Opinions on the Racing Beat dual-tip exhaust system?
 

http://www.racingbeat.com/FRmazda3.htm

My mechanic recommended this as I have to replace my current exhaust setup, but I was wondering if it's the best choice as a sole power adder. I'm not going to have the money to do anything else to increase power for a while, so I'd like to get the most out of this upgrade.

i don't think it adds a lot of power. But I love mine. More stock look and a nice sound.

RB makes quality exhausts with great sound. The cat-back will add power & response. The million dollar question is, what other mods do you have?

If you are totally stock, than I would recommend a RB Downpipe before the catback. Power wise they are pretty close. Both OEM pipes are pretty restrictive. However the DP is considered a reliability mod due to the OEM DP being a heat factory.

You could do both with the stock ECU and still be fine without running lean or overboosting, as long as you retain the factory intake & main cat. As you open the flow past that, I would be looking into an aftermarket ECU. Either a Pettit or Power FC.

Read the FAQ's for reliability mods. These are very important to keep your FD happy, & you from buying a rebuild.

I went from stock to RB single tip when I had just reliability mods. There is a very big difference. Revs come up ALOT faster. ALOT faster. If you are looking to add an exhaust for power though, I'm sure you can find better. I think the great thing about RB is that the exhausts are one of the quieter aftermarket ones you can find. Its very civil and it looks nice.

I agree with what people are saying..I have the RB dual tip sitting in the garage right now and the construction looks perfect and it appears very close to stock while looking very nice also..Sound wise? I can't comment yet but from what I have heard on youtube and so fourth it's not overwhelming at all and still has a nice sound to it.

I have it and it is great. Looks similar to stock, so no "rice" effect. Sound-wise, it sounds great with the windows open, but it is relatively quiet with no droning on the highway.

You can find one dirt cheap on the forums. One of the main reasons I got mine is because it was so freaking cheap. Since my OEM one was on its way out, I figured I might as well.

Agreed. That's how I got mine - $400 shipped.

Dave

Best part about the RB exhausts is that they minimize highway exhaust "drone" and don't have a weed wacker sound when you rev it. The dual tip looks great and doesn't attract cops.

I must be deaf because I could barely tell the diff at idle when I switch from HKS Hi Power to RB duals.

Revving is a completely different story. The car just sounds smoother...

I love my RB duals... So much that I kept it after I went single turbo.

My second FD came with barely used RB Duals and my old FD had a A'PEX-I PS Revolution exhaust. The RBs are louder overall compared to the A'PEX-I unit until WOT. The RBs have grown on me, and the exhaust looks great, but supposively it's a pretty heavy system and if you're looking for BIG power it can be a bottleneck. Sounds great though. If I do replace mine it'll be with a SMB muffler style dolphin tip system.

I too have the RB dual tip exhaust. The sound is noticably louder than stock but not too bad. I do not think you gain much HP at all but the car will sound more agressive.
I would get a down pipe if I could only get one item (assuming you have a north american car with both cats). And DP can be had very cheap, approx $100 vs $400

Is the RB dual louder than the Apex'i N1 or GT?

Negative.

The RB dual is not louder than the APEX N1 or GT, it is preety much the best sounding and most quiet performance exhaust you can get for the FD, actually my RE Amemiya Dolphin tail is about as quiet as the RB Dual.

Cool. I've been looking for a way to quiet down my sound at autocross. Depending on the weather, I'm between 92-94 db which is pretty much a warning each run.

This is a fantastic exhaust, better than stock in looks, some added power thru better breathing, sounds GREAT, not like some that make the rotary sound like a chainsaw on steroids.
In my opinion, this is the BEST aftermarket cat-back one can buy.

Did you try using the Apexi silencer on your N1? It will quite it down significantly, with no much power loss - I have the N1 dual and log only like 0.02 decrease in AFR with the silencers.

^^ It sounds like this when I put it on:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...4188490&hl=en#

The sound just comes out the front instead of the rear.

