What exhaust system do I have; and what could I replace it with?

[pomidor]

What I currently have for exhaust appears to be some crappy-bent custom cat-back, complements of previous owner. I'd like to replace it for two reasons.

- Increase performance (get fatter, better flowing exhaust)

- Decrease the noise level. My current exhaust is loud.

I will probably replace the whole exhaust, starting with a new down-pipe (j and s pipes) and going all the way back, although I might keep the muffler.

Alright, better flowing exhaust will give me more performance, but I would really like to not end up getting something that is as loud as what I currently have, so I'd like to start by finding out why my current exhaust is loud.

I'm including some pictures, starting from J-pipe and going all the way to the muffler.



So here are some questions I have:

1. Do I have two cats and no resonator, or is the second cat actually a resonator?

If I dont have a resonator, it might explain why I perceive the exhaust to be too loud.

2. The muffler is made by Magnaflow. Ive looked at Magnaflows website, their cat-back exhaust for Protg doesnt seem to have a resonator. Could it be that this muffler doesnt require a resonator (resonator is inside the muffler)?

3. If I have someone fit as custom exhaust, would keeping the muffler and adding a resonator help keep the noise down?

4. If I were to buy a whole new exhaust, what exhaust systems out there are the quietest?

5. Either way, Ill need to buy an s-pipe, maybe s-pipe and j-pipe. Where is a good place to buy one? My turbo is MSP stock.

6. Ill either go with 2.5 inch or 3 inch exhaust. Do I need a different J-pipe (or full down-pipe) with either of the exhaust sizes, or will any J-pipe take a 2.5 or a 3-inch exhaust?

 

[HighSpeed]

Was it raining or are you leaking oil?

That exhaust is someone's handyman work, although the muffler looks like a magnaflow so it may be worth keeping. As far as going full custom.....might as well buy a full TBE because it will cost just about as much to have it custom made.

 

[Spiced MSP]

you can get an exhaust and downpipe from corksport. they have a 2.4 in exhaust and a 2.4in downpipe. if you want to go 3 in, they have a 3 in exhaust too and link up with the pope on here and he can tell you how to get one of his 3 in downpipes.

 

[yudkib]

i would advise you to get an off-the-shelf catback that fits your needs and a decent downpipe from somewhere, and get a custom midpipe to fit your needs.
alternately, you can get a corksport catted 2.5" exhaust with a downpipe for like 1000 shipped these days. both are good options. but a custom catback and downpipe are not cost effective.

 

[43975]

If your planning on a mild build low boost on stock turbo you really don't need a full 3" exhaust. The good thing is that Pope's 3" DP should be getting shipped out within the next month. So a few guys on the list already corksport or other DP's like the GHL on there cars and will be upgrading to the POPE DP so they will most likely have there used ones for sale. Check the buys list on the POPE 3" DP and see who already has an upgraded DP on there car and see if they'll sell you there's. That's how I got my original catless ApexR1 midpipe. Although I traded that plus a stock MSP exhaust for my current Perrin full 3" catless and now have the POPE 3" mated to that. Definatly not what your looking for though cause it's loud as s***. All the 3" exhausts for the MSP are loud. From what I here the Thermal has a nice note but isn't too loud. Bust option for you is a stock MSP exhaust, with a Corksport DP and catless midpipe or Hi flow catted midpipe. But the catted ones can cost some money. You'll have great flow a great note and it won't be loud. The stock MSP cat back is actually a very nice unit. It's the front half ( downpipe and mid-pipe) that really blows ass and bottle necks the exhaust.

 

[pomidor]

Excellent info. Thanks to all.

BTW, I did read lost of other exhaust system post on this forum (especially the ones in the "sticky" sections), I just need more info at this stage. I don't want it to come across as "not doing my homework, and just posting for a quick fix"

Follow-up questions and some things I'd still like to know:

1. Is my current exhaust "resonator-less"? Yes, I'm anal bout the noise level because my current exhaust sound-frequency and noise level gives me a headache. So I feel like I need to be educated on this subject some more.

