Info: Many Exhaust Questions Answered 3800 Engine
Monte Of The Month -- August 2014
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 25,145
From: Southeast PA
The wizaired and the coldairinductions kit give the same HP, but when your engine is hot it won't heat soak like the K&N
Also, it's not really 13HP, it's maybe 13hp CRANK, which is only like 2 to the wheels.
Also, it's not really 13HP, it's maybe 13hp CRANK, which is only like 2 to the wheels.
Monte Of The Month - February 2010
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 11,981
From: Pittsburgh, PA
I am experiencing a rotted resonator with holes and leaks.
My uncle is a mechanic and said he would put a straight pipe in for me ($50) and there would be no sound change (supposedly, he does speak from experience tho and also is hard of hearing lol).
He said another option would be replacing the resonator with an aftermarket one ($100 installed).
Currently my exhaust is stock and I've always wanted a borla exhaust with some nice deep rumble. I have a friend who wants to dump a brand new system for my car on me for only $400 (plus my uncles install).
Additionally, should i do a u-bend delete while im working there? is there any purpose to either keeping it or deleting it?
Is now the time to upgrade? Should I just straight pipe it? Exchange it? Idk what to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
My uncle is a mechanic and said he would put a straight pipe in for me ($50) and there would be no sound change (supposedly, he does speak from experience tho and also is hard of hearing lol).
He said another option would be replacing the resonator with an aftermarket one ($100 installed).
Currently my exhaust is stock and I've always wanted a borla exhaust with some nice deep rumble. I have a friend who wants to dump a brand new system for my car on me for only $400 (plus my uncles install).
Additionally, should i do a u-bend delete while im working there? is there any purpose to either keeping it or deleting it?
Is now the time to upgrade? Should I just straight pipe it? Exchange it? Idk what to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 186
From: Great White North
3" downpipe with cat (just to reduce smells of exhaust and meet most emission standards), and ubend delete. There back, 3" straight with high flow mufflers of your choosing. The car sounds horny without mufflers but it will be too loud for most.
While you are in there, you may want to consider headers or a powerlog.
I want to add my 2 cents about removing the old exhaust bolts. Those bolts are tight and rusted. For those do it yourselfers, don't use WD40.
Penetrating Fluid
I used a combination of acetone and cutting fluid (1:1) to get the bolts penetrated. After sitting for an hour with that stuff sprayed on, I tried a bit of back and forth (tightening and loosening the bolts), they came off with no trouble!
For the heck of it, I tried one bolt that was easy to get to with just WD40 and it did sweet nothing but smell bad. The bolt right beside it had the acetone and cutting fluid and it worked great. We're talking the difference of about 200lbs or torque to about 50.
Vehicle Lift
I don't have a lift so this was all with one side of the car lifted with the jack and one jack stand which left about 3 inches to spare to get my arms through. My second tip: Lift you car as high as she'll go. Most ramps are too steep for our low cars and the lowpro ramps don't get it high enough. Get some jack-stands and a hydraulic jack or find a 'friend' with a lift (by far the best option)
Use the Right Tools
For the most part, you should be able to get away with a couple of different sized extensions, a socket set (it was 1/2" socket for the 2 manifold side bolts and 9/16" for the cat back bolts), a breaker bar (super handy for the first turn of the cat back bolts IF your car is high enough). I used a impact ratchet to get the bolts off quickly but I used general non-power tools to get the bolts loose.
O2 Sensors
Don't forget about these. Disconnect them so you don't damage the wires when you pull out your downpipe. Remember, there are 2 of them. One at the front and one at the ubend at the back.
Have an Escape Plan
One day many moons ago, a car fell on me when a passing vehicle side swiped my car I was working on. The driver didn't stop but a neighbour saw me. He was able to call 911 and get the jack to get the car off of me. I broke 3 ribs and could not breath but before I blanked out, I was reaching for my cell phone to call 911. Problem was, I took my cell phone out because I didn't want to lie on it while I was working. I grabbed and grabbed for it hoping it was under the car. I can't tell you how many sockets I was able to pick up. Have your phone near you or work with others around you. I wish I did. I'll rent a shop before I work on my car near other drivers again (that includes parking lots).
