Ok Everybody, that day is finally here. I was FINALLY able to get my exhaust made after going through a bit a of bullsh*t. I did some comparison videos so you guys can get a good idea of how the car sounded before, and how it sounds now after the exhaust.

Old Setup: Short Ram Intake, Cattman Headers, Stock Cat, Stock Catback:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R45J-oYSwuQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou4GeMoXeAU

New Setup: Short Ram Intake, Cattman Headers, Stock Cat, Custom Magnaflow 3" Catback:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cshg_4dZ_FA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ6HuuGfUlM

Parts Used:
6" Round Magnaflow Resonator 30" in Length


18" 5X8 Magnaflow Street Series Muffler


Impressions:
I am pleased overall. I was primarily looking for more power, which I can feel. It's not a huge difference, but it is there.
*EDIT: after a few days for the ECU to adjust, the power increased, and I could definitely feel more of a power difference. I get to redline much quicker throughout the gears*

As far as the sound, it's not too bad. At idle, you can barely hear it, and at WOT the intake is louder than the exhaust. The only time the exhaust is loud is under moderate acceleration and deceleration (engine braking) between 2k and 3k RPMS. I heard that exhausts get quieter after the first couple hundred miles, and I hope that is the case, because it's a little loud for me during those conditions I just explained.

I'll have pics later, because I'm tired.. lol. Let me know what you guys think

 

Very nice setup. The exhaust is quieter than I expected. That intake growl sounds nice as well. Maybe I need to get myself one. LOL

 

that setup sound amazing! deep growl yet not too loud nice work bro

 

that sound quieter than my 2.5" cattman! why the check engine light?

 

thanx guys! the check engine light is because of a misfire (one of my coils probably) and the IAT sensor from swapping it over to a new MAF

you know, i expected it to be loud at high RPMS, but it's really not.. not only is the intake louder, but i don't even think i can hear the exhaust at WOT above 4k

 

sounds great, i like quieter exhaust also and thats not bad at all.
nice work makes me tempted.

 

what did it cost you to have it made? is it SS?

 

congrats chris

 

wow sounds great.. i was expecting something much louder,..

..can i ask how much you go charged for this to be made?

 

its prolly quiet cuz he still got the stock cat.....lol....but is it mandrel bent or crush bent....either way...still sounds good

 

Sounds significantly better than the similar set up (18" resonator and Magnaflow) did on my Accord. Definitely quieter too.

 

Nice setup man...not to loud but has a nice growl to it!

 

nice add chris

 

The price to construct the piping (aluminized steel) was $150. Plus the cost of a 3" flange and gasket, which came to $49 shipped to the shop. Plus tax, which came to $211. Price of the resonator was $115 shipped. Price of the muffler was $120 shipped. Total price for 3" Cat-back: $446

....plus a cool looking tip, which I have yet to decide on. Those b*tches are expensive man! I had him just put a straight pipe on there for now cause I wanted to make sure I was pleased with the sound before I put a tip on the muffler.

Bingo that's exaclty why I kept my cat stock. It's mandrel bent. I'll upload the pics when I get home

 

thanx everybody... i was nervous as hell thinking it was gonna be too loud.. lol

 

Awesome videos, first and foremost. You covered pretty much every dimension of the sound needed to hear. Thanks for going through the trouble. The setup sounds really nice and glad you got the power out of it. Any plans to dyno soon?:

Edit: I've always wondered what it would feel like to be in the cupholder, haha.

 

Sweet. Sounds pretty good.

 

Wow, very nice capturing your new exhaust setup. I don't think I have heard a more complete video of how an exhaust sounds like. Thanks for taking the time.

The sound is nice and deep but not too loud. I hope it does quiet down in the areas you said it was a bit loud. I am still debating going this size since noise is a big concern for me, got tired of the drone on my last 4th Gen.

I am surprised it didn't give you more noticeable power since supposedly a 3" exhaust gives about 20hp* for our cars. Maybe I'm mistaken about that number but I would think you should have felt more power since adding headers was a definite power boost to me and they were on the lines on 20-30hp* increase.

Maybe it will take some time for the ecu to adjust to the new air flow settings and you will feel the full effect later on.

Great job!

*unconfirmed numbers, just estimate

 

sounds great

 

nice...love VQ power!

 

thanx man... i'm gonna dyno when i get tuned, which will be after my port-matching and possibly SSIM.. and actually it was the passenger seat.. lol

 

20-30 HP a dyno was posted, its blocked at work but i think it was around 10..

 

That sounds really good. Great job on the video also.

 

o okay cool....people tell me my car is loud but i cant hear to much of anything from the inside......i have obx headers, gutted cat and 2.5 inch straight back to the muffler with no resonators.....just straight pipe

 

sounds good! i got the same set up but with hotshot headers/ypipe and test pipe.. sounds the same but lil louder

 

i know what im doing with my Tax return good job man.

 

Wow. So much quieter than I expected. I'm wondering how the sound changes with a test pipe. Looks like I might just be copying your set up here, if that's OK with you. The price is unbeatable.

Too bad you weren't able to get a before and after in on the DJ.

 

Nevermind, I guess I was off.

I thought I read a 20hp gain from Merlyn's car somewhere....

 

I love the way the VQ sounds!!! nice setup man

 

very nice love the sound of the intake sounds mean as hell

 

you werent off by that much.. there's a dyno on merlyn's car that said that he gained 18 whp with his 3" over a 2.5" exhaust setup

 

sure, it's fine with me! that's why i posted my setup in detail, so people could judge what kind of parts they wanted to get based off of how my car sounds.. i have a pet peeve about people who post exhaust videos without detail... like, it'll say "03 maxima with exhaust" and it'll sound great, but never explains what parts they have! lol.. then if you comment on their video asking about it, then they havent been on youtube in 3 years, and will never see your comment, so you're left in the dark.. my goal was to eliminate that with the videos of my setup

and yeah, i didn't have the money for 2 dyno trips

 

the intake on the 3.5 is insanely loud..i love it..i still cant believe how quiet this sounds! may have to sell my cattman for this!

 

18whp over a stock exhuast

 

+1 on quiet 3". I'm running a 33" resonator w/ a 5X8 12" muffler and it's quieter then my .2.25" setup w/ just as big of a resonator and two 5X8 14" mufflers! Which is rediculous!

 

I love the way a boxer h6 sounds

 

you know, i'm gonna do another video after the exhaust settles in a couple hundred miles to see if there's any sound difference.. i'm driving to maryland this weekend, which is a couple hundred miles round trip.. so that should be enough mileage on the new exhaust for it to settle in to its permanent sound right?

 

Waaaay more quiet than I expected! What's up with the single tip muffler?

 

that's just a temporary straight pipe.. i didnt wanna put a tiop on there just yet because i didnt know what it would sound like, or if i would need to change the muffler for a different one if it was too loud.. but i am gonna go with a single tip though.. polished stainless, single tip, angle cut, double wall FTW

 

here's some pics: