I was looking at exhaust setups and I have my eye set on Apexi or Thermal. Now the prefab setups are freakin expensive, and I was curious. If I bought their muffler and got the piping done custom, would that be exactly the same?

98' Eclipse GS- Hahn Stage 2- SOLD
02' Honda S2000- SOLD
04' Acura TL- Current Whip

i got a custom exhaust built from header all the way back...the cost of 2.5" piping bent to fit up to my hotshot header, catco high flow cat, and vivrant mufflar was $300...that included taking off my old stuff, junking it, and installing all the new stuff.

With the parts i spent about $750 for a header back.

What are the disadvantages to just doing an axle back?

Note That I Am N/A

98' Eclipse GS- Hahn Stage 2- SOLD
02' Honda S2000- SOLD
04' Acura TL- Current Whip

well...i didn't think $300 was too bad for install and the custom bends

What got me was all the parts i was putting on it. I would reccommend anyone to do it...personally i don't see whats so great about the expensive after market exhausts...Find a mufflar shop that does mandrel bends and you are in business...mine is pressure bent, but our bends are nothing too rough, so they didn't get crushed down too much.

If your guy doesn't do mandrel bends and uses mild steel, you're better off going with any of these:

http://search.ebay.com/eclipse-cat-exhaust_W0QQfromZR8QQsasaleclassZ2QQsbrbinZtQQsosortorderZ1QQsosortpropertyZ3

Yea but those are knock offs and explain to me what mendrel bends are and about the steel? I'm curious here. Also I can get an Apexi N1 Muffler for $165 and its brand new.. Not a knock off.

98' Eclipse GS- Hahn Stage 2- SOLD
02' Honda S2000- SOLD
04' Acura TL- Current Whip

Even the knockoff cat-backs are better than getting a nice muffler and having non-mandrel bends in the pipe. Most shops use crush/press bends with mild steel.

I've done your homework and looked up references:

For mandrel bending:
http://www.vansantent.com/definitions.htm

For mild/stainless steel comparison:
http://www.burnsstainless.com/TechArticles/Stainless_article/stainless_article.html

and also, i would get one that comes with a removable/tunable silencer in the tip...

Consider materials.

Most will use aluminized pipe, or even mild steel which is beging to rust, if you are lucky you at least get aluminized, mandral bent, more often than not you will get press bent unless you go to a performance shop, then they should be able to get you stainless.

High end exhaust systems will use mostly 304 SS, better would be 304L, and if you really get the good stuff you are getting 321 or 321L SS. But it is not cheap, the price for SS is higher and so is the price for mandral bent stainless.

It's a matter of you want to get.



Exile Racing Technologies: http://www.exileracing.com
So. All that's left, is... everything - Jesse James

I have a fully SS 2.5 mandrel bend tsudo N-1 catback for sale for 225......The catback has less then 1K so its bsically brand new......it sounds badass and I would be keepin it but I'm sellin the car....PM me if ur interested!!!

eclipse GONE....02 JETTA 1.8T chip and intake, bailey DV and N75 H valve....

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/472859

Yeah. Get some bends from Burns. Get some stainless to go with it. Walk into Midas with them and ask them to weld it all together.

Know what they'd say?

Get bent. Stainless Steel isn't something that can be welded together with an arc welder, or even a Mig welder. To get stainless together, it should be Tig welded.

By the time you buy the stainless bends, the stainless pipe, and the stainless muffler, you are better off buying a name brand, costwise.

If you want to do it the other way, however, feel free. You will pay more for an exhaust that flows less well, unless it gets welded from the inside out, and the welds on the inside are ground flat.

So yeah, if you're going to do it, do it right. By the way, going under the axle reduces the radius of a couple of the bends. The problem, however, is ground clearance.