Have any of you guys ran your 5th gen Ludes with just a CAI and a removed muffler. What I mean is running your exhaust through the cat and resonator, but ending it after the resonator? If so how does it sound, honestly? My friend has a 2000 Civic Si, and that's how his is setup. All I can say is, it's probably the best sounding Honda I've heard around here because I see other VTECs in town (Ludes, Civics, Tegs, and S2000s) with aftermarket cat-backs, and they sound good and clean, but the VTEC isn't extremely distinct; it just sounds louder when it's engaged. My friend's VTEC is so distinct, I've never heard any other VTEC engagment like his--it goes from a deep purr through 5k RPMs and out of nowhere it will make an ear-deafening BRANG sound, like a high-pitched V8 at WOT (if you can imagine that)---and no, there is nothing wrong with his car.There's no back fire from it (just the minimal like any other exhaust) and it doens't have that crappy ricey sound to it, just really really deep until VTEC, and I haven't heard any other exhaust like it. I'm wondering if any of you Luders have tried this.

 

I have a 4th gen VTEC and I've driven my car around with muffler disconnected. It is VERY loud and can give you a headache inside the cabin. The power gains are very noticable though. It sounds like an absolute F1 racer in VTEC, its sick. There definately are benefits to running it this way at the track.

 

I pulled mine off last night. It sounds kinda ricey inside the car, but it screams nice and clear when listening from the outside. There isn't a huge difference between VTEC and non-VTEC RPMs but you can hear it.

 

[sarcasm]Bah! If you're pulling off the muffler, why not pull off the whole exhaust. Take off the B-pipe and Cat-converter too! Just have the exhaust dump straight from the header... It will sound sweet and wake the dead! [/sarcasm]

Andrew