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second thoughts about RB header install

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Old Aug 10, 2005 | 01:38 AM
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second thoughts about RB header install

i know this has been brought up many times before but i have a couple questions. i just got my RB header and RB presilencer installed on my 88 GTU. it goes straight to a magnaflow muffler and honestly i dont know if i like it or not. up till like 3 thousand rpm it sounds great with a low tone but after that it just opens up and gets loud and almost whiny civic like.. i dont know if this is normal or not but would it be a good idea to put another muffler in front of my magnaflow? previously i just had a highflow cat to my magnaflow muffler and it sounded great. i have the cat i used before and was wondering if i could put that in after the presilencer to quiet it down? i know the muffler is fine and all but just wondering if there was any other way to solve this problem..any suggestions would be great.
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Old Aug 10, 2005 | 01:59 AM
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weld another muffler in line somewhere with the other.

there arent any large baffles in the header or presilencer. its designed to flow, and hence, designed to be prettty loud. I had a similar setup to you, but I had a straight through muffler aswell. loud as heck, but I like it
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Old Aug 10, 2005 | 02:48 AM
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buy the RB presilencer
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Old Aug 10, 2005 | 02:53 AM
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Originally Posted by jacobcartmill
buy the RB presilencer
read the post, he has one already.

That setup is obiously going to be loud as hell. Ive heard good things about people putting in Borla XR1 mufflers.
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Old Aug 10, 2005 | 02:55 AM
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news flash:

NA rotaries tend to sound a little blatty when they're opened up.
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Old Aug 10, 2005 | 10:10 AM
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The RB headers are designed to go wtih the RB mufflers & complete exhaust system. Racing Beat tunes the exhaust, so mixing & matching pieces will cause the crappy exhaust note.

That's partially why I've not removed the exhaust collector on the side of the engine. I got a used HKS system & NA downpipe/partial headers that was designed to work ONLY with the exhaust collector, not straight headers.
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Old Aug 10, 2005 | 12:21 PM
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well i knew it was going to be loud but i never thought it would have that high pitched whine. i guess my best choice is to weld in my cat midway between my muffler and presilencer? that should at least quite things down right?
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Old Aug 10, 2005 | 12:29 PM
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out of all the NA exhausts i have heard, the stock exhaust manifold will always sound better (deeper and quieter) than a header. but hey, you loose out on a few hp, so you got to do what you got to do...

but yeah, if you add a high flow cat to the mix, then that should make it a lot quieter and cancel out some of the higher frequency sounds.
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Old Aug 10, 2005 | 12:30 PM
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Don't know if this will help or not, but I had that problem on my last car, after I upgraded the stock headers + exaust, it had a really high pitched whine. I got a resonated muffler, and it gave it a much deeper tone, without making it any quieter. Maybe that'll help ya.
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Old Aug 10, 2005 | 02:48 PM
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The cat-back of choice makes a prominent difference. Go to a dual system and you might get away with it. Or find a presilencer.
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Old Aug 10, 2005 | 03:32 PM
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I still don't get why people do things half assed. Save up and do it right with a full RB system. It's all designed to work together and the sound is GOOD.
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Old Aug 10, 2005 | 03:37 PM
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I have a RB true dual system and when I really get on it, it sounds like a small static displacement engine.(or two racing lawnmowers side-by-side on the homestretch).
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Old Aug 12, 2005 | 07:02 PM
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Originally Posted by End3r
I still don't get why people do things half assed. Save up and do it right with a full RB system. It's all designed to work together and the sound is GOOD.
Word.
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Old Aug 12, 2005 | 09:21 PM
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I have the full RoadRace System & I love the sound. Save your lunch money & get pieces made to work together as said in End3r's post. I got the K&N filter kit at the same time as the RoadRace system. It cost some $$$$ but I was TOTALLY suprised buy the quiet sound.

Ramses666
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Old Aug 14, 2005 | 05:16 AM
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Watch out for the RB buzz... It'll getcha'.

The headers sound terrible IMO. I've never heard the full system though... It probably sounds better.

