I need to get a mid-pipe for my 04 Coupe and I was wondering if there are any aftermarket (cheaper) alternatives to the factory pipe. I have looked but have not come up with anything yet. I need a pipe that will just bolt to the factory y-pipe and muffler section. Yes, I know that Fast Intentions, Stillen, etc. all make great exhausts but that is out of my budget at this point. Any help on this is appreciated.

 

i remember seeing one on ebay a while back. 2.5" mandrel bent with what appeared to be a decent resonator. i think by itself, it was going for around $175. i honestly cannot remember the company name but they sold other complete exhaust for Z & G as well. pretty sure it was initials and either started in Z or ended in Z. should be much cheaper to find someone in the classifieds with a used one or ask around in your local section forum.

 

i would think a muffler shop that does mandrel bending inhouse could fabricate something for you. i have a sedan and that's what i'm doing this weekend; i'm putting in a magnaflow reso w/ a 2.5 inlet, outlet and core w/ a custom "S" pipe to connect the reso to the ypipe.

 

not sure about your area but the only exhaust shops in my area that use mandrel bending are ones that support the nascar shops and they want big money. crush bending would probably suffice since there are not significant bends though. sounds like you have a good plan, have you decided what length resonator to use?

 

this is the part i will be installing:

magnaflow part #10416

http://www.planetmagnaflow.com/shop/...10416-904.html

i got the idea off another member here who did the same thing. it's a nice part b/c of the 2.5 throughout the entire thing. plus, my muffler guy is going to cut out the crimp from the oem ypipe to the oem reso so that everything after the ypipe will not have any crimps at all.

i live in so. california and there are a lot of performance shops out here so i guess i'm spoiled in that sense. it sounds like they would charge you a lot for mandrel bending in your neighborhood. also, my guy will do everything for $120 out the door. fair price.

 

Make sure the guy has a mandrel bender... crush bent sucks and is not worth the money.

 

did you have any plans to record any soundclips or video? i saw the other thread you are talking about but wanted to see if i could hear any more videos with that resonator under engine load.

 

totally. the guy said for sure he was going to mandrel bend the cutsom "S" pipe he's going to fabricate.

 

i will probably try and record some sound clips b/c i think my car will be the only one w/ the magnaflow reso/muffler with HKS rear that i know of on this site.

 

good to know. i took off the hks after hfcs but would entertain putting it back on if the magnaflow resonator making a positive impact on the sound.