I had this idea...

When I first got the tC, I opted for the TRD Exhaust, I like it , but I also know that it offers little or no power gains. Since it seems that cat-backs are the way to go, for some extra performance, my idea would be to just get a new exhaust pipe installed between the cat and the axle, turning the TRD Axle-back exhaust, into a cat-back. Sorry if this doesn't make any sense, I suck at explaining things.

I found a shop around ny house that could do the whole installation and stuff for like $70, is it worth it to do this? I already bought the TRD exhaust, so I dont want to get a whole new cat-back and waste the $545 I spent when I first got the car.

-Alex-

 

$70 sounds very fair. i was thinking about doing the same thing. but i wasn't sure how the tone would be. find out and let us know.

 

Go for it!

I assume you're getting a 2.5" pipe to extend from the TRD exhaust to the cat? I was planning on doing the same except with a GReddy exhaust. Do it and let us know!

 

yea...i wanna know!! that would be so much better than getting a whole new exhaust. i have the trd now too.

 

I have the TRD and removed the resonator on the cat back pipe. Sounds a little raspy when you just rev it in nuetral... but i had my friend drive it full blast past me and I think it sound deeper and more choppy specially in low RPM. Added bonus is maybe 2 more lb/ft of torque!

shave .001 off the 1/4 mile time j/k

 

70 bucks? o hellls yesss! do it!

 

man that's sweet that's something i wanta do to my tC as well, but i wonder if the car would still be street legal for emmission?

 

Unless you're in California, I doubt that would make it illegal to drive.

But ok, I'm going in to the shop tomorrow to talk to the owner. My friend just got his custom dual exhaust (cat-back) for his Focus done there for only $180, so he and I just figured it should be around $70-80 for what I want to do, I'll let you guys know tomorrow, and if it goes well then I'll get it put in sometime early next week and we'll see how it sounds.

The biggest thing I'm worried about is it being significantly louder...But if it's a deep tone, it should be alright.

-Alex-

 

do u know if you will be able to pass smog?

 

i dont think it will be a problem with passing smog. if you are going to do the custome mid pipe make sure that they cut/weld after the cat. im currently running from cat back 2.5 its loud but you can feel the difference.

 

As long as you only remove the resonator, which is for quieting the exhaust, you should be fine w/ sniffer test.

 

Yeah...well ok so I went in today. And I always thought that the stock exhaust is 1.5" or 2" and that the TRD Axle-back portion was 2.5" piping. Well turns out that the entire exhaust system is 2" (This is news to me...) and the only part that's 2.5" is the exhaust tip. So my idea went down the drain, oh well.

So instead, I'm just gonna spend that money, and then some, and get the car Clear-coated so the paint would get anymore scratched up...But I can still change my mind, haha.

-Alex-