This may get moved to the "Aftermarket exhaust Compilation thread", but i feel i needed to just make a new one because my question is more tech than debate.


I've been browsing different exhausts and such and i keep coming to a brick wall, i have no damn clue what i need and what i'm looking at, i've tried to educate myself as much as i can, like what are "art pipes" by motordyne? so far ive come to the conclusion that they pretty much just kill exhaust rasp and help the air flow more freely, but do i need this? and with the y pipes, wouldn't it be best to get the y pip with the hfc connected so come inspection time im ready to go and my check engine light doesn't pop on?

Mainly my question from this thread is:

If a n00b as myself for example wants to put a full exhaust on his 03' coupe
what would i need from front to back, and can different brands interact
such as a megan racing y pipe...with a motordyne x pipe?

Thanks for your time and any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Learn the difference in how a car's exhaust system works.

It starts from the when exhaust gases leave the engine, the pass through headers - most people avoid this as it involves yanking the engine out.

After the headers are passed, you have the Catalytic converters known as Cats.

After cats you have the traditional exhaust system composed of a Y pip, X pipe followed by the muffler leading to your exhaust tips.

Now here's the fun part. Depends on what you get, you'll make different power, etc..

For emissions unless you have your own juan, Art Pipes(straight pipes resonated with no catalytic converters) will pass if they only hook up to your OBDII connector. If they hook up to your exhaust tips you will fail, art pipes will pass whatever comes out of your headers without keeping any toxic stuff out.

Due to that some people go down the HFC path(high flow cats), like Berk HFCs which work really well.

So your choice is between HFCs and Test Pipes in the Cat area(some of the best are art pipes or berk hfcs)

As far as the actual exhaust goes, most folks that want quality go with Motordyne TDX2(best exhaust made for our cars - power sound and everything), Greddy, invidia, etc...all of these for the most part are cat back exhaust from the cat all the way to the end. Or an axle back.

Some exhausts dont really produce power on our cars, so research and see what you want - some just do it for the sound..so decide what you want in terms of power to the ground, art pipes+ MD TDX2+ an osiris tune will be your best result. Otherwise, do some research around many post dyno runs.

 

Ok so coming from the header, it would go y pipe then hfc or art pipes, then x pipe and then the muffler to tip?

HFC being the "safer" of the two to go with?

Sorry i'm super n00b, i know what each does i just don't know the line up very well and how well different brands play with each other, do most brands make their products so that they'll be able to be a direct line up with others?

You're original post was great, thanks, i see a lot of higher leveled guys/gals being pretty rude on here sometimes so it makes us people with the actual want to learn stand offish on asking these questions ha.

 

Headers(aka manifold)->Cats or test pipes-> y-pipe -> mid-pipe -> muffler.

Just buy a full exhaust, don't mix and match. It doesn't work that way.

 

Just go with a catback exhaust of your choosing since you don't seem ready to mix and match a system of your own. Only get hfc/art pipes/or test pipes if you know your local regulations regarding changing them or are willing to switch back to stock cats for smog checks. For example in cali you can't change your cats out to test pipes or even hfc's legally (bit more complicated if your cats fail).

 

Thanks guys this helps a lot, i wont feel completely alien to researching exhausts now, i've been looking around and i haven't had a lot of luck finding a complete full exhaust as far as having y pipe and cat included, i think the only one i found was a borla. So as long as i were to stick with a single brand while piecing it together i should be fine.

also, as far as cat restrictions and regulations go, i'm assuming most aftermarket y pipes are molded to line up with our stock cat then? if i can get away with it at first while i figure things out at first that'd be nice, especially while i don't have any added power or would that almost be pointless to do if i were to replace the headers with higher performance ones, bolt up the stock cat, and then go aftermarket from there back?

 

Dont piece **** together, just buy a full system from the start....Can't you read what all of us have said?

http://www.b2autodesigns.com/index.p...h=14_20_89_276

Here's a reputable vendor that sells on this forum, pick a system, preferably not borla as their not that great on our cars, and go from there and read reviews on those catback systems.

Read my first post again, right after your opening post...I've pretty much laid it down so that you can follow it easily. I don't think I can be much clearer - if that is too much to follow, don't mod your car as odds are you'll need a professional installer to do all work for you and you might even get ripped off

 

Just buy a catback system that you like the most and fits your budget. You can always add test pipes/etc later. I wouldn't bother with headers ever unless you are going long tubes which are ridic loud.

 

You can piece together an exhaust but you have to be smart about it and know what youre doing... In your case just buy a cat back exhaust. Like me. I have ART pipes and im buying a MD XYZ with resonator (or HR Y pipe havent decided) to a 3in midpipe to a GTR muffler. Should sound sexy.

 

my system reminds me of frankenstien

 

Fast intentions cat back. Youtube it and thank me later.

 

Totemg35, the reason we replace the OE exhaust is for better sound and a few more whp! (wheel horse power) Most of the restriction is in the OE converters, replacing them will give you 7 to 8 whp and a better sound. What you replace them with depends on where you live and the emission laws. ART pipes are illegal in all states, HFCs are legal in 48 states. Fast Intention HFCs work great, I had BERK's and they didn't last a year and the manufacture didn't back their warranty. Choosing an exhaust system is a big step and depends on they way it sounds to you. Hearing systems on vids are only as good as the WallMart recorders they're using. Attend a few meets and listen to members exhaust systems in person then you'll know what you like. Motordyne makes the best systems followed by HKS, depends how deep your pockets are! Good Luck, enjoy the ride....Gary

 

Okay, I'll reiterate for you, the stock exhaust consists of: Headers -> CATS -> Y-Pipe -> Mid-Pipe -> Muffler

Here is a picture of the "cat-back" portion of my stock exhaust:



Most aftermarket exhausts are a "Cat-back" meaning they connect to the cats and replace everything else you see in this picture. Your confusion of Y-Pipe and X-Pipe have to do with the design of the some aftermarket exhausts. Dual exhausts use an X-pipe because they will have 2 pipes running to the back of the car. The factory exhaust (and oem style exhausts) use a Y-pipe that connects to a single pipe running to the muffler.

Here is a picture of a Fast Intentions cat-back on my car. In the front you can see where it bolts up to the factory Cat locations, merges into an "X-pipe" and then now has 2 separate pipes running to the mufflers.




You may come across things like Megan or HR Y-pipes, these are designed to replace ONLY the y-pipe portion of the stock exhaust. These would be used if you're keeping the stock exhaust, or some of the OEM style exhausts.

Here is an example of an OEM style exhaust, as you can see it only replaces the stock mid-pipe and muffler. This is where you would use one of the mentioned Y-pipes.




You shouldn't mix and match parts of cat-back exhaust systems. A Megan Y-pipe just wouldn't work with my Fast Intentions dual exhaust for example.

You CAN however mix and match different branded Cats and headers with a cat-back. Test pipes, ART pipes, & HFC all replace the stock Cats, so you have to pick one. Differences being: test pipes = strait tube, ART pipes = a fancy test pipe, HFC = high-flow cats.

Here for example, I'm running AAM HFC's with my Fast Intentions exhaust.




For most after market setups, you purchase 3 items separately. 1. [HEADERS] - 2. [Testpipes | ART | HFC] - 3. [Cat-back]

Most people only replace #2 & 3. And yes, different brands will line up with each other.

Only if you decide on an OEM style exhaust would you then need to worry about a Y-pipe. As long as you purchase a "CAT-back" though, you should be covered.

 

Hey thanks, yeah i must have been searching crap and reading through these at the same time, your post was exactly what i needed.

 

Pictures are very helpful thanks! Everyone has been understanding and helpful thanks, and yes that was exactly where i was confused with the single/dual! Thanks to all.