neuronbob

So I installed my first mod two days ago, a Pride Lightweight exhaust. I purchased from Pride itself, which has an eBay store. It cost $935 shipped, and I had to pay an extra $130 for adapters for my 1999 NSX. It fits 1991-1996 NSXs without adapters, and the adapters for 1997-2000 are different from 2001-2005.

I have never, ever installed an exhaust before and I have ten thumbs, so I accepted the challenge.

Unboxed. It's so light I can hold it up with one hand, easily.


Jacking up my NSX with a low-profile jack. BOTH passenger side wheels are off the ground!


Just in case you didn't get the hint as to where the jack stands belong....every manufacturer should make jacking points this obvious. Thank you Honda!


Both sides of the rear up.


The "middle" exhaust connection. There's one that's higher up, on the passenger side. It's four bolts in total. You'd think I'd have been finished in an hour. Right? Right? Riiiiiiiiiight......


The center exhaust connection is easy to reach and the required wrench size is 12 mm (not 14 as quoted in some FAQs, they must be for pre-1997). The pair of bolts on the passenger side are much more difficult to reach, and took even longer to remove because there's no room for a ratchet wrench. This means hand wrenches, and repeated tiny amounts of movement.


Three hours later, a sore back, arms, and legs, WD-40, and the use of my heat gun later....let's just say those four bolts did not come off without a fucking fight. 16 years of rusted bolt vs. my 160-pound weakling ass required the use of all of the above, AND lots of patience with occasional cussing. 20-minute install, my ass!

Anyhoo.....Stock exhaust is 43 pounds and is the dirty exhaust, the Pride lightweight exhaust is the shiny thing behind at 18 pounds. Thank GOD it's so light, else I would have waited till the next day to finish install. Did I tell you I was sore? Note the tiny dent in the exhaust can, but it's in a place that is never seen after install, so I didn't complain to Pride about it, it isn't a huge deal.


Installing was a breeze. It took two minutes to hang the new exhaust, and another 10 minutes to screw the (now lubed with WD-40) bolts back in.


The only fly in the ointment was that the curve of the adapter for the left side of the exhaust was such that I could not get one of the spring-loaded bolts back through the hole connecting to the cats. I had to improvise and install that bolt backward, without the spring. Not ideal, but workable for now.

The work and soreness were worth it, though! The exhaust sound is AMAZING. It's like the NSX's testicles dropped and made the car go through puberty. NICE deep tone. The only significant drone comes if you do part throttle at 1800-2000 rpm. It is louder than stock, but I can hear myself speaking in the cockpit easily, and on rapid acceleration..... it sounds so good.

And now for the part you are waiting for....the long "patented" neuronbob™ comparison video! In this video, I compare the volume of the stock with the Pride Lightweight, and do a direct comparison of external and internal exhaust sound between the two. The video is longish but will hopefully be helpful. Earphones are a must.

JM2010 SH-AWD

Sounds sweet, Bob. Good mod. I hope your knuckles heal quickly. Sounds like too many of my "20 minute" projects for cars and motorcycles.

TacoBello

Pics! Or is it in hibernation for the winter?

docboy

Nice job and great video! The Pride exhaust sounds nice and classy, good choice.

Looks like the hardest part of the install was unscrewing the 4 bolts off the OEM exhaust. For future reference, what would you recommend to make this a "20min install?"

neuronbob

I STILL haven't put it away for the winter. We are expecting snow later in the week, so I may finally get it to storage before the salt falls on the pavement. We'll see.

I plan to spray every f'ing bolt on the underside with WD40, PB Blaster or something similar, once a year! That'll make other potential installs easier...I hope. For example, I was thinking of tackling the shocks myself, but after this, I may just turn it over to the experts. Again, we'll see. It depends on whether I can figure out how to use a spring compressor....

I'm very proud that I did this all by myself. It's a big deal for a guy like me who uses his brain for work instead of his hands.

Nukem

This sounds deeper than my Pride V2 exhaust.

neuronbob

That's what I like most about the exhaust. I love a nice, deep exhaust tone. Some of the higher-pitched, F1 type exhausts for the NSX sound awesome, too, but this one is the shiz for now.

ExcelerateRep

We just installed one on our customers car and he was very impressed with the sound it put out..

neuronbob

Your customer has good taste. Still sounds good nine months later. WOT sounds godly......

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I love your vids...

Neumoney

Just sold my lw, gotta say it was a great exhaust