Planning my custom exhaust
#46
Ok, it's all done. You can't really see the headers, but they're on. If you ever need exhaust work in San Diego, Jesse's mufflers & brakes (in Lemon Grove) is absolutely top notch. Jesse himself did all the work on the car and for a very reasonable price. He even sprayed it when he was done with high temp paint to make it look nicer and avoid surface rust, no extra charge, didn't even have to ask him to do it.
1st off... WOW, what a big difference in terms of power. I put it in PWR and "Manual" mode and it plants you in your seat. I have an ear to ear grin on my face today.
2nd, sound. I spent an unhealthy amount of time (as documented in this thread) trying to pick the perfect components and design. I think I nailed it. It sounds like a slightly more aggressive version of stock (and about the same volume, maybe a smidge louder) at idle and when you cruise on the highway, but when you put the pedal down, at about 3k rpm it sounds like a beautiful exotic and gets meaner and louder as you go up the rpms. Even though videos never do it justice, when I get a minute I'll record video.
I wish there was a way to know for sure if I'm leaving anything on the table by keeping the stock cats. The math indicates that I'm not, but we can't be sure without a cat flow test or dyno numbers. For the time being, I'll leave it as is.
This project was a labor of love and a total pain in the *** dealing with vendors, but in the end, I couldn't be happier. I can't wait to drive it around some.
1st off... WOW, what a big difference in terms of power. I put it in PWR and "Manual" mode and it plants you in your seat. I have an ear to ear grin on my face today.
2nd, sound. I spent an unhealthy amount of time (as documented in this thread) trying to pick the perfect components and design. I think I nailed it. It sounds like a slightly more aggressive version of stock (and about the same volume, maybe a smidge louder) at idle and when you cruise on the highway, but when you put the pedal down, at about 3k rpm it sounds like a beautiful exotic and gets meaner and louder as you go up the rpms. Even though videos never do it justice, when I get a minute I'll record video.
I wish there was a way to know for sure if I'm leaving anything on the table by keeping the stock cats. The math indicates that I'm not, but we can't be sure without a cat flow test or dyno numbers. For the time being, I'll leave it as is.
This project was a labor of love and a total pain in the *** dealing with vendors, but in the end, I couldn't be happier. I can't wait to drive it around some.
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joemg (01-08-20)
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WIL44 (01-10-20)
#48
Instructor
Thread Starter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HLd_u9eGEE
heres mine i had done in the summer , cat back , x-pipe ,resonators deleted and new back box .
heres mine i had done in the summer , cat back , x-pipe ,resonators deleted and new back box .
That sounds great! What muffler did you go with?
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joemg (01-10-20)
#51
Instructor
Thread Starter
Ok, sorry for the delay, here is the sound:
It's very tame/refined until you open it up.
It's very tame/refined until you open it up.
The following 4 users liked this post by joemg:
#53
How can you get the car smogged in ca?
#55
I hate your car. So many mods
The following 2 users liked this post by digitatc:
joemg (01-17-20),
okievision (01-16-20)
#56
Instructor
Thread Starter
Thanks guys! I spent a lot of time on this, I'm glad it came out the way I hoped. I hope my journey was helpful for others in the future.
Good question, lol.
Honestly, it still has the oem cats so it'll pass the sniff test... the only giveaway is the X pipe on the visual inspection. The headers are black and pretty impossible to see. Guess we'll be crossing that bridge when we come to it. All the CA laws are very new to me, I'm not originally from here and car modding was a lot simpler back east. Even if I have to drive up to LA to find someone with bad vision, I'm willing to jump through some hoops every couple of years to have my car the way I want it. The important part is it's not killing the environment (any more than it should).
Good question, lol.
Honestly, it still has the oem cats so it'll pass the sniff test... the only giveaway is the X pipe on the visual inspection. The headers are black and pretty impossible to see. Guess we'll be crossing that bridge when we come to it. All the CA laws are very new to me, I'm not originally from here and car modding was a lot simpler back east. Even if I have to drive up to LA to find someone with bad vision, I'm willing to jump through some hoops every couple of years to have my car the way I want it. The important part is it's not killing the environment (any more than it should).
#57
Thanks guys! I spent a lot of time on this, I'm glad it came out the way I hoped. I hope my journey was helpful for others in the future.
Good question, lol.
Honestly, it still has the oem cats so it'll pass the sniff test... the only giveaway is the X pipe on the visual inspection. The headers are black and pretty impossible to see. Guess we'll be crossing that bridge when we come to it. All the CA laws are very new to me, I'm not originally from here and car modding was a lot simpler back east. Even if I have to drive up to LA to find someone with bad vision, I'm willing to jump through some hoops every couple of years to have my car the way I want it. The important part is it's not killing the environment (any more than it should).
Good question, lol.
Honestly, it still has the oem cats so it'll pass the sniff test... the only giveaway is the X pipe on the visual inspection. The headers are black and pretty impossible to see. Guess we'll be crossing that bridge when we come to it. All the CA laws are very new to me, I'm not originally from here and car modding was a lot simpler back east. Even if I have to drive up to LA to find someone with bad vision, I'm willing to jump through some hoops every couple of years to have my car the way I want it. The important part is it's not killing the environment (any more than it should).
#58
Instructor
Thread Starter
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Lavrishevo (04-15-20)
#59
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (1)
Last edited by Lavrishevo; 04-15-20 at 12:16 PM.
#60
Pole Position
iTrader: (1)
Ok, sorry for the delay, here is the sound:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B5lLi3hgYc
It's very tame/refined until you open it up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B5lLi3hgYc
It's very tame/refined until you open it up.