The sound is substantially amplified when used in conjunction with headers.

 

And I am well aware that those are our opinions and Maxima.Org does not encompass all Maxima owners in the US and world, no need for the condescending tone.

Good for you, mine took a little more work to fit than expected, and except for still having to grind down my rear motor mount bracket due to the fabricator's error, its fine.

No one was asking him to change anything. If you read what has been posted from the beginning, everyone is happy with the quality and performance of Cattman products. Most of the opinions posted later in the thread were in response to some of the claims/comments Brian Catts has made.


Moving forward

At this point, I think everyone has made their opinions known with regards to the noise level (a trivial issue really, IMO), any further discussion is probably going to be counter-productive and should be dropped.

 

Its funny but I belive all the Maxima performance products get bout 90-95% of their sales BECAUSE of the .org. Most of the Maximas I see on the street don't have anything but MAYBE a cold air intake, and exhaust of some kind. Most people are not aware of headers, Ypipes etc- and if they are they know bout it thanks to the .org

As for QC of Cattman headers, there is alot to be desired of especially for a 900 dollar product. Doesn't anyone check things over before they take your 900 bux, and ship you a buncha stuff that doesn't fit ? This aint the 1st time their headers didn't fit.....

 

So, what's everyone's opinion on how these things sound?

 

It's pretty loud...anybody who is a healthy human being with normal working eardrums will consider this combo as loud....I never actually measured the db readings....but I know prolong exposure to 90db and above can cause hearing damage...This combo either exceeds, or falls close to that #..

 

lol, When has an intake, header, or exhaust thread not been taken too far?

 

Summary:
I spoke to Brian today (via computer) and hopefully worked out our differences of opinion. I think we both misunderstood each other a bit, and though I stand by my above comments, I was perhaps taking his comments a bit too seriously and went a little overboard (hmm, I never do that... )

A few summary comments:
-I think the cattman headers/exhaust on a 3.5 maxima is too loud for MY personal taste. I prefer something fairly quiet. When muffler shopping, I considered Cattman, and decided it wasn't what I personally was looking for.
-I got the Frankencar because 1. bought it cheap, used, 2. stainless steel basically an OEM replacement that won't rust out 3. has a low-key exhaust tone. I did NOT buy it expecting any performance gains. If performance muffler was my goal, I would have bought the Cattman - but there's always a tradeoff between performance and sound level with mufflers - in this case, sound level won out for me.
-Please know I have no problems with Cattman quality. I have their ypipe and have always been happy with it. My complaint was not with the product, but with Brian's comment above.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

This thread went south when Irish jumped in...

 

I jumped in with my FIRSTHAND experience with Joel's car (which is what this thread is about), if you recall.

how are my FIRSTHAND observations causing the thread to "go south" exactly? They say essentially the same thing YOUR firsthand observations said in post #69....I think all of my comments in my initial post were completely valid. You disagree?

 

When you jumped in, it spawned a 2 page argument. That is what I was getting at. Just making an observation.

 

touche'


10 char

 

This thread went from PUPPETMASTERS Experience and related thoughts of HIS cattman gen II headers to someone elses thoughts and opinions... I think we should get back on topic here, because this thread seems to be dead now.....

 

Ohhh I missed a throwdown!? I am planning on adding the headers this spring. Are the people who are saying the total combo is loud just not the tuner types? Because I thought that clip sounded pretty good. Plus I want the horses.

On the timing advance thing. I originally had it at +7 like everyone else, but I was pinging at 2k to 3K. I could tone it down a bit by shooting more gas with the SAFC but it still would do it. So I tried +16 btdc to see if that would kill the pinging and it did not. I just didn't like the idea of wasting so much gas into the motor. So now actually I need to change that because I am back at 15 and it seems to run good here.

 

Its okay man, this is a what an internet forum is for (less the hostility). Since we were on the topic of the tone and volume of the set-up, Irish, having driven my car and heard it from the outside, had every right to contribute to this thread. He has also heard various exhaust set-ups of mine and other local guys, so he has some first hand basis for comparative opinion. Heck, anyone with any experience does. But like you said earlier, it went too far and we should move on, there's no need for any more finger pointing.

 

I'm not sure what you consider the "tuner types", but even if you mean "enthusiast types", I don't think that preference or tolerance for "loud" exhaust set-ups is what necessarily determines that.

 

I am a tuner type and I still could not get used to it. I am also an auto and as Catts said, they tend to cruise more in the "drone zone". It gave me a great excuse to drive faster so it would go upwards of 3,000rpms. As I said above everyone that got in my car hated the noise, the outside noise never really bothered me it was the interior noise. I got sick of hearing; "is there something wrong with your car?". If I was running late to a dinner or something my friends would call me and ask when I would be there and say "I know you have not left your house because we would have heard you start your car".

 

with this said about the noise with headers, i think i'm going to stick to my y-pipe, rear muffler section setup. It sounds absolutely great now. Any louder and i wouldn't like it.

 

I am glad that Brian is changing his fabricator, because these guys who put the first lot of 2nd gen headers out are really **** poor at doing their job. If you dont have consistent standards in manufacturing when that is all you do, then what the *** do you have?

