I've got a bossal brospeed on my 97 RS, came with the car when I bought it from a friend. In a year and a half I've gotten 2 tickets for excessive exhaust noise, and I've got inspection coming up in april and I don't feel like paying off somebody an extra $30ish for the sticker, and the ticket will go away if I appeal it and show I have a legal exhaust, that's another $50.

So realistically I have $80ish to start to spend on an exhaust, and can go up a fair amount from there. Keep in mine this is a street-driven eclipse, and I doubt full exhaust or anything is going to be worth it to me, yet I'd feel bad spending $$ to go back to bare stock and lose power.

So what should I do? Will going back to stock from an aftermarket muffler really change anything (I bought the car with the muffler already, so I never felt the diff between the 2). If so, what type of legal solutions do I have, solutions that won't anger cops/inspection people.

is it just the muffler on there or is it a whole cat-back?

I was gonna say, if it was the cat back and your were somewhere near chigago I'd trade you at the up-coming meet, but profile says Mass.

If it's just the muffler go to a muffler shop and see if anyone has a "leftover muffler from a replacement". why would a muffler make you fail inspection? more likely than not its a 50 state legal muffler, if so, add a resonator to your piping to quiet it down.

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-Ryan

I don't have a silencer, and inspection people won't pass it because of the loudness of it.

What about doing something like a quiet exhaust with 2.5" catback piping? Would this work?

I have a bosal brospeed and i dont think its loud at all. Infact it can be mistaken for stock.

myspace.com/coastiecobb

well mine is QUITE loud, one of the loudest exhausts I've ever heard around (one of my friends owns a mustang w/ no cats, and it's obviously not as loud as hers, but it's in the vicinity)

add resonators to the piping, it should help

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-Ryan

imo, just buy a gst cat back and bolt it on for the time being. I had a full 3 inch custom exhaust with a pretty obnoxious muffler with big ricer tips before when I had aspirations of going turbo in the near future. It was just too loud and I finally got pinned with the fix it ticket last summer and took it off.

The gst is very quiet in comparison and there is only a little bit of a power difference. In fact, it seems faster in the low rpms but slower in the high rpms. I am auto though, so it didn't show a whole lot. I think I paid like $70 for it. imo, just buy one from a turbo dsm'er and save until you can afford a 50 state legal greddy or apex'i of some sort.

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97 Eclipse RS auto *SOLD* - super 15g 92 3000GT VR4 - t3/t4 60 trim 95 Talon TSI AWD

Get the whole GS-T catback? what is the size difference in the piping? I'm just looking for a solution that works, I mean this is a daily street driver, I'm not racing it or anything so..

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~Chris
03 SRT-4

what about if I want to go catback? What is the best cheap, 50-state legal, quiet catback system?

EVO is way too expensive for me. I'm thinking that any catback is going to be out of my budget right now, I think I'm just gonna replace the muffler.

why not just have a resonator welded in instead like everyone else said?it'd prolly be cheaper than replacing everything..

Steve-o
Top secret.

Originally posted by FlyinEsi
I guess I'll just have to live with a 500+ hp AWD 4-banger.

*Skrilla
"Honest officer, I thought you were trying to race me"
Talon: 1st 2.4L
'97 Prelude
'04 350Z

Originally posted by etx
Good luck man! Project 'STFU Brian your talon is dead meat' should be on it's feet soon!

Well the "replace everything" came up after I thought it would be an option. Since I was replacing PART of it, why not "do it right" and replace it all and get a few hp.

Catback is going to be too expensive for me, however, and now we are back to just replacing the muffler, adding a resonator is a valid option too. I'm going to go talk to mechanic tomorrow and start getting some price options.

Thanks guys for putting up with my indecision

you could try to fight the ticket and shove it right up the cops ass. unless he has a db meter with him to test it than you've got a valid arguement to have it thrown out. a db test has to be done in a controled envirnment with 3 readings at diffent angles from 50ft. then they average the results. the standard limit is 80. so unless he can prove your exhaust is above that then you can tell them to f off. the law can't be up to a cops interurptation, there has to be guidelines. find out if your state has a testing center and go take the test. if you know your to loud than you deserve it for being the typical tool w/ a fart pipe. if you were just harassed b/c you have an import like we all are then try to fight it once and for all. you may want to contact the manufacturer and see if they have documentation regarding the exhaust you have, that may be part of your defense. dont give up your hard earned money b/c we get profiled man. i can't tell you how many times my little girl has been woken by fn bikers on there pos harleys ripping through my neighborhood when the bars let out. think cops pull them over, nadda. in ohio its actually allowed a higher db rating if you have a motorcycle. isn't that some shit

400whp or bust.

I love my Old school RSR catback system. It came with dB testing numbers. Tanabe and Greddy makes them compliant too when used with factory cats and downpipes.

-K-

even if its "50 state legal" that only refers to emissions...in most states ANY modification of an exhaust system to alter sound is not legal for on road use...you best bet is to get a GST catback and be done with it...or get an exhaust that has a silencer...i know my apexi goes to near stock sound when the silencer is in...

'99 RS
gone, never forgotten

'03 BMW 330i 5speed

'00 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4.7

There is no db level in my state for cars, only motorcycles. For cars, anything louder than stock is illegal, totally interpretation.

just a heads up, dont get the N1 if youre looking for something quiet. its loud on the highway.

i have it, and no cat(resonator in place) and my car is too loud sometimes. not raspy, but loud

as conceptual as law is nowadays there still has to be a platform. where one cop lets you off for speeding and the other doesn't does not change the fact there is a posted limit. there has to be a limit, somewhere in the code there has to be. could you imagine if a cop gave you a felony charge for speeding b/c there was no set parimeters. now if the law says that changing from your stock oem exhaust to any other exhaust is illegal thats a perimeter. cops only enforce laws. laws have limits. the courts interupt the laws

back on top from what i've heard Rsr is the quietest aftermarket exhaust, its got great flow w/o the fart pipe sound. and every pic i've seen shows a nice polished tip thats not coffee can sized. they are hard to get ahold of, from what i've seen very select dealers carry those items but they are obtainable. google is your friend.

400whp or bust.

I just had a question on the same subject...kinda. I have a apex'i n1 catback for the n/a eclipse, but post previously read and post on this thread have mentioned just to get a gst oem catback. Would I be safe to assume that an aftermarket gst catback would work on a n/a ? What about one from a gsx? I've found specs on them but only mention pipe size. Any input?