I'm planning on doing exhaust mods on my my 04. I know it's common to delete the mid and replace the rear mufflers. I'm wondering if anyone has replaced the mid muffler with an aftermarket one and deleted the rears instead? Im planning on keeping the resonator. I've heard the typical exhaust stages and not a fan of the sound with stock rear mufflers.

 

first, options for mid-muffler replacement would be more limited due to size/packaging constraints compared to replacing the rear mufflers. so you're hurting your design flexibility. secondly, in theory the further from the engine you place the primary muffler, the more effective it is at reducing the dB. a larger and/or more restrictive muffler would be needed to get the same reduction in sound at mid-muffler location rather than at the rear. but back to the first point, there is less room to work with at the mid-muffler so you kind of get what you get and live with it.

I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but i think the more traditional course has it's merits.

for sure, the best thing to do would be to pick up a stock replacement exhaust system, have some flanges welded in as required and then pick up a few options for replacement muffler and try the out until you find one you like. i did something similar on my old Civic years ago. I actually used the full wrap band clamps to hold things in for testing, then welded in flanges when I found the setup i liked.

 

I have heard this set up as proposed and it was terrible.