Okay, so it's not being rebuilt till tomorrow afternoon .. but I'm SO excited that I can't wait anymore to start a thread about it. 
Background story:
About two years ago, I went in to an exhaust shop in central Pennsylvania to have an exhaust built. This was at a time when I didn't know how far I was going to be going with this car -- so I was having something built for light to no engine modifications. I walked into the shop with an HKS muffler and a single 2.5" Magnaflow hi-flow cat. My plan was to keep the stock downpipe (both s- and j-pipes), then run the single 2.5" cat, throw on a resonator, and then 2.5" stainless steel piping back to the muffler. I dropped off the car in the morning, and they called me while I was at work that evenng to let me know it was finished. I had prepaid, so I just went and picked up my car after work. Upon actually getting under the car and looking at the exhaust the next morning .. I was stupified to see what the shop had done. They left on the first stock cat (2.25"), then mated up my Magnaflow cat to the stock cat (which expanded to 2.5"), and then just ran NON-stainless piping back to my muffler (which was mounted crooked). There was no resonator. I immediately called up the shop, went in, and told them that what they gave me wasn't anything close to what I wanted, and that I wanted my stock setup put back on. I was FURIOUS. But the shop told me that they 'already got rid of' my stock stuff, so I was stuck with what I had. They refunded a good portion of what I paid -- but still, I was screwed.
Now, two years later, the exhaust is rusting out horribly and it's finally time to put on what my car so desperately needs -- a way to exhale!
Being installed tomorrow is the new Thunder exhaust manifold, a 2.5" Corksport s-pipe (as there's no way in hell I was paying so much $$$ for the GHL for only 0.5"), a single 3" Magnaflow hi-flow cat, a flex pipe, a resonator, and 3" stainless steel piping back to my original HKS muffler. I have all new gaskets and studs for the exhaust manifold and turbo housing -- I even sprung for the APR exhaust manifold studs, since the stock ones just love to snap.
I'm not sure how much HP, if any, I'll gain from this .. but at least now the poor car won't be gagging on it's own fumes. I'm also staying at the shop for the entire time that the work is being done, so I'll do my best to take pics as the work is happening.
So OMFGEXCITEMENT!!!
*** See post #26 for pics! Wh00t!
Background story:
About two years ago, I went in to an exhaust shop in central Pennsylvania to have an exhaust built. This was at a time when I didn't know how far I was going to be going with this car -- so I was having something built for light to no engine modifications. I walked into the shop with an HKS muffler and a single 2.5" Magnaflow hi-flow cat. My plan was to keep the stock downpipe (both s- and j-pipes), then run the single 2.5" cat, throw on a resonator, and then 2.5" stainless steel piping back to the muffler. I dropped off the car in the morning, and they called me while I was at work that evenng to let me know it was finished. I had prepaid, so I just went and picked up my car after work. Upon actually getting under the car and looking at the exhaust the next morning .. I was stupified to see what the shop had done. They left on the first stock cat (2.25"), then mated up my Magnaflow cat to the stock cat (which expanded to 2.5"), and then just ran NON-stainless piping back to my muffler (which was mounted crooked). There was no resonator. I immediately called up the shop, went in, and told them that what they gave me wasn't anything close to what I wanted, and that I wanted my stock setup put back on. I was FURIOUS. But the shop told me that they 'already got rid of' my stock stuff, so I was stuck with what I had. They refunded a good portion of what I paid -- but still, I was screwed.
Now, two years later, the exhaust is rusting out horribly and it's finally time to put on what my car so desperately needs -- a way to exhale!
Being installed tomorrow is the new Thunder exhaust manifold, a 2.5" Corksport s-pipe (as there's no way in hell I was paying so much $$$ for the GHL for only 0.5"), a single 3" Magnaflow hi-flow cat, a flex pipe, a resonator, and 3" stainless steel piping back to my original HKS muffler. I have all new gaskets and studs for the exhaust manifold and turbo housing -- I even sprung for the APR exhaust manifold studs, since the stock ones just love to snap.
I'm not sure how much HP, if any, I'll gain from this .. but at least now the poor car won't be gagging on it's own fumes. I'm also staying at the shop for the entire time that the work is being done, so I'll do my best to take pics as the work is happening.
So OMFGEXCITEMENT!!!
*** See post #26 for pics! Wh00t!
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