Got a custom cat back installed, with 2.5" piping from cat to glasspack, then 3" from the glasspack on back to the muffler. Cost me 100 bucks :) He only had a 2.5" glasspack to put in, so i went with that. I originally wanted a full 2.5" cat back, but he talked me out of it, and went 3". I noticed a slightly better pull out of it, but nothing to brag about. In the last pic, you will see why i think this. The Magnaflow muffer i have has about a 1.75" inside pipe in the muffler, which i think is causing some restriction. I'm going to get a Borla oval stainless steel muffler with 3" inlets and outlets to fix this. What do you guys think about that? YOu think that the magnaflow is causing restriction? Here are the pics..

that's 3" over the xmember? it's press bent rite? i wanted to do a custom setup like that but nobody would touch my car for cheaper than my n1 cost me. bummer deal i say ... but hey, i'm getting the parts in for the new fuel setup, i'll let you know how it goes.

ps nice exhaust

Yeah, its mandrel bent. His bender makes small ripples in the piping that come outward, not inward, so no restriction. I got such a good deal on it because my shop is right across the street from the muffler shop, i know the guy, and we kinda "trade" labor so to speak :) Its all about who you know i guess. I did notice a slightly lower tone to the exaust, and just a hair quieter, mostly because the resonator that he used was longer than the stock one. It was a tight fit to go above the crossmember, and the piping had to be just slightly pressed in to make it fit, but not enough to hurt air flow. I'd say it came out rather nicely..esp for 100 bucks, and aluminized 3" piping..

nope that is not mandrel bent that is crush bent. My exhuast is like your but all full 3 inch from downpipe back. Mine has those pieces of metal sticking out and stuff, mandrel bent is perfectly round it doesn't oval and perfectly smooth no flaps of steel hanging out. Mine managed to make it over the crossmember also. The guy who did it rolled my trunk so it would fit. Hehe nice muffler I shoulda got one like your I got the aluminized steel version of that.

Hey hades, your pipe has the same small ripples in it too, just like mine. It is mandrel bent, i saw his machine :) Its a rather old machine, so... Crush bent pipe pust a lot of small ripples on the pipe that go inward, and is very easy to distinguish between. I'm sure the newest mandrel benders can do a nice smoothe bend.I guess you would have to see up close to see what i mean..but the bends are nice and smoothe, hard to see by the pics i guess.

hmm really!? haha beats me I read an article in supersteet one time about making your own exhuast and that mufflers shops usually crush bend. I'm not saying it bad it's just not the best. But I think that is a crush bender but it you say it's mandrel bent then i guess it is. if it moves too much it kinda crushes the piping. I suppose it mandrel bent to a point :) My intercooler is mandrel bent it doesn't lose any diamter at any point. But hehe that's koo you got a hook up I got a super good exhuast system for a good price :)