what's the difference with these two and also HP ratings between the two? i read the MaxFAQ but it doesn't tell me too much about the B-pipe. who has this?

... oh, and what do they bloody do? (sorry, been playing NOLF and Giants too much lately)...

 

From what I've read the Y-pipe is a pipe that goes ahead of the main catalytic converter and it eliminates the 2-precats. The elimination of the cats and better tubing adds a "claimed" 10-20(15-25 flywheel) horsepower at the wheels according to Stillen. The B-pipe connects the main cat to the muffler and eliminates the resonator. However, I called Stillen and they said they don't have a B-pipe for the 2000-2001 yet. I believe you'd be better off having a muffler shop with a mandrel bender making you a custom B-pipe. It should be a lot less than what $tillen will charge you and get you the same hp. Also, the consensus argues that the Y-pipe and High Flow Intake will net you more horsepower together than individually combined. For the Y-pipe $tillen quoted me $349, but Avalon Racing can usually give you a better deal.

 

The y pipe eliminates 2 pre-cats on the 4th gens, but only one on the 5th gens. Sucks...

 

The Y pipe is for "off road use only", whereas the B pipe is supposedly street legal. That is per the Stillen catalog.

 

Does anybody have both ? And is it a good idea ?

 

I got the stillen y-pipe and intake, and I am planning on having a shop fabricate the B-pipe for about $100, is it worth it only time will tell. will it be loud, yes, not as much as a full blown cat-back system. I am keeping the stock mufler since I don't want to attract Cops, and I want to avoid the hassle of "illegal" exhaust sys. been there done that (even with the greddy you still get tickets) I'll maybe add the RT Cat later to see if makes any diff.

 

So Maxx-s-ter what have you noticed with your b-pipe ? Do think it's a good mod to go with a y-pipe

 

maxx-ster...cattman makes a b-pipe thats stainless for $100...that is probably going to be better than the one the shop can make...just FYI...i don't know if it has been officially released yet, but i saw the actual b-pipe for our cars today and he said they are around $100 and they would charge about $50 for install (3/4 hours labor) but i will probably install it myself...just to let you know...if brian catts says he doesn't know anything about it, have him talk to curtis

 

Kev

IIRC, the 5th gen Cali spec Y pipe only removes 1 of the 2 precats and the Fed spec Y pipe removes both precats. Am I wrong on this?

 

Which mod makes more noise. I am concerned with the noise level from the a$$ end of my max (I don't want it). I do not want by car to sound like the offspring of a lawnmower and a chainsaw. In the Feb issue of Sport Compact Car, they slapped a muffler, a Y-pipe, and a B-pipe on a 200SX and it make all sorts of whining noise. If the Y-pipe is added is there a noticable increase in noise, and if both the Y-pipe and B-pipe are added is there an even bigger increase in noise. I plan on keeping the original muffler on the system.

 

Check this thread out Paul: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....threadid=24785

 

Well.. if you don't like the rice exhaust sound with the 8" tip... stay away from the stillen y-pipe. Cattman will be louder than stock but shouldn't be too whiny... especially if you keep the rest of your plumbing stock. To realize full gains from your exhaust you prolly want to upgrade your intake as well. If noise is a concern there too you prolly wanna go with the OSCAI (see my sig).

 

Seems to back up what I'm saying. I don't think the Fed spec Max has the front precat ahead of the Y pipe. So the Stillen Fed Y pipe removes the one precat. The Stillen Cali Y pipe removes one, but still has the front precat ahead of the Y.

 

Does the addition of the B-pipe affect noise levels like the Y-pipe?

 

Yup, you were thinking Fed spec and I was thinking Cali spec.

 

WTF? I got a damn 50-state(Cali retard special) and it has two precats plus the main cat under the center of the car. So there is a Fed spec Max with only one precat and the Y-pipe eliminates it. Damn it! Someone better make a Y-pipe that ganks both them power robbers out of there. Also, what do you do about the two O2-sensors in the precats? I don't think the main cat has one, but the two precats definitely do. How do you eliminate the one precat with the Cali special and not get check engine lights? Does the Y-pipe have a place to put it? That sucks. I wish I would have been aware I was buying a Cali special in ARIZONA. Anybody know what kind of horsepower loss the Cali special has? I always see that California model cars lose like 5hp or more because of the extra smog junk they add.

 

can someone plz tell me which y-pipe gains more hp..cattman or stillen?i was told cattman

i have a cattman y-pipe and my friend has a stillen y-pipe.
all the other mods we have are the same though and his car pulls on me in 3rd gear.I chould only get him about half a car in 1st and 2nd but his 3rd is better than mine.I think my 3rd is strong but his is stronger.

can someone give me more info on this issue plz?Thanx

 

Most of us already have the y-pipe....If that only eliminates one of the pre-cats, cant't you just get the b-pipe to supplement what the y-pipe is doing? Cant you get them both? I dont know so I'm asking...anyone have any info on this?


Dac

 

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that one, IceY2K1. The front pre-cat is actually a part of the front exhaust manifold. It has 02 sensors fore and aft as opposed to the rear pre-cat which has only one 02 sensor. Any attempt to gut the front pre-cat would generate a check engine light.

You do, however, allude to a problem that is often overlooked. By eliminating only the front pre-cat, a Y-pipe creates an unbalanced exhaust flow between the engine banks. While this may not create a problem in the short run, it is problematic in the long run. Engine longevity is important to me. It is for that reason that I have not and will not install a Y-pipe.

[Edited by y2kse on 03-04-2001 at 10:15 PM]

 

I agree that eliminating only one precat is a bad idea. I know from experience that back pressure affects the exchanging of intake and exhaust gasses in the cylinders. Therefore, reducing back pressure on only one bank will cause some unbalancing but to what degree and what is harmful is something I to am not going to findout. It's either all or none in my book and I realized that the first precat is part of the exhaust manifold therefore whoever tries to engineer a new Y-pipe is going to have a difficult time, therefore passing that on to me in cost. I would be willing to pay it as long as it does what I want it too. Also, Cattman mentioned wanting to see me about possibly improving his 50-state version of the Y-pipe. Maybe, just maybe, he could come up with something to help us Cali retard specials.

 

I can think of only two things Cattman can do. The first would be to gut the front pre-cat and introduce some kind of mechanism to "fool" the ECU into thinking that the cat was still there. I doubt that's what Brian has in mind.

The second would be to introduce a high-flow pre-cat into the portion of the Y-pipe servicing the rear cylinder bank.

I like the second idea better for a couple of reasons. First, it would balance the exhaust flow between the front and rear cylinder banks. Second, and more important from a marketing perspective, it would allow Cattman to produce the ONLY street-legal aftermarket Y-pipe available for 5th Gen Maximas.

I'll bet Random Technology could come up with a solution if Brian wanted to pursue it.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by y2kse
[I]I was curious about the potential exhaust flow imbalance with a y-pipe so I e-mailed Brian Catts, however, he didn't respond. I e-mailed Greg Prete who, evidently, helped to test the Cattman y-pipe? His feeling was that the difference in pressure between the two banks with a CA y-pipe was a common misconception. He said there could be no pressure difference because the two banks were connected by a common pipe. Sounds like a physics question. Does anybody know FOR SURE or is it all speculation?