Thermal R&D vs. Apexi n1

[giovanniv]

Alright well I am torn right now on which to buy. I already had a thermal R&d on my gst and LOVED how it sounded. Very clean deep tone to it but now the problem is I can't seem to get my hands on a used one for my 2g awd. There is some guy that emailed me selling a full Apexi n1 for a fairly decent price. Now my question is, which one would you guys choose and why? Anyone that has had both, how do they compare? Does the Apexi exhaust bottleneck down anywhere? Thanks

 

[Dsmj89]

Just get another thermal r&d. The gst i just bought had it but the guy wanted the exhaust for his awd talon ,which ended up not fitting, so if he still has the exhaust by the time i rack up the money i'll buy it off him.
I say Thermal hands down, love the way it sounds.

 

[daren_p]

Never had the Thermal R&D but use to have an Apexi N1 when the car was fwd. If the awd version is the same, the resonator on them is a huge restriction. They neck down to about 2" internally. If you do go with the Apexi, just cut out the resonator & put in a true 3" resonator, if your looking for max flow. Just don't expect it to be near as quiet.

 

[wasabi37]

Had a R&D for my 98 GST and loved it. After I totalled the GST, I was lucky enough to find a 95 GSX in less than two weeks. Originally I was going to buy another R&D for the GSX but some guy sold me a used Apexi N1 for $100. The N1 is definitely loud as hell and I ended welding a resonator to it. I still prefer the R&D after all.

 

[giovanniv]

Ya I have heard that the Apexi doesn't have the same throaty sound that the thermal R&D has so I think I might just wait. I was watching some youtube videos of the apexi and they didn't sound very good at all. Now I know that there is some distortion and everything but they still sounded too high pitch at higher rpms.

 

[TrystanGST]

I had the N1 on my Spyder, and I loved it. Never heard the Thermal, so I can't give an honest compare.

 

[99gst214]

Hey Giovanni, your Thermal R&D sounds amazing on my car. So happy that I bought it from you. I haven't actually heard the Apexi in person, but from the videos I have watched, it just doesn't seem to have the deep tone that your goin for! Just remember how bad ass your 95 gst sounded! Go with the Thermal bro!

 

[usmc0651dns]

I've got the N1 on my 97 GSX and in my opinion it has a deep tone and sounds pretty good. Too bad I'm going to Afghanistan in a couple months and am taking the car back to stock .

 

[laser92DSM]

I also had a tough time picking between the N1 and the thermal and I picked the thermal its quieter at higher rpm's than the N1 and at low the thermal rumbles more and sounds more throaty.

 

[pboglio]

Thermal is good, may be the last aftermarket exhaust my 97GSX will ever run. Aside from being heavy as hell, one if not the best sounding DSM exhausts I've ever heard.

 

[tallywacker]

The N1 isn't a true 3" exhaust unless you modify it. Also thermal is an american company and that always carries weight with me.

 

[hereitcomes]

And they put a lot of time into the way their exhaust impact performance and sound. Hence the Thermal R&D. I wish they made more for 1g's. I love the way they look and sound.

 

[uberswede]

Thermal R&D here... love it.

 

[Dsmj89]

Can't wait to get me a thermal for mine.

 

[giovanniv]

Damn thermal is starting to take my vote once again! What about the Apexi carbon Ti or whatever? How do those sound?

 

[ClassicalBor]

I have the N1 and while I do like it, what most people are saying is right. I do think it sounds great at high rpms, but it is very loud. It still has a very deep tone at low RPMs but its a smooth deep tone, it doesnt have the throaty rumbley effect the Thermal has. So i suppose its all your opinion.

Im not sure about how the Thermal's muffler can sits but the Apexi' N1 is angled up just enough that the back part of the muffler hits the ground quite often for me... to the point where the whole back part of my muffler where my next 3in pipe connects to has been nearly knocked out. Not that it changes anything for sound or performance, and its not like a typical exhaust leak because the muffler housing is basically just that... a housing, the pipe goes through it. But it might hurt resale value or inspection/emissions.

+ to lowered car = emissions station here in MD wont even run it on the rollers, they just waive me every 2 years yay!

 

[pboglio]

The 2g AWD Thermal R&D muffler sits high and tight, no problems on my 1.25" suspension drop. Don't know about the FWD version though.

 

[usmc0651dns]

I have the N1 with Eibach Pro Springs and it sits ok also. It is quite loud but does sound nice when driving. I may switch to the Thermal or a custom Magnaflow dual tip setup though.

 

[housegsx]

I've had both.

The Apexi N1 fitment is perfect. The downside is the restrictions, it's not stainless steel, it's very heavy, and one of the welds split on my muffler.

I now have the Thermal R&D. Fitment is good, but one hanger in the middle was pointing the wrong way so it isn't doing anything. It is SS, true 3 inch, 1/2-1/3 the weight of the N1, and the sound is better.

 

[TrystanGST]

I've had both.

The Apexi N1 fitment is perfect. The downside is the restrictions, it's not stainless steel, it's very heavy, and one of the welds split on my muffler.

I now have the Thermal R&D. Fitment is good, but one hanger in the middle was pointing the wrong way so it isn't doing anything. It is SS, true 3 inch, 1/2-1/3 the weight of the N1, and the sound is better.

Win.

 

[EclipticalGS]

If you have a Punishment Racing SS Downpipe, paired with a 3" Thermal RD SS catback, it makes for one of the best sounding exhausts. It sounds amazing, doesnt rust (flanges do a little so just hitemp clear them). The punishment DP weighs less than the stock downpipe. and the Thermal Exhaust weighs more than stock. So your staying somewhere near stock weight.

 

[gusu]

Thermal is so awesome they even make Hondas sound bad ass.... thats saying something!

 

[LiquidX]

You can just goto Thermal's site find the muffler you want and look it up on Ebay to get a Thermal R&D custom cat back.

I've only used Magnaflow for my exhaust systems, much cheaper.