Hey everyone!

I was just wondering if you guys had any experience with custom exhausts. I just called Denny's Automotive & Muffler Shop here in Cedar Rapids and they said they do do the custom bending for exhausts. He said for a quote, I'd have to bring my car in. I plan on doing a 2.5" ZZP downpipe with the cat, no resonator, and flowmaster 40 mufflers with some nice tip. It'll be 2.5" the whole way back.

I guess this post was just to ask you guys what your experiences might be with local shops doing custom exhaust work.

Thanks,
Tyler

 

A muffler shop is a good place to go for a good cheap setup. It may not be the prettiest but you know it will fit and it wont be as expensive as an aftermarket manufacturer.

 

A good question to ask is whether or not they do mandrel bending when they do their own piping. This allows your bends to keep the same 2.5" all the way through and not just be bent and cave in.

 

I dont really care about "pretty," except for the mufflers and tips, which I'm going to buy myself. Has anyone gotten a custom exhaust done by a local shop? I'm looking for things to watch out for.

 

Try to get at LEAST 409 stainless steel for all your piping, 304 stainless for mufflers/tips

Mandrel bent tubing.

Everything else is just making sure the welds are good and the tips are where you want them before you leave.

 

As Chibi mentioned, the type of bend is IMPORTANT. I would also opt for 304 Stainless as MUCH as you can get (otherwise, most cheap exhaust shop stuff rusts in 1-2 years).

I typically take my cars to a shop 1.5 hours from home. The reason is the shop I like to use if I need a full system or muffler is inexpensive, makes SMOOTH custom bends, 304 grade stainless (including stock spec stainless mufflers), welded all the way and guarenteed parts/labor for life. Currently I have OVER 100,000 miles on one of their systems on my Grand Am.

My Monte has not seen this shop as the only issue I had was a rotted resonator (I had a local shop handle that).

I am also VERY pickie about who does work on my cars (since I do just about everything myself).

As for not caring how "pretty" it is except the tips, I think is not a good attitude. This is where you may open yourself up to handing you car over to someone that may make a functional setup, but it might not last and/or they butcher the under body. Sometimes cheap is great and other times you get exactly what you pay for.

See if you know of other people that have used that shop and determine it's reputation as well...

 

Well I do know of one person who has used it and as far as I know, he's happy with what they did. They didn't do much though. He owns an 06 or 07 GTO and he took it in to get straight pipes on his factory setup. As far as I can tell, it looks, and sounds really good. I don't really talk to him very much, but it appears as if they did good work.

 

When I mean not pretty I mean it wont be high polished and machine welded like a magnaflow or borla. You dont want them to butcher your setup or you will just be wasting money.

 

This is what my setup should sound like:YouTube - ‪1997 grand prix gt exhaust‬‏

What do you guys think?

Anyone have Flowmaster 40 series mufflers? Whats the difference between the Delta Flow version, and the Original version? The Delta Flow version costs between $80-$100 depending on where you get it, and the Original series muffler is about half the price. Just wondering if it's worth it to spend the extra money of the Delta Series.

Thanks!
Tyler