Custom exhaust?

[JediOutcastX]

I was looking into getting an exhaust kit for my 3.5SE, but my friend suggested I find a place that does it custom since it's cheaper and it would fit better...I was wondering if anyone could explain this to me in detail? I would go and pick up universal mufflers and then go to a place that does custom exhausts and have them make the pipe right?

[el_blacky06]

first find a place where you could get mufflers for your exhaust id suggest you get stainless steel (easier to clean and looks good).next, if you look under your car, half way into your stock exhaust, youll notice theres a flat spot. on your custom exhaust, please do not make a flat spot or else theres no point in making it in the first place. another thing, some drivers tend to take off their catalic converter & resonator like i did and go straight pipe to gain a bit more power. its illegal to do but if you like, you can always do that route at your own risk. if you do go this route, a welder could put back your stock sensors onto the custom exhaust so you wont have a CEL

[Hussain]

for the 3.5se the flat spot is before the cat. Also, with the 3.5se theirs no sensors with the cat, only with the headers (I know the 2.5s has a sensor next to the cat).

my advice would be to look for a local muffler shop. search for muffler shops in your area with google or the phone book. once you find a shop, just go their because 99.9% chance they already have everything (including mufflers). I suggest a 2.5" cat-back. thats what I got and thats what most exhaust systems for our cars have. If you like the sound of the "Artisan exhaust", they use a magnapack muffler (a type of Magnaflow muffler). I have a Magnaflow muffler with a similar design to the stock one and I took off the flat spot before the cat but still have my cats on and this is how my custom exhaust sounds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4MR-PyJd_s

[el_blacky06]

oooopps!! sorry for putting wrong info about the 3.5 exhaust and your exhaust sounds aggresive! nice sound

[JediOutcastX]

Hmm, and how much would I expect a custom job to be? And how much horsepower gain should I expect compared to say if I were to get the Stillen cat-back? I was deciding between getting it custom and getting Stillen's. On a side note, how much horsepower gain does the Stillen exhaust give anyway?

PS your exhaust looks sick! sounds really nice too.

[Hussain]

thanks for the compliments on the exhaust....

mine was either $260 if I can remember correctly for the cat-back exhaust and muffler installed without tips. got the tips for free from my brother and got charged $40 to get the tips installed so a total of $300.

when it comes down to it, a performance exhaust is a performance exhaust. especially with our cars being naturally aspirated V6's, you wont see more than 1-2 HP between a stillen, Nismo, Artisan, Tanabe, Borla, Greddy, or custom exhaust. so they're pretty much the same as far as power goes and I'm not really sure how much of a HP gain you get from a performance exhaust. only thing I know is that I ran a 14.4 in the 1/4 mile stock and a 14.2 with my exhaust.

and have you heard the stillen exhaust? it looks really nice but it is the quietest exhaust out there for our cars, its almost like stock.

[JediOutcastX]

So...besides getting a custom job, which exhaust would sound a little more throaty/aggressive that isn't the Borla? The Stillen sounded a lot more aggressive than you said it sounds but I assume that would be because of the videos...whats my best bet for something off the shelf that sounds aggressive but not American?

[Hussain]

well you can ask around the forums and everyone will tell you the same thing, the Stillen exhaust is the quietest exhaust out there for our cars. stillen is the quietest, then I think tanabe is 2nd. the best sounding non-american would be the Nismo exhaust in my opinion. some like Greddy but I've never been a fan of it and the price is like $1,200 if I can remember correctly... you should listen to some vids of the Nismo exhaust, it sounds really nice.

[JediOutcastX]

And how about the Artisan? I've been listening to vids of that one and that sounds pretty nice too...

[Hussain]

I LOVE the Artison exhaust! it's my favorite one BUT it uses a Magnaflow muffler and is more on the American side for exhaust sound.

[JediOutcastX]

Hmmm, I like it even though I set out first looking for something non-American. I think I'm going to look into the custom exhaust thing and if not I will just buy the Artisan =] Thanks Hussain for the input.

[Hussain]

no problem

[txcoupe]

If you like the sound of the "Artisan exhaust", they use a magnapack muffler (a type of Magnaflow muffler). I have a Magnaflow muffler with a similar design to the stock one and I took off the flat spot before the cat but still have my cats on and this is how my custom exhaust sounds

Hussain,

Do you know what the Magnaflow part # is of the magnapak muffler that you used? If not, what are the specs on it (oval, round, length, width, etc.)?

[Hussain]

mine isnt a magnapack. magnapack is the style that is used in the Artisan exhaust. mine called transveral or something like that. heres a pic of it (I painted it black BTW)



its a little smaller then the stock muffler and felt like it weighed 15 pounds lighter or something lol stock one is heavy.

