My reality with exhaust

[tar0icy_w/tapioca]

I recently purchased a 3" SS mendrel bend cat back off ebay, a no name brand one, for 280 to my doorthe good: even though many people say that 3" is overkill with stock KA motor, and i have everything OEM spec on my car, besides the cheap short ram (also from ebay), with the 3" cat back on my car, i felt more power through all range of my car's RPM, meaning my car launch easier, and on the freeway my car doesn't struggle to get up to the speed limiter anymore, i didn't even feel that much of a different when i put on the short ram, ofcourse the combination of the 2 upgrade together is best as i have tested, and a header might just make it even better(ofcourse the header would kill my gas milage), something is suprising to me though, local police have just been equiped with dB testers, so i had to put on the silencer, the exhaust got quieter, but now my car is very quick between 1000rpm and 3000rpm, i'm not sure y but it is a lot more fun from streetlight to streetlight nowthe bad: i got what i paid for, the exhaust has no resinator, and the muffler is really poorly made, it is loud and not in a good way, even i got annoyed with it, but it could be that my engine is not at its peak performance (i'm working out air/fuel ratio problem), it hangs really low, i will have to get it "rehanged" before i drop my car, with the silencer on i get even more weird looks then without (sounds straight up ****ty), with the silencer on i struggle to get to the speed limiter like my exhaust was stock again, the cat back is heavy but it is because the piping is THICK, ofcourse i could of gotten a little better quality with APEXi or other brandname, but i doulbt it would of worth the money because i read an article on exhaust by TRP, and some of the brandname couldn't compete with exhaust by a custom fabrication shop so the point is, 3" is great for any body with a 240sx, because stock KA do have enough power to handle it, but i personally recommend a short ram intake too, a cheap one is ok but u'll need one, as for which exhaust to get, just pick one that is in ur price range, and style that u like (mine's slanted by the way), unless someone can show u dyno charts, u'll just have to depend on ur luck to see if the cat back u choose can give u the performance, because even on dyno charts the performance vary greatly from one to another, i got mine because that's all i can afford!!!

[GEO]

no no no, dude, the headers will INCREASE gas milage becasue the engine is more efficent.

[PhaneSoul]

i read in a thread on this site we were talkin about exhausts, and the 3in lets the KA breath better, increasing HP by 17 and torque, i did see a dyno chart but i cannot find it at the moment. So what if it backfires?? but some say a 3ich isnt good because it doesnt have enough backpressure, when the way i look at it is backpressure is there to just keep the car from backfireing, why use an exhaust, where the engine has to work a lil harder to push the exhaust out? instead of using one where pushing it out isnt a problem, but it does backfire? personally i like the backfiring.

[tar0icy_w/tapioca]

my car have not backfired, even though it is running like **** right now, i do notice a lack of back pressure, but as i see it, the lack of back pressure here is for the good since it does not effect the overall performance of the car, but rather let my car perform better, now i dont know what a 4" catback will do (HKS makes one for off road use only) but but the catback can only do so much because u r still limited by the CAT, and stock header as far as headers, i have not know any one that gain gas milage from one, horse power yes, but not better gas milage car : 91 integra ls goes from 30m/gal -27m/gal (89 octane) 98 integra ls goes from 31-30 (91 octane CA) 96 s14 se goes from 22-20 (92 ocatane) 90 s13 goes from 21-18 (89+92 octane) 98 civic ex goes from 33-31 (92 octane) these r all the cars that i was able to keep track of the gas milage, and since my car is barely getting 25m/gal on 92 octane, i'm not going to go for the header yet, if ever i would like to hear the arguement that backfiring is ever good,i will worry a lot if my car start to backfire, means something is wrong!!!

[jdmfreak]

When did putting a header on the car increase mileage? Or are you just ****in around.

Oh and tar0icy_w/tapioca for a couple hundred more you could've gotten a quality and custom stainless steel BRM cat back from AZHitman. Plus you woulda gotten a NICO discount as well.

[psychic_mechanic]

3 inch is way too much for a nearly stock KA. You may be louder, but I'll bet the engine is putting out nearly the same HP as before, and probably less torque due to the reduced speed of the exhaust gases through a sewer pipe. The only way I'd put a 3 inch exhaust on a KA is if it was heavily boosted.

Properly sized headers make an engine breathe more efficientlt and increase gas mileage because they let the engine breathe more efficiently.

