Exhaust system upgrade for 00' Protege

[oouadani7]

Hey community,

I'm thinking about upgrading the exhaust system on my 2000 Mazda Proteg ES. With the ES, you get the nice looking, but stock, chrome tip that exits from the right rear of the vehicle. It looks decent, but I want something I bit flashier and more pleasing to the ear. Any suggestions? I don't want (but I'm not sure if it's what I NEED) an entire catback system. I'm afraid that would cost too much in the moment. What would be some cheap upgrades to improve my exhaust system, in terms of sound/appearance/performance? If I were to replace solely the muffler, would that change the sound on my vehicle? I am also really interested in a dual-exit exhaust system. I have a fetish for dual-tips that are offset to the right or left. Would this require a change in my rear bumper to accommodate? Or could I somehow work it out without completely rebuking the rear? I do apologize if this post is loaded with questions, but you must forgive me, as I am new to the car modding community. thanks in advance!

 

[agr99]

Depends on the engine. For zm: headers, hurricane(Alittle pricey) or obx(not ideal, good fitment isn't guaranteed), full exhaust, magnaflow(sounds alright) , cork sport, not sold anymore that I know of, about 3 years ago they stopped selling for the 1.6 but maybe they have a few left if you call them, they won't ship to CA, or NY due to smog..or go custom at a exhaust shop which is kinda ideal. A guy did a custom dual exhaust on a 1.5 a few years back and it sounded alright. For fs: I've heard good things about the mazdaspeed racingbeat muffler. I don't knowing more than that on the fs exhaust, maybe someone with a fs will chime in on it, hope this helps

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[oouadani7]

Depends on the engine. For zm: headers, hurricane(Alittle pricey) or obx(not ideal, good fitment isn't guaranteed), full exhaust, magnaflow(sounds alright) , cork sport, not sold anymore that I know of, about 3 years ago they stopped selling for the 1.6 but maybe they have a few left if you call them, they won't ship to CA, or NY due to smog..or go custom at a exhaust shop which is kinda ideal. A guy did a custom dual exhaust on a 1.5 a few years back and it sounded alright. For fs: I've heard good things about the mazdaspeed racingbeat muffler. I don't knowing more than that on the fs exhaust, maybe someone with a fs will chime in on it, hope this helps

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I appreciate your opinion. I'll take a look into some of those options. Although I would love to do the work myself, I don't have the proper tools nor the right environment to do it. I'm thinking about brining it to a custom exhaust place like you suggested and having it quoted there. Do you, or does anyone else, have any experience in such shops? Do they charge an arm and a leg for labor? And would they install the part of a brought it to them? I know not all shops appreciate this





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[concept]

I've been to a couple of exhaust shops, here in San Diego and the cost of install is typically very reasonable. Most have catalogs of muffler types and brands they can show you. I bought a stainless steel Magnaflow muffler for my MX5 and the total cost was about $300, I believe. Typically, the larger the muffler, the louder the sound. My son's Magnaflow cat-back in his civic CX had a smaller muffler and wasn't as loud as my setup.

 

[agr99]

In my opinion, if you bring a part to them and they don't want to install it, oh well someone else will, and price wise, I've gotten quotes that were very reasonable between $200-450 for a catback, I'd suggest doing Alittle research before you buy anything, the tone of each exhaust system is different, find the one you like.

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[AzteCypher]

I have fitted a catback system designed for an MP3 (2.0L) to my 1.6L without any fitment issues. I say this so that you don't have to limit your search to 1.6L engine fitment (if that is what you have).

If you have your heart set on a dual tip exit then I believe custom would be the way to go which would mean the price would go up. You don't necessarily "have" to modify your bumper but you do only have one exhaust cut out section so the other side would look awkward without the same cut out on that side.

You could have a shop weld only a muffler to your stock piping, and it would change the exhaust note, though I doubt you will see much if any performance gains.

All this being said I would recommend you save your pennies for the exhaust system you want. I took me a while to save up for my header and my catback but I felt it was well worth it. I'm not pulling high HP numbers on my current setup but it is fun to drive.

By the way, I did go down the muffler only route with an old Ford Escort I owned, and while the exhaust note sounded great, I didn't get any performance gains off of it.