Not knowing anything about exhausts, and having my muffler tip recently fall off, i went for a new "high performance" exhaust. The mechanic recommended me getting a Ractive exhaust, so i let him put one on. First of all, i told him i didnt want one too loud because i drive on the highway to and from work. Itz a lil loud...second of all, when he was cutting my old exhaust off, we found that the cat converter was melted on the inside!!! So i had to spend more money on a new converter (all he had was a hi-flo converter manufactured by Mangaflow). After everything, it was too loud to stand. So i went back and had them put on a resonator. A little better i must say, but just loud enough to stand. after all this, i have a couple of questions...

1. Is there ANYTHING else i can do to quiet down the exhaust? Mostly under my car, i dont mind noise comin outta the back. Would a better exhaust pipe help?

2. My 02 sensor is even more fawked up than before, now my check engine light is on all the time. The mechanic told me that if it is on all the time, i need to replace it. How do i go about doing that? Will a new sensor turn off my check engine light?

3. I have state inspection comin up. Is there anything i should worry about? Smog?

4. Was any horsepower added? I really cant tell at all...

Thanks I would really appreciate the help. (sorry i dont have ne pix, i cant find ne of my exhaust)

 

1) You can get a quieter chambered muffler/axleback.

2) If your CEL is on all the time, I would suspect that he possibly forgot to plug the 02 sensor wire harness back in. Check that first.

3) Worry about that CEL, because they wont pass it. You dont have to worry about smog in CT. Emissions should still be fine with an exhaust. If its overly loud, they may give you shit for that, but that depends on the inspector.

4) Probably not much.

 

get a universal silencer? sorry to hear about your mishap

 

i really appreciate the feed back from u two lol. the basement guys gimme crap. Ill look into universal silencers. Ill prolly go to a speed shop or something to further pursue that. And as far as the O2 (CEL?) ill take a look. I have heard some crap that people have had the same problems. Where exactly is the O2 sensor located on a teg? How do i go about plugging it back in (assuming itz unplugged). What if it IS plugged in?

 

i dont know much about o2 sensors but there is one that plugs (screws) into your cat (on top i believe)

i think there is another that screws into your exhaust manifold, im not sure about that one cuz i still have my heat sheild on mine.

if your exhaust is still too loud after the silencer and you dont mind spending some cash, i have an apex'i world sport (ws) its very very tolerable, barely louder than stock... there are a few ws threads here with multiple reviews, you can search for them if you're interested. i highly recomend it :thumbup:

the silencer should make a good difference

 

Looks like your integra is circa 1997 form your pics so there is a possibility that it can be an OBD1. In which case you only have one O2 sensor on your header down at the bottom by the flange that connects to the cat. If you car is newer than a 95, then you will have an additional sensor on the cat itself. If it is in fact plugged in then in might be bad and needs to be replaced.

 

When I had my exhaust fabricated back in January, I gave the shop very specific instructions as to diameter, bends and components. It sounds to me like this "mechanic" didn't put a lot of thought into the end result, and instead just threw an assemblage of parts together... :dunno:

Let me relate my experience with a custom-fabricated exhaust, I think it'll answer your questions..

1. Making it quieter:
For my system, I used 2.25" inside diameter tubing, mandrel bends (as opposed to crush-bends) and a perforated-core resonator and muffler of matching diameter. After my system went on, I had a problem with the floorboards resonating in sync with the exhaust. To combat the noise, I bought and installed about 40 square feet of CAE VB2 sound-deadening mat. [I did the install about a month ago, I've just been too busy to post an article on it.] That helped immensely.

Here's something to keep in mind: Perforated core mufflers and resonators trade off a bit of noise supression for better flow than louvered-core mufflers. As a result, the systems tend to be a bit louder, particularly for the first month or so; that certainly was the case with mine. Also, with perforated core resonators, the length and volume of the resonator is what determines it's effectiveness in reducing the overall noise level. If your mechanic threw a tiny little 12" resonator on, it isn't going to do much.

2. The O2 sensor on a OBD-1 car ( before 1996) is located upstream of the catalytic converter. On an OBD-2 car (built in 1996 or later) there is a second O2 sensor downstream of the cat. If either of these has failed or is left unplugged from the vehicle's wiring harness, you'll throw a CEL (check engine light). The only way to be sure of where the problem lies is to read the CEL code from the ECU. While the CEL light may be on, it doesn't automatically mean that the O2 sensor is bad. It could be something else. Grab the code to find out.

3. I don't know CT emissions law, but its a sure bet that they'll automaticaly fail you if the CEL is illuminated. So resolving the CEL issue is your first priority.

4. Since the factory exhaust system is pretty darn good, I'd guess you're looking at about 2 or 3 hp from this setup, mostly in the top end. A dyno wil tell the truth. Keep in mind, it's entirely possible that the CEL is related to some other engine problem, and that the motor may not be performing at it's full potential as a result. I'd worry about getting the car past smog first, then take care of the noise level.

I know this was a long-winded post, but I hope it debunks some myths and sheds some light on your situation. h:

 

I'll make sure to take some pix of the underbody so you all can get a visual. The resonator is about 24" long im guessing, thatz what it looks like. But I'll get some pix to further conclude my problem lol.

 

24" is a pretty long resonator, I'd suspect most of the noise that you're hearing is a result of the high flow cat that you had installed. Factory cats are extremely restrictive by design and do a good job reducing vibrations. I'd give switching back to a stock cat a try.

 

itz raining outside, so im unable to take pix of my exhaust today, but i can show u what muffler was installed...i found it on the ractive site