after reading on here about the benefits of the G coupe midpipe on sedans i've been searching locally for about a month now with no luck. i kept reading and researching and found that the z mid was pretty much the same but approz 6" shorter.

i found a z midpipe a few weeks ago at a salvage yard but, i didn't get it right away. i set it behind the car still hoping to find the G coupe mid so i wouldn't have to buy an extension. after a few more weeks of searching for the g mid and still no luck i decided to go ahead and get the z mid that i'd found a few weeks before.

after i got the pipe and started looking online for the bolt on extensions i started thinking why get a bolt-on extension when i can just weld on an extension. once i got the pipe home and started looking and asking where i should add the extension i got under the car and it became apparent that the best place for the added piping would be right behind the front flange so that's what i did. when i say "I" i don't really mean me. my neighbor did the welding for me.

i read about the differences in the sedan and coupe mid but, i didn't think too much of them. i knew it's basically just the resonator size and weight. little did i know how much of a weight difference. i didn't get a weight of the z mid but the g sedan mid was approx 23lbs. if i had to guess, i'd have to say the sedan mid was nearly twice as heavy so if they're weren't any hp differences at least there was alittle weight redux . just hope there weren't any hp decreases.


this is what i've got to work with. notice the right side of the pipe. you can see the extension thats been welded in. my friend also sprayed it with some heat resistant paint. i didn't expect him to do this. it was a nice surprise.


i don't even remember where the rust was. he hit the mid with the sandblaster too and inspected to make sure no rust was really bad. it was all fine like i had expected. the only thing i wasn't sure of was in inside but, it turned out to be just fine.

after jacking the car up i started removing the nuts and bolts connecting the G mid pipe to the Y. i was sure to see where the hangers were and made sure they were still in tact so the pipe didn't fall once the bolts were removed. after the front and rear bolts were removed (there's only 4 bolts total, 2 connecting to the Y and 2 connecting the muffler) i started looking at the hangers and saw there was a bracket bolted on the underside of the car holding the rubber hangers. instead of trying to fight the pipe out from the grip of the rubber hangers i simply unbolted the brackets from the underside of the car and slowly let the pipe down.

before i started installing the z mid i thought i'd get some quick comparison shots of the 2 mid sections. check them out





you can clearly see how much larger the resonator is on the g sedan pipe. if you look closely, you can see the z mid is a bit shorter than the g mid. i read that you needed a 6" extension for the z mid to fit. if i had to do it over again i'd make it 7". it was alittle tough getting the z mid mounted because it was about an inch or 1.5" shorter.

i started by connecting the piping to the Y pipe. i didn't fully torque the bolts down for the moment. i just did it to get it started. i then took the hanger and brackett and slid the hanger onto the mount and bolted it up to the underside of the car. again i didn't toque it all the way. lastly was the task of connecting the piping to the muffler. i had to pull the two together because of the shortened piping. it was a bit tough but, not too bad once i got the bolt through the hole and the nut threaded just a bit.once i started tightening the midpipe and muffler i went ahead and torqued it down all the way making sure to reattach the ground wire that's connected to the bolts. i then went back and torqued all the bolts down and made sure everything was snug.

before letting the car off the jack, i started it up and revved it just a bit to make sure everything sounded fine. it all sounded fine so i went ahead and let it down. i wanted to take the car for a test drive to see the sound difference throughout the rpm band. on the first start up i didn't notice much of a difference. once i pulled outta the garage and into the driveway i got out to hear for any leaks. all sounded well so i went down the road out of my neighborhood slowly. once i got out and headed toward the highway i could hear it. it had a deep, more sporty sound while cruising but, still not too loud and obnoxious. on the highway i went WOT and just enjoyed the sound as i shifted through the 5AT gearing. Once i got off the highway and onto the road and cruised back toward home i still enjoyed the sound of the exhaust with my radio off and my windows down. what's more pleasing for me is that when i do want to relax and enjoy peace and quiet i can roll up my windows and the sound is almost gone. with the radio on i can't notice it. i absolutely love that it's not a loud and obnoxious, "look at me" exhaust tone.

