My girl's '89 CRX Si HKS exhaust is rusted through and has finally bit the dust. This is her DD. I've been searching for a replacement but it appears HKS has discontinued the Sport exhaust for the CRX and is only available for the Civic.

I originally thought of going for a replacement cat-back system to avoid having to take it to a muffler shop and having them do a quick poop-weld. The seams usually end up looking like some nasty rusted growth at the seams and eventually crack prematurely.

I've never shopped for any CRX parts before so I'm not sure what my options are. Are there any other brands of cat-backs available now that are also well-made and reliable? Should I purchase a universal, and would I have any problems having it fitted to the existing piping? I've also heard of shortening the pipes for a same-gen Civic application to fit CRX's, is this an easy option?

Please help me decide which route to go. Power increases aren't important, but quality and reliabilty is. Ideally, we'd like the solution to be as cheap as possible while being generally rust- and leak-free for another 15 yrs.

Thanks,
A-dub

 

apparently the oem exhaust systems are really cheap from napa
like 150
but then again i work for a shop so i get a discount

 

well if you wana be as cheap as possible take it to a good muffler shop where someone actually knows how to weld then paint over the welds so they dont rust. you could get a hatch exhaust and chop it shorter but like you said you dont wana take it to a muffler shop and it sounds like you dont know how to weld. so im guessing to suite all your needs just get a whole nother bolt on kit.

 

i just picked up a hks sport exhaust from a civic and cut/welded 6 inches out of the mid pipe to make it fit.

 

^^^true i also did this with my hks sport.. until i got hung up on a gas station sewer and it bent up all the mandrel bends.. life sucks sometimes

 

Get a real custom exhaust shop to weld up a stainless system with mandrel-bent pipes. It'll be FAR cheaper than you'd expect - the cat-back and muffler for my CRX at Lou's Custom Exhaust, Worcester MA, was $250. You can make a CRX exhaust from off-the-shelf stainless straights and mandrel bends - there's not too much custom work there.

 

run stock piping with a manual or electric cutout and have fun

 

ebay is your friend.

 

Thanks everyone for all of your suggestions. Yeah, I've heard of light weld jobs with brand-X mufflers around the $250 range. Don't know what the actual cost would end up being here in Cali (everything costs more here).

First thought was E-bay and Craigslist but no luck with availability for a used one. I don't particularly like E-bay vendors' price bait 'n switch tactics, though.

Luckily, found someone here @ H-T's marketplace who still had it in stock, brand-new. The price was very reasonable and met my "get-it-and-forget-it" criteria. At almost a third cheaper than what I paid for my recently purchased Greddy for my 'Teg and considering the HKS Sport line's near-extinction (my lady would hate their N1 designs and sound!), I consider the outcome a success.

Again, thanks guys

A-dub