For the past several months, I'd been hearing a very noticeable "clanging" noise coming from my exhaust around 2k rpm during acceleration/deceleration. It'd been really bothering me (along with the squealing brakes that I still need to address) and I had pretty much concluded that it was not any cat heat shielding like others have reported. I wasn't sure where exactly it was coming from (from the headers to the tail pipe) and since there are 4 cats and a muffler it could've been any one of those items.
I'd read a lot, listened to youtube videos of different setups, and settled on a Fabspeed Maxflo system. I installed it this past weekend and am so happy with the results. I also had ordered an IPD plenum and larger throttle body and installed it the next day. So, with both of those, the engine should be breathing a little easier.
The installation of the exhaust was really not that hard and I was able to do the removal/installation by myself. I was a little nervous about rusty fasteners so I sprayed all of them down with PB Blaster the day before which helped in getting them off. I started by just loosening every nut/bolt, just making sure they all budged and weren't frozen with rust. I began with removing the bent pipes that connected the secondary cats to the muffler. Then actually thought about how I was going to remove the muffler... I'd read Fabspeed's removal instructions (which have you remove these bolts on the outer ends of the top mounting bracket) as well as several others that said to remove the rear bumper. It looked almost impossible to reach the bolts in Fabspeed's pictures that they remove, and I didn't see how removing the bumper would help. The easiest way I found to remove the muffler was to remove the 2 long bolts that connect the top mounting bracket of the exhaust to the transmission mounting bracket. You can't really see them, but you can reach up and feel them and get a socket with an extension on them. Much easier... (Also, you can see in the photos, but the little "wire bracket" on the bottom of the transmission exhaust mount no longer does anything. I just hadn't removed it yet when the photos were taken.) I then completed the installation and couldn't be happier. It sounds great! If you've listened to clips of it on youtube like I had, you probably thought that it doesn't sound that different than my stock exhaust and that it wasn't worth it since it's not that different. Also, in some of the videos, I didn't like the airy "fizzzz" sound that it made when you take your foot off the gas... Honestly, these videos don't do it justice. Plus, my original complaint, the clanging, is gone. All I get now around the 2k rpm range is beautiful backpressure "pops". I no longer cringe. It sounds awesome under bridges too.
Anyway, just happy and thought I'd share my installation experience and thoughts.
Now the IPD... Installation wasn't bad. It was a little time consuming for me just trying to align and clean everything. I'd also bought some MAF cleaner and took the opportunity to clean mine at this time. Don't forget you need a T20 tamper-proof bit to remove it... I'd read that where the IPD silicon tube connects to the throttle body, people have bent up the metal bodywork tab slightly to prevent any tears. I did the same when I saw mine hitting it. Also, to attach the silicon hose, my kit didn't come with any new adjustable clamps and my original ones were too small, so off to the store to get some. I can look on mine to see if I can see the size if anyone is interested which I bought. Those, the MAF cleaner, and the tamper proof bit were the only things I needed to get. Just take your time, don't hurt your back with all of the bending into your engine bay, and enjoy!
My impressions after everything: I'm really happy with the upgrades. I don't have any before/after dyno info. It was raining the night after I got the exhaust on and I did the IPD the next day, so I really can't say what each of them added individually and I'm sure that information has been debated and discussed in other threads. Also, I apologize for the long winded posts... I'm usually like that, but I'll try to make up for that with pics, since everyone likes pics!
Linear Mode
