Hey guys

You probably saw my previous post about choosing a cat back. Now I have an idea of what I want. I'm thinking either an Apexi WS2 or a Thermal cat back for my 1997 SH.

Problem is that someone said about the WS2: "Problem with the Apexi is, at least from what other member's on this site had told me, was that it wasn't a straight through design. It was a chamber design. If this is true, which I assumed it to be, and you want as much airflow as possible, don't go with the WS. "

I don't know if this is true.

Also, I have no clue how Thermal is. Does anyone have any idea if I should get a Thermal or not? I don't want anything that sounds really ricey. Speaking of which, if someone could post a sound clip for both of these on a 5th gen, it would be awesome.

Thanks!

 

The Thermal exhausts do not sound ricey at all. Throaty and deep, just as they are advertised for.
Also i'm not sure the WS2 mid-section is stainless steel, the Thermal is 100% stainless -> for me it was what made swing the balance in favor of Thermal (salty roads here)

 

WS2 is chambered, Thermal is straight through

WS2 has mild steel piping, Thermal is full 304 stainless.

WS2 has a low-hanging midpipe that tends to scrape, Thermal fitment is as good/better than stock

WS2 is very similar to stock in terms of sound and volume, Thermal is a "medium=loud" exhaust I guess you could say. Not like an N1-style race exhaust but not whisper quiet. Its much more like a traditional American sports car exhaust (think Magnaflow on a Vette) that has been adapted for an import application.

Neither is "ricey."

 

greddy evo2 baby!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HxClude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

WS2 has a low-hanging midpipe that tends to scrape,

</TD></TR></TABLE>

So true

 

Alright, so I'm thinking a Thermal is the best choice. But before I get one, I'd like to actually hear what it sounds like. Does anyone have a clip?

 

I think I have a clip with Apexi N1, WS2, Evo, and Thermal back-to-back. All at idle, but it gives you a goo didea of the general "character" of the sound.

message me with your email address - I think its about 8 megs.

 

try this
at idle
http://gmat.free.fr/pix/lude1.mov
short run
http://gmat.free.fr/pix/lude2.mov
it was with a near stock 2.3l at the time (CAI, stock header, test pipe, thermal exhaust)
also the sound recording is crappy because it was done with a digital camera.. crappy little embedded microphone
i'd need a high dynamic range microphone to record properly the sound
in the mean time these vids convey a bit of the sound quality of this exhaust
the nearest sound you can find stock is on a BMW M3 i think

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jesus_FR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Also i'm not sure the WS2 mid-section is stainless steel, the Thermal is 100% stainless -&gt; for me it was what made swing the balance in favor of Thermal (salty roads here)</TD></TR></TABLE>

100 % stainless except for the flanges.

 

Thermal started using stainless flanges a year or two ago

 

Cool. Thanks for the clips so far. Keep them coming!

Also, if I do get a Thermal, then would I have to get a new catalytic converter, or will stock fit and work fine?

 

i'm just curious but are you going to buy it brand new? from where and how much? i wanted to get a thermal because of how it sounds and looks. it's alot louder than the ws2, alot. but its still a nice sound. but i just can't find one used haha, so i'm going to get an RS*R

 

buy some stainless steel and make a 10 inch long 6 inch round expansion chamber forget the resonator and just use that as your muffler sounds kick *** better than those exhausts and its still quite + free flowing. sounds esp good with 3 in pipe.

 

I'm definitely getting a new one. I was thining the RS*R, but I'm figuring that if I'm going to spend that much money, I might as well get a Thermal instead.

 

I just switched to a ws1 & love it

 

Thanks HxClude for the sound clip. Now, just one last thing. I'd like to hear a 5th gen Thermal in motion. If anyone has a sound clip of a thermal in a 5th gen while its moving from either the inside, outside, or both, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!

 

I might go with the mugen or the ws2.

 

the thermal stealth is a damn good system, sounds awesome....

 

They don't make the Stealth for the 5th gen though.

 

the 5th gen system was designed using the same elements as all other Thermal stealth systems for Hondas but for some reason (something to do with the layout/shape or location of bends that any aftermarket system for the 5g has to use), the exhaust was too loud for Thermal to market it in their stealth line.

thats why the 5th gen is listed as a "classic" model instead of stealth. its not as loud as some of their other classic systems but its not as quiet as a typical stealth system.

 

Does the thermal exhaust drone on the highway?


Modified by 97FBPPrelude at 6:48 PM 11/4/2005

 

*bump*

(need moving exhaust clip and an answer to the catalytic converter question please!)

 

Thermal will bolt up to the stock cat just fine. Although it doens't taper down at the cat end like most exhausts, the included gasket works well. friend of mine ran it with a stock header and cat for 3-4 years with no problems whatsoever.

I can't seem to find any clips I used to have of the Thermal in motion. I can tell you that I listened to some clips (in cabin) from someone on PreludeOnline.com that had just bought one used (back in April I think) and there was no noticable drone at 4k like there is sometimes rumored to be.

 

Exhaust in my sig is like the WS but straight through and the muffler is red and yellow from the heat. It is pretty quiet to a little louder than WS. If you were closer I would hook you up.

 

wheres muff? east side or west of pa