What's the best exhaust?

[tynebeach]

Hey guys, I don't know that much about exhaust systems, but I would like to get one for a 92 civic or around there. I found this exhaust system the RS version spec 3 exhaust for pretty cheap, but does anyone know anything about it? Also, what exactly is a cat-back exhaust system and does anyone have any good websites with them? Thanks for you time

[Polygon]

Well, I personally like Borla but they are a little pricy, Magnaflow is good, so is Greddy and A'pexi. In all honesty though you aren't going to see much out of a cat back system. It's more for looks and sound than anything else. You might see 5HP to the wheels at the most with a cat back system.

[tynebeach]

well what other kind of exhaust systems do they have on the market for older civics that isn't cat back? also, i thought there were better stats that came with a catback like 7 to 10 added horsepower? I guess that depends on the company then huh?

[Polygon]

Well most places say 20 - 30 HP. You are only going to get numbers like that from a large displacement high performance race car. For most engines you will only see about 5-7 HP to the wheels at best. The best thing to do would be to replace the entire exhaust from the engine back. It is expensive but you will see a big difference.

[tynebeach]

that sounds like it would be a helluva lot more expensive. Do you know how much that would run? By the way, thanks Polygon for taking all the time to answer my lame questions

[Polygon]

Ah, it's no problem at all. The entire exhaust would cost anywhere between $1,000 - $2,000 to replace, so it is quite a spendy mod. With that you could expect to see around 40HP.

[jimmyfunk]

Originally posted by Polygon
Ah, it's no problem at all. The entire exhaust would cost anywhere between $1,000 - $2,000 to replace, so it is quite a spendy mod. With that you could expect to see around 40HP.

I'm seriousely amazed that it's taken this long for somebody to reply to this crap. 40 HP from an exhaust swap on a CIVIC??! We're not talking about a V8 here. Unless you have a SERIOUSELY modded engine...which it doesn't sound like you do...or you have a monsterous turbo waiting for bigger exhaust piping to breath....you aren't even gonna touch a 25HP gain from a full exhaust change. On a stock motor... probably 10-15 max. And that's not across the entire RPM band.....that's peak. You have to have some other serious mods before you'll feel the full affect of that exhaust. Come back to earth.

[tynebeach]

well i guess that's kinda contradicting iformation. I don't really have to worry about that though, cause i won't have the money to do womething like that for a long time. I have another question though, how much added performance would there be if i was to buy a new header?

[jimmyfunk]

i've NEVER heard of more than 6-8HP from putting a header on a stock engine...that is for a top of the line header. That is for a civic.

[jimmyfunk]

sometimes you can get the best results (while on a budget) by buying a good muffler....Apex-i, Thermal, DC Sports, and going to a local muffler shop and having them run mandrel bent piping for the rest of the exhaust system...you'll be able to choose the size of your piping...and you can even help in the design of your exhaust, so you know that you are getting a setup with the least amount of bends necesarry. The cost of this will vary from shop to shop but it is almost invariably alot cheaper than buying a complete setup. Personally...I would take care of the rest of the exhaust (downpipe back) before I would replace the header on your Civic. I've heard that the stock exhaust manifold on Hondas actually do a pretty decent job, and you'll be more satisfied with the increased growl of your car.

[Redline_civic91]

well you can do what i did. i went straight pipe from the cat. to the back. got a great sound im not sure bout horsepower though did dyno it. but i felt a big difference

[tynebeach]

i hate to sound stupid, but what does dynoing something mean?

[jimmyfunk]

Originally posted by tynebeach
i hate to sound stupid, but what does dynoing something mean?

well...in plain text...a Dyno is a computerized machine that you put your car on to measure it's horsepower and torque. It will print out graphs displaying your horsepower and torque over the entire RPM band as well as other information pertinent to your application. Some dynos are simply like a lift that you drive your car onto....while some are just a couple rollers that you drive your front wheels onto.
Here's an example of a chart that the computer would read out after you dyno your car.

dyno chart

[1SlowAccord]

I agree with a previous post. Just go to someone that makes a lot of exhausts for people and have them make you an exhaust all the way back. It will cost you a whole lot less.

[1SlowAccord]

I agree with a previous post. Just go to someone that makes a lot of exhausts for people and have them make you an exhaust all the way back. It will cost you a whole lot less.