Comptech Exhaust Review and Write-Up

I had my Comptech Exhaust installed yesterday. Here is the write-up:

Vendor, Price and Shipping
I won the exhaust on an action from Falconi’s Acura in Las Vegas. The total was $782 shipped via UPS Ground Shipping. They processed the order and shipped the same day. Their internet sales person was named Scott. He answered any questions I had and was pleasant to deal with. I have to rant on UPS though. They suck, and that is all I have to say about that. However, that is the shipping agent they use, plus the package was 58 pounds, so not a lot you can do about that. I guess they are the best of the large and heavy delivery.

Installation, Fit and Finish
As expected, the Comptech looked perfect and the fit was very exact. I went to a local shop that just does custom muffler work for the install. I am confident that I could have installed the exhaust at home, but using a lift was much easier. A word of caution though, this shop refused to give a quote until they lifted the car and started the install on the new equipment. I can understand that, but it took two guys all of 20 minutes to remove the OEM exhaust and install the new Comptech stuff. The manager wanted to charge me two hours of labor, and I was like WTF? He blabbed on and on about how it took two of his crew to do the install and it was a “custom” job requiring a higher fee. Long story short, it cost me $80 to drive out of the bay. I was pissed to say the least, but what can you do? I am writing a letter to the store manager to voice my opinion that will probably go in the trash anyway.

The install people were impressed with the quality and finish on the exhaust though. They said it would last a long time (probably life of the car) and should be pretty quiet overall. Everything fit perfectly without any modification. It just bolted right up to the factory mounting mounts. If you buy this exhaust, the install hardware (gaskets, clamps, etc) are taped to part of the packing foam. Look VERY closely as I almost threw all that out.

Sound, Performance and Impression
As stated on this forum before, I have had several exhausts on other cars in the past. They were loud and annoying to me. I also know some people on here have done custom setups with the TSX at a much lower cost. However, I bought the Comptech for a variety of reasons.
- I wanted something that closely resembled the OEM look, but polished in finish.
- I wanted something that was not obnoxiously loud.
- I wanted to expect zero problems from the dealer (not likely with an exhaust, but anyway)
- I expected to have a marginal HP increase (that's right, I was not expecting rocket booster type increases)

Ok, from the pics below, you can tell that the exhaust is very close to stock in appearance. I like that aspect. There is a noise increase in the interior but only under slight throttle between 1k and 3 k on the tach. Noise at idle and startup is also slightly louder that stock. It is a nice deep, throaty sound IMO. Under hard accelerations, it is not louder than stock which is nice. I plan on installing a Dynamat trunk kit to see what that does in decreasing the interior sound. There is a slight drone and vibration while cruising. Again, it is not bad and I may adjust that that anyway.

I cannot say if there is a performance increase. Per the dyno on the Comptech web site, the gain is minimal. I am fine with that for right now. The only difference now is probably a perceived one. The tone is great though. It sounds much more aggressive and maybe a little G35 like which many people have posted they would like on an aftermarket system.

Something I call Wifedar
You have heard of radar and “gaydar”, well this is something I call wifedar. The wife detected the system in all of about 7 seconds of road time. I am not sure how long I will really be paying for this . . . . .

Let me know if you have any questions, and sorry for the long post.

 

Nice write-up! You should have installed the wifeblocker at the same time.

 

Man that system looks nice! I'm not a big fan of aftermarket exhausts but that one might change my mind. Still, I can think of a few other things I would buy with $782 first though...

 

lol wifedar

man next time im back in dallas i will definately have to come check out your exhaust!!

very nice though

 

anyway you can record some sound clips? Video camera? I probably won't get an exhuast but I would love to hear it.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone. After driving the car today for about 25 miles, I am still pleased with the exhaust. I have already had two cars on the highway drive right on the quarter panel staring. I do not know if that is a good thing or not.

JTso-
I thought about those inserts. I would like to see them installed and how much the change the appearance of the tip. I think she will adjust. The sound is not that bad. Definitely not like a pissed off weed eater. It is much deeper than that and not raspy.

accsuperstar-
That is an affirmative. I have not personally met anyone in the area yet with a TSX.

Dan Martin-
Agreed on the price. The wifedar went to red alert on that as well. The worst thing is my OEM kit is supposed to be delivered on Friday. Man . . . . . better run for cover.

TinkySD-
I have a G3 and a tripod. I will try and get some video captures tonight as well as try and host. I am not sure on the limit at Comcast, but I will give it a whirl.

 

I have the OEM body kit. I was wondering if the exhaust tips extend far enough to give it a clean look without the ehaust tips looking recessed behind the rear skirt. The reason I ask this is because when the dealer installed the OEM body kit, they also switched out the exhaust tips on the stock exhaust and replaced them with longer extended exhaust tips.

 

If possible, can you take a picture of where the two exhaust pipes join together to make one pipe.

 

The picture below is from the Comptech web site and the TSX has the OEM kit. I do not expect any fitment problems with the tips and the rear of the kit.

I will update on Friday or Saturday if I encounter any problems.

 

I will see what i can do about that photo. I know that the OEM pipes do not have a connection, meaning no bolts or clamps at the "Y". Kind of hard to explain in words like a picture . . . . would take a 1000 words

However, the Comptech system has a "junction" at the "Y" where both mufflers meet the primary pipe, one on each side of the "Y". Each muffler bolts on with a gasket and 2 bolts.