[jdmfreak]

Yes I definately forgot to say that with a stock KA 2.25 is fine, 2.5 with some mods/low boost, and 3 in. for over 300hp. You, my friend, bought an exhaust with bad quality and is unecessarily large.

[psychic_mechanic]

Properly sized headers make an engine breathe more efficientlt and increase gas mileage because they let the engine breathe more efficiently.

Let me see if I could be a little more redundant or say the exact same thing over again. Headers let the engine breathe easier.

I should probably start proof reading before I hit the "submit reply button"....

[crzycav86]

When did putting a header on the car increase mileage? Or are you just ****in around.

Oh and tar0icy_w/tapioca for a couple hundred more you could've gotten a quality and custom stainless steel BRM cat back from AZHitman. Plus you woulda gotten a NICO discount as well.

Yeah, a header/exhaust will improve gas mileage.

And you could have gotten the brm exhaust for less than a 100 dollars more... not a few hundred.

[Megaseth]

i had a test pipe on my car, as well as the hotshot header, and HKS exhuast. when i put the cat back on, i imdiately felt the difference and it was MUCH better than with the test pipe. back pressure makes the power more smooth. with out the cat, it would lag and rev up hard in the higher power bands, but it didnt feel good in the lower levels. oh, and with my exhuast and header, im still getting damn good mileage. i wanna see how you are getting 18mpg in an S13. something is making it run like **** and its not the header.

[jdmfreak]

crzycav86 I was talking about a SS BRM with a resonator.

[AZhitman]

<3 you guys.

[jdmfreak]

In what way.

[Megaseth]

the DUUURRRRTY way..... man, i wouldnt mind getting a new exhuast, but i dont have the money to front and i dont need one yet. however, greg, when i get out of school, roxanne is going to the track to whore there instead of the streets. i'll be in the market for a good exhuast then.

[tar0icy_w/tapioca]

i think i mention that the CAT BACK i got is not the best, i dont know how it messure up to the BRM, or other brandname, because i dont have a dyno chart for u, but it was the cheapest, for the same price, the only other option is to go to a local muffler shop and have them bend a aluminize pipe for me, the Cat Back gave me what i was looking for, more power past 3000rpm because when i'm pushing my car, the engine dont go below 3000rpm, for daily driving, i found that putting the silencer on gave enough restriction to where it is comfortablea well made header is suppose to work WITH a custom exhaust to let ur engine run cooler by getting rid of the HOT exhaust gas faster, but for daily driving, ur engine needs to operate at the right tempature to burn all the fuel that's going into the combustion chamber, so for ur car to be efficient, its not just how ur exhaust gas is getting out, but where, that's y i'm still using an OEM spec CATso here's my experience 3" CAT BACK + shortram/CAI gave enough power that u can feel, and it wont effect ur car's efficientcyI wont get a header because i have to pump ultimate in my car until i graduateAND finally i WILL NOT empty my bank account out for my car, and a car that i have to pay monthly for WILL BE NEW

[Megaseth]

uh, a header just helps the exhuast get out more smoothly, not get rid of heat faster. and if your engine is cool, you're fan will turn less, letting the car heat up. if its hot, it will turn more. also, the ECU will adjust the fuel mixture. it has nothing to do with the header.

[IvoryJ30t]

i think i mention that the CAT BACK i got is not the best, i dont know how it messure up to the BRM, or other brandname, because i dont have a dyno chart for u, but it was the cheapest, for the same price, the only other option is to go to a local muffler shop and have them bend a aluminize pipe for me, the Cat Back gave me what i was looking for, more power past 3000rpm because when i'm pushing my car, the engine dont go below 3000rpm, for daily driving, i found that putting the silencer on gave enough restriction to where it is comfortablea well made header is suppose to work WITH a custom exhaust to let ur engine run cooler by getting rid of the HOT exhaust gas faster, but for daily driving, ur engine needs to operate at the right tempature to burn all the fuel that's going into the combustion chamber, so for ur car to be efficient, its not just how ur exhaust gas is getting out, but where, that's y i'm still using an OEM spec CATso here's my experience 3" CAT BACK + shortram/CAI gave enough power that u can feel, and it wont effect ur car's efficientcyI wont get a header because i have to pump ultimate in my car until i graduateAND finally i WILL NOT empty my bank account out for my car, and a car that i have to pay monthly for WILL BE NEW

intake and exhaust mods in no way shape or form require you to use premium fuel. where the hell do you get that from???

and a header makes your engine run cooler by getting the exhaust gasses out faster??? come on!!

[[Zero-S]]

i think i mention that the CAT BACK i got is not the best, i dont know how it messure up to the BRM, or other brandname, because i dont have a dyno chart for u, but it was the cheapest, for the same price, the only other option is to go to a local muffler shop and have them bend a aluminize pipe for me, the Cat Back gave me what i was looking for, more power past 3000rpm because when i'm pushing my car, the engine dont go below 3000rpm, for daily driving, i found that putting the silencer on gave enough restriction to where it is comfortablea well made header is suppose to work WITH a custom exhaust to let ur engine run cooler by getting rid of the HOT exhaust gas faster, but for daily driving, ur engine needs to operate at the right tempature to burn all the fuel that's going into the combustion chamber, so for ur car to be efficient, its not just how ur exhaust gas is getting out, but where, that's y i'm still using an OEM spec CATso here's my experience 3" CAT BACK + shortram/CAI gave enough power that u can feel, and it wont effect ur car's efficientcyI wont get a header because i have to pump ultimate in my car until i graduateAND finally i WILL NOT empty my bank account out for my car, and a car that i have to pay monthly for WILL BE NEW

Why exactly would you have to use 91+ octane just because you have a header? Umm dude, research things before you post please.

Remember, the KA24(d)e was tuned to run just fine on 87 octane. Bolting on a header doesn't mean that all of nissans engineering gets thrown out of the window.

[Bandit240]

For once an exhaust thread that dosnt bash Pacesetter. For $213shipped from Summit i got my Pacesetter cat back system and its still holding up nicely after 1 1/2 years. Yea its loud (but then a gutted cat doesnt help) and sometimes i have a problem with the clamp on the back half coming off, but other than that its not bad. Plus when that back clamp comes off it gets loud as all hell.

[tar0icy_w/tapioca]

with ur stock header in, take a temp reading (on the engine), then take a reading with well made aftermarket header (haven't heard of one yet for the 240sx yet) cooler because exhaust gas spends less time around the engine bay now, take out the thermostat and really see a different (mine was like 97 degree difference) and then faster/smoother, in this case means the same thing, less restriction, it was probably my fault for not making that cleari did not say u have to pump 91 octane, but i choose to because my car run cleaner (no carbon build up on my bumper/spark plug, no raw fuel smell out of my exhaust/in my car, get better gas milage 24-25m/gal, my car dont hesitate, and my oil seem to be cleaner too) like i say, i need to keep this car until i graduate, so it matters plus i get more miles/$ with better gas milage (trust me i did the calculation 3 times with #'s i collected from 6 months of driving)plus really, i dont want a 21m/gal car, evo/350z/ high end car gets that, but those cars run circles around mine, so with my car being that slow i would hope that it'll be more ifficient.and getting back to my original point, i have tested a very cheap 3" exhaust on a stock car, and the result was acceptable not negative like many post suggested, if anyone want to pay for a dyno run, i would love to see the result, i still have my stock exhaust

[Dattebayo]

im running a header without a thermostat right now and im telling you that heat does not have a chance to dissapate quick enough on hot days, so do not run without your thermostat. Period.

[Megaseth]

it has nothing to do with heat. take off the heat shields on your stock exhuast and you'll notice it gets pretty damn hot. thats what they're there for, to keep the engine bay cooler. without them, it gets HOT. and guess what, headers dont have heat shields. i open my hood and i can feel the heat coming off my header, i can also feel it on the floorboard. the only thing they do is help the exhuast gas flow better so the engine runs smoother. you have other problems with your engine, and if you have to run 91 octane to keep from getting soot on your car and plugs, then something else is wrong too. i run 87 all the time and my car runs fine.

[ricebike]

Why exactly would you have to use 91+ octane just because you have a header? Umm dude, research things before you post please.

Remember, the KA24(d)e was tuned to run just fine on 87 octane. Bolting on a header doesn't mean that all of nissans engineering gets thrown out of the window.

mebbe he has some carbon buildup in the combustion chamber & goin a tad higher on the octane helps w/ the pingin. <well, on my SOHC engine, it does; u guys got the knock sensor to retard timing if it happens>

Quote »plus i get more miles/$ with better gas milage (trust me i did the calculation 3 times with #'s i collected from 6 months of driving)[/quote]

ya know, i did this too, just for the heck of it last year <when gas was cheaper> & i, too, had better gas mileage/smoover runnin' engine...weird

time for a Seafoam treatment after I finished fixing my broken clutch...

[tar0icy_w/tapioca]

finally someone with actual first hand experience!!!