Hey guys. I'm currently looking to upgrade my exhaust system within the next few months and I really want to see if there are any first hand reviewers for either of these two products.

I really like the Megan but I've not heard much on this forum about their exhaust and from what I have heard, there are some bad reviews on their quality.

Also, as much as I like the AAM, that price is steep and I've actually heard that going from a 3" pipe back to a 2.5" does more harm to your engine than good. Please let me know of your thoughts or real world experiences.

Here are the links for each just for reference.

http://www.meganracingperformance.co...-p-450030.html

http://www.aamcompetition.com/i-9902...k-exhaust.html

 

AAM exhaust 3" to a 2.5" isn't a bad thing. Let me explain... as you know your exhaust is very hot right when it comes out of the engine but cools really quick as it runs through the exhaust system. By the time the exhaust makes it to the Y in the back, 3" is no longer needed because the exhaust gases have cooled reducing the volume of exhaust gases needing to be cooled. A 2.5" split can easily support up to 500HP in calculated CFM flow. If your running a boosted engine this changes as EGT's tend to rise with the added pressure. AAM may have saved the buyer a bit of cash not going 3" all the way back. I'm not an AAM representative nor do I speak for their product but design wise I see no reason to complain about their approach.

Megan racing I would be skeptical about because of the full 2.5" approach. I'm currently working on an exhaust for my Maxima and am jigging it out as my two close friends also decided to buy Maximas. Anyway, in looking at the stock design I did notice the pipe does get bigger before it hits the Y split in back. It looks like a the width of two 2.25 pipes. So...in other words it looks a lot bigger than 2.5". For this reason I would never try to fight against the stock design by giving it just 2.5" of breathing room and calling it good to go. The approach I'm taking at my exhaust design is a true dual 2.5" system from the exhaust manifolds with an x pipe in the back.

I'm not telling you not to buy either one but for me the existing choices didn't appeal to me much. Both companies may be reputable but for me it wasn't about quality or price I wanted V-Band/slip setup and the tone that comes from a true dual.

Good Luck with your decision I'm sure you already know what you want.

 

I've heard all of the exhausts available in person, and a few custom setups, the AAM has the deepest tone and simply sounds the best. Makes me wish I never spent money on my Borla, but oh well live and learn.

Since nobody is racing their Maximas here aside from a small handful of people I wouldn't bother debating the HP gain or loss across the powerband because its irrelevant.

 

Also the factory exhaust does not get larger (in volume) before the split in the rear. It gets wider and thinner effectively staying the same size or close. Same with the front pipe under the crossmemeber

 

Really for sound I loved the way my Altima SE-R sounded with the 3rd cat deleted and the resonator deleted. Wasn't raspy at all. Got a lot of compliments on it too.

 

Yeah I was really interested in the Borla at one point but then for the price and it's not even a true 2.5" system really turned me away.

But back to the point $1,549 for the Blue Tips is too out of my price range especially when I don't plan to track my car.

Maybe something will come up before I pull the trigger on the Megan however but the more I look at it, the more it seems to appeal to me.

 

Okay, that makes more sense. I just always heard that gutting your cats did more damage than good because of the increased area and then back to the smaller diameter so i figured that same principle applied even to the exhaust system

 

Your right it seems like they reshaped the exhaust but they also expanded the end to fit over the "Y". I also noticed that the exhaust does change from year to year. It seems like one of the 7th Gen Maxima years has an extra resonator. Anyway, without hacking my stock exhaust apart I'm not able to tell how much expansion is there. I have seen exhaust where they have restriction built in the pipe almost like a silencer. I'm a skeptic when it comes to stuff like this only because OEM has never been performance friendly.