I just purchased a navy blue 1991 Rx7 non-turbo. The body and engine are in nice shape, so I'm pretty psyched about that but it needs some basic work. The first thing it needs is an exhaust system, at least from the cat to the back. The current exhaust is rusted out completely. I'm buying a cat back exhaust system and a high flow cat, since I want to stay street legal in NJ. I am also considering purchasing a header since they seem relatively inexpensive for this car.

I'm a long time Honda enthusiast and somewhat disappointed at the information available/aftermarket support for the Rx7 so far. Hopefully I will be able to obtain all the info I need on this site. It seems that there are few choices available for exhaust, compared to the multitude of brands that you can choose for the Honda/Acura market. Also, I am hesitant about ordering a catalytic converter since I'm not exactly sure the space will be without choosing the cat back.

First and foremost - I'd appreciate any advice on a cat back exhaust. It seems that my choices are Borla $460 shipped - dual T-304 stainless dual muffler exhaust, HKS dual exhaust for non-turbo appx, Tanabe super medallion, Racing beat dual exhaust for non-turbo, etc. The majority of single catbacks such as the Apexi seem to be for turbo cars. The Borla is inexpensive, which is a plus, since the others are at least appx $200 more. BUT, I would be willing to buy the more expensive cat back if the performace was noticeably better.

The next issue is the cat / header. How much better is performance of an aftermarket header such as racing beat vs. factory manifold/header? I have to get a catalytic converter on asap w/ the exhaust to take the car to inspection. If I can add the header later w/o much modification to the exhaust I'd do that...

Anyway let me know which exhaust choices are best. Thanks.

 

welcome to the ligth side master luke. Hondas do have alot of aftermarket support but with the right mods on a 7 you will be much happier with this car. I hear alot about racing beat, so many have said best looking, best sounding, best flowing for th emoney and even it isn't cheap. think of it as a Bose speaker. there's better stuff out there, but for something nice enough to clean out your wallet, it's still a bargain. Exhaust doesn't add much to any car application especially only catback. You may see 5 hp. Or 10 or so if you do an intake with it. They say it's best ot upgrade the exhaust and intake at the same time because making your car breather better is a 2 step process. think of it as breathing in and out through a straw, then all of a sudden you breathe out normally, but breathe back in through the straw, then breathe back out normally, etc. Also welcome ot the forums.

 

I <3 Honda's.

 

I like Racing Beat, I herd a lot of positives on their exausts. I'm thinking of getting one myself but I think I'll do a streight pipe and when smog comes, just but the stock exaust back on. Their exausts are considerably cheap (as '87 trubo FC mentioned). I like them!

Oh and by the way, Welcome to the Club!

 

For an emissions legal setup?

Racing Beat Header to Bonez Highflo cat (http://www.rx7.com)
Borla Dual exhaust (http://www.ebay.com)

That should pass emissions and install without any issues.

 

Yes, you will be able to.

 

Racing Beat header and pre-silencer. Keeps the six ports actuating and passes as a cat at inspection time.

 

borla dual exhaust over the racing beat? i also noticed the racing beat true dual system but i need to pass nj emissions and make sure noice level isn't too high....

would there be any performance difference b/n the Borla and the Racing Beat dual exhaust?

Does anyone have experience w/ the Racing Beat "race" true dual set up?


SOmeone above referenced the presilencer.. would that pass emission inspections??

 

update: I ordered the Borla rear exhaust after much debate b/n that system and the Racing Beat. The deciding factor was ultimaltely price, but I was also impressed that the entire borla system - including the y-pipe section - was made from T-304 stainless steel. The Y-pipe section of the Racing Beat was made from mild steel.

I got the racing beat from www.autopartswarehouse.com and was able to negotiate it down to $438.98 (they did better than their limited time "special price" of $448.98 listed on website). I also purchased a Catco direct fit "4389" 2.5" high flow catalytic converter for $102. I opted to purchase this unit since I do need to pass emissions and plan to keep the car street legal (for now at least). Ultimately, I may decide to purchase the Racing Beat header and pre=cat but at least I'll always have the converter/stock manifold for inspection.

Shipping was free, which was nice, but to my surprise the website was based out of New Jersey so I did pay an additional 6% in sales tax. Oh well, hopefully I'll just get the exhaust sooner.


I'm pretty psyched to get the car on the road... Any other newby Rx7 advise?

 

^ Yes. You will get flamed to hell on here if you don't check the FAQ, the archives, and do a basic search. Many of your potential questions have been covered before. A lot of people are nice, but some will get pissy if they think you are lazy and didn't use the search feature.

 

flame away. ^ loser.


I read the FAQ's. And frankly there was absolutely no useful information there regarding exhaust systems. To date I still haven't been able to find out the diameter of the different parts of exhaust systems, the appropriate sized exhaust for n/a if using a single exhaust system etc.

Thank you to everyone else who had useful input.

 

hahaha!

Believe it or not u just got sound advice. He's not saying he's going to flame you but, there are a good deal of ppl on here who will get short with you for no good reason....I believe there used to be a sticky about it actually, I think it's titled "Attention search ****'s". Anyway, congrats on the 7 and happy modding!

 

Be Leary of AutoPartsWarehouse.com and similiar websites!
They're one of many online parts scam sites!

read:

http://www.dtmpower.net/forum/showthread.php?p=1667764

http://www.dealtime.com/xMR-auto+par...MRD-307114~S-1

http://www.internet-fraud.com/fraudf...mID40/11.html#

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/view...c3c06f4a83ad86

..plus many more

Don't get burned, do your research!
Buy from a Reputable online parts store!

 

You say you ordered the Borla, and three sentences later say you got the Racing Beat. I’m unsure of what you bought, but I hope you’re satisfied with the purchase.

The Racing Beat Y-Pipe is mild steel, but there is a big difference in thickness. The thick RB Y-pipe is quieter. I had a mystery y-pipe and it was a bit noisy for my tastes. When you’re ready for the header purchase, I’d highly recommend RB. If you use price as the determining factor for that purchase, you may end up with a Pacesetter, which is garbage. The Catco converter doesn’t flow as well as one from Random Technology. The upside is, with the factory log manifold in place, the engine doesn’t flow enough to be able to tell the difference. With an RB header, you’ll be able to tell.

The only newby advice I have is to get a factory service manual.

 

HOLY POST NUMBER!

 

Racingbeat FTW!

 

yes... you too