KC95SC400

iTrader: (3)

So, I made a horrible discovery the other day. (JBrady, if you read this, you were correct.)

I thought that my exhaust piping was a combination of 2.25 inch and 2.5 inch. Well, I put my car on the lift the other day and discoverd that the piping is a combination of 2 inch and 2.25 inch. Add in the fact that the piping is crush bent and my exhaust system is very inadequate for my power level.

I have just ordered a few things and plan on fixing it myself with the help of a couple of freinds at work. I have ordered o2 bungs, some mandrel u bends, some mandrel 45 bends, 8 feet of straight pipe and 4 flanges. All piping and the flanges are 2.5 inch. I also ordered 3 Magnaflow mufflers. I ordered 2 4x9 double offset mufflers and 1 5x8 dual in/out tru-x muffler.

Mufflers - http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/s...e=main&id=7434

Tru-x muffler - http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/s...e=main&id=7679

My intent is to come off the headers into a 45, into a second 45, into the tru-x muffler then back to the 4x9's. I measured for the tru-x muffler and it should tuck into the driveshaft / exhaust area quite nicely slightly before where the 3rd cat would be. It also eliminates the need for a seperate x-pipe and seperate resonators.

I can only imagine the hp difference I will see going from crush bent 2 inch piping to mandrel bent 2.5 inch piping. Seeing as how my current exhaust is WAY to small I'd imagine a very significant difference. Maybe I can shave another tenth or more off my 1/8 mile time.

I'll post some pics on my progress, will likely be a couple of weeks before I can get it done though.

KC

ScottURnot

iTrader: (33)

That sounds like a heck of a plan! That should open it up. I like the center muffler idea, good plan.

KC95SC400

iTrader: (3)

I hope it works out and I can pull it off. I'm a little nervous about it...worse comes to worse I'd take all the parts to the local muff shop and have them put it all together for me. I'm going to try myself first to save some dough though.

I can only hope it will be half as nice as your exhaust. LOL. For ease of installation, I do intend to purchase a pipe expander. Being able to slip over where needed should make it much easier.

I cannot claim the center muffler idea. I went to a local shop that does mandrel bending and they quoted me $1000. No way in heck I can afford that. Anyway, the guy there suggested the tru-x muffler. I love the idea personally.

KC

stevechumo

iTrader: (5)

That's right. You may tack weld first then take the system to the exhaust shop to completely weld it. I'd say it'll be about $200 for the labor from the headers down to the mufflers. Before joining the pieces together, deburring the opening edges might be a good idea to increase a smooth flow.

lao73oi

Don't want to thread jack .. but my headers came TODAY!!

KC95SC400

iTrader: (3)

That's great!

Don't worry about thread jacking, feel free to any and all info regarding the headers and your install. How do you plan to install them? Doing it yourself?

BTW, I have most of what I need to fix my header back exhaust. Should be done by next weekend if not before. Very excited.

KC

lao73oi

I'm not going to install it anytime soon (Paying for college tuitions) But my buddy offered to help since his dad works at a shop... if I'd buy him lunch that is

A lift would make installing a little less stressful since my car is lowered..(doing oil changes are hard enough)

It sucks that they arent true bolt on.....

JBrady

KC,

Yeah, that's what it looked like.

Some points. Your links do not look correct. The 4x9 link is for 2" IO. Which part number did you order?

The 5x8 link goes to a 5" round. I was unable to find the tru X mufflers on the Magnaflow site. I do not know if they are still in production. I did find the 2.5" dual IO but no mention of an X. A reseller shows the same part number as shown on Magnaflows site but the same resellers information is questionable. That said, assuming you get the correct muffler, IIRC the internal X is just 2 of their Y pipes with perforations. Not my suggested design.

Dynomax lists a ultra flow X (dual IO with internal X pipe) here
http://www.dynomax.com/products/ultraflox.html

Also, the manual pipe expanders do not work well. About the only use would be removing the crimps from U clamps.

I would take the pipes to your exhaust shop and have them do the swaging and fitting.

I look forward to pics and the report!

KC95SC400

iTrader: (3)

You were right on the money and I was shocked. I would have likely left it alone a bit longer thinking it was 2.25 and 2.5 inch, once discovering the truth I became obsessed with fixing it.

I don't know why the links are funky. Go here to look. http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/u...asp?shape=Oval

I already have the mufflers, they are correct.

The tru-x muffler is definately NOT to perforated Magnaflow y-pipes together inside a case with packing. It's hard to explain but I will try. The two pipes are straight through and of course perforated. In the middle of each pipe is a deflector, for lack of a better word. The deflector on both pipes curves towards the center of the muffler, looks like it should do a good job of allowing cross flow. At the same time it looks like the flow could go straight through. Probably not optimal but definately looks better than the two y's idea. I will try and take a pic of the internals but I don't know how well it will work. As for the actual cross over section...???, can't see it so it's hard to say how well designed it is.

