I agree the stock doesnt sound bad but the Magnaflow adds to it a lot. Gives it some growl but still subtle. I got lucky and got the cat back for $450 and lately I havent been able to find it under pry $600 or more. I installed it myself and it was pretty simple. The hardest part is getting the tips close to being aligned. I pry had 2 hours in the install and half was aligning everything as good as possible.

 

X2

Mine was $830. Ordered new from Summit Racing and installed it myself. Cut the stock system out in like four sections. Only difficulty I had was removing the damn bolts at the cat; were completely rusted together so I had to cut 'em off and pry the old flange away. If you decide to go this route, make sure to get a new gasket too. I think the gasket cost me around $15 at the dealership.

This is true, aligning the tips in the rear takes some time and messing around. I still think I want to adjust mine one last time so the edge of the tips sit further into the opening; i.e. don't stick out as far.

 

Would you get any better sound if you had everything welded or is bolt on the way to go, just because it is easier to do?

 

Easier and less expensive. Sound wise it should be the same, as long as everything is tight. If you do install it with the clamps be sure to seal the joints with exhaust putty. I didn't and it leaks quite a bit from the joints on cold start ups until it warms up. I may go back,this spring, and force some putty into the joints but I'm not taking the entire system apart to do that.

 

Mine is clampes wih putty also.

Also here is a link that shows how to make your stainless exhaust look like almost chrome
Cleaning/Polishing Stainless Steel - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum

 

can you get away with just getting mufflers and haveing the same out come

 

Question: if you really got Magnaflow system and didn't like it. Could you always just switch the actual mufflers to Flowmaster mufflers for example and leave the rest of the Magnaflow system in tact?

I had the Magnaflow catback put on yesterday and it is fairly quiet right now. Does it need to break in some?

 

I got Flowmaster 40s on my car and sound great. But im fan of Magnaflow for sure

 

You must not go past 2k RPMs often?

 

It will break in a little bit, yes. The MagnaFlow system has a deeper tone than the factory system.