Z33McFlyy

Hey everyone I'm new to the forums, I've been browsing for a month before I made my account. I just bought a used '06 Touring Z about a month ago.

I wanted to ask this question before I start dumping money senselessly into a new exhaust.

I'm planning on buying Kinetix HFCs and replacing my stocks.

I was also looking into a AAM Y-Pipes and Z1 Headers, but I've heard that neither one of this would be useful unless going FI and atm I'm not sure I want to go FI because I've read the regrets thread and it seems like a waste. So would it be beneficial if I added those 3 pieces to my stock system , or just buying the HKS Cat Backs and using my Kinetix Cats with them?

realist alive

you need to ask yourself some questions and provide us with the answers.
1) what is your budget
2) are you looking for power or sound
3) do you plan on keeping stock muffler
4) why high flow cats instead of test pipes or ART pipes

Z33McFlyy

I'm not looking to spend more than 2500, I want a good balance of power and sound but i'll lean more toward power. Yes i'm going to keep the stock muffler. I've heard terrible things about test pipes, ie the smell and not being able to pass emissions test, which isn't a big deal right now as i'm in florida but if I move some where that they do I don't want to have to take off the test pipes every time I get inspected.

realist alive

So your budget is pretty high so you could afford headers but be ready to spend around $400 to $700 on install. If you want power out of your exhaust your best bet is to loose that heavy stock exhaust and get a Motordyne XYZ pipe followed by a single exit exhaust (this follows the whole power to weight ratio, stock muffler is around 35-40 pounds). If you want sound and true dual exhaust I would go with HKS or Motordyne dual exhaust, cant go wrong with these. You will get a small power upgrade but it will weigh about as much as the stock system, yet it will sound good. Motordyne is one of the few companies that really researched the power gains of exhaust. Personally I am saving for a Motordyne XYZ resonated pipe and a topspeed exhaust, I already have test pipes and dont want to much more rasp at high RPM. Many people have experienced the high cost of headers with very little power gains thats why most responses will be NO on the headers.

Z33McFlyy

Sounds to me like you're saying headers aren't worth the power/money ratio. That was all a bit confusing what's the difference between a XYZ pipe and Y Pipe ? What are the advantages of true duals vs single exit ? It seems like you would get more power out of the single exit but then again I wouldn't be asking if I knew. Do you like your test pipes? Did you experience any gains, any funny smells ?

F2CMaDMaXX

iTrader: (2)

Correct, headers barely do anything, and anything they do is only right at the top of the rev range.

The XYZ pipe is Motordyne's Y-pipe, it's actually dyno proven/designed to optimize max power and torque from that section of exhaust. It also comes as part of Motordyne's Shockwave TDX2 exhaust.

True dual Vs single? typically, the singles i've seen are much louder, they're a weigh saving advantage for track use, but i feel they just look all Civic ricer. I prefer the stock dual exit design. Properly designed, power shouldn't change.

I ran without cats fora couple of months. But understand, cats are the items that make funny smells, test pipes are just straight pieces of pipe, they don't create anything.
Mine are Motordyne ART pipes, i love them, they're technically the best test pipes available due to their design, giving low end power gains without the excess volume or rasp normally associated with test pipes on the 350. Don't forget, test pipes lose power/torque from the lower revs, ART do not.


From what you're writing, you just want a catback system, in which case i *highly* recommend the Motordyne Shockwave TDX2, it sounds glorious!

I do run the ART pipes still, but the TDX2 allows for additional mid section resonators or HFC's, of which i run the latter.

realist alive

^ what he said. Power gains will be similar between true dual and single exit. The major difference is weight and looks. XYZ pipe is a y pipe that has the option to add a resonator, high flow cat, or keep it as a straight pipe design.
I like my test pipes but they do make your exhaust smell. go on motordynes website and do some reading. They have done a lot of research to get power and sound. You have a large budget, if I were you I would go ART pipes and tdx2 exhaust and call it a day.

Z33McFlyy

thanks a lot for the help, definately gonna look into that motordyne stuff.. never knew they made exhaust.. i do all my shopping through czp, z1 or 350source

F2CMaDMaXX

iTrader: (2)

They're having some website updates right now so some things don't appear with the right description or show as available, even when they are.

However, you can call them and they'll be happy to help.