Hi everyone new member here recently got into a 3rd gen type s. I was looking to make the sound of the exhuast come alive a bit. Ive been thinking about straight piping what I believe is called the mid muffler and resonator. The 2 cans right after the muffler.

My concern is will this cause any loss of horsepower or low end torque?

 

straight pipe usually refers to running a straight piece of pipe with no cats at all, all the way up to the primaries.

no loss of hp/torque. you'll weigh like 25lb less, that's about it.


what you're referring to will just delete the mid muffler and resonator in front of it. unfortunately, it will sound like crap.

if you have the money, buy a catback exhaust from RV6, XLR8, ATLP, Tanabe, Tsudo, EndlessRPM.

If you don't, delete the mid muffler and get an 18 inch long resonator to replace the OEM one.

 

Earlier this year, on my Type-S, I removed the mid muffler and it sounded pretty nice. Mostly just a louder version of the stock sound. A couple weeks ago, I removed the resonator too. I didn't even last a *day* before I paid to have it welded back in because it sounded so horrendous. It sounds like a Type-S and a civic with a fart can had a baby. Do NOT delete your resonator if you don't want to feel embarrassed driving down the street.

 

So i deleted the resonator and mid muffler and installed a dynomax resonator and straight piped the mid muffler with 2.5 inch piping. Its basically a bit louder version of stock. The most noticeable difference is on wide open throttle. But nothing crazy.

Would like it to be a bit louder. Im guessing some aftermarket mufflers would do the job. Anyone know of any mufflers that work good with these cars. Would like to keep the quad tips looks. Maybe some magnaflows?

 

removing the muffler on the tips would produce more sound.

you should just buy an actual catback system.

 

A popular choice is to replace the mufflers with Magnaflow 11365.

 

I have a muffler and resonator delete and the drone is really loud, but I've gotten use to it. It sounds good WOT. I don't think it sounds rice at all.

 

Can the existing stock tips be reused on MagnaFlow 11365?

Anyone have any experience with Tsudo catback exhuast systems? Do you see any actual HP gains with catback exhuast systems liks xlr8 etc?

 

Yes it can be.

 

Check the performance section as there are reviews for all exhaust systems there.

 

I have heard that straight piping the mid muffler and resonator can cause low end torque loss. Is that true?

 

This is one of those "beaten to death" topics. There's a lot of thread on different exhaust stages with video clips.

Here's the deal with this topic.

It comes straight down to personal preference and money.. Only you know what sound is best and only you know how much to budget. What sounds good now, may end up being annoying later. Here's my honest opinion on why I don't agree with anyone hacking up the stock exhaust merely for a "decent" sound..

You have reputable companies that have tested and build exhaust systems for the TL. These systems gives you the best of both worlds. Performance and quality sound. Besides that, you have quality craftsmanship. Not saying your exhaust shop can't do better, but in most cases, people don't want to pay for a quality job.

Understanding the TL. It's bottle neck is up front. The pre-cats and 3rd is what kills performance. Doing straight pipe after a 3rd cat (IMO) is worthless for performance. I will break down different stages for you, therefore you can understand what's the best bang for buck exhaust.

1. ALL power, ALL sound.. (cheapest)

Pre-cat deletes up front, followed by a ATLP J-pipe (3rd cat delete) followed by a non resonated cat back exhaust system ( XL8R, ATLP or Endless)

2. Adjustments to version one to quiet things down. (More expensive)

Pre-cat deletes up front, Followed by a ATLP j-pipe, Followed by a high flow 3rd cat, followed by resonated cat back exhaust system.

3. If you are in a state that still inspects for cats, and want to tone it down a bit more from #2 (the most expensive)

High flow pre-cats (Look like oem), followed by ATLP j-pipe, followed by High flow 3rd cat and followed by resonated catback.


You can make adjustments on a few things.

You can go high flow pre-cats but use a j-pipe that doesn't have a 3rd cat.
You can use a non resonated catback on that setup.

If you're concern about rasp noise - Go high flow pre-cats
If you're concern about exhaust noise - Go resonated cat back
If catalyst are still visually inspected - Go high flow cats (all 3)

Difference in pre-cat deletes to high flow cats is about 1 hp difference. High flow cats look OEM and have a great build quality. High flow cats can come in Ceramic coating which has a lot of benefits (google them).

There are a lot of youtube videos with different exhaust setup. I prefer ATLP over the rest. When you do the stages, your main reason is sound, not performance. When you do what I said, your main reason is sound and performance or performance and sound.


On my TL I have a comptech supercharger and live in NJ (where they visually inspect cats)

I have high flow-pre cats with ceramic coating, followed by ATLP j-pipe, followed by ATLP high flow 3rd cat, followed by (no longer made) comptech cat-back system-(resonated). The car is quiet, the supercharger with the custom CAI is overwhelmingly louder than the exhaust. If I wanted more noise, I'd have the resonator on the comptech exhaust removed. As you age, noise may not be your thing, unless it's a Lamborghini Gallardo...

 

damn, good post man ^

although something tells me the OP isn't ready to shell out the $1000+ exhaust upgrades you're speaking of when he's only looking to do a "stage" exhaust mod

 

Thanks buddy! Just helping out as best as possible.

 

FYI some gains can come from exhaust only. Comptech got 6-10WHP from the comptech exhaust on a 2004 TL that was back from the 3rd cat.

 

Wow great GREAT post 04WDPSeDaN. Thanks for the feedback. Everyone else also thanks for the input.

Performance is what I am after and a nicer sounding exhuast tone is icing on the cake. Just dont want it to sound obnoxiously loud or ricey.

High flowing cats and j pipe looks like the best route for me. Question about high flowing cats - Do high flowing cats cause any fuel like smell or give off any exhuast fumes that may be harmful?

 

cat deletes will cause the exhaust to have that sweet syrupy smell. Also some aftermarket cats aren't made that well and fail quickly. I'd honestly do the pre cat delete and leave the 3rd cat in.

 

Will high flowing cats have the same effect? Alot of jpipes delete the 3rd cat and I thought the 3rd cat basically has no impact on emissions etc.