s13 240sx with 2.5in straight pipe + resonator a good idea?

[Deadrodent]

hey everyone, i've been thinking of getting a custom exhaust fabbed up at my local muffler shop. they do exellent work for great prices. i've been thinking of a 2.5in straight pipe setup with a fat resonator. not sure how loud this would be (maybe too loud?) anyone have any suggestions/criticism of a setup like this? i just want a better breathing exhaust that sounds beasts and looks beast. i'm not a fan of big ugly can exhausts or the drone of giant piping, not to mention the loss of low end (that's why i'm even wary of using 2.5in piping - 2.25in might actually be a better choice). alright guys, look forward to hearing your suggestions. thanks in advance!

[TheOne]

and again.....here comes the myth that the bigger pipe makes less tq.....its been beaten, plz use the search button.

but i'll be good, 3" pipe will actually give you better hp gains and no tq loss, the bad thing is that its too mucho sound and you may not like it.

you also probably have to think about emissions since you are in CA.

[Deadrodent]

would a muffler setup end up smog legal? cuz if not - i might as well try to get the most performance if both will fail smog tests.

as for the lack of low end comment - i'm not really that informed on the ka24de yet. i'm used to domestic info and that's knowledge that was bestowed upon me regarding small 4 cylinder cars. i'll have to do my own research on the subject. thanks for the clarification tho.

would a straight pipe have better gains than say a popular muffler/piping combo? or is there not enough of a difference to warrant the added noise of the straight pipe?
Modified by Deadrodent at 3:52 AM 7/26/2005

[Deadrodent]

any help?

[B-TownSX]

I have 4-1 headers, straight pipe, and 3" exhaust with 4" tip. It's big and ugly but I don't care (I did this all at one blow so I dunno how it's like w/out the headers). I lost no low end tr and a definite gain is made going around 4000 rpms. I used to shift at around 2500 rpm and now I **** at 2000 rpm with the same ease. Sound wise the car is not too loud up to 2500 rpm (I can sneek w/out waking up the neighborhood), but if I floor it or down shift it's very loud, that's with a silencer.

[naed240sx]

2.5 is good, 3 makes more power, but is louder. Loudness will also depend on what type of resonator you use. I highly suggest using a cat, if you want it to be quiter and smog legal. And use a muffler, if you are that concerned about noise. Just get a clean looking twin tip one that looks like stock. It will help with noise alot, and will probably sound better. I think that a 3" with a cat, decent resonator,and good muffler would be tolerable, but thats just IMO. Also, make sure that they make it as straight as possible. Straight flow makes better power, and usually shops to crush bends, which reduce pipe diameter and mess with flow.

[Deadrodent]

thanks for the replies! i think i might end up going with a 2.5 inch muffler setup - a straight pipe might just be too loud for the street (i'm not trying to get caught by Mr. 5-0) i'm still open to suggestions tho as i'd like to make the most power possible. i'll prolly search around to try and find dyno slips with different mods - can anyone point me in the right direction?

[B-TownSX]

How come your e-bay intake doesn't fit? Are you sure you got the DE one? Well on my car I had a hard time fitting it as well, but I just space out the parts with the plastic tubbing and it worked just fine. just find a mini 1" filter for the line that goes to the side of the radiator, or you can run it open.

[Deadrodent]

it's the adapter plate that attaches the maf to the air filter that doesn't fit. the holes don't line up...so i enlarged one of the holes and used 4 nuts to secure the filter to the adapter plate. so it works fine now - just had to modify it a little bit. now the car sounds like a beast at WOT but i can feel some sort of lag between 2000rpm - 3000rpm. the engine seems to rev slower and isn't as responsive...on the flipside in higher rpm i can definitely feel a boost in power...good stuff.