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Going to be needing a new catback. Suggestions?

11K views 46 replies 17 participants last post by  all4focus 
#1 ·
The stock exhaust on my 2001 ZX3 does not have many days left. The whole thing from the cat to the tip is rotting here and there along the way. I figure I might as well put in an aftermarket stainless catback. I'm a college student, so money is short, very short. Thus, I really want to spend as little as possible on the new exhaust. I don't want to have a junky sounding "fart cannon" exhaust though. So what are my best options to save money without sacrificing performance and sound? My local O'Reilly carries the Magnaflow (http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/d...=Search_03387_1372621_1528&pt=03387&ppt=C0022) and Flowmaster (http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/d...=Search_03387_1372621_1528&pt=03387&ppt=C0022) systems. From the sound of videos, they seem too harsh, lacking a rich tone like the borla system for the SVT. The magnaflow sounds pretty good, much better than the Flowmaster imo. I'm worried about the noise level though. You can get a ticket for making too much noise where I live.
 
#2 ·
run 2 mufflers with 2.5 inch piping. i suggest dynomax. i think it was advanced or autozone that carries that brand muffler. nice sounding 3 chamber muffler. i only ran 1 dynomax and 1 thrush resonator in my setup because i like it a little louder. ignore the weird vibrating/buzzing sound at idle. i dont know what the heck that is but i can only pick up that sound on my camera and not in person.


it cost me $175 grand total. $50 for the dynomax $25 for the thrush and $100 for a local shop to fabricate my flexpipe back 2.5 inch exhaust.
 
#4 ·
no reducer, i actually replaced the stock flex pipe with a 2.5 inch flex pipe way way back when. however the flex pipe has a flange on the end of it which the 2.5in exhaust can be bolted to. all you need is a 2.5 inch pipe with the correct flange to mate to the flex pipe which any muffler/exhaust shop should have.
 
#5 ·
I see. For the ease of things, and the fact that this will probably have to be done in one day some weekend during the busy school year, I'm really leaning toward just going with the Magnaflow. It's readily available locally, it should be easy enough to install, and the sound in videos is growing on me. They claim it's dyno-proven to increase performance too, whether or not that is actually true.
 
#7 ·
id deffinitly go with a 2.25 inch magna flow i personally like these better for lower powered focuses or ones you dont plan to do much in the way of performance on
 
#8 ·
Have you used the magnaflow catback yourself? How much louder is it than stock? Sure sounds a lot louder in videos. I really like the tone and the noticeable, but not excessive crackling, but the only thing I worry about is noise. I've also removed the snorkel and resonator from the air filter box to make a poor man's short ram/semi-cold-air intake, which already makes it quite loud when I step on it.
 
#10 ·
http://youtu.be/Kc1gmyyyFe0

the camera was way to close for this but what i had was m2 header 2.5" flex and 3" straight all the way back, the exhaust is magnaflow. i have other vids on youtube also of driving with the exhaust. i have the svt header now and i am putting on a resonator accompanied with my high flow cat, so its going to sound way different here in a couple of weeks ill obviously post vids, if you dont decide before then
 
#13 ·
Not sure I like that tip.... it looks like it would put all the back pressure right back into the exhaust you removed by going with a larger diameter of tube and high flow resonator and muffler.
 
#16 ·
Well, I'm going to give the BBP a try with a change of the tip. It's the cheapest stainless steel, mandrel bent cat back I could find from an American brand, and right now, the biggest issue for me is saving money. I'll let you guys know what I think of it after I get it installed.
 
#17 ·
I won't be able to install the BBP exhaust until Thanksgiving break, but it looks really nice and seems to be of good quality. The 4.5 inch tip is just wrong though, so I bought a 3.5 inch resonated tip to weld on instead. I think it will look very nice now, and hopefully it will sound as good as it looks. I'm definitely going to see some gains in performance, because not only is it larger diameter piping, but it also just has two straight-through glass packs and no chambered muffler. I just hope it isn't too loud. If it is, I may be replacing the rear most glass pack with a thrush turboflow muffler.
 