BTW Joel, did you hear back from Steve at Franken about when he is going to have more of his rear sections in stock?

 

Well, I guess I will finally chime in with a few comments...

Regarding the sound, I am running the Cattman Gen II's with a stock catback exhaust. When I was using the stock airbox, I could not even tell a difference in the sound. People were surprised I even had headers, based on the lack of drone, roar, whatever you wish to call it. You can even directly compare the sound of my car from my baseline dyno to the sound during the dyno of the car with just the addition of the headers. There isn't much difference.

Now, once I put my PR CAI on the car, that is when it started sounding better (subjective). I have had multiple people call the sound 'throaty'. I like to think it sounds alot like the 350Z. At cruising speeds, (78 mph at 2400 RPM), the increase in sound is barely noticable. Now, at WOT to redline, it gets REALLY loud! People I work with could hear me coming down the street when I would 'get on it'. I am thoroughly happy with the sound.

Now, regarding the install, I had some issues, but none that were unforseen (seeing I received one in the very first batch). But any and all issues were handled quickly by Brian Catts himself. Would you believe I even got him on the phone for technical help around 6pm on a Saturday night during my install?!? I did have to extend my primary O2 sensors, but I was prepared for that.

Again, just my 2 cents worth!

 

You basic point is undenialble, but to give credit where credit's due, after about 15 units, and the various "adjustments" that were made, our initial designer/fabricators settled into a fairly predictable product - as long as they weren't pushed for production. But it got sloppy when they were pushed and that's unacceptable.

Their inability to successfully execute more than about one unit/week is the primary factor that forced the decision to change suppliers. Going with this company was a decision that didn't pan out in terms of production, but the basic design they provided is an excellent one.

That leaves us in the position of simply moving the production to a more prolific fabricator that we have years of experience with and a great deal of trust. A bump in the road, sure, but we'll end up in pretty good shape in a couple of months. It will be a fantastic product.

Brian C Catts
Cattman Performance

 

However wayward the thread went, this has been a useful exchange and I want to personally thank everyone who provided input on our exhaust systems.

We don't ignore this stuff. I've given it some thought, and particularly with the popularity of our headers (being used in combination with our catback, which is louder than catback by itself or catback + y-pipe) it seems pretty obvious that we would bring in more customers than we'd lose if the volume from the muffler could be tuned down a little.

Spoke with my exhaust partner this morning and we think there's room to increase the depth of the muffler can at the back so we're going to play around with that. It should only add $100 to the cost - just kidding, it shouldn't make any difference at all.

Nothing we do can make it stock-quiet and still perform (performance is still the #1 objective and it has to be more-or-less straight-through to accomplish), but I think it would be very worthwhile to do what we can.

Brian C Catts
Cattman Performance

 

rofl I like that part!

 

Dyno Dyno Dyno

 

Any solice for those of us who braved the waters and became guinea pigs? And ultimately dealt with the barrage of issues?

 

so HS headers and frankencar CB for teh win? and spend 1/2 the $$

 

Puppet,
After 210 miles I got the SEL. Ordering the SIM from O2simulator.com tomorrow.

 

Its up to you.

I still have no regrets choosing my Cattman headers over Hotshot.

And Frankencar cat-backs are pretty hard to come by now, not sure when the next batch will be done, if ever.

 

Make sure you get the dual output sim.

 

got it........
Thanks

 

Haven't called him yet.... I should though...

 

...........

 

I have done quite a few sets of headers and so far it seems the cattmans are the easiest other then minor problems with some of the first few produced. Compared too hotshot i believe cattman has a better fitment and better quality for sure.

 

What problems did you have with the HotShots?

Mine went in fine with the exception of the 02 sensor bung, but that is a know problem. Last I talked to John at HotShot he was looking onto moving it further up the pipe for more room.

 

iirc, the first generation HS headers have fitment issues....just ask sr20den...he doesn't like them!

 

Well I can't say anything about the service on the HS but I doubt they will take care of you on a personal level like Brian. He answered alot of basic questions from me over the phone when I bought my exhaust from him with total patience. I thought his service was above and beyond. That and the catback I got from him was a beautiful thing.

 

This Hotshot vs Cattman header thing got thrashed out thoroughly on another thread not that long ago. They have their differences but neither one is a bad product. If you guys don't mind, let's not go there.

John Spangler of Hotshot took the high road in that other thread, noting that the forum should feel lucky that there are still US companies like ours that can respond to micro-markets by making innovative products with US labor and materials. I second that here.

Brian C Catts
Cattman Performance

 

No one is bashing or thrashing anything... Just asking about personal experiance.

 

Well thats one problem, then on another car i was installing them one (probe) The EGR tube was 1" too long/it didnt have enough O2 ports/Ypipe was 6" too long...

 

Was it the correct set of headers?? I would think they shipped out the wrong set on accident...

 

I got a quick video of my car I took today while driving to work, it might give some people an idea what it could sound like- video was taken IN the car with my phone.... I can't host it anywhere caust its a 3ppg2 file. Anyone know how to convert it ?