I've searched and researched this, but haven't found a satisfying answer...

While researching what kind of exhaust system to get I found some people saying that a whole cat wouldn't really be necessary for the type of (or lack of) performance gain that our cars get with it. So I am considering going with just a muffler, unless I was wrongly informed.

(currently have aem short ram if that matters at all)

 

do you mean a cat back? or replacing the cat with a high flo cat? either way your not going to see much in the way of performance gains. i have a custom cat back with an HKS axleback but when i put in the custom part i got it for free cuz i was workign at a muffler shop. If i were you i would simply put on an axleback or just a muffler as its primarily going to be for sound and looks. no real performance improvements.

 

you can put any catback, axle back, tip, hell even duct tape a muffler, and you will get no performance gain... if anything youll lose lots of low end

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by daddy2be &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">do you mean a cat back? or replacing the cat with a high flo cat? either way your not going to see much in the way of performance gains. i have a custom cat back with an HKS axleback but when i put in the custom part i got it for free cuz i was workign at a muffler shop. If i were you i would simply put on an axleback or just a muffler as its primarily going to be for sound and looks. no real performance improvements.</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by novice_04 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you can put any catback, axle back, tip, hell even duct tape a muffler, and you will get no performance gain... if anything youll lose lots of low end </TD></TR></TABLE>

that's what I heard, thanks for your input I'll probably go with a greddy sp2 knock off muffler hopefully it won't sound like ****

 

bolt ons on a POS d17a1/a2 = waste of money for no actual performance...

you might FEEL better because others will THINK your car is really modified under the hood, but more than anything, you'll suffer from the "placebo effect" and feel like you've gained 20+ HP

 

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

that's what I heard, thanks for your input I'll probably go with a greddy sp2 knock off muffler hopefully it won't sound like ****</TD></TR></TABLE>

a higher quality muffler will sound better then a cheapy muffler from my experience.

 

^true

what I would do if i had to choose just a muffler, is to get a magnaflow: cheap, and sounds pretty good

 

there are performance gains if you upgrade all of the following:

- header
- test pipe (illegal)
- catback exhaust

you will see gains around 5whp-10whp probably.

is it worth it?

thats your decision...

 

are you sure i will be looking at 10whp from header test pipe and cat back? I really didn't notice much for gains with all that on and an intake. It has little more power at top end at about 6 to red line. But i know get horrible gas millage. Mostly because i love listening to my exhaust. If you do get a exhaust go with the Tanabe concept G medallion cat back. Well worth what i payed for it. Not only does it look good everything fits perfectly and it sounds awesome.

Don't go with Magnaflow i really don't like there quality.

 

vibrant ftw

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1llmatic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">there are performance gains if you upgrade all of the following:

- header
- test pipe (illegal)
- catback exhaust

you will see gains around 5whp-10whp probably.

is it worth it?

thats your decision...</TD></TR></TABLE>


Finally a reasonable, helpful answer for those who dont wanna sweat a swap!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Vermont &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">are you sure i will be looking at 10whp from header test pipe and cat back? I really didn't notice much for gains with all that on and an intake. </TD></TR></TABLE>

if you have a d17 vtec motor with MT i believe its safe to say that you should gain around 5-10whp with that setup and an intake with ideal weather conditions.

 

im willing to bet that getting kpro and a tune on a stock car could net more than IHE

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by daddy2be &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

a higher quality muffler will sound better then a cheapy muffler from my experience.</TD></TR></TABLE>
just installed the greddy knock off muffler.... I'm liking the sound
It's definately not too loud and a very clean sound at low end... and since it's only the muffler inside the car is the same as if it were stock.. all in all I'm pretty satisfied. Now I'm debating whether to get headers...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by han****xzzang &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Now I'm debating whether to get headers... </TD></TR></TABLE>

there is only one exhaust manifold on teh D17 so you could only get one header.
if your planning on going turbo then its a waste of your money cuz you'll just replace it with a turbo manifold later.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by han****xzzang &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
just installed the greddy knock off muffler.... I'm liking the sound
It's definately not too loud and a very clean sound at low end... and since it's only the muffler inside the car is the same as if it were stock.. all in all I'm pretty satisfied. Now I'm debating whether to get headers... </TD></TR></TABLE>

report back and tell us how your muffler sounds in a month

 

what if you were to remove the resonator and just do a straight pipe about 2" from the catback to the exhaust? leaving the stock exhaust.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by oddmut &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what if you were to remove the resonator and just do a straight pipe about 2" from the catback to the exhaust? leaving the stock exhaust. </TD></TR></TABLE>

what are you asking? how loud it would be?

it would be a little bit louder but the majority of the restriction would still be there because the stock muffler is not a free flow design.

 

well how about performance wise and sound wise? what if u put an rsx muffler on instead of the stock exhaust?

 

lots of ppl like the rsx muffler. since the D17 doesnt gain much with bolt ons its mostly looks/sound. so if you want a slightly louder exhaust either of those options would work. altho in reality you only need to remove the resonator and replace it wiht like a 12" piece of tubing. the rest of the exhaust can stay in place.

 

it doesn't make a difference from the stock pipe to a 2" pipe huh? how would it sound with just replacing the resonator? do you know anyone who has done it?

 

my ex had 2.25" stock. i thougth the lx had 2" stock.

i dont personally kno of anyone who has done it. at first i did mine where i replaced the muffler and left the resonator. then i removed the resonator and it got quite a bit louder. (going back to having a resonator now). so i would think just removing the resonator would give a decent sound increase. you can always put the resonator back in if you dont like it

 

first i got to get rid of my dc exhaust. I actually cut my rear bumper to fit an exhaust muffler in it.

Reason i ask is because I'm thinking of getting my stock exhaust back, removing the resonator and maybe getting a different muffler from stock, because then the muffler cut in the bumper will be empty. Maybe a rsx one.

how much louder did it get without the resonator after u got the muffler? I want a low low low pitch muffler. something like a z that you can't really hear but sounds clean.

edit: I don't like how loud my dc exhaust is. also don't like the fact that it's like 2" off the ground. I always scratch out the garage.

 

it went from not really noticeable while driving to being a steady raor at 75mph. hence why im going back to a resonator

 

yeah that's why i hate my dc exhaust. comes everything after the catback. even the resonator and i hate it. maybe because i'm getting old... anyways i like the low tone exhausts you can't really hear in the car.

how does the spoon exhaust work? is it the same size as the stock pipe?