Don't do Stupid Stuff
Common sense: Don't rest a hot worklight on the plastic parts of the fuel rail. It will melt some good ole parts you don't want to melt. Don't jar the car too much with it on limited support (ie: stock jack). Those bolts will take your efforts and your car may shake a bit too much for your jack. Use the proper equipment. Swear all you want. It helps past the frustrating parts.
FINAL TIP
Take it to a shop. If I had only done that, I would have saved a bunch of time and done less damage. Yes, it is only 4 bolts to get the downpipe out but it's also 2x O2 sensors, gaskets, retainers, etc etc (actually, that's about it) but a shop is prepared for most every situation that you are not prepared for. Also, they can work really fast under the card with it on a lift so the charge out will be tiny. I'm talking <$50.
While you are in there, you may want to consider headers or a powerlog.
I want to add my 2 cents about removing the old exhaust bolts. Those bolts are tight and rusted. For those do it yourselfers, don't use WD40.
Penetrating Fluid
I used a combination of acetone and cutting fluid (1:1) to get the bolts penetrated. After sitting for an hour with that stuff sprayed on, I tried a bit of back and forth (tightening and loosening the bolts), they came off with no trouble!
For the heck of it, I tried one bolt that was easy to get to with just WD40 and it did sweet nothing but smell bad. The bolt right beside it had the acetone and cutting fluid and it worked great. We're talking the difference of about 200lbs or torque to about 50.
Vehicle Lift
I don't have a lift so this was all with one side of the car lifted with the jack and one jack stand which left about 3 inches to spare to get my arms through. My second tip: Lift you car as high as she'll go. Most ramps are too steep for our low cars and the lowpro ramps don't get it high enough. Get some jack-stands and a hydraulic jack or find a 'friend' with a lift (by far the best option)
Use the Right Tools
For the most part, you should be able to get away with a couple of different sized extensions, a socket set (it was 1/2" socket for the 2 manifold side bolts and 9/16" for the cat back bolts), a breaker bar (super handy for the first turn of the cat back bolts IF your car is high enough). I used a impact ratchet to get the bolts off quickly but I used general non-power tools to get the bolts loose.
O2 Sensors
Don't forget about these. Disconnect them so you don't damage the wires when you pull out your downpipe. Remember, there are 2 of them. One at the front and one at the ubend at the back.
Have an Escape Plan
One day many moons ago, a car fell on me when a passing vehicle side swiped my car I was working on. The driver didn't stop but a neighbour saw me. He was able to call 911 and get the jack to get the car off of me. I broke 3 ribs and could not breath but before I blanked out, I was reaching for my cell phone to call 911. Problem was, I took my cell phone out because I didn't want to lie on it while I was working. I grabbed and grabbed for it hoping it was under the car. I can't tell you how many sockets I was able to pick up. Have your phone near you or work with others around you. I wish I did. I'll rent a shop before I work on my car near other drivers again (that includes parking lots).
Don't do Stupid Stuff
Common sense: Don't rest a hot worklight on the plastic parts of the fuel rail. It will melt some good ole parts you don't want to melt. Don't jar the car too much with it on limited support (ie: stock jack). Those bolts will take your efforts and your car may shake a bit too much for your jack. Use the proper equipment. Swear all you want. It helps past the frustrating parts.
FINAL TIP
Take it to a shop. If I had only done that, I would have saved a bunch of time and done less damage. Yes, it is only 4 bolts to get the downpipe out but it's also 2x O2 sensors, gaskets, retainers, etc etc (actually, that's about it) but a shop is prepared for most every situation that you are not prepared for. Also, they can work really fast under the card with it on a lift so the charge out will be tiny. I'm talking <$50.
I would go with borla.
What me dad did on our old work truck is drill a hole in the back side of the cat and with the exhaust still off floor the engine. It blows the internals out of the cat. Put exhaust back on and bingo. You look like you have a cat but noone is the wiser. Sept emissions ppl.
What me dad did on our old work truck is drill a hole in the back side of the cat and with the exhaust still off floor the engine. It blows the internals out of the cat. Put exhaust back on and bingo. You look like you have a cat but noone is the wiser. Sept emissions ppl.
Last edited by Mr Grizzly Mint; Apr 5, 2012 at 10:45 PM.