NUH Uh!
 

Actually Kai,

The A'PEX-I PS Revolution is more quiet than the RB Duals. It's only louder during WOT in higher RPMs. During regular street driving putting around town the PS Revolution is a lot quieter. They have a new exhaust with the same ATS technology and has the regular 3 inch piping like the N1. The PS Revolution had piping size like the GT Spec, 3.75 inches. My friend James and I did a comparison between our cars an he was amazed by how quiet my car was at idle and low rpm driving. He had HKS RS Intakes, ASP Large, RX7Fashion DP, SMB resonated metal cat, and RB Duals. I had HKS RS Intakes, RE VMIC, HKS DP, SMB resonated metal cat, and A'PEX-I PS Revolution. We both had stock motors, but he had 99 spec twins.

I want a rb exhaust:(

If you've got a GReddy ti or SMB dolphin tail I'll trade you!

Dammit I wish... I've got a custom... Exhaust thingy I rigged up to look stock after I got my ref ticket:(... Has horrible flow tho. I'm trashing it as soon as I buy another one

I really like my RB dual tip exhaust. It is really quiet until you step on it. After that, anyone around you knows that you are about to pass someone really fast! :biggrin:

here is a little video i just had runing my brother... magnaflow mid section, dp and duel RB.... WOT Pull at around 17-18 psi sounds pretty good, and sounds nice and low at normal driving. just when the turbos kick in, it gets loud... it didnt even sound that loud during videoing it till i saw it



[URL=http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a54/RotaryRX/?action=view&current=me_vs_justin.flv]

RB Dual Tip FTW! you can find them for about 450-500 + or including shipping used and in GREAT shape.

I LOVE MINE!

Thanks guys. I really like the subtler look of the RB; most of the other 'zorsts I've seen have too much of that mid-90s rice feel to them.

i cant believe i got pulled over last week for my RB dual tip exhaust....I told the cop he heard the turbos and the rotary engine and not the exhaust. I will fight this one and get the DB tested....I also have a high flow cat from bonez...F'n cop

I love everything about the RB dual. So much, that I'm trying to either trade my HKS hi power for one or just buy one and sell my HKS hi power. :)

Can't wait to get one!

I installed my RB dual back in '98. Still looks and sounds great, excellent quality product!

rx7.com had the cheapest price when I bought mine. They also have great support. Mine showed up with the tips damaged--UPS dropped it on end some how. They sent me a new one, without waiting for me to return the damaged one. Most places would want it back first and make you wait.

I like the old school Greedy Sp Exhaust it's has a very nice looking shiny canister and it's quiet.
I heard it on a Fd and its nice and quiet. Also the Greedy PE exhaust looks nice as well, but I dont know if its as quiet or louder than the RB Dual tip. Then again you can never go wrong with RB they make great quality products. There full exhaust for the Turbo-II comes with a down pipe and pre silencers and its the best full exhaust system for the Turbo-II money can by hands down

I second that. A buddy of mine had the old SP on his FD and I loved the look and sound of it. I wish they still made it. :(

i have NEVER heard anything negative regarding the RB

oh i have one for sale btw

Here's some negative. if your looking to get the most flow it is not for you. I love the way it looks and sounds but lost 13rwhp on the dyno between it and my pettit racing single tip catback. Also spool was slower due to its restrictiveness. This was @ 15 psi on stock twins. G

Yup! I kind of said the same thing. Not the best for flow.

UPS damaged my Apex'i GT Spec too..... it was wrapped *very* well, and the retards still managed to put a sizeable dent in the can.

