qwik240z Posted July 25, 2005 Share Posted July 25, 2005 So I went up to the new exhaust shop this morning to check out the progress. After they had tried to make the 2 1/2" duals all the way back, they were not happy with the way it was looking. They called me up for a look and it was ok but not as clean as I wanted. We decided to go back to the original plan of 2 1/2" pipes to a Y pipe behind the trans and then 3" the rest of the way back. I tell you I was getting very frustrated with the whole thing. The exhaust should be the easy part. So now we have killed almost a week on the exhaust. So I go back this afternoon and they have it most of the way together. They hook up a few different mufflers for me to listen to and most of them are too loud, even at idle. I finally decided on a 14" long 3" in 3" out muffler made by Impco. I have never heard of it before but it sounded the best to me. It is still too loud to be a sleeper but at idle it sounds about the same as a C5 vette that I heard at a red light today on the way over there. When you rev it up it wakes up but it is still quieter then my V8 510 with the dual flowmasters. They finished up the welds and checked it for leaks and it is a solid system. No leaks, no rattles, etc. I posted some pics in my album. Check it out. http://album.hybridz.org/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=9509 It is going back to the Hot Rod shop in the morning so they can finish it up. They say they need 2 more days but the way it has been going, I can't count on that. They are only 10 days past the deadline I gave them but I am getting very impatient. I really would like to drive it to Mike Kelley's Shindig on Saturday. I guess I have to keep my fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Got my fingers crossed as I was really looking forward to taking a look at this clean install! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 A hot rod shop did that work? Hmm... looks like they just took a U bend and cut a hole in it, then welded the single onto it. If it was taking that long, I would complain. I see the muffler is quite close to the body. I have had times that I took my Z out and beat the crap out of it or had it on the highway for an extended period of time and the exaust actually expands. Mine grew in length by at least 1/2 inch. The muffler started to rub on the body and MAN was that freekin' annoying! !M! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwik240z Posted July 26, 2005 Author Share Posted July 26, 2005 A hot rod shop did that work? Hmm... looks like they just took a U bend and cut a hole in it' date=' then welded the single onto it. If it was taking that long, I would complain. No. A muffler shop did the work. The Hot Rod shop did most of the swap. You really need to read all the most recent posts on this to see the story of the other muffler shop. I see the muffler is quite close to the body. I have had times that I took my Z out and beat the crap out of it or had it on the highway for an extended period of time and the exaust actually [u']expands[/u]. Mine grew in length by at least 1/2 inch. The muffler started to rub on the body and MAN was that freekin' annoying! !M! I will keep an eye on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaleMX Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 That's good info, I'm running mine right now. I'm using a 40 degree bend on the drivers side header and a 90 degree bend on the passenger side. I'm having to weld my angles but I think with the design of the JTR collector you have alot of room for error (thank God). Man it look's like were gonna have 2 or 3 LS1 Z's on the road at about the same time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Idle sound is not really all that indicative. On my car, with 2 1/2 >- 3" and a Mac muffler, 1500 RPM is a really awful drone that will make your ears ring for 30min. after getting out. I added a 3-3 bullet (a nice one) right after the Y and that improved things, but only slightly. I think it turns at around 1500RPM at 70MPH - just the speed you need for say, a cruise to Va. (which I won't be making - my head would explode). There was a thread on here a while ago about exhaust noise (started by Ross I think?). Some good knowledge popped up: you (we) need mufflers as close to the headers as possible. So ideally, twin 2.5" bullets right off the collectors would be the ticket. Tight up in there though. I had hoped the single bullet off the Y would do it, but no. I have a few questions fer ya: Is that tranny mount bolted all the way thru those rails (I hope)? Is your car lowered (hope not)? It almost looks like your exhaust is hanging an inch or more lower than mine was before I redid it (tucked it up higher). Mine got really banged up by driveway entrances and speedbumps. The bits from the diff member back look really nice. I recommend a rather longish, unfortunately potentially ricey looking tip. I put a big 'un on mine and I notice a difference in the smelleys getting into the cabin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 A favorite article by a favorite engineer on Exhaust stuff. http://popularhotrodding.com/enginemasters/articles/hardcore/0505em_exh/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 We should have Jim McNemar's Red Zcar at the Shindig. Looks like we'll be doing a noon to six-ish kinda thing this time around guys! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwik240z Posted July 27, 2005 Author Share Posted July 27, 2005 I have a few questions fer ya: Is that tranny mount bolted all the way thru those rails (I hope)? Is your car lowered (hope not)? It almost looks like your exhaust is hanging an inch or more lower than mine was before I redid it (tucked it up higher). Mine got really banged up by driveway entrances and speedbumps. The bits from the diff member back look really nice. I recommend a rather longish' date=' unfortunately potentially ricey looking tip. I put a big 'un on mine and I notice a difference in the smelleys getting into the cabin.[/quote'] Jeromio, The trans mount is mounted to the subframe connectors all the way through to the floor boards where a 1/8" steel plate is set to spread the load. Yes. The car is lowered and ground clearance is at a minimum. Luckily I have adjustable coilovers so I will be raising it up a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Idle sound is not really all that indicative. On my car, with 2 1/2 >- 3" and a Mac muffler, 1500 RPM is a really awful drone that will make your ears ring for 30min. after getting out. I added a 3-3 bullet (a nice one) right after the Y and that improved things, but only slightly. I think it turns at around 1500RPM at 70MPH - just the speed you need for say, a cruise to Va. (which I won't be making - my head would explode). There was a thread on here a while ago about exhaust noise (started by Ross I think?). Some good knowledge popped up: you (we) need mufflers as close to the headers as possible. So ideally, twin 2.5" bullets right off the collectors would be the ticket. Tight up in there though. I had hoped the single bullet off the Y would do it, but no. I have only a single muffler at the standard Z position in my installation. I have no drone at 1,500 RPM. Might be a function of the mounts? All I know is the car, except at heavy throttle, is very quiet inside - no drone at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 I have only a single muffler at the standard Z position in my installation. I have no drone at 1,500 RPM. Might be a function of the mounts? All I know is the car, except at heavy throttle, is very quiet inside - no drone at all.I thought you had duals though? That would make a huge difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 I have dual 2 1/2" through an 'x' pipe that run to a single muffer (2 in - 1 out). Then again, I also have my car well insulated and that has significantly affected interior noise levels too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003z Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Any way you can get them to build a better 'Y' connection. I had one like built like that on my 350Z and it cost me about 10hp on the dyno. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 I wasn't going to say anything, but since it was brought up, I agree. With the nice 2-to-1 merges out there (flowmaster, etc.), that U-bend thing looks really silly on there. I'm not surprised that replacing something like that with a good merge would add hp. Probably not just peak power either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Why would a 350Z have a 'Y' pipe? I thought they have duals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 I don't think any "modern" cars (built after 2000 or so) have true duals stock. They have duals to a Y to a single pipe all the way thru the tunnel that Ys out to duals again after the rear axle - purely for looks. The Holden/GTO is a key exception. That car actually has duals all the way back, right up to the muffler. But it's a single muffler - wierd. Working indirectly in the automotive industry, I can tell you, if a mfg can do something to save $0.04 per car, they will do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 The corvette, Viper, and new Mustang GT have true duals as well. The C5 had them from 1997 forward, and the new C6 does as well... Although the Hpipe design is a joke... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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