NoMotive

iTrader: (1)

So which cat-back is the better one by performance standards? Frankencar's is $200 than Cattman's and looks nicer. Considering that cat-backs dont generate much horsepower gains for 5.5 gens I wouldnt want to spend extra on Cattman unless it performed significantly better. So those owners who have either the Cattman or Frankencar cat-back how do you like it? How would a Cattman Header and Frankencar cat-back setup be if i were to take that route?

mjg

Exhaust won't offer significant power gains, not more then what you think anyways. On our cars, it's mostly to make the car sound better, and cosmetic. I own the cattman product, and i can tell you bryan catts products cost the most because they are the best fit and finish you can get. I was close to buying frankencar, but from what i read here it was very close to stock in the way it sounded, and i wanted something different.

Between my hotshot headers and cattman exhaust my car sounds pretty awesome. One of these days i'll take a soundclip ( now that i finally got my car back maybe this weekend) and post it up or something.

Also forgot to mention, the frankencar product is a bit heavier, and their customer service is nothing like cattman's. It took me a real long time to get in touch with frankencar, while Bryan emailed me back promptly with all my questions. He was a real nice guy.


I believe with money in hand, you get that treatment from frankencar as well. Otherwise, it's harder to get your questions answered. The cattman header system is a bit more expensive, but from what i was told, it would sound the best because all the pipe lengths are the same, so the harmonics are better and
frankencar uses assymentrical pipe length, which scrambles up the harmonics. You won't get the effect which you get with cattman, which lets you hear each detonation.

NYPD-Arnold

iTrader: (8)

@ Frankencar sounding like stock. No offense, dude, but if you were at the 7/17 meet this past weekend you would eat those words. PoLo let me rev his car just so I could hear the Frankencar...let me tell you, I wasn't the only one who damn near blew his load when I heard that exhaust sound. Everybody's jaw was on the floor. The frankencar is the best sounding exhaust imaginable.

NoMotive

iTrader: (1)

so both cat-backs produce better sound and neither produce much extra hp gains....

mjg

Arnold K;

Doesn't Polo also have the headers? That can have something to do with it.

Anyways i'm just assuming, i said thats what i read here (what turned me away fro frankencar was that people say under wot you can hear it, but normally it makes no difference)

I'm sure its a great exhaust, don't get me wrong.

NoMotive;
That's just the way it is with our cars, exhaust isn't a huge performance mod. The muffler probablly adds something, but nothing that significant.

NYPD-Arnold

iTrader: (8)

I'm not sure if he has headers, too. But I have a soundclip of just the Frankencar and it sounds the same as PoLo's.

joebangaa

iTrader: (3)

x2 on frankencar

2k3TitaniumSe

iTrader: (3)

I'd go with Cattman. Just deep and smooth sound.

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

injen, cattman y-pipe, franken cat-back.

don't want headers cause this is a daily driver.
had the greddy, it got too loud for my tastes. i wanted something as close to stock......but not....just close.....the FC took care of that. when driving moderately (up to 4k rpm) you hear nothing but the intake. from 4k+, you get the way a stock g35 or 350 sounds, and as you go higher, it just gets throatier, but NOT louder. no droning at all. i like the quietness of it. like i mentioned once before, it takes having al oud exhaust to appreciate something really quiet.

but, fitment, the cattman fits better. the FC hits here and there, especially at the heatshield. some modding can fix that (supposedly nismo flanges are longer and so it sits lower, avoiding the heatshield) but that's tolerable. i hear it when i go up my driveway but that's it.
i heard cattman's, and i did like it, but it was still too loud. it's prolly not loud at all, but i was seriously looking for that ultra quiet sound. the cattman was revved, so the opinion is biast as i never heard one drive by.

Mkang513

iTrader: (1)

I'm trying to make the same decision. $200 does seem like a big difference to me. With that extra 200, get an intake and you won't even hear the exhaust most of the time. I'm just hoping for a GD to come along soon cause I've always liked Cattman products.