2. Sound like off-the-shelf exhaust, or exhaust section, are more cost effective than custom. Good to know. Thanks

3. Eventually, I'd like to up the boost. But it will happen only *after* the other mods are completed .

I.e.: Fatter exhaust [hence this thread], FMIC [thread with questions to follow - I'm contemplating Corksport at the moment] , Custom Exhaust Manifold [already installed], step-colder plugs, SSAFC [about to arrive in mail]), and Cluck Fix [GB is almost completed].

I would not go past 14 psi, as I'd keep the stock turbo. Is 2.5" exhaust good enough for 14 psi given my other upgrade plans?

4. Is a 3" exhaust generally louder than the 2.5" one? Or is just that the 3" ones available for MSP are manufactured to sound louder?

5. Zuku26, you said "Best option for you is a stock MSP exhaust, with a Corksport DP and catless midpipe or Hi flow catted midpipe. ..."

Alright, I'm listening. Wouldn't that mean that I now need to buy a stock MSP cat-back? I mean, my current cat-back isn't (except for the Magnaflow muffler) stock anymore, is it? - see my previous pics.

 

[yudkib]

no matter what you do, 14 psi is not safe unless you build the engine, period. there are a FEW people who have dialed in excellent tunes on 12psi and lived to tell about it, but the number of success stories at 14 are few if any.

2.5 vs. 3" shouldnt make a huge difference. in theory, a 3" helps, but only to spool the turbo a microsecond faster. go for the sound you want - 2.5 will be more mellow and less prone to droning. 3" is not always louder, but it is a deeper sound and the people who make them for proteges designed to be a little louder (just a preference thing).

you do in fact have to replace your entire exhaust. i would keep the muffler since youll find people who want to buy it (maybe), but if you want a resonator, just replace all of it. no conest - corksport downpipe + corksport 2.5" = $1000 shipped. just do it and be done. otherwise, you can get a catted midpipe for about 175, a downpipe for 350-400, plus the cost of having your current mystery catback reflanged to HOPEFULLY mate with the midpipe ($100). and you still wont have a resonator. so $1000 and know what youre getting, with a warranty, or $650-700 for a resonator-less mystery system. doesnt seem like a hard call.

 

[pomidor]

So I've looked at the Corksport 2.4" exhaust on their website

I.e.: "CORKSPORT 'Power Series' Exhaust For BJ Protege Sedan"

http://www.corksport.com/corksport-power-series-exhaust-for-bj-protege-sedan.html

If I order this exhaust, I will be going with the single high-flow cat option.

Looking at the pictures on their website, I can't figure out if it comes with a resonator or not. From the pics, I either see a cat and a muffler, or a resonator and a muffler. Does this exhaust come with both a resonator and a muffler?

Where does one install the silencer (that option is available on their website)? How good is it at 'silencing', and at what performance loss?

I had more questions about this system. I've emailed them to Corksport, hopefully they reply.

 

[yudkib]

hmmmm, i thought theirs had a resonator, but thats the cat pictured. resonator is generally on the pipe with the muffler or the bent one.

 

[43975]

I only know of one car (slomsp03.5) that is running running 14PSI on a stock turbo and stock motor reliably as a daily driver, and he dyno'd 240WHP which I have posted on my youtube channel. BTW he's only running a 2.5" exhaust... Also have you searched through youtube? every exhaust on the market for our cars is on there. That's how I decided to go with the Perrin. There is also a thread on here that has the exhaust clips ect I'll try and find it.
As far as FMICs go. Consider the DIY option. It's much cheaper and give great results!!!

 

[43975]

found it...
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?43030-MEGA-Aftermarket-Exhausts
Many of the links are dead but the latter ones still work

 

[yudkib]

please, dont encourage a newb to do something that VERY few have done successfully. its your car, but you wont find many people who back a 14psi decision.

