I have a 2002 Civic si, and my friend says he can make me an exhaust... I have seen some of his work and his welding skills are pretty good...

But am I better off just buying an exhaust like from skunk2?

If so, what should I get if I am trying to stay between 500-700 bucks and want some decent power?

 

buy this:

1. mandrel bent tubing kit- see site here
$120 + shipping for 2.5" Al. Steel
$195 + shipping for 2.5" Stainless

2. Resonator- option one here
$75 add on option from above

Resonator- option two here
from $15-$100 depending on which one you chose. needs to be welded in.

3. Muffler- options here
$40-$140 measure the space available for the muffler to fit. For a quiet sound, go for maximum length that will fit. select from the mufflers in that size and decide if you need an offset to line up with the cut out in the bumper cover. I recommend either the Jones Full Boar Max Flow or the Magnaflow. They are essentially identical, but the Jones brand is about 30% less expensive (they have little advertising to pay for...)

Have your friend or a local shop weld it in place for you. Done.

If you go for the most expensive options, all stainless, Magnaflow muffler, large resonator add on a polished tip ect. you'll probably spend around $400 + welding. Any difference in flow or performance would be negligible when compared to any of the bolt-on, brand name cat-back systems.

 

But all those supplies and labor would equal out to the same as a $550 ish Exhaust from Skunk2.

I should probably just buy one then right? ... Not sure if my friend knows how to weld as professional as a big company like Skunk2....

Is the 60mm one a good one to get ? I heard that I should stay as small as possible.

 

maybe.

I was assuming worst case scenario, i.e. you're stuck on the idea of stainless, need 2.5" (2.25" isn't likely to hurt your output) and want the more expensive choices.

$145 shipped for tubing, $20 resonator, $50 muffler and paying a shop $50 labor to weld it up= $265 for 2.25" catback.

it won't win cool points with the high-schoolers but it won't look bad, it'll sound deep and sporty and it'll let the engine breathe like it needs too.

so the question is do you want a "bling-y" fart-can that all comes in one box for double cost or a "stealthy" functional system that requires a little assembly but leaves about $250 in your pocket for more upgrades?

 

If you're not needing a custom exhaust you can buy a full catback for a reasonable price. I myself made an exhaust cause I wanted 3" and I wanted it quiet and sexy.

 

 

I agree... if you don't need to have a custom exhaust you can just get a full catback at a reasonable price.