I'm really tired of having my car sound like
my grandmother should be driving it. I've
been hearing alot of nice sounding exhausts,
but know nothing about them. I'm looking to
get the type of sound you might hear from a
Mustang or Monte Carlo type car with Flow
Masters (kind of a deep mean sound), not the
type of sound you hear coming from those little
annoying Honda Civics cruising around. I know
I own a rice burner and it's tough to make them
sound like an American car, but what's the best
thing I can do? I want my car to sound like a man's
machine, not a weed wacker. No offense to all
you Honda freaks out there. The most important
thing is that it passes inspection. The reason
I bought a new car is so I don't have to pay my
mechanic and extra $50 to pass my car. If you have
any suggestions I would be very grateful.
If there is anybody who may cruise DPA with a 5th
gen that has a nice sounding exhaust, let me know
when you are going down so I can check out how it
sounds.
Thanks alot.

 

Evidently Greddy just came out with a cat back system. Your V6 should give a lower tone than the 4 bangers you were refering to. Check out this thread for more info.

forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=47744

 

All the other exhausts besides Greddy are not emissions legal.

 

Really? I thought Stillen and HKS are all 50 state sound and emission legal, at least that's what they say on the website?

I have been quoted $497.88 shipped to my place as best price..wow so tempting, damn HKS is too loud!

Kevin, what do you think Greddy and the Y-pipe would be like?

Thanks

 

Unless they give you a CARB number sticker/card, they're not legal. I didn't get a CARB number for the Stillen muffer, and I haven't noticed anyone getting one for the HKS.

You got a Greddy price for under $500? Care to share?

That combo will be deafening. Jane's car is LOUD outside and LOUD inside. You guys don't know the meaning of loud until you hear her exhaust.

 

I've got an HKS muffler section for the 2K Max in stock if you're interested. On sale - free shipping . Email me if you're interested.

 

Help me out here, Kev. There is no emissions control equipment behind the catalytic converter on 5th Gen Maximas. That being the case, why would ANY catback system have to conform to emissions control standards?

 

I haven't been to any emissions shop that really cared about the muffler, but if you REALLY want to play it safe, the Greddy has a CARB number.

 

I'm guessing a CARB number is what defines it
as legal. What do you carry a card with you
and show it to the police if they pull you
over or show the guy at the gas station inspecting
it?

I know nothing about exhausts and I don't want
it to be too loud in the car, and I really wasn't
looking to spend that much money, but what would
you suggest? What's all this talk about Y and B
pipes? Is there anywhere I can look for exhaust
for dummies? Once again is anyone on Long Island
willing to take an exhaust illiterate person for
a ride? I really need to hear what I'm going to
have to live with for quite a while before I make
such a big purchase. Also, for those of you on
Long Island, quick question. Have you ever heard
of Long Island Motorworks? I need somewhere to go
to have it installed once I purchase it. It can
be in the city if it's a good shop, I would
travel.

 

hey keving, how bout cattman ypipe and mandrel bent bpipe with stock exhaust? shouldnt be too loud rite?

 

I find that fascinating, Kev. When my Nissan Zone Rep, Steve Thomas, came out and looked at my Maxima for the fuel-cut problem, he didn't so much as blink at my catback system. And he went over my car with a fine tooth comb. You'd think that if my exhaust system was out of compliance, he would have noted it on my repair order. But he didn't do that. So the only reason I can figure why Greddy bothered to get CARB certification for their catback system was for marketing purposes.

 

As long as you have the cat in place you should be smog legal and as long as you are under certain decibel you should be sound legal (this varies by region, you should check with the local agency if you want to be sure).

CARB is usually used for advertisement purposes. This is a sure thing in California most of the cases. In some cases, it might not be a sure thing since CARB is not related to enforcement. And, anywhere else than California, a cop could say he/she doesn't give rats about CARB cert since CARB is based on California. If a maufacturer says a muffler is 50 state legal it should be. It takes time and money to get a CARB cert. That is why most of manufacturers don't go through with it.

 

any modification to your exhaust system in the state of California is illegal...now, don't blame me from saying this cuz this was spoken straight from a police officer upon asking the same question....

yes, the Greddy is the only 'emission' legal exhaust system for our cars, but it is still illegal in some weird way...

to me, i'd get the Greddy over the HKS(even though i'd love to have the HKS over the Greddy), just so that at least i'd have a paper work to fight off the 'watchers'..aka..

 

This example can be used for intakes also. All 5th gen intakes are not CARB approved. You still have your cat, pre-cat, etc. but why won't you pass emissions? You will pass the emissions test with flying colors, but when it comes down to the visual, don't even bother.

Why does Greddy charge so much for their exhaust? Because it's the CARB number.

 

Listen to my exhaust and sx7r's exhaust
now our exhaust is loud.

