that the resonators on the exhaust are "for looks only" they are not real resonators. Also the muffler is perforated only half way. I changed out the muffler for a dual tip vibrant, and it got a little quieter and elimitated all raspyness I was having. When I first had it, there was no raspyness, but over time you will notice it.

Right now Im trying to find someone to install my magnaflow 5" resonator, but these damn welders are too expensive...Supposedly there are too many tiny bends where the 2 fake resonators are and you need extra piping which = more money I dont get why they even made the exhaust like that...

Well pricing is good, so you cant complain about that. But if you want to make it quiet it will cost more money than the exhaust..

 

[RedTurboEclipse]

Nice review, I been trying to fix mine...It is annoyingly loud , but maybe because I had it for a while. Note that the resonators on the exhaust are "for looks only" they are not real resonators. Also the muffler is perforated only half way. I changed out the muffler for a dual tip vibrant, and it got a little quieter and elimitated all raspyness I was having. When I first had it, there was no raspyness, but over time you will notice it.

Right now Im trying to find someone to install my magnaflow 5" resonator, but these damn welders are too expensive...Supposedly there are too many tiny bends where the 2 fake resonators are and you need extra piping which = more money I dont get why they even made the exhaust like that...

Well pricing is good, so you cant complain about that. But if you want to make it quiet it will cost more money than the exhaust..

you made the first post regarding this product that actually delivered, pictures, review and videos man.. so thanks to you. You reassured my purchase

you know where i mention the last hanger on the muffler how i moved the hanger on the car one bolt over? did you do that or keep it as is. If I kept it as is, it would be touching the bumper also, just like you first complained about in your first post, in addition to the exhaust piping hitting a metal piece of the vehicle.

The muffler is the biggest thing I want to change, into something stock looking, but yea it will cost more than the entire exhaust!

-------------

Also to add to how the car now reacts, before the turboback, I had set my MBC to about 18lbs. Without touching it and the turboback on, it went up to 20-21! Also it spools up faster! Very noticeable.

 

[jm1080]

hehe just looked back at my first post, yea when it was hitting the bumper so we bent the hanger and lowered it. Overtime exhaust will get ANNOYING!!!

I made a thread about trying to make my exhaust quiet:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/bolt-tech/311869-my-journey-quiet-3in-exhaust-vids-pics-2.html

It didnt cost much for the muffler because that was just a cut and weld, but resonator is the most expensive, Im still looking for a welder to do it. Hopefully one day my exhaust will get quiet or quieter

 

[DSMRoadrash]

+1 on the autochrome!

 

[gsxeclipse97]

I don't know if anyone noticed, but im just pointing out that they are driving two different cars and also have different turbos. My g/f gst has more sound inside the car as well and she has an ebay exhaust. I have an apex and it is not nearly as loud as hers is inside the car. but overall they both sound really good. I do agree that the one on the gsx has a deeper tone to it.

 

[RedTurboEclipse]

are you talking about jm1080 and i having 2 different cars? We both have GSXs. My profile list my other 2G GSX, i put this exhaust in my beater 2G GSX. I list the mods that I have on my review. I think his car does not have as much mods as mine, and he is still on the stock t25 compared to my b16g, and watching his road test videos the difference from mine to his would be obvious, but mostly in the spool sound and how longer it takes him to accelerate jk

but idle is similar.. here i posted a video..

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...k-downpipe-catback-exhaust.html#post151684279

 

[99 GST-R]

With all those mods and a stock exhaust you would notice a HUGE difference with ANY system you put on it. Whether it be a $50 hack job or an insane $2000 gold-plated show exhaust system. The stock exhaust is the one of, if not the biggest restriction in the whole car, as you know. So only it cant be credited for all the gain you noticed, because it would have done that with any system. It sounds good however. Good find for only 200 bucks and its SS so thats a plus. I like my APEXi N1 system better though. It costs more, sure, but you cant beat the quality.

 

[RedTurboEclipse]

i knew the exhaust was a big restriction, but i was one of the few who did everything BUT the exhaust, so i was very curious to see the gains with everything already done..

I can't say I agree about the apex'i n1 being better quality. They cost $500+ retail for the catback alone and is not full stainless. This goes for the Greddy Power Extreme on my other GSX. And If I was to compare, for the price and if I could do it again, I would just got this on my other car as well. I guess if you want to mention how the GSX version needs the hanger switched around, and the bracket on the muffler bent a bit (or mounting hanger moved down 1 hole choice is yours really), then one could use that as argument, but again, $240 shipped for downpipe + catback w/silencer, gaskets, bolts, compared to $500~ for catback alone.. and as DSMers we should not even own these cars if reversing an exhaust hanger is too much for us.

But if you were to compare it to the GST models of these ebay exhaust, it is not necessary to do as mentioned, I have a GST as well I have the ebay exhaust on.

only thing the APEX'i is better at than these is the name alone, and I guess the much higher price

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i mean $240 shipped for everything.. any comparison cannot even be in the same breath. unless you just care about brands, but the FMIC kits by SS autochrome has helped break that barrier long time ago..

 

[JEFFREYCASTGSX]

just add a resonator to it if you think its to loud...down where im from most guys that i know have exhausts that are just resonators and no mufflers.... they get the sound out , and no restrictions and no rasps