If you can afford it, try a different muffler. That'll make the most 'sound' difference. If not, learn to love the lawn-mower buzz... lol.
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Old Aug 14, 2005 | 08:54 AM
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Those RB mufflers make all the difference.

The header w/o the mufflers sounds pretty bad IMO

However, you get yourself the rest of the RB system, it sounds awesome
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Old Aug 14, 2005 | 09:20 AM
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quick question does your magnaflow muffler exit on the drivers side or passengers side? cause honestly i dont hear any buzz or whine with my na. my corksport exits on the drivers side its still got a bend in the exhaust to some what create back pressure for the 5/6 port.
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Old Aug 14, 2005 | 01:32 PM
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it exits on the passanger side. well after driving it around im pretty used to the sound. it can sound nice just depending on how you drive it..after about 3500 though it gets loud. nothing really i can do now. ill think about the RB sytem but im not to sure if thats what i want.. i know its the best and all but when i have the money ill see. but thanks for the input everyone.
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Old Aug 14, 2005 | 01:55 PM
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Magnaflow mufflers don't mix well with Rx-7's. The GXL I own as my second car right now had them before I bought it and they=teh suck. Past 3k it was stupid. You need to have a muffler that is made by a company that doesn't **** around with other cars. RB only makes stuff for Mazda, mostly 7's and other RX cars. They know what they have to do to make the car sound decent and civilized. Save up your money and toss that junk.
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Old Aug 30, 2005 | 04:18 PM
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Hey am I gonna get the annoying buzzing sound if I run the collected header with a straight midpipe (no presilencer or cat) and the RB catback? I've heard the header with presilencer and N1 duals and it was loud as hell, and buzzy. It didn't seem to help at all with those mufflers, and it's expensive. Btw emissions are not a problem for me and I'm operating auxilary ports with an RPM switch and air pump.

Last edited by ddub; Aug 30, 2005 at 04:45 PM. Reason: sig violation, please resize your picture
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Old Aug 30, 2005 | 04:33 PM
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DO NOT run it without the presilencer. If you think its buzzy with it in, its far worse without the presilencer. Plus its ear-bleeding loud. Also, are you sure it was a real N1 system and not cheap e-bay nockoffs? I have the rb header-presilencer with the N1 and it sounds very good, not very buzzy at all. If it was a reall N1, I bet he had an exhaust leak. I had one for a bit and it made it pretty buzzy. I personally like it, but I love the normal rotary sound. So before you say something sounds like crap, make sure its running right.
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Old Aug 30, 2005 | 05:03 PM
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The car I heard was my own. The previous owner ran the RB collected header, RB presilencer, and the real 2.5" N1 duals. The resonance was terrible on the highway at 75mph. I felt like I was getting a back massage the car was vibrating so bad, and I know it didn't have any exhaust leaks. I had it in for about a week until I put a cat in and got rid of the presilencer.

I ran it with a cat for a while and that helped the resonance some, but it still droned on the highway pretty bad. My passengers would bitch at me. When a cop pulled me over and warned me for being too loud (when I wasn't getting on it at all, just shifting at 3000 rpm with barely any throttle) I had had enough. Right now I have a glasspack resonator along with a cat and the N1 duals. Finally the sound is manageable but the car is so much slower that I just want to ditch the N1's altogether. It's also MUCH deeper, driving around town and getting on it. The header and N1's are very high pitched by comparison.

I've got a friend who's going to let me trade my N1's for his RB catback, but I want as much power as possible so I'm going to get a flange welded in and a test pipe if I choose to use it. I'm just wondering if I really need the cat and I'm really reluctant to go buy another presilencer because it didn't seem to do **** for me with the N1's. I'm not trying to start a flame war here guys. Maybe Sideways likes the sound of N1's with an RB header, but it was too much for me.

Last edited by arghx; Aug 30, 2005 at 05:10 PM.
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Old Aug 30, 2005 | 05:03 PM
  #23  
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Apex' exhausts are just loud because of their design. eBay knockoff **** (any ebay knockoff **** for that matter. Just plain sucks. Listen to sideways.

Don't buy the system then HALF-*** the rest. Wtf? Get the presilencer. I can only imagine my setup without it !
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