Lumbee1

Droning on the highway is the only thing that would bother me. The stock muffler does not drone. Drone from the Greddy is incredibly awful. Even the HKS has a little drone to it (it goes away past 80mph after the additional outlet opens up). I have considered Frankencar and Cattman. Honestly I don't like the Frankencar company (customer service sucks) while Cattman makes high quality products with Excellent customer service.

scopium

unless you got some sort of forced induction . catback wont make a big difference..
sound wise... Frankencar is litterally stock.. you wont hear a thing..

MaxedOut

iTrader: (4)

I wonder why the cattman sounds like.. i've been toyign witht he idea of trading my frankencar with a cattman.. cuz frankly soemtimes the frankencar is too quiet.. but soemtimes i love how its quiet and doesnt attract cops in my area...

i'm soo torn

carabuser

iTrader: (4)

my frankencar with stock y-pipe sounds just a little above stock. Intake is actually louder than the catback (I got Berk). With y-pipe it might/will change.

nm

I have the frankencar catback and cattman y-pipe, and the sound I get is comparable to a stock g35coupe/z350, very nice and deep with no droning. You hear the exhaust at <25mph and at 3-4K+ rpm, cruising at highway speed you can barely hear it over the wind noise (like stock).

The frankencar muffler is a little oversize so it may rattle against the muffler heatshield because the muffler rubber hangers are too weak to support it's weight, but 3 hose clamps fixed that problem (someone also succesfully used nismo hangers made from better rubber). Otherwise the intall/fit was was very clean.

personally I'm very happy with my setup, but I never heard my exhaust without a y-pipe so if you have a stock y-pipe it may be quieter than a z350 but still deeper sounding than a stock maxima.

NoMotive

iTrader: (1)

for a nice mild exhaust tone it sounds like the y-pipe or header plus frankencar catback is the setup to go with.

Gooey

iTrader: (8)

i have a HKS rear section and that thing is sooo loud between 2k-3.5k rpm...after that with my frankencar intake it sounds like a beast

HNDA ETR

iTrader: (10)

I LOVE my Cattman headers + catback exhaust! Absolutely awesome sound!

And Brian is a very nice guy!

joebangaa

iTrader: (3)

I need to know how the cattman headers are for the 5.5 gen. Everyone with the 3.0 says good things but what about for the vq35de? after the nonsense going around with hotshot, should i pay more for the cattman? i was really looking forward to getting the hotshot.

Cubanato

talk to sr20den , he has them on hid 3.5
-J

MaximaPolak

iTrader: (9)

talk to sr20den he knows what he's talking about.

00MaxSE

iTrader: (25)

Well it sounds like the Cattman is the way to go unless you have headers or a Ypipe.
And about Frankencar's customer service sucking?

mjg

I can't say their service sucks personally, but i didn't get replys until they finally got to my message and saw i wanted to buy. Then he was replying real quickly to all my questions. Maybe it's a one man operation, and he's real busy?

Cattman is a great exhaust, i wish i had their headers too, but the hotshots seem to be doing their job. The car is real loud under wot, and depending on where your car is revved (like crusing at 2500-3000ish rpms) the car isn't too loud. Any time you accelerate it's like an event though eheheh.

carabuser

iTrader: (4)

For FrankenCar customer service... does it exist? lol

I don't know, I ordered my exhaust during Christmas time and 2 weeks later it was at my place. But I think they had a few of those made and nobody seemed to be buying them.

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

i ordered my FC exhaust on a tuesday and it was at my doorstep on friday.

i've only had my FC for 2 months so maybe their CS has improved.

also, another .org member had their exhaust, and had an issue with the muffler. they sent him a new muffler (hold on the CC) so that he could swap it, and return the old one. this just happened this week and so far, it seems like he should be getting it anyday now. point being, they did take care of him in the easiest way possible.

my only peeve is the huge muffler, but as noted, there are various ways to fix that....flanges or clamps.

carabuser

iTrader: (4)

yea, muffler is kinda big...

with customer service issue, I think most people were complaining about intakes. I guess there was a big demand and they couldn't keep production up.