I recently bought a 2000 3.2TL and absolutely love it...however I would like to have a little sound, the stock exhaust is dead silent, which is awesome. I'v been looking at http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...gename=rvi:1:1 as well as a high flow cat. Is it worth putting the high flow cat on there or no? Also, would the combination of the two make the car really loud or just have a slight 'rumble' to it?

 

i think magnaflow is the nicest looking and sounding..i mite get it in the summer

 

I would check into state laws regarding your emission requirements. I know in California I cannt install a hi-flow cat because of the OBDII CA requirements. Being from Texas im sure you have much more lax emission laws regarding the removal and replacement of the stock cat with a hi flow one. Honestly, though, my experience with the aftermarket cats is that they do not improve flow that much, and you always run the risk of your car not passing smog check. I know that Magnaflow (Carsound) makes a hi flow cat, and they are usually better at passing smog (if you get the 94000 series).

To answer your question about exhaust, there are many aftermarket exhaust systems avaliable, and due to the rather restrictive nature of the 2G exhaust, are the best option. If you are looking for just a different tone from your exhaust, I would suggest that you just install some aftermarket mufflers, and maybe cut out a resonator or replace one with an aftermarket one. If you want increased performance and sound, I would look into a cat back system that uses a larger diameter exhaust pipe because you will get more flow. Again, the gains will be minimal unless you also combine that with an intake or other means of getting more air into the engine.

I own a 3G TL, though my mom has a 2000 TL and so I have done a little bit of research into her exhaust. I recently just replaced the mufflers, and only the mufflers on my car because I wanted a different sound. Comptech makes exhaust for any year of any acura and their systems, while expensive, have been getting the best reviews. Do your homework. It is possible to change the sound w/o adding power, or to increase the power without increasing the noise too much.

 

An exhaust note relies purely on the design of the pipes. Until built, noone would be able to tell how your configuration would sound.

As for a high flow cat...with the money you would of spent buying & welding the hi-flow cat & axleback, you could of easily bought and installed headers instead. Do you care more about performance or aesthetics?

 

The exhasut note does not rely purely on the design of the pipes. True a larger diameter will give you a louder tone, the muffler is the primary source of sound change. Ever notice you see civics and integras with big ass mufflers making loud sound?? Most of the time the muffler is just welded onto the existing stock pipe.

As for the money going towards a high flow cat. The list price for the magnaflow high flow cats are around 155 dollars, plus labor. As I understand it, good quality headers for the 3.2 run WAY higher than that, not to mention the labor involved.

 

the piping and head design for the most part dictate the sound. all mufflers do is change teh pitch of it. a civic with a fart can sounds the exact same as a civic without a muffler! swaping out your resonators is recomended if you put on a different exhaust. i can tell you from first hane experience that the 2 resonators muffle more sound than the 2 mufflers do. if you remove the big resonator the sound doubles. getting a aftermarket exhaust with both resonators on will not be much if any louder than stock. i would do a custom exhaust with a magnaflow in 1 out t muffler mounted where your resonator is, then run the pipe (dual, the in 1 out 2 would act as your ney and improved Y pipe) back to 2 nice rolled and resonated tips.

 

The resonator will most likely make your car louder if you do the Y-pipe idea. On the 3G TL I replaced the resonator, left the front muffler in, and replace the two rear mufflers. That would be the best thing to do because that gives you the most control over the sound of you exhaust system. While the 3G is different in its layout, the principle is the same. You will have more options if you do some experimentation with the exhaust components. Cut out the resonator and see what it sounds like. If you want more, replace it with an aftermarket one and then swap mufflers, or just swap mufflers and leave the rest of the exhaust untouched. See what your muffler shop is willing to do. The first thing you want to figure out is if you want it just for sound, just for performance, or both. Go to magnaflow's web page to see what kinds of options you have with the mufflers and resonators and all the different lengths and sizes. Then make a tenative decision based on your initial research.

 

First of all, how are you so sure Texas has much more lax emissions laws...I know California is very strict, but so is Texas. I live in Houston and they tried to make the max speed 55 MPH throughout the whole town! Ya right, people just drove faster. And my truck wouldnt get inspected because of my headers and my exhaust was dumped over teh axels.
And how is our stock exhaust so restrictive? I know its not true dual 3 inch pipes, but you are also talking about a smaller V6 thats making somewhere between 225 and 265 HP - not a big ass V8 pushing 500HP. In other words, are stock exhaust flows fine, unless you are anal and want to free up every last HP, then you will lose low end torque...which is best?
Not trying to jump on your back, I am just wondering where you get your info.

 

i'm getting a magnaflow setup installed tomorrow.
resonator and mufflers.
from the cat back.

i'll post pics and sound clips.


and i plan on headers....

 

[QUOTE=subinf]The exhasut note does not rely purely on the design of the pipes. True a larger diameter will give you a louder tone, the muffler is the primary source of sound change.
...QUOTE]


Pipe diameter, length & curvature, as well as mufflers, all contribute to the overall "design".

Like I said before, NO-ONE here can tell him how his exahust setup will trully sound.

 

I mentioned the Texas emission laws because as far as I know, California is the only state that requires special OBDII catalytic converters. At least that is what I am told by BAR, CARB, and Magnaflow. No offense taken to anything you said at all. Exhaust is a rather tricky subject. Ive been a mechanic for 5 years, specializing in exhaust the last year. Ive dealt with my fare share of cars, confined only to CA emission guidelines. Its hard for me to make a judgement call on out of state cars because my experience with them is rather limited.
I mentioned that the 2G exhaust was more restrictive because on the 3G models the exhaust opened up a lot more, which is why cat back systems are having a harder time scavanging HP numbers. True that there is a point where if you open the system up enough, you will lose that torque because there is no longer any backpressure. In my opinion and experience, the only time you are really going to notice a change in the exhaust is when you are going up a hill keeping the transmission in the highest gear. Acceleration should be easier, and at the least you should not lose speed unless it is a steep hill.
Exhaust systems are always a tough issue to address. I can tell people what a magnaflow system will sound like, if they mimic what I did to mine, using the same part numbers and all. Other mods will also affect the tone of the car. At least we are all dealing with Acura's here, more specifically the 3.2L engine. It is possible to go on and on about all the different circumstances which exist and can influence the tone and possible performance increases, but that would just be useless and probably annoying for any of you who are still reading this very long, somewhat repetitive entry. The only advice that I can offer that seems reasonable is to pick something on your exhaust that you want to change, change it and see what it sounds like. Work your way up from something small to something dramatic to have the most control over the sound.

 

agreed

 

Good grief! Thanks for all the replies everyone... From what I can assume from what everyone has said, simply changing the 2 mufflers in the back and leaving the rest untouched will change the sound to what I'm looking for. If that doesn't suit my desire then I'll address the resonator issue.

I'd like to hear what this guys sounds like when it gets finished...what exact products are you using?

 

going with the magnaflows in the back will give it a nice deep mellow sound.