Sorry but I am not versed in exhaust terminology, and I will see about getting a picture tonight.

 

gsclifton, can you take a measurement of the pipe OD after the cat and after the Y pipe before the mufflers? I want to see how much difference in size compare to stock.

Thanks,

 

np

I will post that numbers and some photo's sometime later tonight.

Thanks for the replies.

 

i can host the sound/video clip. let me know.

 

nice writeup, for minimal perf gains i dont know if it's worth the 7-8 bills...but it def looks nice and from your impression, sounds nice as well

 

The reason I ask for a picture of this is because I saw a pic of the Fujitsubo exhaust on another thread and it seemed like the pipes were welded together at the "Y" junction. But in your case with the CompTech exhaust, you are saying that the piping is joined together by a gasket and two bolts for each muffler at the "Y" junction, if I am understanding you correctly.

Other than that, the exhaust looks awesome !

 

I have another question regarding the CompTech exhaust. :P Do you know if the CompTech exhaust is any lighter than the stock exhaust by chance? You said that the package was 58 pounds. Is that the weight of the exhaust alone, or does that include the packaging material? Also, do you know the weight of the stock exhaust? Your response is greatly appreciated.

 

Looks like it's welded at the Y but there's a gasket on the pipe leading to the left muffler: http://solar.innercite.com/comptech/230050.html

 

Here are the pictures:










The shipping weight including packaging was 58 pounds. I have no idea the weight of the stock exhaust system. Just as a guess, I assume the Competch is lighter, but again, that is my guess.

 

JT-

After the cat: 3"
Before the Y: 3"
After the Y to each Can: 2.5"

4.5-MB Sound Clip in AVI format
Right Click and Save As:
Video/Sound Clip
That is startup, idle, 2k, 6k, and shut down.

 

Hey gsclifton, thanks for info. Did the exhaust system come in 3 or 4 pieces?

Is this piece clamped on to the pipe?

 

4 pieces and that is the clamp. It is a nice one too.

 

sounds nice...i like the tone better than the fujitsubo clip i heard

 

I also agree the comptech sounds better than the fujitsubo. It sounds deep, smooth and not raspy. Was the audio clip recorded inside or outside of the car?

 

The camera (Canon G3) was outside the car mounted on a tripod. The tripod was at a height of about 3 feet pointed slightly downward towards the rear bumper. I was maybe 2 feet at most from the rear of the car.

I have a longer 8-MB clip if anyone (JaTe) wants to host?

 

I think I would go for the silencer tip with that exhaust. The tone is nice but just a little too loud for me.

 

i really can't tell whether i like the tone better than the fujitsubo. it's hard for me to get a good grasp of how the comptech sounds from that movie. definately is a sweet looking exhaust however.

 

you say there is a vibration while cruising? that doesn't sound too appealing, could you expand on what you mean by that?

 

It is a very slight feeling on the center console where I rest my arm while driving. Honestly, I did not feel it today. Probably just me adjusting to the sound difference. Could be the deeper tone of the exhaust though.

I have a better movie (8-MB) is someone is willing to host the file.

 

PM'd you!

 

hey gsclifton i can host it. are you on aim? hit me up: accsuperstar

 

ahha guess he beat me to it

 

i really think the 3 inch is way to big...its only a 2.4 liter and its not moving near as much air as a V8. i have 2.5 inch mandrel bent custom and have the dynos to show i making more power... but to each his own

it does sound ok though...how do i make a sound clip? ??

 

record a movie with your digicam?

or if you have a digital sound recorder of any sort, you can record and then up load to your computer. easiest way is just using your digicam like gsclif

 

Thanks a lot for the response [gsclifton] and the pictures are great! I also like the sound/video clip. Comparing the CompTech and the Fujitsubo exhaust just by sound/video clips from other threads, I think I would go with the CompTech exhaust because it doesn't seem too loud and it has a deeper and cleaner exhaust note.

 

Is this the only mod you have so far or do you also have an aftermarket intake already installed?

 

sounds like my dad's M3... I like.

 

Here is the larger clip for everyone.

It is an 8.5-MB AVI File so it is NOT dial-up friendly.
Right Click and Save As or Save Target

Comptech Exhaust Video/Sound Clip

TSX 3Pedal-
That is the only mod I have done other than upgrading the factory speakers and adding OEM accessories.

As for the resonance while driving, I did not feel it on the commute in this morning (only 13 miles). It is a non issue now IMO and probably more related to adjusting to the deeper exhaust note. I noticed no increased interior noise while cruising at 60-80 this morning.

 

Thanks for the clips and pics. Its really nice to hear the sounds of the different exhausts. Right now I think I'm leaning towards the Comptech over the Fujitsubo but its a tough decision.

Do you have an Injen intake in yours? I'm just wondering how the sound of the intake would mix with the sound of the exhaust.

 

nice!
like tat deep exhaust sound
and everything looks so high quality!

 

WOW!...That exhaust just sounds so NICE!!! I want one soo bad now. But I think imma install the Injen CAI before anything though. Man, now I'm wondering how much more beautiful your car will sound with the Injen CAI. Are you planning on installing the intake soon?