Does anyone have an idea on when a full exhaust system from HKS,Greedy,Apex,etc.. will be ready and do you think it will be a problem fitting it to a Y-pipe from Stillen or Cattman?

 

contact with the Y-Pipe so no problem there,Stillen {flowmaster} allready makes a catback system for 5th and has since the get go,and HKS just released there Cat back system a few weeks ago.Don't know about other 2 though sorry.

 

contact with the Y-Pipe so no problem there,Stillen {flowmaster} allready makes a catback system for 5th and has since the get go,and HKS just released there Cat back system a few weeks ago.Don't know about other 2 though sorry.

I just checked Flowmaster's site and they don't show a cat-back for the Maxima. What part number is the Flowmaster cat-back?

 

Yeah, i couldn't find it either. i doubt they make one for 5th gen max tho..???I thought flowmaster is mainly targeted for domestic cars.not imports(although they do have some for integras and civics, but come on.if i had a civic or integra, i would not even consider flowmaster....plenty of choice out there..oh well...

Tim

 

Thanks for the info emax95. I'll give HKS a call and see what their system goes for.

 

HKS system aint out yet. Not til December. Believe me, i've called them many a times.

 

I wouldnt spend too much $$$ on a cat back guys. We just did a dyno test here on a 2k Maxima SE 5 speed with a Y-pipe and Stillen intake both with the full factory exhaust and with no exhaust at all after the cat. The car made 203 wheel hp with the exhaust and 206 wheel hp without it. This is a lousy gain of 3 hp with no exhaust. Obviously any aftermarket exhaust will make even less hp than none at all. Also, no low end torque was lost. This was surprising. So much for Nissan's variable backpressure exhaust system.

 

Agreed. But the loss of too much backpressure will be shown in a loss of low end torque. Top end power requires as little backpressure as possible. Without the exhaust, the car lost no low end at all. Thus, the cat and y-pipe provide enough restriction.

My only point with all this is to point out that there are almost no gains to be found in aftermarket exhausts with 2K Maximas. What will be gained is a different exhaust tone. Dont expect to go faster

 

good point... you can however loose power with no exhaust than with a good aftermarket one... Turbo Magazine dyno'd a SE 5sp with just the HKS exhaust and got about 8 wheel HP.. that's a good gain from just an exhaust....

I was thinking about this though.... IF I spend 275.00 for a Y-pipe, 550.00 for a HKS or greddy exhaust (when they are out) and about 175 for a Air filter, and a 75 shot of NOS for about $1200.00 that's about $2,200.00 that could go towards getting my S/C and have power on Demand...

 

Yeah, but you won't be getting the S/C's full potential. You have to give out what you take in, right? Not bashing you, but it's just a thought...

 

Cat-back exhausts have always been lame upgrades on late-model Maximas. You usually gain lots of noise and only a little HP. It's never been worth it to me (and I've tried 4 different configurations on my 97).

Cat-back exhausts are for show ONLY. If you want a more aggressive sound and better looks, it's for you. If you're looking for a performance increase, stay away.

Hell, just doing the b-pipe alone is worth half the gains of a full cat-back at only 33-40% of the cost, with minimal noise increases. The stock 4th gen mufflers are really good in terms of the noise they suppress while still allowing for good HP production...and the 5th gen muffler is even better.

 

Are you talking about the Air cominig in and exhaust coming out?..

The S/C comes with a cold air cone filter and the Variable capacity muffler is supposed to be decent right?... i am just thinking about wheather I should start buying the air filter and exhaust... or if I should wait for the S/C and save my $$$ now...

 

8 wheel Hp, are you sure????I thought it's somewhere around 5.2 or something..8 wheel hp seems way to high for a cat-back exhaust system..

anyone

tim

 

Id have to see that on the dyno to believe it. I seriously doubt an 8 hp gain with nothing but the HKS exhaust. I dont say this to sound foolish, its just that Id be shocked to see such a gain on a 5g Maxima.

 

If you have the patience to wait, then save your $$$ because you'll REALLY feel the performance gain. It'll be worth the wait... trust me.

 

I've confirmed that. I didn't use HKS but rather had a custom set up (2.5" piping, no resonator, DynoMax ultraflo SS straight-through muffler) and had an improvement of 8 hp to the wheels, same dyno machine.

 

Y2KevSE I see you have a Stillen muffler do you think there is any HP gains with this muffler or is it just a change in exhaust tone?

 

Damn really, so that means it improves over 10hp to the crank by just adding cat-back system to 5th gen max?????
Wow, almost the same as Y-pipe then, kind of hard to believe????????

Tim

 

Madmax2k and I dyno'd my 2k 5spd originally for the purpose of comparing the CAI and SI with the cattman y. We have identical cars - his with CAI and mine with SI. Once I get the dyno's in jpg, I'll post the results (set forth briefly below). As for the exhaust test, fact of the matter is that with exhaust disconnected after the cat, there was no loss in low end torque and only about a 3 hp gain. That was it. This was done immediately after testing the cattman y and Stillen intake. Them's the facts.

2k2demax did indeed pick up 8 hp to the wheels after adding his exhaust (test was done on the same dyno as mine but different day). The only other variable for him was that at the same time he changed his exhaust, he changed to lighter wheels. I guess it is possible that he picked up 3-4 wheel hp from the exhaust and 3-4 from the lighter wheels.

Who knows. If 2k2demax still has his original aftermarket wheels - we can get an answer!! I don't know enough about mechanics to refute the test on my car.


To start another controversial topic: the results of the CAI v. SI test show . . . No difference!!!!

The CAI and SI combined with Cattman Y produced almost exactly the same HP and Torque. Together they yielded about 12 wheel hp over stock. Original stock tests were done on identical 2k 5spd fed. specs (superblack if it matters) with nearly same mileage on the same dyno one after another. The originals were dead-on (~191). CAI and SI were done on different days on same dyno. The two were dead-on (~203). All tests done in 3rd gear (makes no difference - in this comparison) and all results smoothed to eliminate the spike at fuel cut.

There appears to be no difference between the two - although one can argue the advantages of cooler air at certain speeds. I know this differs from the 4th gen results and that could well be because the 5th gen breathes better already at higher rpms.

Fire away . . .

 

I was checking my factory exhaust... and noticed while my friend reved the engine to 2500 rpm... and with one hand on each tip of the exhaust.... I noticed that very little or any exhaust gases are exiting the left tip....almost exactly as when idling.... he revved the eng. to 3500 rpm... Nothing.... everything was exiting though the right tip... the same with 4000rpm... I stoped there... my question is does anyone know at what rpm the flap in the Variable cap. mufler has to open to let the other tip help with the backpressure... or is my flap not working?

 

No dyno numbers for me... waiting for the y pipe before I do my dyno: CAI, y pipe, and muffler.

 

The engine has to be under load for the flap to operate properly. At idle there isnt enough load, nor exhaust gas, to operate the flap.

 

I will also add to this that MaxGator and I took it to the street to verify the dyno results. The cars were dead even up to all speeds tested, which was about 80 mph. There just doesnt seem to be any advantage to either intake over the other.

 

The engine has to be under load for the flap to operate properly. At idle there isnt enough load, nor exhaust gas, to operate the flap. [/I][/QUOTE]

When you rev the engine.... that should produce the same results as when it is driven... I rev the engine to different rpms and Nothing!!!... has anyone noticed this on theirs or is it just mine?

 

No it wont produce the same result! There is no load on the engine when you rev it! The exhaust gas flow is minimal.