[Lizard1]

I really hate the Fast-N-Furious look of these aftermarket exhausts. I like stealthy with a little power. NOTE: I understand getting more power out of a 1.5 is a lost cause, but you get the idea.

I come from VR6 VWs and had a Magnaflow one off system made from a shop in AZ. So, I thought I'd go to a local guy near me and see what they could do. Problem is this - I don't want a drone, but I like a spirited sound. Kinda a S2000 w/ a performance exhaust sound. Again, I know it doesn't have a 1.5 in-line, but I want beef, not wheeze...

Was thinking of a Magnaflow muffler (If it will fit) and 2"-2.25" tubing from the CAT back.

ANyone tried a one off system and if so, what muffler or muffler with a resognator did you use. What size pipe is optimum and what size is a waste?

Just some questions.

 

[ScottyTuned]

i do and its the best thing you can do.

im running i believe 2" from almost the cat back (not an axle back, but not quite a cat back). first exhaust if i recall correctly was like 60-70 bucks and my current exhaust was less than that.

i have no muffler or any of that. custom straight pipe. the people whove seen and heard my car can vouch for it. it doesnt drone nor look r i c e y.

heres a thumbnail of it. click it to see it better.


scotty

 

[excitebox]

hotbox05 has a one-off exhaust and so does squirrel. bothe variations of a center exit.

i will be getting mine done soon, im cutting the magnaflow off my precision mufflers axleback and having a shop run 2.25" pipe from the cat back into the magnaflow...

im fairly sure this is the muffler that on it:

http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/shopexd.asp?zone=main&id=801

everybody LOVES the way my car sounds with it, one of my buddies even wants me to trade his exhaust for mine haha. without the resonator and with the bigger piping it should sound even better (i hope)

my car b4 it got painted:

 

[ctruss]

I come from the VW world as well.

I have my xB sounding pretty badass if I do say so myself. Here is what you do.....

Go to www.heartthrobexhaust.com order up a resonator that is about 6" diameter and about 24" long with a 2.25" inlet and outlet. They also have all the mandrel bends you need. Order up like 4 180 degree bends in the 2.25" size to make sure you have enough. You can also go to a muffler shop that has mandrel bends.

Then order up a Borla or Magnaflow muffler that has an overall length of about 20" give or take a few inches. Make sure the muffler also has a 2.25" inlet and outlet.

Take all these parts to a local muffler shop that does custom work, hell even Midas can do it if you bring them the parts.

Final step, enjoy the sound.

Added note. That Heartthrob Exhaust link I gave you is also a good source for exhaust tips that don't look like coffee cans.

 

[Lizard1]

I come from the VW world as well.

I have my xB sounding pretty badass if I do say so myself. Here is what you do.....

Go to www.heartthrobexhaust.com order up a resonator that is about 6" diameter and about 24" long with a 2.25" inlet and outlet. They also have all the mandrel bends you need. Order up like 4 180 degree bends in the 2.25" size to make sure you have enough. You can also go to a muffler shop that has mandrel bends.

Then order up a Borla or Magnaflow muffler that has an overall length of about 20" give or take a few inches. Make sure the muffler also has a 2.25" inlet and outlet.

Take all these parts to a local muffler shop that does custom work, hell even Midas can do it if you bring them the parts.

Final step, enjoy the sound.

Added note. That Heartthrob Exhaust link I gave you is also a good source for exhaust tips that don't look like coffee cans.

Thanks, man!!! What kind of VWs have you owned. Nice to see another Volks lover on here. Just got rid of a pretty nice SLC and miss it almost everyday... Wife's still got her 04 GLi so, I can still get a VR6 fix...

 

[excitebox]

i just got back from ahving my exhaust made. 2.25" all the way from teh cat into my magnaflow. $134 with tax and labor. i may need a silencer but damn it sounds mena as hell

 

[Lizard1]

i just got back from ahving my exhaust made. 2.25" all the way from teh cat into my magnaflow. $134 with tax and labor. i may need a silencer but damn it sounds mena as hell

What do you mean by a silencer? Are you talking about a resognator?

I suspect that a resognator is going to be needed of do a dual mini muffler set-up. Same thing... The deal is that if you do two mini mufflers, Magnaflow has a lifetime guarantee on their mufflers - not their resognators...

Which Mangaflow did you choose?

 

[excitebox]

a silnecer is a small plate with a hole in it that goes in the end of canister mufflers. my setup has no resonator, just a cat, a pipe, and a magnaflow.

in my post above with the pic of my car there's a link with what i believe i have

 

[ctruss]

Thanks, man!!! What kind of VWs have you owned. Nice to see another Volks lover on here. Just got rid of a pretty nice SLC and miss it almost everyday... Wife's still got her 04 GLi so, I can still get a VR6 fix...

I just sold my 2001 Rave Green GTI. It was a big turbo car pushing 312whp.

As for your xB exhaust. You know comming from VW's that they sound MEAN! Well these xB's sound like two-cycle weed whippers if you don't put a resonator or cherry bomb between the cat and the muffler.

Take my advice and look through Heartthrobs cataloge, they will have everything you need. The resonator is just another name for a cherry bomb, it's a straight through chamber that doesn't quiet exhaust much, but it does change it's tone.

 

[excitebox]

^^^ hes right. my car sounds like absolute garbage now without a resonator. i was actually embarased driving all the way down route 1 from philly today. i can barely get on the throttle without feeling like a ruined my car. tomorrow im going to the local muffler shop and having a resonator installed.

 

[Lizard1]

I just sold my 2001 Rave Green GTI. It was a big turbo car pushing 312whp.

As for your xB exhaust. You know comming from VW's that they sound MEAN! Well these xB's sound like two-cycle weed whippers if you don't put a resonator or cherry bomb between the cat and the muffler.

Take my advice and look through Heartthrobs cataloge, they will have everything you need. The resonator is just another name for a cherry bomb, it's a straight through chamber that doesn't quiet exhaust much, but it does change it's tone.

That's the advice I was looking for. I suspected these wouldn't sound like a VW 2.0l with a system. I just don't want to sound like it has a coffee can strapped to it like the Honda racers around here...

To the website and then to the shop I go!!!

 

[ShortBus]

Advise from someone that has learned the hard way.

 

[ctruss]

Even with the resonator your xB still won't have the tone like the VW's do, but the resonator makes a night and day difference.

Another route to try, if you can make it fit under there is to get two Borla or Magnaflow mufflers. Mount one muffler under the car between the rear suspension and the cat and then mount the second muffler in the back.

Here are some pics of my hand-made setup. Me and a friend fabricated it.....

Note: They are not in order and they are pics of my exhaust WITHOUT a resonator. I do speak from experience, my exhaust sounded bad so I had a resonator put in later.

 

[Lizard1]

Advise from someone that has learned the hard way.

???? Getting one off stuff done from a reputable shop is a great idea. The axleback systems they offer are of no real HP gains and mostly a sound preference.

I want a nice looking system that I can depend on, gets a decent sound and is using really quality components.

I had All Seasons out west do a system (I was the test car) for my VR6 Corrado. I regret doing the two muffler set-up as opposed to a resognator and a muffler, but it was sweet, offered good power and sounded very deep and powerful at open throttle.

It had a lifetime guarantee on the mufflers from Magnaflow and the Stainless Steel tubing (2.5") was top shelf stuff.

I'm not looking at a shop to get me galvanized crap and a muffler from Midas. However, these coffee can, axle back systems they offer for our cars are either too Fast and Furious for my tastes or they are junk. I know Borla and even Magnaflow make some great systems, but I want stealthy. I want a muffler that isn't bigger in diameter than the tailpipe and that isn't so chromed out it blinds the people behind me...

So, I hope I am mis reading you and what I am perceiving as you making it sound like doing it out of an exhaust shop is a bad idea... I suspect you're not, but just in case...

 

[Lizard1]

Even with the resonator your xB still won't have the tone like the VW's do, but the resonator makes a night and day difference.

Another route to try, if you can make it fit under there is to get two Borla or Magnaflow mufflers. Mount one muffler under the car between the rear suspension and the cat and then mount the second muffler in the back.

Here are some pics of my hand-made setup. Me and a friend fabricated it.....

Note: They are not in order and they are pics of my exhaust WITHOUT a resonator. I do speak from experience, my exhaust sounded bad so I had a resonator put in later.

That's 100% what I want (We VW guys need to stick together)!!! I want the flat muffler like you have there. That's a Flow Master muffler, isn't it?

Anyways, yeah, I'm going the resognator route. Thought about a dual shorter muffler set-up, but man, with my Corrado, I was a little dissapointed in the sound. Trust me, it was throaty and growled a bit up top, but it just didn't sound like it had balls, if you know what I mean.

I've heard a few S2000 with some high end systems and they sound AMAZING! I know it isn't going to happen with an XB and a 1.5l, but you get the idea.

Thanks for the pics and man, you really read my mind.

Kudos!

 

[ctruss]

The muffler I used in an IMCO brand available from Heartthrob that I linked you to. They essentially are flowmaster mufflers.

My xB has a nice low rumble at idle and it really barks when on the throttle. If I cruise through a parking lot just right I can even get it to grumble and pop like my VW's used to.


Tell you what. If you can give me a few weeks to get the piping and parts, I can make a few systems like what I have on my car.

Let me know if you would be interested in something like that.

 

[Lizard1]

The muffler I used in an IMCO brand available from Heartthrob that I linked you to. They essentially are flowmaster mufflers.

My xB has a nice low rumble at idle and it really barks when on the throttle. If I cruise through a parking lot just right I can even get it to grumble and pop like my VW's used to.


Tell you what. If you can give me a few weeks to get the piping and parts, I can make a few systems like what I have on my car.

Let me know if you would be interested in something like that.

Tell ya what, you tell me what the price would be for you just to do the pipes and I can get my own muffler and resognator. Or, you can tell me what the total would be. I'd want 2 sets - One for me and one for my buddy with the same thing.

We were going to do this on our own, but hey, if you can do it - it saves me the dirty work, eh?

 

[azztinthebox]

make sure they use the right guage metal i know the shops around this town, like to use a thin guage causeing the exhaust coming out of our engines sound like poppy and really raspy cause of the thin guage metal...that is really the biggest thing i would watch out for.....i wouldn't personally go any bigger than a 2 inch if you really wanted to 2.25 but this small of an engine you need some back pressure...or your air/fuel will be way off.....but just my opinion....and good luck....

 

[ScottyTuned]

heres mine straight piped if you're interested. i looked at it and im pretty sure its 2".

http://media.putfile.com/JDM-bB-AWD-Open-Exhaust

its a quick vid. just for the record, when im holdin the RPMs up there, its at 5k!

scotty

 

[ctruss]

make sure they use the right guage metal i know the shops around this town, like to use a thin guage causeing the exhaust coming out of our engines sound like poppy and really raspy cause of the thin guage metal...that is really the biggest thing i would watch out for.....i wouldn't personally go any bigger than a 2 inch if you really wanted to 2.25 but this small of an engine you need some back pressure...or your air/fuel will be way off.....but just my opinion....and good luck....

You are part right but how does an exhaust mess with your air/fuel?

If you go bigger than 2.25" you will lose torque big time. I personally went with 2.25", but I suppose 2" would work well too. Problem with 2" pipe is finding highflow mufflers that fit without adaptors.