all in all i am happy with this mod. it was cheap and easily installed. the only thing that could make me happier is if it added HP. i recommend it to anyone tho. i recently bought another Z midpipe and it's in the process of being extended the same way. should be done in a day or so if anyone is interested. just pm me or text me at 228-369-0670 for pricing.

i'm not sure of the exit of my ichiba Y pipe but, i may sell this z mid and modify the other one with a sized matched reducer entering the midpipe so it has better flow. i'm also thinking of cutting the resonator completely off of my sedan mid just to see what it sounds like.

anyway, questions or comments always welcome.

 

Nice write up, the FX35 midpipe is also a bolt on fit and I heard it's a little cheaper in price.

 

that's good to know. i haven't heard that. i wonder if it's the same size diameter piping and if it sounds the same. that'd be great if it were 3".

today i was running a few errands and still excited about the z midpipe so i rode around with the windows down and the radio off just to hear the exhaust as i drove. it really does sound great. i can't wait until i put the test pipes on. i think that'll only make it sound better.

 

^^Get ready for some nasty rasp and drone if you add TPs to an otherwise stock exhaust. I'm just sayin'.........

 

Now get an HR Y pipe

 

Nice write-up OP. I picked up a 350Z HR Y and mid pipe about a month ago, and plan to install it sometime soon. I was just wondering if you re-used the oem exhaust gaskets or got new ones? I'm trying to figure out if I should buy the gaskets for a Z or the G since the piping diameter is different.

 

I want a midpipe now

 

Did the same thing, still love it since the day I installed it

 

i've got an ichiba Y pipe too. think it'll still sound bad with the TP's?

it looks like the exit of the Y is 3" to me. i noticed the gasket was smaller than the piping of the Y. i'm going to be doing some experimenting with other Y pipes so i think i'm gonna either trim the gasket or get one with a 3" opening. i've got another Z pipe i'm doing the same thing with but i'm thinking of adding a 3" to 2.5" reducer to the opening of the midpipe so the exhaust flows better. i'm also going to take my stock sedan mid and cut off the resonator and add a straight pipe and see how that sounds.

i reused the oem gaskets. i wasn't thinking about the exit of my ichiba Y pipe being 3" instead of 2.5". have some things i may try with other midpipes i've got. i suppose i could get a 3" gasket when trying the other mids. if you've got Z parts i'd get Z gaskets. on the other hand, if you got G gaskets and they were too small you could trim them to the exhaust opening size. i'm guessing the HR Y and mid are 3"? if i were you i'd just make sure you've got the 3" gasket connecting the Y and mid and then i'd probably go ahead and get 3" gaskets because if the HR Y and mid piping is 3" then it's only .5" larger than the G piping so when you bolt the flanges together from the cats they're still going to make a good seal and the gasket won't be blocking any flow into your new exhaust. if you experience problems with them leaking later on you can get 2.5" gaskets and trim them for better fitment but, i doubt using the 3" gasket on the 2.5" to 3" piping will cause any exhaust leaks if torqued properly.

you've got a pm

 

Don't guess what piping diameter are and give advice on buying baskets based on a guess, the HR mid is the same as the DE mid. The HR Y pipe is only ~.1" wider than the DE Y pipe, info can be found in the tech section thread title "350z HR-Y pipe installed on 2003 sedan".

 

So if I have a 05 sedan and I put a coupe middy n hr y pipe. It will have drone and rasp? Tp will fix that?

 

you won't get rasp from an hr-y and coupe midpipe...a little drone yes but its sounds great. Test pipes will introduce rasp

 

i was planning on getting art pipes, right now i have a coupe middy and a hr y pipe with soon to be ordered, serbring muffler.

i guess i should hold out on the pipes since it will be raspy??

 

Art pipes are an exception..shouldn't get rasp with those either..well maybe a tiny bit lol

 

haha sweet, it was either labree resonated or art pipes, fellow members persuaded me to get the art ones lol