muffler versus cat back exhaust

[frosted flakes]

Hey,

I want an aggressive, deep, sound for my 92' 240sx. I have been looking at some cat-back exhaust and then just mufflers for sale. What is the main difference between the two?

I can get a 3" SS cat-back exhaust for $340 but a muffler only costs about $75. Is the sound produced by a cat-back exhaust better? Or is it better just to get a muffler and let the muffler shop install new piping? Any real performance differences between a muffler installed from a shop (catalytic convertor removed & replaced with a test-pipe) than a cat-back exhaust kit?

I would rather spend less on just the muffler and test-pipe if there are no real major performance differences.

Thanks

[Structure240sx]

a cat back will unrestrict the exhuast greatly. take a look at the stock exhuast and see how many bends are in it. go for a catback even if u do buy one of the mufflers from ebay then get the shop to make new piping for u. i had 2 1/4" piping with a muffler from ebay and it worked great for me and a great sound nothin like the civics goin around

[silviaNE]

ditto that. I had just a muffler on my s14 for a year, and it was nice. not as agressive as i would have liked. I finally spent some $$ and bought a blitz nurspec r catback. WOW!! the quality was great. All stainless steel, sounds nice and deep and 80mm (3in) piping.

[frosted flakes]

Should i get this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 2416030094

It looks like good quality for the price.

[7thGear]

unless your making more than 200 horses, 3" is completly unnessesary,your not sucking/spitting enough air for it to work properly

i always laugh at b16 civics that stick a 3" pipe on their read end, 1) they lose TREMENDOUS amount of low end torque ( which they despretly need in the first place) and 2) never go fast enough to suck enough air for the exhaust to do its work.

so unless you have serious plans for your engine, and all you want is noise, go for just a mufler.

if you want a performance increase go for something .5 bigger than stock, or just something with less bends in it

** increase in diamter should be proportional to increase in power **

another example is sticking a t4 turbo on a b16 civic ( i dont mean to bash... i have one myself... its just the truth!)... that tiny engine will never get enough exhaust gasses to spool that thing, and when it does it will be in 4000 ++ rpm, which is no good!

anyway just my 2 cents

[nlzmo400r]

very much true, i will eventually put a catback on my car (hks i wish!!) but i want probably a 2.5' or so, most catbacks dont give u THAT much hp over stock, usually 3-6 to the wheels is expected

[Arctic64]

I've always felt the value of expanded exhausts were RPM control, the engine was more responsive. (dunno if this is throttle response since the throttle's not involved)

[180fan]

If you're looking for loud, removing the cat will achieve what you're looking for. If you're looking for a catback, look for a system that is non-resonated (bulge in the piping) like the GP sports spec D. Do keep in mind that if you run a test pipe and a non-resonated catback, your car will become very loud and will draw some unwanted attention aka the pigs. One thing about the GP line of exhausts is that it's the spec D that has no internal silencer. You can look straight through it. That particular muffler is very loud, notably louder than the Apexi N1.

[spec-v5150]

Hey,

I want an aggressive, deep, sound for my 92' 240sx. I have been looking at some cat-back exhaust and then just mufflers for sale. What is the main difference between the two?

I can get a 3" SS cat-back exhaust for $340 but a muffler only costs about $75. Is the sound produced by a cat-back exhaust better? Or is it better just to get a muffler and let the muffler shop install new piping? Any real performance differences between a muffler installed from a shop (catalytic convertor removed & replaced with a test-pipe) than a cat-back exhaust kit?

I would rather spend less on just the muffler and test-pipe if there are no real major performance differences.

Thanks

340 for a 3" catback isnt bad. I wouldnt pay 5 or 600 for aname brand catback though. I am getting an apexi dunk and will get maybe 2.5 or 3" custom mandrel bends a t a muffler shop. Catbacks are so expensive because of name brand and stailess steel. Unless you live somewhere where it will rust easay, why pay that much for stainless. You cant see the pipes anyway. Thats just me. Maybe because I came from the world of 2nd gen Altimas and we had no catbacks made for our cars. I think the 1st gen greddy altima catback would fit with little modification, but other than that, most altima owners have custom. So I have always been a custom kinda guy. But damn does that blitz nur spec sound nice. My friend has one with custom 2.5" exhaust....whew I always know when he comes over, I can hear him from down the street

[TomsMR2]

get a custom 2.5 inch exhaust with a magnaflow muffler. its the cheapest exhaust, it looks good, and it performs JUST as well if not better than any other exhaust.

3 inch pipes are just way too big. thats turbo territory.