I agree w/the customer service at www.rx7.com...... definitely the best in the industry in my experience :icon_tup:

It is a great looking exhaust. Just a bit larger than stock but the dual tip still looks close to stock. Sounds sporty, and doesn't attract "negative" attention. Since I put mine on, I backfire more than I used too but the fd's running a lil' rich tho which I believe is why. I got mine due to all the great reviews I read on here. glad I did. :)

Have RB dual tip on my car, absolutely love it. The sound at idle gets confused with v8's (by idiots of course)

I had an old PFS exhaust on my FD before I switched to the RB dual-tip. With the PFS, I had severe highway drone, but almost never had a backfire. Now, with the RB DT, I have no highway drone, but now I do have the occasional backfire. For reference, I am still on the OE ECU.

Well, it's on and much nice than my old setup. The sound is more distinctive, less cop-baiting, and much easier on the ears during extended freeway stints. And it looks so much better! I hated the mid-90's coffee can ricer styling I was running before; this isn't stock looking but doesn't clash with the factory lines either. It does backfire a lot more, but other than that it's a total improvement. Good stuff.

A few observations that might be interesting to readers of this thread:

Agreed. I experienced the same improved result when installed a PFS cat back, especially above 5k rpm. The stock cat back is very restrictive and the flow bench proved this out; it is about twice as restrictive as the stock main cat.


My understanding (from RB) is that not all RB's are created equal. I'm told that the early ones were chambered mufflers with significantly more restriction than newer ones, which are of a straight through design. Someone who has experience with both might want to chime in on this....


Yea, I experienced the same drone plus backfiring when I installed mine. I cut my PFS open, stuffed it with ceramic wool and now it sounds about the same as a newer RB single (and with little or no backfiring).

I have to agree with the majority of the posters, it's hard to go wrong with the RB.

I have a PFS exhaust if any of you is wiling to trade for a RB?:D

On my racecar (SCCA Formula Continental), I run a muffler due to noise regs at the tracks. When I originally had the ceramic wool that came with it, it was reduced to a few ceramic "pebbles" in a couple of sessions. The ceramic wool couldn't stand the heat and had melted! I now run SS wool, and even that degrades over a few weekends and needs repacking. I may go to the muffler packing advertised as being for "endurance racing."

I would assume, since the FD's EGT's are so hot, that a similar thing would happen there.

Dave

Dave,

Your experience and observations are very interesting. Do you know the brand, rating or trade name of the product you've used? I've used a couple of different things over the years, both with good results:

1) One is rock wool/mineral fiber, which seems to be able to take the heat in a cat back for most uses; however, it does react with mild acids, something that has concerned me--but I never saw any detrimental effects in practice. It is made from furnace and process slag and rated at approx 1300 (def F) iirc. (I can see where this product might be on the ragged edge if operated at high rpm/load for a longer period of time.)

2) The second product is refractory ceramic insulation blanket that is used for high temp furnaces/foundry processes, rated at least 2000+ (deg f). I have specified and used this stuff all over the place (industrial & automotive) without any known issues. In fact, I built a resonator into my downpipe (where the precat would reside) using this material and it's still intact after 3 yrs of constant use. I'm not sure how you would get temps high enough to destroy this stuff, outside of having a rocket motor (lol) or lots of free oxygen. It should perform similar to the SS material. Hmmmm.


-Joe

Interesting. Maybe the stuff I had wasn't truly ceramic (maybe fiberglass?), although it was advertised as ceramic. Coast Fabrication advertised the endurance racing packing. Here is a link to a PDF on repacking: http://www.coastfab.com/images/pdf/packingmaterial.pdf

Dave

I love my racing beat exhaust. I also have a magnaflow mid pipe. At idle it sounds nice and quiet and when i punch it sound awesome. no annoying sound.

Well, I guess we can't believe everything we're told. The packing that melted in my racing mufflers was almost certainly the "high-temperature lightweight fiberglass material," despite the fact that I was told (not by Coast Fab) that it was ceramic.

Joe, do you know where could I get some of the ceramic stuff you used? It might be even better than the SS mesh that Coast offers.

Dave

Dave,

How much do you need? Figure it's about an inch thick uncompressed. I've previously bought it in bulk, so I'm sure I have some of the real deal left over--I could send you some for evaluation.

-Joe