I'm looking to invest in a whole new exhaust system, and im looking for some input on what I should get.

Looking at either straight piping it, to a Racing Beat catback system, or possibly a header instead of a straight pipe. Or possibly just highflow cats.

Also, I intend to keep the dual exhaust, unless someone recommends i switch to a single sided outlet. What should I do? I don't have a ton to spend on the exhaust, so I'm kind of looking for the biggest bang for my buck.

Thanks,

 

If you don't have a ton to spend, don't buy Racing Beat is my first suggestion.

But really it's just up to what you want and like. Do you like dual or single? Do you realize that straight pipe to the catback will be loud? A high flow cat will be MUCH quieter but more restrictive. And so on...

Just gotta decide what you want or what you can live with and go from there.

 

Do headers bolt to, or replace, the stock exhaust manifold? And if they replace it, are they difficult to install?

 

Header will replace stock exhaust manifold. Hardest part is removal since you have to get all the heat shields off, but it's really not that bad. Install is easy.

 

you can either buy a pre-fabbed exhaust like racing beat, apex-i..etc...... or just buy a QUALITY muffler, (i.e apex-i, hks, greddy) .....and have a good muffler shop make you an exhaust..... it will cost nearly half as much as a name brand exhaust system..and will work nearly the same........ when mine was NA, i bought a revolution titanium muffler ($199) and had a muffler shop do a full cat-back system ($100)......so for $300 i got a full cat back system....... and a pacesetter header is like $150....... so, $450 header back exhaust.....

im just giving you some more options besides name brands.....not everyone is rich! my next exhaust is going to be the ssautochrome turbo back exhaust...... maybe they will make a NA one soon, if so, that would be the way to go

 

The SSAC catback can work for n/a too, considering that SSAC is not a true 3". The SSAC goes from 3" downpipe tapering to a 2.5" mid section, to a 2.5" taper on the catback back to 3". If you go with SSAC you could buy it, put the catback on, and sell the downpiple/midpipe to someone else and have a single exit catback.

Or corksport sells the same catback which SSAC ripped off from them, and you can buy it by itself with the 2.5" taper.

If you want a custom made header that still bolts to the stock catback location, unlike Racing Crap (beat) does, then contact Kahren on this board, he can make a custom header that bolts to the stock cat location. One big reason I hate Racing Crap is because they build their header/downpipes/etc to bolt to THEIR midpipe section and not anyone elses. Meaning, it is all custom lengthed so if you get part of their system the mid section will have to be custom.

 

How much would it be to have a muffler shop do from the header back?

 

well, here in cali, they wont! plain and simple.....unless you know the person doing it........ state law is that we have to keep our catalytic converters on the car...so a muffler shop WILL NOT take them out! only replace them! the best we can do is get the straight pipe from rx7.com... then we will have a header-back exhaust

 

From what I understand, any exhaust shop in any state is not allowed to remove the cat by law. The shops here in WA say the same thing. Obviously in cali it is probably much more stringent and they can get in mass more trouble.

Best bet is to have them fabricate the catback and then do everything else yourself (removal/install).

 

yeah, i thought so, but i didnt want to say that ALL muffler shops wont do and be wrong....... better safe than sorry!

 

If i were to have a muffler shop do the cat-back piping, what would i need to do to replace the cat with a staight pipe? Would it be hard/expensive to do myself? Sorry to steal your thread Denholm, hope this info comes in handy to you as well.

 

it is illegal for them to remove it, but from what i was told it is not if you remove it then have them install the exhaust

 

warning: corksport is very loud.

 

So if i removed the cat, i could have a muffler shop fabricate and install the straight pipe?

 

http://videos.streetfire.net/player....6-F7997A67CE7E

That's what a Corksport setup as in my sig sounds.

To me there are a few things you must consider before buying an exhaust system. Noise, emissions, and costs.

Poor mans exhausts:
Pacesetter header + Bonez High Flo Cat + SSAC single = $500 bucks or so.
RB downpipe + presilencer combiniation + SSAC single = $500 bucks or so (loud)
Medium grade costs:
Racing Beat Header + presilencer + Corksport single = $500-700 bucks (loud)
Racing Beat Header + Bonez + Corksport single = $600-800 bucks (quieter then the before mentioned)
Bonez Superflo system + Corksport single = $500-600 bucks (quieter then above)
Racing Beat Header + Presilencer + Borla Cat-back = $700-900 bucks (quiet).
High End costs:
SDJ Header + bonez high flo + top end cat-back choice = $1000 or more (depending if the cat-back is dual or single, it'll be loud).
Racing Beat True duals = $1200 or so, semi loud
Racing Beat Collected system = $1000 or so.

Its all about how much money you have. I listed a Racing Beat header because simply its what we compare every other exhaust too. The presilencer and Bonez cat depends if you have emissions or so forth. The cat-back is your choice. 75% of duals WILL be quieter. Apexi, Motora, and a few other systems tend be louder however. Look at the mufflers and decide.

I hope that helps?

 

You won't necessarily need a header if you're on stock ports... there isn't much of a gain over a downpipe in that case.

What year is your car? IMO the racing beat presilencer on an N/A is almost useless unless you need it to open your auxilary ports. It barely quieted my car down at all.

 

I just mentioned it because its easy and bolt on.

A header will have more gains in the long run however.

 

How far exactly do SDJ headers extend past the stock exhaust manifold location? If its the same length as the RB headers then the custom Bonez cat that RP sells fitted for the RB headers would work?

 

racing beat is of great quality you can never go wrong with it

 

thanks jager that helped,

Ive been told that if i straight piped it - i would have to do something funky with my auxillary ports? what's the deal with that, it was never clearly explained to me.

 

by the way, it's a 86 non turbo..

 

To my understanding it goes up to the stock main cat.

 

If you straight piped the exhaust you would have to wire open the 5th and 6th ports OR remove them completely, which allow for more flow with sacraficing a little low end.

 

If you don't want to **** with your 5th and 6th ports, I recommend the RB presilencer or Bonez high flo with a split air tube, that'll enable stocklike function of the 5th and 6th ports.

 

the auxilary ports are "wired" into the cats..... the return line that goes from the cat, to the intake is what opens the aux. ports..... if its gone, or plugged, then the auxilary ports wont open and youll lose top end power due to them being closed.... so the only option is to wire them in the open position