[stevek3670]

Hussain where did you go to get your exhast built?

and i was looking at our exhast system and exactly where is the flat spot on a 3.5se coupe, is it the flat spot in between the 2nd cat and 3rd cat on the y-pipe?

If so wouldn't this involve getting the cats cut from the stock y-pipe?

[Hussain]

ya thats where the flat spot is. you can have them cut that flat spot out and replace it with regular piping and leave the cat.... I dont have the flat spot because I took off my cat before and put it back on... I plan to get the racingline Y-pipe later on.

as for where I got the exhaust done, just a local muffler shop. a lot of people neglect local shops. a regular old mom and pop muffler shop usually carries some nice stuff and can build you a nice system for half the price of a system already made (like a borla, tanabe, stillen, greddy, nismo). I'm sure with some detailed pics, most local shops could build you the same exact system as the Artison or borla system and for much cheaper.

[stevek3670]

alright thanks hussain, i guess ill go check out some local muffler shops then lol

on a side note i was also looking into the ti-c knock off ebay exhaust but couldnt find any sound clips of that exhaust, does anyone on this forum have it

[mmx23z]

hussain, what was the name of the shop u got your exhaust done at? im trying to get a custome test pipe made to replace the flat part & cats but i want something i can bolt on & off from home.... but my exhaust place didnt like the idea, so can u help me out???

[Hussain]

I went to two muffler shops. got the cat-back done at muffler tech (on florin road) and got the muffler done at a shop in Elk Grove. muffler tech wouldnt touch my cats but the shop in elk grove took off my cat for me before and put it back on for me but now he doesnt really wanna do it anymore. he said the cops have been passing by too much. we had him take the cats off my brother's mustang and we had to leave the mustang there over night and he did it after he closed up shop.....

why dont you just buy the racingline Y-pipe? I think its like $280 or something (not exactly sure on the price) and its a Y-pipe that gets rid of the flat spot before the cat and the cat, and it puts bigger diameter pipes before the 2 pipes go into 1, and it comes with flex pipes too.

[mmx23z]

i would.... but... 2.5 =/man.. i kno everywere i kno is gettin stricter & wont do it anymore... does any1 know if the nismo exhaust or any exhaust for that matter have the piping that go all the way to the header?
Modified by mmx23z at 2:34 PM 4/11/2010

[Hussain]

to be honest, their just being retarded. because by law you dont NEED to have any emission equipment on a car. you ONLY need it if you're going to drive on public streets. tell them you want it so you can bolt on the cat for the street and unbolt it for the track. then once you leave you can unbolt the cat if you want.

[Hussain]

but the 2.5s has a sensor by the 3rd cat so you'll throw a check engine light unless you mess with it like people do with the stillen headers for the 2.5s

[mmx23z]

thas exactly what i told them... i really only want it for track use to get my full potential from my exhaust? & i knew about the 2nd sencor by the 3rd cat but i thought it wasnt really important? it was just a teperatur monitor or something?

[Hussain]

"elk_blacky06" has a 2.5s and took off his cat and had to do something so he doesnt get a check engine light (not exactly sure what he did). but call muffler tech and ask them if they would be willing to make something for you to bolt on when you go to the track. here's their web site with their phone number and everything

http://www.gotduals.com/

[el_blacky06]

i took pictures yesterday from my exhaust when my car was litted so ill post up pix later just to see how would it look like without the cat. And about not getting the check engine light, when i was getting my exhaust done the welder made a small hole just enough for the sensors to fit perfectly (this was my idea of not getting the CEL wasant sure at the time). the sensors were put in place just how you would see it if it was from the stock exhaust so its basically in the same spot.

[mmx23z]

thank for all ur help hussain, hope im not comming off as a pest or anything but after this mod, im gonna be getting the bully dog & we should get a couple more coupes together & head out to the track

[mmx23z]

el_blackyi was just gonna go & look 4 you lolwith u taking off your cats & the sensor & all do u think itd be possible to make a removable pipe? or would that sensor make it more difficult then just an easy bolt on bolt off?

[el_blacky06]

its possible to make a removable pipe. its only gonna take another flinge to make that happen depending if you already have headers or not and if your planning to take off your cat or not. the sensor comes right off just using a regular wrench

[Hussain]

ya I'm down. I live in Elk Grove and the track is south sac right by elk grove. and dont worry, its not a bother talking about cars

[mmx23z]

would u still post this pics u took, if you dont mind... just so i have a general picture