Ice_Wolf

Well, I decided to do some small exhaust work on my car. I want to stay pretty cheap because I'll be doing a turbo swap within the next few months, and it was suggested to weld in a 2.5" straight pipe from the exhaust manifold to the Y-pipe. I also wanted to replace the Y-pipe and mufflers. I planned on doing 2.5" all the way to the Y-pipe, then after it splits, doing 2.25" to save a little money. I'm not sure what to go with for mufflers yet, but want something with some nice tips and a decent sound. I know any normal exhaust shop can do something simple for me for pretty cheap. So, any suggestions on mufflers or the exhaust set-up?

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

That will be very loud. You need at least some kind of resonator or 2nd muffler in there. Since you are doing this cheap, just pick up any random rice muffler from the auto parts store. It will be fine for a few months.

Ice_Wolf

I plan on keeping with the Y-pipe and dual muffler setup. So there will be at least 2 mufflers in there. You think I would need more? Any by rice mufflers, you just mean any generic brand mufflers?

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

You should be fine with that setup.

Yes, any generic muffler will be fine for a few months...

jeremy

iTrader: (1)

if you are going turbo soon, i wouldn't even mess with it since you'll be scrapping the whole thing when switching over. use it to make the turbo setup that much sweeter.

Ice_Wolf

It's not going to cost crap for money to make a simple exhaust like that, especially if I just do the straight pipe through the cats to the Y-pipe, which is what I want to do the most. I'll take it to a shop after I get it running again and see what it's going to cost me. Anything else?

jkimbro

iTrader: (3)

If you're about saving money, go single. Cheaper/lighter.

jeremy

iTrader: (1)

i agree with jk.

Ice_Wolf

I know it would be cheaper and lighter, but I hate that there's not two mufflers back there, especially since there's cutouts in the bumper for two.

Richter12x2

iTrader: (1)

Or go ahead and build the exhaust with the turbo in mind. I've got 3" coming off the manifold through the cat, Y into dual 2 1/2" on my NA. I can set off car alarms 3 rows over.

Ice_Wolf

When I turbo my car, I plan on going full RB exhaust. I'm just looking for something that will do for a while until I have all the parts gathered. I think the 2.5" piping from the manifold to the Y-pipe, then the 2.25" from the Y-pipe to the mufflers should be plenty and should be pretty cheap too. The donuts on my exhaust are still in perfect shape, so I can re-use all of it.

So, my last questions. Could you guys post pictures of your mufflers? I'd like to get an idea on what you guys bought for your cars and decide which ones to get from there. And also, where can I buy them for decently cheap? And lastly, can I remove the shield that covers my exhaust manifold?

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

My mufflers weren't cheap, so they don't qualify...

Why would you want to remove the heat shield on your manifold? Doing so just puts a MASSIVE amount of heat into your engine bay and will COOK all rubber components nearby.

Richter12x2

iTrader: (1)

Actually I'll defend that - the stock exhaust manifold doesn't look too bad, and the heatshields look like ***. :P Plus all the bolts broke off from the bottom piece, so it rattles around like crazy. I still run it for the whyfors that Aaron Cake said, I don't want to cook my shiny new OMP tubing and all that good stuff.

I'd love to know if there's some wonderful coating alternative or something that would let me ditch the heat shield without jumping up underhood temps though. That or I'll make a new heatshield by cutting the top off one of those old lunchboxes that skyscraper workers used back in the 30's, and have it look better than stock.

fstrnyou

my mufflers weren't cheap either, but i use a magnaflow where the cat used to be and out back i have a dynomax ultraflo bullet on each side. i felt the need to use dual exhaust as well. it's not ricer loud and has a nice low tone. but i have a turbo, so that quiet's it down a tad too.

Ice_Wolf

Alright, I'll keep the heatshield over the manifold then.

I'm not talking cheap mufflers like 20 dollar ones. I'd actually spend the money on decent mufflers if they were worth the money. I know Magnaflows are decently cheap, like 50 bucks. I bet they would sound pretty good too, but then I'd need to get tips for them. I kinda want mufflers with tips already on them so I wouldn't have to weld cheap ones on there. Maybe I could get some RB ones somewhere for cheap? Any other suggestions?

Richter12x2

iTrader: (1)

For mufflers you can keep an eye on the 2nd gen for sale section. I always liked Dynomax absorptive mufflers, because they were inexpensive for a name brand muffler, and (at least in the comparison charts I saw) had better gains than reflective mufflers (like Flowmaster)

fstrnyou

mine.....not cheap
http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/s...ne=main&id=471

Ice_Wolf

Yea, it depends where you buy your mufflers from too. I found Magnaflows for my Z24 for 50 bucks, but then again, the one you have listed is a little more detailed than the ones I was going to use. Maybe I'll just break down and get some RB mufflers or something. Never really heard the Dynomax mufflers, but I'll look into it.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

The only cheap RB system you will find is used, and even then it won't be cheap. The RB systems are NOT cheap but they are very good. In my opinion, the best exhaust you can get for the FC.

Have you considered just asking a local exhaust shop what they can do? Keeping in mind that the NA can be VERY loud if you don't have multiple mufflers.

Ice_Wolf

No, I haven't asked them yet what they could do. I'm actually thinking of just re-welding on my stock mufflers because they're pretty new yet. The previous had just put new mufflers on it, but then again, the stock ones are probably pretty restrictive. The thing is though, I like the tips on the stock mufflers. They fit the bumper perfectly and look nice. I don't want to have to put cheesy looking tips from Advanced or something like that. Maybe restrictive is what I need though to try and quiet down the raspy or tinny sound of the NA.

Richter12x2

iTrader: (1)

Any muffler shop should be able to give you a wide selection of tips to choose from. Buying an exhaust for the tips would be like buying a Civic over a Subaru STI because it comes with a better radio.

Ice_Wolf

The main reason I'm thinking of re-using my stock mufflers is also because it will be cheap. Also, I need something that's going to quiet the exhaust down, and I figure the stock mufflers will do a nice job. Mufflers usually cost at least 50 bucks, and I don't feel like spending 100 bucks for mufflers that are basically going to get pitched, and there's also the fact I might not like the sound. I like the sound of the stock exhaust, just the fact I'd like it to be louder.

Richter12x2

iTrader: (1)

My buddy with a '68 Camaro says my exhaust in the Rx7 sounds like a big v8 with a monster cam in it. It's annoying to have to go around and disable all the car alarms on my other cars when I work on it, though. At idle on the RX7, the blue one will sit there and do its warn away beep like every 20 seconds or so until I disable it. :P It's not terrible sitting inside the car with the windows up and everything. But in summer that's not doable.

Ice_Wolf

Yea, I don't wany anything annoyingly loud, just something with a nice rumble to it. That's why I'm thinking of going with the stock mufflers and just using 2.5" piping through the cats and Y-pipe. The stock mufflers fit nicely and look nice and would probably help a lot to tone down the raspyness and tinnyness of the NA. It'll also be decently cheap.

Ice_Wolf

Looks like I'm going to do 2.5" piping from the manifold back to the Y-pipe, then use 2.25" for the Y-pipe and run that to my stock mufflers. Should be decently cheap and not be annoyingly loud. Thanks for your help guys. Any other suggestions or ideas?