Hazy1

I had my resonator and secondary cat removed today and I'm not really sold on the sound. It now has a really nice deep sound with zero raspiness, but it does have some degree of resonance and its just a little more "rough" than I was expecting. I thought that I read somewhere that an X or H pipe in place of the resonator was redundant, as the exhausts join somewhere upstream. Is this correct, or if I now have an H pipe installed will it remove some of the resonance?

vegastrashed

Sounds to me that you went with straight pipes to replace both the secondary cats and resonator. In doing so, you also removed the stock crossover that was attached to the secondary cats. I would suggest you put either the H or X-pipe in place of the secondary cats.

The redundancy is when you replace the resonator with either a H or X-pipe while keeping the secondary cats.

Hazy1

Thanks for the clarification. Will the H or X pipe reduce some of the uneven rumbling & resonance.

vegastrashed

Yes, either crossover will help reduce the resonance. The x-pipe will smooth out the rumbling you're getting right now.

dyno

... and, besides sound, feel any change in performance?

Hazy1

I think performance might be suffering a little due to the lack of a crossover, but there was not a distinct difference one way or the other. I've only driven it 20 miles +/- since picking it up this afternoon and most of that was in 5:00 traffic. I'll get an H-pipe put in 1st thing Monday morning and report back on the difference. There was a small but noticeable reduction in the amount of torque braking when downshifting to a stop.

dyno

hi, thanks for info ..
if going for an H-pipe, then why don't simply reinstall the stock' one (it is the connecting element in front of cats)

or, btw, you could try the difference with an X-pipe, like another forum member tried recently

Hazy1

I think at this point that it would be easier to just throw in an H pipe somewhere between the new straight pipes. From the various opinions that I had read previously on here, I don't think there will be a significant performance difference between X and H pipes and the H pipe should be quicker and cheaper to do.

jangy

I completely disagree and ask that you reconsider. You've already acknowledged a loss in bottom end. Adding the H where the resonator used to be will ONLY help kill resonance, since it really allows the flow to go "unrestricted". The X pipe actually serves a purpose. It forces the two chambers to criss-cross, causing turbulence, causing backpressure. Having the X pipe at the spot where the resonator was id ideal as that is why the resonator is there, too. You still did well getting rid of all that weight.
Again, consider an X vs H pipe and let me know how it goes. I was planning exactly that WITH headers.

ATKM5

I have 2.5 inch straight pipes in place of the secondary cats, connecting to an X-Pipe, which I put in in place of resonator. I would also strongly recommend to get an X-Pipe...

Fantasm

can we get a video as it is right now?

revving, and most importantly take-off and drive-by

Hazy1

Let me see what I can do for a video. I'm currently nipples deep in the weekend from hell and the X-PIPE (alright Jangy) will be installed 1st thing Monday morning.

jangy

Thanks, bro. I usually don't even like those, but things you add may as well add function.

Hazy1

I got out today to shoot some video, but don't have enough battery left to finalize the disc. I will try to do that tomorrow, and may need some assistance in putting it on YouTube. Please don't critique my cinematic talents (or extreme lack thereof). I tried to shoot some in the car with the windows down, in the car with the windows up, and then set the camera on the side of the most rural road I could find, without driving too far, for some takeoff and driveby sounds.

Of course, there were almost no other cars around until I set the camera up on the side of the road, so there's probably some down time with other vehicles passing between the in-car and side-of-road shots. I didn't want to leave $1,000+ on the side of the road and have to go too far away.

The sound is definitely growing on me. If I slowly build up the revs, it really sounds good all through the RPM range. If I get on it hard from a dig, the sound quality is marginal until nearly 4k RPMs, after which it really sounds amazing. I think that this is due to resonance in the cabin, as I drove my brother's car behind it while he got on it and the car sounded great from outside/behind even from a dig.

I think that the ECU is starting to adapt somewhat and the car definitely didn't lose any oomph, but "Classy & Refined" just went right out the tailpipe.

ATKM5

Told you! Are you still installing that X-pipe?

Hazy1

Talked to the shop this morning and I am taking it to them for an X-pipe later on today. The tech that did the work told the shop manager that the car needed an x-pipe when he was doing the work on Friday, but the manager didn't think that it was necessary.

P.S. - I brought the wrong camcorder charger with me so the video will have to wait until tomorrow.

jangy

Done deal. I will be doing this setup as well. I am going with all new piping from the primary cats back to the mufflers.

Fantasm

cant wait for the video!

Hazy1

Just to update you guys. The shop had to order an X-pipe because they did not stock one that would fit. I had them go ahead and put an H-pipe on, as I'm leaving town for a few days 1st thing tomorrow morning and didn't want to hear that resonance for 10 hours on the Interstate. I think that I'm just going to leave it as-is for now, because the sound is absolutely perfect and the butt dyno shows zero loss in performance. I was lighting up the triangle of death at 35-45 mph, which the car hasn't done in a long time (granted, it was a little colder yesterday).

Prior to the H-pipe, the sound was a little rough and unbalanced, but also very deep and throaty in a good way. Additionally, it was waaayyy too loud and obnoxious for my daily driver.

I was trying to get an exhaust that sounded really good, but that my wife wouldn't really notice much when driving the car (she almost never gets on it that I know of and only drives it a little in town). The H-pipe eliminated quite a bit of the deep, deep rumble, but the sound is nearly perfect for what I was trying to achieve. It's only mildly louder if you are easy on the gas in normal traffic driving. If you stomp on it, the sound has that deep snarl that the car should have come with.

I wanted a sound that could just barely pass as a stock system to someone who wasn't familiar with the car, and I think that's close to what I've got. As a bonus, like Jangy said, I probably saved 50-60 pounds removing that ***** (just wish it wasn't from the absolute lowest part of the car).

If you wait until I get back to town, I'll shoot some new video on the same disc and just post one video with the straight pipes 1st and the H-pipe 2nd. I don't know how big the difference will be on video, but in person, its quite different.

Jangy, if you really want a distinct exhaust sound, this might not be enough of a change. For me, the sound is perfect and at only $200, I'll let Eisemann keep their big $$$$ stuff.

Hardrivr

Hey Bud... I'm back! I was going to email you anyway about getting my Resonitors removed... anywhere you can suggest, and at what cost am I looking at?

jangy

Yup, I use a cat in Escondido. I paid $75 for just the resonator removal and replaced with stainless tubes.

I'm going back in to get my secondary cats cut, so maybe we can hook up.

Hardrivr

That would be cool, I would love to hear your car before doing it... this is still my daily BUSINESS car so I don't want to have the sound of an F1 car or anything... well at least not yet!

jangy

Yeah, we should hook up. The resonator makes such a MILD difference. VERY SUBTLE. I definitely recommend it. The question becomes do you want straight pipes, H pipe, or X pipe? Even then, the difference is subtle and the only person that will notice is you.

Hardrivr

When you tell me... I'm free anytime during the week! and just a short drive down to Escondido... or for that matter you to Temecula!

jangy

Yup, lets hook up on Monday. I'll get the exact address and we can even meet there. I want to see what he wants to cut my secondarys, too. I got your number, I'll call Monday but let me know if you are down.