Would it be cheaper to buy an Apexi/Greddy muffler and have a muffler shop just add 3" tubing as necessary or should i just go with a whole catback kit? I dont care if its stainless or ceramic or just whatever, nooone will see it anyways.

 

what are you going to do about a Y pipe/x/h etc..?

get an entire setup, don't shave costs imo.

 

first, i think 3" tubing would be too big, if you dont have any other mods....i think most people that are NA have either 2.25" or 2.5" piping.

second, did you just want cat-back or a full system, including the y-pipe?

if you are going for cheap, i would think the "cheap XO2 exhaust on ebay" thread is your best bet

 

Yes.

 

depends on what exhaust setup, single 3" is good. But not TD.

 

More details plz.

 

Would you like me to close the original thread in the 350z general section now?

 

I most likely wont be doing FI so probally a 2.5" would be fine. My Z is completely stock right now. If I did the muffler alone with regular 2.5" piping that would be fine for now, then later when i get more money I could do a header, then high flow cat. Eventually i would like to add the AEM CAI to finish out the system. I am not sure what the Y pipe is though.

I noticed the cat backs go anywhere from 500 on up to 3 grand and I found an Apexi universal on ebay for like 300. From what I have read on here though, intake, exhaust and plenum is the easiest way to add HP on the cheap and make it growl.

 

Our Z's have two cats - a pipe shaped like a Y connects to the two cats, and goes in to one , which connects to the mid pipe (that you were talking about gettin fab'ed for cheap), which connects to the muffler(s) depending on your set up.

there are variations of the Y pipe, you can get an X or H pipe if you went dual.. but really, pointless unless you are FI. this is why I don't think getting it fabbed is a good idea - our cat back systems actually include a new Y pipe as well in 90% of what I have seen.

I believe the stock tubing is 2.5" already...

 

does this help? 3 are the cats, 4 is the Y pipe, 5 is the mid pipe with a resonator i believe.

 

also, as far as intakes go, you are in for a surprise... most CAI's don't have much of a gain. this isn't true for all cars.. it's just hard to improve on the Zs existing system. the main issue we have is heat soak from the engine warmth, but the length and bending of the tubes kind of nullifies any gain you would get from adding a CAI.

you are better off with the stock box and a drop in K&N air filter, or a JWT pop charger if you want a tiny bit of noise added.

I found a great deal on my 3" magnaflow catback, venders on this site couldn't even come within 200$ of the price I found. Y pipe, mid pipe and dual mufflers.. I am going to take a vid clip of it next week if you want to hear how it sounds / cost etc..

 

No, it's closer to 2.25.

 

The biggest restriction comes from the stock Y pipe, are you expecting gains from the exhaust or just sound?

 

I disagree. X and H provide better flow, and a difference in sound.

*also, an intake that offers some gain is the 2006+ stock airbox, which has a built in velocity stack, and the nismo is supposed to yield some gain. Other than that, yep, hard to get better than the stock CAI 03-05.