#18 ·
Time will tell how well it is. Wait until it endures a winter of snow and salt to really gauge as to how well it is. A lot of those companies get by by using cheap steel flanges and cheap steel welds. I have a JBA stainless cat back and nothing on it is rusted at all. I have had mine on the car for about 8 years and has survived several winters without any issues.
 
#20 ·
They may look great now, but you are unsure of the materials used on the welds and flanges. In order to sell it at a lower cost they have to cut corners some where. Whether it be in cost of materials and/or labor. But as I had said before, only time will tell as to how well this exhaust is constructed.
 
#24 ·
I've been watching this thread and have to say that I'm excited to see what comes of this install. I'm considering this system for my car, but would like to have some direct feedback before I make the jump. I'm aware that the welds may not be the best according to some. However, since I live in Alabama I'm not really worried about things like winter salts messing anything up. We probably get about 2-3 inches of snow annually and I don't think I've ever seen salt used on the roads, even in more extreme situations (well, for us anyway).

If you can post some pictures of the system before, during, and after installation that would be awesome.
 
#25 ·
Well, being in Minnesota where it is salt, salt, and more salt on the roads, it should be a good test of this system's quality. They weld joints look great, but I guess that doesn't mean anything about whether or not they will rust. It's going to be installed later this week, so it won't be long before I see how well it fits and how it sounds. I'll be sure to post pics throughout the process, and I'll get a video too so others can see how it sounds. Just keep in mind that I will not be using the stock 4.5in exhaust tip, but rather a 3.5in resonated tip.
 
#26 ·
Do the Resonated tips really do any thing? they are at the very end with no ability to change the back pressure. Your "Resonated tip" is just a glass pack insulated tip right?
 
#29 ·
I got it installed today! The hardest part was just getting the stock exhaust off. My dad had to cut the bolts off of the flex pipe flange (which was the toughest part), and we also made a cut through the stock pipe right after the muffler to get it off. After that, bolting the BBP exhaust on was a piece of cake, and everything lined up without having to do any modifications. I took pics before, during, and after the installation process. Does anyone know how I can upload them on this forum?


The sound results:

I am really pleased with how this system sounds. It has a superb, deep, rich, and mellow tone. It's not raspy at all, and there is only a hint of crackle when you let off the gas. It's not at all obnoxious, but it's just enough to make you smile every time you downshift. It's not as loud as I feared it would be either. There is no need to change out the large glass pack for a muffler. It actually does a surprisingly good job of keeping the noise level reasonable. It makes quite a bit more noise than stock, but no one should be labeling me as a ricer. I took video of it revving and driving by on my phone, but the sound quality wasn't as good as I had hoped. Inside the car, there is noticeably more noise from the back of the car. It doesn't drone or anything though, and I don't think it will get annoying over time. There are two especially noticeable rpm ranges where it seems to hit a resonant frequency of the pipe. One is at 1400-1600rpm, and the other is at 2400-2700rpm. It's a little noisy at 60mph, which is right in the 2500 rpm range. In town it makes a bit of noise too, but it's a much better lower frequency, and as I said before, it's not obnoxiously loud, even at those louder resonant frequency ranges.


The performance results:

It will be a while before I can see how the new exhaust affects my mileage, but the less restrictive exhaust is noticeable when driving. It pulls harder into the upper rpms, and it downshifts easier too. My 0-60 time actually improved by about half a second, so it definitely gained a little in the performance department.


Conclusions:

Overall, I am really pleased with the BBP system so far. I'm especially happy with how it sounds, which is relieving, since I was initially most concerned about it being too loud. Hopefully it will continue to live up to being better than I expected long into the future. Unless it turns out not to be made out of good stainless steel and it rusts quickly, I can tell you I got more than my money's worth out of this thing. What an awesome system for $130!
 
#31 ·
I would be interested in pics and a possible video/sound clip if possible. I am needing to get a catback(as everyone calls them) system seeing as how my fswerks header and straight pipe are driving me nuts.
 
#34 ·
A nice flex-back system will sound real good with that header, I miss her already... [:(] Glad to see it go to someone who'll use the hell out of it though!

There's a guy on Craigslist here in STL that has a whole system (flexback, stainless) for less than 200 bucks.
 
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