Dosvita

ok i have the 170 hp version of the jdm b16a with aem coldair and greddy header. as of now i have 2.25 bent pipeing from the header (no cat at all) all the way to the 40 dollar ractive tip it sounds like crap. a whole lot of buzzing and high piched notes. also its REALLY REALLY loud. i have got 3 tickets due to the fact that of its loudness. so im thinking its time to get a real exaust. i found sum racing cats for 75-100 bucks, do they make any differnce in the hp,trq and volume? does differnt cats sound differnt? and what kinda cat back exaust sounds deep and quite? please any ideas would help

A_PHOBIA

im in the same boat as you.the guy who had my car before me had the same setup you do .except i got a high flow cat.he put a stage 2 flow on it and a tip "cuz the exhausts for our cars are not cheap or verry common.it sounds like a tin can .but i just picked up a greddy from an 91 crx si. it should work just great.ive heard other greddy exhausts before and i think there shnazy.

AwwsChwA

there is NO REASON WHATSOEVER to have a tip that is larger than the piping it connects to. Watch any race on TV. Not a single car...rally, prostock, SCCA Pro, NASCAR, etc...has a tip. That extra 9 inches of humungus piping they call a tip is not going to improve power at all. It will, as you noticed, make the car sound like a fart.

Catalytic converters do affect flow. A high-flow unit is better, but make sure it's EPA legal for your state. You won't notice a huge power increase with a high-flow, but it will improve things a little. It won't affect sound. The resonator, muffler and tip do that.

In general, 2.25" is the biggest you want to go for a naturally aspirated street car that has a stock-shaped exhaust (follows the same path as OE exhaust underneath the car). Mandrel bending is a must.

AppleSauseSi

My friends got a Focuz exhaust system, doesn't sound bad, but I wouldn't suggest that for performance or fit. Ive got a Greddy SP2 but i havnt heard it yet (swaping....). It's got a big tip. Dyno's say Greddy, or Apex'i make more power. From what I've herd, my friends Greddy on his '97 EX sounds god-like when you hit VTEC... umm, VTEC.

atli126

i have a skunk2 muffler on my hatch with 2.5 piping and absolutly love it , and so does everyone else too , skunk2 or apexi n1 muffler is the only way to go
thanks

A_PHOBIA

i just had my greddy put on last week its super deep and quite. a little 2 quite but hey i love it.it beats a flow.

OldSchoolSI

I had a focuz muffler before and it sounded great, as for perfomance....i dunno about that

Kai

Catalytic converters will hurt your performance. No way around that.

A_PHOBIA

my cat is ****ed.ive banged on one to many things.all the porcyline" sp" inside is broken and the heat shield is barely hanging on.

Kai

You can gut it as a temporary measure with a hammer and a large punch or such. Don't run it like that too long, as a gutted cat will hurt the exhaust flow just as much, if not more, then a healthy cat. Save up a few bucks and you can either go with the hippies and get a new cat, or save some money and slap on a "test" pipe.

-Chris
"Cat free since February!"

(blatant RarestRX rip :chuckles: )