Sharing with the group the results my sweat & tears, and an unbelievable amount of time in the garage (probably too much). I've experimented with several setups (mostly retaining stock sections 2 & 3) before committing to a 2.5" system based around SS V1's. The components are:
- SS V1 headers (#044001)
- SS section 1 straight (#044012)
- SS section 2 unresonated (#044013)
- SCZA section 3 (new one purchased recently)
- HJS cats
When I first worked on this car doing anything that involved removing the exhaust, it was so tedious that I was determined to add vband clamps to whatever system I ended up with. I opted for ECS's 2.5" clamps which are all stainless steel and reasonably priced. Very happy with that particular product. The trick I used with welding the vbands was lots of small tacks, and with the vbands clamped to one another; otherwise you get lots of pulling and deformation. I did have to cut one vband off that pulled too much. There isn't much margin of error when you're trying to get the faces to match up perfectly.
I've said before that its well worth anyone's time & effort (and money) to purchase the SS section 1 with cats directly from SS (#044002), instead of welding in cats. With the addition of vbands and having to already cut it up, the equation changes slightly but its still fussy to add cats. I used HJS which are quality pieces that perform well and actually cut down on emissions (sensitive to the smell, being a convertible).
For the section 2, it was worth it to me to purchase SS to get the pre-bends, especially in the area around rear subframe and diff. I opted for the unresonated version to retain some drama (but admittedly not knowing what the resonated sounded like). Then I got curious and cut out the straight sections to add a crude test x-pipe (don't judge the welds, I went as quick as I could). The x-pipe was a subtle change, not drastic. Not better, not worse. But it had a little too much buzzing in the low rpms. It was just meant for a sound change as the SS piece already comes with an H-pipe. The final iteration is what you see here with two small resonators. In the photos, I had just added these; the rest of the system has some miles on it.
The SCZA has long been touted as a good sounding system, but probably not in the context of having everything changed so much upstream, which I've done. But I like it because its all 2.5" and 304 stainless. I find it be a relatively quiet muffler which is positive in my book. The toughest part of building the system was between section 2 and this section 3 SCZA. The curves and angles were really tough to get right. It was at this junction that I had to cut off a bad vband.
The tips aren't finished yet and I just have some scrap tacked on the end. The final, final project will be to weld tips on the end, which I already have. I am using a DEI product to protect the O2 sensor wiring.
How does it sound? Good-to-great. Not truly great, definitely not amazing, but certainly not terrible. As mentioned, its quieter so the airbox sounds overwhelm it, which is good. There's noise out the back but its nothing noteworthy.
Do I think 2.5" matters, versus 2.25"? No, but I just wanted it. It does have an effect on the sound, making it not as sonorous (at least I think, and as compared to YT videos of different setups). I'm also pleased with how flush it is with the underside of the vehicle.
Tell you what, though, popping off the vbands and dropping the system in a few minutes is very satisfying. Not that I'm taking it off too often. Common theme here: not everything is done using reason.
Finally, here are the photos.
- SS V1 headers (#044001)
- SS section 1 straight (#044012)
- SS section 2 unresonated (#044013)
- SCZA section 3 (new one purchased recently)
- HJS cats
When I first worked on this car doing anything that involved removing the exhaust, it was so tedious that I was determined to add vband clamps to whatever system I ended up with. I opted for ECS's 2.5" clamps which are all stainless steel and reasonably priced. Very happy with that particular product. The trick I used with welding the vbands was lots of small tacks, and with the vbands clamped to one another; otherwise you get lots of pulling and deformation. I did have to cut one vband off that pulled too much. There isn't much margin of error when you're trying to get the faces to match up perfectly.
I've said before that its well worth anyone's time & effort (and money) to purchase the SS section 1 with cats directly from SS (#044002), instead of welding in cats. With the addition of vbands and having to already cut it up, the equation changes slightly but its still fussy to add cats. I used HJS which are quality pieces that perform well and actually cut down on emissions (sensitive to the smell, being a convertible).
For the section 2, it was worth it to me to purchase SS to get the pre-bends, especially in the area around rear subframe and diff. I opted for the unresonated version to retain some drama (but admittedly not knowing what the resonated sounded like). Then I got curious and cut out the straight sections to add a crude test x-pipe (don't judge the welds, I went as quick as I could). The x-pipe was a subtle change, not drastic. Not better, not worse. But it had a little too much buzzing in the low rpms. It was just meant for a sound change as the SS piece already comes with an H-pipe. The final iteration is what you see here with two small resonators. In the photos, I had just added these; the rest of the system has some miles on it.
The SCZA has long been touted as a good sounding system, but probably not in the context of having everything changed so much upstream, which I've done. But I like it because its all 2.5" and 304 stainless. I find it be a relatively quiet muffler which is positive in my book. The toughest part of building the system was between section 2 and this section 3 SCZA. The curves and angles were really tough to get right. It was at this junction that I had to cut off a bad vband.
The tips aren't finished yet and I just have some scrap tacked on the end. The final, final project will be to weld tips on the end, which I already have. I am using a DEI product to protect the O2 sensor wiring.
How does it sound? Good-to-great. Not truly great, definitely not amazing, but certainly not terrible. As mentioned, its quieter so the airbox sounds overwhelm it, which is good. There's noise out the back but its nothing noteworthy.
Do I think 2.5" matters, versus 2.25"? No, but I just wanted it. It does have an effect on the sound, making it not as sonorous (at least I think, and as compared to YT videos of different setups). I'm also pleased with how flush it is with the underside of the vehicle.
Tell you what, though, popping off the vbands and dropping the system in a few minutes is very satisfying. Not that I'm taking it off too often. Common theme here: not everything is done using reason.
Finally, here are the photos.
. I had to bolt everything up as you suggested. Lesson learned.
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