iceman2000ice

Hey I have done some searches and could not find a guide on how to switch the exhaust. I was hoping someone could send me a link or show me something that could show me how to replace my exhaust system since I have a racingbeat catback system but I now want to get the racingbeat presilencer and headers so I wanted to see how hard it would be to instal how long it would take and hopefully picutres and an actual step by step guide how to do so. Thanks Alot.

LittleCon

its pretty easy except that the bolts are EXTREAMLY hard to get off.

Side note: Is your car a daily driver? If so i wouldn't suggest headers. RB's downpipe / presilencer combo will make close to the same power and it wont be so loud.


it should only take an hour or two (its just a bolt on kit, but again, those bolts are going to be really difficult)

RacingBeat's presilencers have a flange for the split air tube, but most aftermarket cats do not. So what people do when they are replacing the old cat with a new one is cut the flange on the tube (of the car) and use a rubber hose with clamps to connect the aftermarket cat to the split air tube. SO if your car has the stock cats (which i doubt it does) then you simply bolt it up. If you have aftermarket cats you'll have to cut the RB presilencer flange off and use a rubber hose with clamps (you can get one at auto zone for pennies).

that is probably the most complicated part of the whole proses, everything else it pretty straight foreword (unbolt old part, bolt on new part).

I would recommend starting at the motor and working your way back, or bolting the catback to the presilencer (and downpipe if you get it) before you put it all on the car.

i'll get some pictures tomorrow of my setup.

SureShot

Hearers on a NA are sweet, but with the extra power comes more loud.
The RB presilencer is as good as it gets in controlling the loud.
Combined with your cat, the sound level should be pretty comfortable.

FCKing1995

iTrader: (3)

step 1, unbolt all pieces... step 2, reverse to install...

Tmato

I don't think you should be switching your exhaust out if you need to ask a question like that. Exhaust shops don't cost much to swap it out for you.

LittleCon

if its even a leagal setup (which it doesn't seem to be) it'll cost $150+

but i doubt any shop will even go near it with the recent crack-downs on smog shops.

iceman2000ice, try to do it yourself, its a good learning experience (and its cheaper).

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

I got the racing beat headers, a straight pipe and a borla catback on my na, loudness never bothered me, I love hearing the full sound of the engine.


If you have emissions surely you need a cat but if you dont need emissions, and like hearing how mean your car sounds then I'd go for a straight pipe and no presilencer and cat, its much much cheaper. I got my straight pipe to go from the header to the catback for $40 bucks, although if you do this you will need to take out your 5/6 ports because there will be no split airpipe or cat, but there may be a way you can still use them.

ericgrau

iTrader: (1)

Like people say, it really isn't that hard. But this might help start you off:

1. If your new exhaust doesn't come with gaskets, get some. If you don't know where to look, your local Mazda dealer is a safe & easy bet. Sure, often you don't need new gaskets. But it'll be a hassle if you find out you do (especially if you have to take apart your exhaust a 2nd time). Check to see if your rubber donut-shaped hangers have hardened, replace if necessary.

2. Get a breaker bar or torque wrench or other long armed wrench, the appropriate socket(s) (check your bolts), a can of liquid wrench and a can of WD-40. Those bolts might be rusted on. If you happen to be at a hardware store you can get a couple spare nuts and bolts, but usually you can just re-use the old ones. Get a zip lock bag or cup or etc. to keep your old/new bolts in, so you don't have to hunt for them.

3. Get your favorite scraping tool(s) and maybe a solvent like acetone. The old gasket material might be stuck on.

4. Jack up your car on level ground and support with jack stands. I find it better to jack up only one end at a time, as I've had my car fall down before (but that's b/c it was on a slope).

5. Go to town on the bolts. Just find what matches each new component and unbolt it. There really is nothing to it. A Haynes manual might have pictures, but you don't need them. It is easier to unbolt each piece one by one, but quicker to remove multiple pieces at the same time.

6. Scrape off any old gasket material. Be careful not to mar the surface.

7. Bolt on your new exhaust components, inserting a gasket at each joint.

Tmato

To LittleCon, if your paying 150 for an exhaust swap your getting jipped. I paid 120 for custom piping and a new resonator from a shop here installed, and I was picky about the location and etc. Swapping in a header and a presilencer shouldn't even be close to that amount. I'm not going to advertise what shop it is, but if anyones in the SF, they should know what exhaust shop I'm talking about.

iceman2000ice

yeah i thoguht it would be easy but i wanted to make sure there werent any snags i would catch on and also is it realy that much louder having the headers and presilencer rather then the downpipe and presilencer?

Sideways7

iTrader: (7)

Headers are noticable louder than the downpipe, but with the RB catback, it shouldnt be a problem as it controls the volume well.
There was a guy just a few days ago that was asking on tips for installing the RB header. Do an advanced search for my name and "headers" and you should come up with it.

iceman2000ice

if i do decide to just get the downpip and presilencer instead of the headers and presilencer how big a difference will that make in performance. Also would it be loud enough with the headers to attract to much attention since i will be driving on the street.

iceman2000ice

?

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

The headers make the exhaust louder , but it is controllable loudness via your foot. If you dont want it to be as loud you can quiet it down easily by giving less throttle, but its obviously noticably louder at wide open throttle, but as said before, a reason for being loud isnt just because of a noise factor, its because its flowing more and making more power.

The cat and presilencer have baffling inside it that muffles the sound, gives backpressure and also slows down the flow but it will give you more torque, but less peak power, where with all straight pipe you have maximum flow and maximum power.

edit : most of the loudness depends on the size of the tips on your exhaust, and as said by someone else, the racing beat keeps noise to a minimum while not sacraficing performance.

heres a video of my car revving to 3500 driving, i have a rb header, straight pipe , and borla catback exhaust , it gets much louder after 3500rpms and even louder after 5000rpm, i have to make a new video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxVQpZYUWWc

LittleCon

its only like 5 or 6 hp more i think, i remember talking to John Hozze (HOZZEMAN## or something) and he knows alot of the guys at RB who said the same thing.

iceman2000ice

so after reading through i decided to stick the car on my ramps and have another look for myself and sawy that getting the downpipe/presilencer combo looks fairly simple but i would kinda like to do the header/presilencer combo so how would i go about removing the stock exhaust manifold since it is way tucked back and not exxposed right on the bottom like the other componenets and it certainly cannot be reached from the top. Any tips or methods upon how to get off the exhaust manifold and get on the new headers.

iceman2000ice

ok nvm i discovered u can reach it from the top and is still a bit tricky so i will probably stick with the downpipe and presilencer due to my lack of time