That does look like a nice muffler. I will caution against trusting those pics though. In the internal pics of the Magnaflow straight throughs, they show a straight pipe (in the double offset) going from the in to the out. When looking into the actual muffler, the pipe is actually curved. This is of course probably better, just saying that the pics online aren't always accurate.

I'm going to give it a try. I have a couple of different torches that I can use to heat the pipe which should help. It doesn't need to expand very much, just enough to barely slip over is what I'm going for.

I will take it to an exhaust shop as a last resort.

I will post both. I'm hoping to get it done by this Friday. I'm hoping to make this....

http://www.lowesmotorspeedway.com/dr...ws/534221.html

This new dragstrip is 2 minutes from my work.

KC

LexAnt

iTrader: (2)

Hey,

Just got my headers in today too. Can't wait to install, but I'd rather be on the side of caution to have everything I'm going to need to do it in one lump time slot. So the EGR is off in terms of length but would still fit. So a spacer is needed, something a machine shop can do. But how wide of a spacer is what I need to know. Can you find that out for me?

Also, so for the catalytic converters, I ended up getting some Magnaflows 43036 and 43009 which are 2.5" and 3". Any idea on where I can get some 02 sensor wire extenders? I now I could make my own but it would be more simplistic to have premade extension wires to just clip in.

Lastly, any more info on what type of modifications exactly you had to do to the factory exhaust hanger support off the transmission bellhousing?

Thanks,
Anthony

KC95SC400

iTrader: (3)

The boss for the EGR pipe is aligned ok. The problem is the holes drilled into it are just ever so slightly too far apart. You may need to elongate the holes in your EGR pipe and in the gasket.

I would just extend the wires if needed. Solder and shrink wrap would work fine.

The exhaust hanger modification is hard to explain. I had to bascially bend both sides upward and drill new holes into it. I cut notches into the metal, bent it upwards untill it would work and then went over the notched out sections with a welder.

LexAnt

iTrader: (2)

when you say the holes need to be elongated? what do you mean?

from this pic https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...63&postcount=6
it looks like everything lines up, just need like a spacer in there or something to connect the header to the egr pipe, is that rite?

KC95SC400

iTrader: (3)

Ok,

My EGR valve is gone and the port is blocked off on the intake manifold. What you see in that pic is a block off plate I made. I left the EGR tube on the engine because there's not really any need for me to remove it and, it's a PITA to remove. The pipe is flexible and I just pushed it up out of the way so it wouldn't hit the header.

Now, look at the header collector flange, those are elongated holes. You might need to make the holes on the pipe flange (and the gasket) longer, like the collector flanges. You will also need either two 10mm bolts or two new studs and nuts to bolt the pipe to the header. The OEM manifolds have two threaded studs, the EGR pipe slides over the studs and two 10mm nuts are used.

KC

stevechumo

iTrader: (5)

KC,
Sorry to jack the thread a little bit. Could you do me a favor by measuring the clearance between the top manfold (at center) and the hood bonnet? Thanks.

KC95SC400

iTrader: (3)

So...I installed my exhaust today. Don't have any pics or vids yet but here's a quick goods, bads, how I did it and a to do list.

Bads. The welds are horribly ugly, today is the first day I've ever really used a welder. I have a few small pin hole leaks I still need to take car of, small enough not to be heard. I used the shop EVAP smoke tester to leak check. Ground clearence may be an issue, but I think it will be ok.

Goods. I love the sound. It may be quieter than it was with the super turbos at idle. The sound comes alive at WOT and I didn't notice any drone on my drive home today on the highway. I have definately not lost any low end response. I dare say I've gained some. I have not done a standing WOT launch but I did do a couple of rolling burnouts. Punch the gas at about 5-10 mph and I'll spin a good 40-50 feet before traction catches up with me. I have definately picked up some power, hopefully I'll be able to run down zmax dragway tomorrow.

How I did it. I did not use the pipe expander, I gave it a half hearted try and decided it would be a PITA to use. Instead, I bought several 2.5 to 2.5 exhaust couplers and cut them in half, cut on either side of the crimp in the middle. I sliped the pipes into these half couplers, so the pipes are pretty much butt connected with a coupler over them. BIggest problem with doing this is creating more welds. I'll try and take some pics soon, easier than explaining.

To do. Fix the pin hole leaks. If I have time (doubtful), I'll grind the welds down a bit and clean them up. I don't really care if they are ugly as long as the leaks are fixed. I haven't yet re-installed the tips. I sitll need to install the sub o2 sensor on the passenger side. Clearence between the sensor and the frame is an issue, I haven't decided how I want to fix it yet. I picked up some black header paint (2000 degree stuff) and I intend to paint the entire exhaust system short of the headers.

Well, I'm exhausted, no pun intended. Took me all day to put my exhaust on, what a PITA. It's not the prettiest thing to look at but it's not bad at all considering I started not really having any idea what I was doing and, having never welded before. It will look 10 times better after being painted black. I haven't driven the car much yet, just the short drive home from work. So far, I am very pleased. I will report more in the near future.

KC