 

[pomidor]

found it...
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?43030-MEGA-Aftermarket-Exhausts
Many of the links are dead but the latter ones still work

The first 5 or so links I clicked were all dead.

You tube. I tried that too. There is a problem with that. A camcorder microphone/sound recording doesn't capture low frequencies, which is the frequency that irritates me in an exhaust the most. Hearing an exhaust in real life, is the only way to go. But that's not very practical.

Getting people's opinions on what a quiet off-the-shelf exhaust for MSP is, is probably the best way to go. I should probably start a thread like that now that it looks like I will go with off-the-shelf.

 

[pomidor]

please, dont encourage a newb to do something that VERY few have done successfully. its your car, but you wont find many people who back a 14psi decision.

I should have probably mentioned, that 14 psi was just a wishful thinking for now. I figured that once my other mods are in, I'll post a thread with some opinions on how much higher from the stock 6.5 I could go safely. If people say, don't ehf-in do it, I won't.

Then again, I also toyed withe the idea of forging the engine. But that might never happen.

 

[paniaguae640]

Here's my 2 cents, stock cat back with DHM or QTP cutout; loud when you want it to be and quiet too

 

[jeffmsp]

the funny part is I paid to have a custom exhaust made like 5 years ago and it looks exactly like what you posted only I still have the factory catback. exhaust shops suck 9/10 times and the ones that dont charge good money cause they know they can.

imo the qtp cutout mentioned above is the way to go. flows best and quiet during normal driving. just get a downpipe (s and j) with a midpipe to match and then the cutout by the axle back portion. seems to make the most sense to me anyways.

 

[pomidor]

the funny part is I paid to have a custom exhaust made like 5 years ago and it looks exactly like what you posted only I still have the factory catback. exhaust shops suck 9/10 times and the ones that dont charge good money cause they know they can.

imo the qtp cutout mentioned above is the way to go. flows best and quiet during normal driving. just get a downpipe (s and j) with a midpipe to match and then the cutout by the axle back portion. seems to make the most sense to me anyways.

I'm going to have to pass on the qtp cutout. The thing is, I'd hate that loud sound so much, I'd never engage the cutout. It would become a feature I paid to have installed, but which would cause me to cringe whenever I thought of using it.

 

[yudkib]

i had a cutout and it was awesome, but it doesnt solve his issues and costs a ******* fortune. he has to pay for a downpipe, cutout, plus the labor involved... they would cut the flange off the cat, weld in the cutout, then weld in the old cat, add a new o2 bung, and add a flange to mate to his old system. thats about 250-300 in labor, so hes at close to a thousand bucks, where he can get a full CS exhaust.
and if he goes with the cutout, then he has two picks for sound, loud and louder. he doesnt like the way his exhaust sounds already, so why spend the money to add to a system he already hates? doesnt make any sense.

 

[yudkib]

I'm going to have to pass on the qtp cutout. The thing is, I'd hate that loud sound so much, I'd never engage the cutout. It would become a feature I paid to have installed, but which would cause me to cringe whenever I thought of using it.

im sorry, the cutout is awesome. it would grow on you really, really fast.

 

[pomidor]

.. and if he goes with the cutout, then he has two picks for sound, loud and louder. he doesnt like the way his exhaust sounds already, so why spend the money to add to a system he already hates? doesnt make any sense.

Thank you for understanding my dilemma.

---

After reading all posts, and doing some poking around, ideally, I'd like to get:

A:
2.4" Ckork Sport exhaust (plus their downpipe and silencer) if it came with a resonator (I don't think it does, but I'm still waiting for a reply from them).

or

B:
2.5" Vibrannt (+ an s-pipe made by someone else) exhaust and their silencer. The problem is they only sell 3'' ones.

Most likely, above exhaust don't exist, so, a better question would be:

"which manufacturers make 2.5" exhaust systems that come with:"

a high-flow cat
a resonator
a muffler

(a flex pipe would be nice)

... and out of a list of those, which one is perceived to be the quietest.

If I had the info, I'd simply buy the quietest one on the list.