Cole Baumann

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

Motordyne is my favorite, Ark sounds good and I like Tomei. In Cali, I would keep it quiet

Cole Baumann

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

travlee

iTrader: (8)

Invidia Gemini is a good one for under a grand

MicVelo

California isn't really that much different than other states that frown on unnecessarily loud exhaust; they have just removed the "slap-on-the-wrist" fix-it tickets to either really clamp down on obnoxiousness OR to bolster income. You be the judge.

Most catback systems - with the exception of the big singles - aren't too likely to call too much attention to oneself here unless you do something stupid like run straight pipes - which unfortunately, a lot of people do in their mistaken belief that it creates power and "sounds cool". (I guess it does to others in that class of people....). Trust me, go to Santana Row some night, I guarantee there'll be some guy in a 4 cylinder entry Mercedes blasting a hot pipe car trying to pick up someone equally shallow.

Most any of the big name systems out there that actually have mufflers and resonators in them will do the job OK and unless you're going WOT down the boulevard, won't attract too much attention without law enforcement actually using sound measuring. The choices mentioned by terrasmak and travlee are good choices. To add to that, the new Nissan "S-Tune" seems to be decent and probably not even as loud as the original S-Tune because you hook it up to the stock Y-pipe, not to the down pipes. Another good one I heard at an event recently was a Z34 with an AAM dual system. Might be a bit loud but wow, I was impressed. Sounded great. (But Z34 exhaust is already differently configured so can't say it'd sound the same on a 33).

The Swede

+1 on Motordyne.
It's not the lightest system and it's certainly not quiet when hooning it, but fit and finish is 10/10.
I'm on stock cats and mine is quiet and tame when cruising around town. It has a deeper tone, sounds bigger in a way, like what the car "should" sound like if you know what I mean. (How could you know what I mean, you're not in my head are you?)
And when you floor it, it screams. Echoes between buildings, sometimes pops or gurgles a bit between slow shifts. And the tone is just perfect for this car.

Cracka350

iTrader: (1)

I love the sound of the Tanabe Medalion Touring system. But I got a Super deal on the Nismo R-tune. The R-tune Is nice, better looking and lighter. But it could use an AM Y-pipe to make it louder.

NaaNee00

Wait, so you're telling me straight/test pipes don't add HP? They don't free up air flow?

MicVelo

Sure they do. But not in the rpm bandwidth driven on the street and besides, my point has more to do with noise ordinances. But on power, well, you don't drive 5-6 grand on the street in normal circumstances. (Unless you're out trying to prove a point.) Catback exhaust systems don't add a lot of power where it counts for that application. A few, sure. Worthwhile? Yeah, sounds nice and few upticks on the dyno. But I guarantee you one thing... take those two instances out of the equation and you'll almost forget you have an exhaust system after a few weeks; but for the sound reminder.

NOT saying having all the good stuff is a waste, not by any stretch. But there's other things I'd do to a Z to improve it before exhaust.

bad boyz

iTrader: (1)

Motordyne definitely the way to go I have the mid pipe with the resonator, Magna flow mufflers,vibrant bottle resonator behind the mufflers and Aps high flow cats sounds like an aggressive turbo with a low growl until you let her loose then your talking about getting mauled by something real dangerous!

NaaNee00

video?

NaaNee00

I thought the first thing you should do was free up the exhaust restrictions.
You said you would do other things first, like what? Brakes, gearbox, etc.?

MicVelo

Without going too much farther from the thread topic....

Sure, exhaust is a great place to start - IF you are going for power increases.

I never felt the car needed more power FOR MY USE. I drive my car in the hills, as a tourer down the coast, no track. Based on that, I upgraded to bring the car "up" to what I wanted it to do: Handle well. Highly balanced, controlled, and with razor sharp response, all to my preference - good turn-in, slightly biased towards oversteer, and without a ride that shakes my teeth. My tweaks (hardly consider it a "build") to the car (in this order and after a year of driving it to determine exactly what I wanted/needed to change):

- Stickier, wider tires on lightweight wheels - my first upgraded set were Track V.1s, making an amazing difference and honestly, if I stopped there, I'd still be happy! (Yet, 20 some wheel/tire changes, only one set I own can compete with the V.1s and HTRZ3s. The positive change in steering response and uprated cornering power was exactly what I wanted. With tires, I moved to...

- Upgraded braking: after trying various pad compounds on high carbon Stoptech rotors, I settled on a new go-to pad (Carbotech 1521, but EBC Yellow, Project Mu were good as well. Hawk, not so crazy about due to noise and chatter); have not looked back since. Next up...

- Alignment in all three dimensions, camber, caster, toe. That meant adjustable alignment hardware, FUCA, rear camber, eccentrics, etc. Once that was all set, onto...

- The rest of the suspension... for the up/down and side-to-side. The "fun stuff" as it were. All static, no coilovers. Don't need. I ran coilovers on my race cars. It's needed there to adjust to track conditions but for the street, way too much hype, too much dial-in I'd never do, and the ride sucks.

And that's it. I have NEVER needed more than any of that. I have adjustability throughout the suspension to do whatever I need to tune it to whatever tire/wheel setup I have on at a particular moment - jounce, rebound, roll stiffness, etc. allowing me to put down what some consider "not enough power" to the ground efficiently and effectively. BS "not enough power", in the right gear and a little right foot steer, I can break the rear end on cue if I truly need to and I've only bashed a wheel lip once on a lane marker.

When I want that "scare the hell out of myself" acceleration, I jump into my other car for that adrenaline rush.

Let me make something clear: I am not down on people wanting and building for more power - just isn't my thing. I don't need more than 235 ponies at the pavement to pull a g.

dboyzalter

iTrader: (3)

Should say exhaust is a good place to start because your stock muffler flange has probably rusted off by now if you live in a salt state.

If your stock exhaust is in good shape that money can be better spent on basically anything else.