Get a psuedo GReddy muffler for like 100 bucks and weld that sucker onto your custom b pipe

 

I have a question.

Is it totally needed to get a cat-back, or can you just buy a muffler?

 

Yes.

 

This example can be used for intakes also. All 5th gen intakes are not CARB approved.

I thought my stillen intake was carb approved... never mind... it is only approved to 98 model according to the catalog. THOSE LIARS!!! I GOT BAMBOOZLED... but anyways, greddy is does not cost that much considering you get the whole catback...

 

Exactly! However CARB approval may not save you from getting a ticket. Once again, it isn't whether your exhaust system can pass smog, it's whether your exhaust system is louder than stock that counts.

 

The CARB number means nothing here I was told.
So what makes it legal or not??

 

To make the exhaust system legal,

1) You have to have the cat. This will take care of the smog issue. If you are going for cat-back you might as well swap the cat with hi-performance one.

2) The exhaust has to be noise legal. Every state and local law enforcement has different standard. You should check with the local authority.

However, if the exhaust system you buy says it is 50 state legal it should be as long as you keep the cat intact.

 

What do you mean by hi-performance cat? Where can I get one, are they legal in NY, how much are they?

 

Several companies make high-performance catalytic converters. The most famous is Random Technology. Greg at Custommaxima.com is running a group deal on them right now and he's got great pricing, so I'd suggest you visit his web site for more info. Check out:

http://www.custommaxima.com/GroupDeals/RandomTech.html

 

Actually I would just upgrade the cat-back. I don't think anyone has claimed to get noticable gains by replacing the cat. In fact, just about everywhere in the US, it is illegal to replace a functioning cat. If you do decide to upgrade your cat (which I think is a waste of money), be sure to remember that if anyone asks you about it, you tell them that your other cat had the "honeycomb" catalyst fall apart on you.

Check out my site. There are sound clips of my car with just a custom cat-back w/ a Greddy muffler (I had it made before Greddy made their system for our car). The wav file from "inside" my car has a good liking to the actual sound of my car with this exhaust setup. The recording from "outside" overloaded the microphone and it sounds very raspy. Anyhow, let us know what you end up doing.

 

At this point, Desert Pearl probably has more experience with Maxima exhaust systems than anyone in or out of Nissan!

In terms of performance, the best mod for the money is a Y-pipe followed by a catback followed by a high-flow cat. And while it's illegal to replace a functioning cat, you can get it replaced almost anywhere. I guess there just aren't that many cat cops around. meow

 

Thanks for the kudos! I would also recommend starting with the Y-pipe if you desire more HP. I made the mistake of starting with the cat-back and ended up redoing my exhaust. If you start with the Y-pipe, then you have many options with the cat-back... like custom b-pipe only, muffler section only, remove the stock resonator, etc to fine tune the sound you want. If you are just after the sound, then a you won't need the Y-pipe, but just the cat-back. But remember that the mod bug is VERY contagious. Eventhough you may not plan on getting the Y-pipe now, odds are you will in the future.

 

Ain't THAT the truth!

 

The exhaust system has nothing to do with emissions, after the Cat, there is nothing that the piping or muffler is going to do to affect emissions.

 

OK, here it goes. CARB is California Air Resource Board. It's an agency under the EPA. It regulates ONLY in california.

The exhaust after the Cat is not regulated by CARB, so why would anyone need a CARB expt. # for the cat-back. NO! California does prohibit the modification of the OEM exhaust system on vehicles, as per the CVC (California VEhicle Code) but that is only regarding the Noise levels. NOT emissions. Vehicle codes vary per state so check with your state on what the law is. Nuff' said.

 

The only thing I would add is that California has the toughest emissions-control statutes in the United States. Therefore, any part, component or system that has received California Air Resources Board (C.A.R.B.) approval is more than likely approved for use in any other State or jurisdiction. While C.A.R.B. approval is only necessary in California as Maxx-s-ter correctly points out, it carries a lot of weight outside the State of California as well.

Maxx-s-ter is not correct, however, in asserting that the California Air Resources Board is an agency under the Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.). The E.P.A. is a Federal Agency. The C.A.R.B. is a State agency. E.P.A. regulations impact on C.A.R.B. guidelines, of course, but C.A.R.B. guidelines are much tougher than E.P.A. regulations. Hence, C.A.R.B. approval is more desirable than E.P.A. approval from the perspective of emissions control.

 

Really.......... check out www.calepa.ca.gov and see if the Air resource Board is not listed as an agency under them. It falls under EPA (and yes EPA is Federal, but CalEPA is state runned) It basically goes like this

EPA = Federal
CalEPA = State
CARB = State

don't make me pull my bag of lucky tricks

 

OK, Maxx-s-ter. I see my mistake. You were referring to the Cal/EPA, not the Federal EPA.

I stand corrected.

 

it's all cool.