So two of the bigger things I planned on doing to my G was a full CBE and either some HFCs or Test pipes to boot. That said I'm on a budget. And I've read quite a few times that full CBE yield very mild gains, if any at all; especially in the low end where most people including myself would prefer to have it.

With that said, and also considering my small budget, I'm wondering if it be more sensible to just go with a cheaper axle back exhaust, like the Megan Racing to get some nicer sound. Thoughts? If I were to go that route, would this negate any of the gains that wouldve been seen from TPs or HFCs? I've read that these are one of the best bang for your buck mods you can do to our G's.

Thanks!

 

For looks and a bit deeper exhaust tone those TopSpeed, Megan, Beluga, etc axlebacks aren't a bad deal, you can always add HFCs or TPs at a later date and that will get you some gain. If you do add TPs aor HFCs I'd strongly recommend resonated versions to eliminate or drastically reduce any rasp.

 

I planned on doing them at the same time. But what I was trying to ask is if by not adding a larger Y/X pipe & midpipe to reduce restriction, will the HFCs/TPs be able to realize those gains?

In regards to the resonated ones, I completely agree. I'm trying to figure out though if I should go Motordyne ART pipes or FI RHFC. I'm leaning towards the ART pipes.

 

Yes. I picked up about 15 whp just adding FI Resonated test pipes to stock Y pipe/midpipe + aftermarket axleback. You will see even more with a full catback. Or you can do an axleback plus bigger Y pipe like I did. Personally, wouldn't add any test pipes with the stock exhaust altogether. Sounds pretty raspy. Get rid of the oem muffler and it's golden.

 

Is noise level or emissions a concern? Not sure what state you live in.

I'd probably go with the FI RHFC's and if you're on a budget, check out the J2 exhaust on the bay. A 370Z forum member bought one and he was pretty impressed with it. He even videoscoped it and said all the internal transitions looked pretty good. It's essentially an HKS copy. That'll keep the noise level reasonable if it's a concern.

I have a friend (and forum member) that has the full Motordyne setup (test pipes) and it sounds great but it is LOUD. I drove his car in front and he drove mine. I have the FI RHFC's with the stock IPL dual exhaust. It gets pretty loud on acceleration and WOT. He couldn't even hear my car's exhaust over his.

 

So i'm just a little confused. I'm having a tough time figuring out if loud is frowned upon or not haha. The Ghaus is crazy loud and everyone loves it.. But I feel in general, people look down upon having loud setups.. I suppose it depends on the type of loud? Like if we're talking raspiness from unresonated test pipes I get that..

Ironically though, apparently, the ART pipes are quieter than FI RHFC. I've read that quite a few times and talked to their engineer. Non-res, not so much..

 

Noise levels are a personal preference. If you like it loud it's your car, your money. I don't have an opinion on loud or not except when it comes to my own car. Was just trying to figure out where your preferences lie for possible suggestions.

Cats take out quite a bit of noise, can't imagine any test pipes being more quiet than cats but I've not tested anything back to back!

 

I have Beluga RTP's, Top Speed Y-Pipe, stock mid pipe and Top Speed axleback. I love the sound tone and level, its just right for me. Its only raspy at low RPM's during WOT, if that makes sense. AKA when the motor is bogged down a lot. I got all of that for well under $400 and gained a very obvious jump in power. I went from a 13.9 to a 13.5 in the 1/4 mile with no other mods.

 

So I received my Tanabe axle back the other day, along with my FI RHFC. Super excited about that. I'm now wondering if in addition to those, I should upgrade the rest of my exhaust. That is, the Y and midpipe. If I was only going to do one, which will reap more benefits? I read that our Y Pipes are already close to optimal?

What are some options for aftermarket midpipes? All I could find is this.

https://sportcompactwarehouse.com/ta...iti&Model=G37&

 

I didn't know Tanabe sold their mid-pipe separately from their cat-back setup, that's awesome. Another option is Megan's mid pipe, which is much cheaper. I have no doubt they are practically identical so just depends on if you're brand picky or not..

 

could you link me to it? Can't seem to find it anywhere

 

MIDPIPE-N7Z09-OE - Megan Racing Mid Section Pipes - Lightning Motorsports - Celebrating 20 Years in business ! ! 1996-2016

Apparently they don't work with the stock mufflers so you'll either need the Megan mufflers (which are beautiful) or have an exhaust shop weld them up to your existing mufflers. Not sure..

That being said, for $260, you could have any exhaust shop build you your own custom mid pipe with resonators and flanges for an easy removal if you ever needed to. Our cars have very simple mid pipes.

 

The cheapest route yielding the most power for your exhaust system would be TPs/HFCs with an axleback or muffler delete. CBEs are mostly for a personalized exhaust note. Most of the power that comes from it are due to the improved midpipe and quality y or x pipe.

 

I swapped out my OEM cats for Fast Intentions resonated high-flow cats, mated to the OEM catback. I drove like that for a full year before getting an aftemarket CBE; (also FI, in 2.5" pipes with 18" resonators.)

Because the cats were resonated, and because I still had the OEM CBE, the increase in noise was very subtle, and deep. There was a noticeable gain all throughout the power band, but not so much as to knock you back.

Adding the CBE a year later, and there was a noticeable gain in the midrange, but again, nothing shocking, just welcome.

Cats and cat install costs were about 2/3 the final outlay for the CBE.

 

If you have a couple wrenches and jack stands ABSOLUTELY install the cat back yourself, its very straight forward.