i've tried to IM a few of you guys but ya didn't respond. maybe later.

nobody in town (gainesville, fl) will touch my car for some reason, it's like i've been black listed. i say 3" and they freak out. first of all they won't even do a 3" press bent exhaust. when i say i can order mandrel bends online if they just tell me what they need, they get even more pissed off. i've heard quotes of over 600$ for a custom cat back 3" exhaust from hole in the wall muffler shops all around town. it's not just one place either, i've been to about 6 places here and they all say the same thing, either that a 3" won't fit on my car (which i tell them is BS) or that it'll cost way too much to fabricate and i'm better off buying a premaid one. HELP. i know you people have cheap ass exhausts, and i want a 3" one. my car had so much more power when i was running an open exhaust it wasn't even funny.

someone told me that the apexi n1 wasn't a 3" cat back for the gst...2.3" or something. i could order a pasesetter and a muffler for cheap, but i want quick spoolup. i know there are tons of people using a pasesetter/muffler combo, and i mite end up doing that if i can't get one custom made, but you guys don't kknow what you're missing. everyone says u'll lose bottom end power, well i did it and when my exhaust was open at the dp before the cat, i was peeling out thru the top of 2nd and into 3rd gear...bottom end my ass...i'm just pissed b/c nobody will even give me the time of day. i'll drive up and all i see are mustangs and v8's at these places. that might be one reason they don't want to touch it. even midias kicked me out their door. FAGS.

either way, any help would be appreciated. does anyone know the exact bends i need to order to fit it (degree's etc)? and super20g has said that there is a nasy bend in most exhausts rite before the muffler, is he talking about the part that goes over the xmember? if so where do you run the pipe...wouldn't you hit and scrape it if you went below?

tia.

-bryan
'98 rst

ps HADESOMEGA plz IM me when you get a chance if you can or even see this msg.

-bryan
'98 rst

I have a 3" Tanabe Racing Medalion on my ESi and it fits fine. There shoudn't be any hard bends. You'll have to go under the rear of the car where the stock pipe goes over.

lol, i had the EXACT same problem in g-ville. you live over by Arby's on 13th right? i went to that place across the street from arbys, after talking to them on the phone they said they could do a 3" turbo back w/ no cat, then we pull in, i have to raise my coilovers up so they can get it on the lift, they look under and tell me theres no way to do a 3" dp, then quote me $600 for a 3" press-bent catback and try and sell my a hi-flo cat too, haha. i laughed at the guy, even told him that your shop in j-ville quote me 600 for a 3" mandrel bent turbo back and no cat, and dipped. everyone else in gville looked at me like i was retarded when i asked for a 3" exhaust

i got lucky and got the 3" thermal for free, but these exhaust shops in gville are moroons. i got the same line about how it wouldnt fit and all that. oh yea, that shop near arbys that quote me 600, also said it be like a 10 hr job to do a cat back and they would need to keep the car overnight, yeah-fucking-right, the cat back is like 3 or 4 bends

guess what im saying is your SOL in g-ville for a decent exhuast :/

95 Avenger
ATX->MTX Swap
Holset HX40 @ 26 psi

To give words of encouragement, I just welded together a "JC Whitney Special" I used 2.5 pipe that was for a buddy but he backed out and I got the pipe for nuthin. Anyway. I used (1) U 2.5" piece and (1) 45 degree piece to get over the rear crossmember. I also knew of an exhaust shop manager that was cool and charged me 20 bucks for cutting the U in half (to make 2 90 degree bends) and swaged all ends on top of making me (2) 2' long straight pieces swaged on each end. After careful measuring and two days of "fitting" and then welding it all together, it came out fine. BTW I used a high-flow cat and Dynomax Race bullet (which is so obnoxiously load that I'm ADDING a magnaflow as soon as I find one). I really don't think that you should have any probs w/ an experienced exhaust guy and a lift. It could easily be done in a couple of hours.

Shit is all apart. Typical...

I think the reason these shops are freaking out, is because our cars are so low, and there is so little room. The 3" exhaust that they make will most likely hang below the car a bit, and go under the rear lower control arms (instead of over like the stock one and most aftermarket bolt onts do). But if you really want 3", that's the way to go, just straight back from the cat, and let it hang a bit low. Shops don't like to do that though, but here in cali, a lot of people have exhausts like that. I remember seeing one at RRE that was mandrel bent and hung below the rear lower control arms. Looked like there wasn't much ground clearance, but must have been okay. Just be careful. Try telling them to route the piping below the rear lower arm, and then they might do it. It's too hard to press bent 3" piping to go over the arm.

________________________________________

2004 WRX - WR Blue Pearl
1997 Eclipse GS - Royal Sapphire Pearl

RYAN - yeah, the people at the shop across the street from me are crazy if they think i'm going to do that. the reason i'm not going to speedcraft b/c of that too, like you said it's 600$, but at least theirs is mandrel bent. but fuk that, i found an apexi n1 (80mm=3.2in) exhaust for 490$ shipped, it think i'll go that route.

but yeh, i'm thru w/ gville, i was given someone's name in orange park in jax that MIGHT* do it, but still dont' know for sure or how much $$ they'll want. well, i'll spend a lil more, but i'll never need to replace it i guess.

thanks for the info on the pipes from jcwhitney, i was looking at that site to get the bends. if i can find someone here in gville who isn't on crack, maybe i'll do that instead, but at this point i think i'm just going to go and by the n1 cat back.

tia.

-bryan
'98 rst

I got mine custom made from ahpproducts.com since no one in town would do it. I had him make me a 2.5" cat back, but he will do 3" and it looks good. all mandrel bent, I'm sure he will even do the test pipe if you want to take the cat out. (hes a cool guy)
ohh and it cost me $400 with aerospeed muffler.



Late.

-97 GS (First project, 299 whp)(sold)
- 97 RS 2.6 last numbers: 306hp, 352tq @16psi (Dead, parted out)
- 99 GS OZ, Hahn Kit, 56k miles (Sold)
--------
- 00 Nissan Maxima GLE (Daily Driver)
- 02 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro

the thermal catback goes below the rear suspension:

95 Avenger
ATX->MTX Swap
Holset HX40 @ 26 psi