I've been looking at some of the exhaust companies for G37 sedan, but since I'm fairly new to the whole Infiniti thing, I've decided to maybe ask some advice here. I'm planning on running the car in SCCA F Street class, and cat-back exhaust is the only power mod allowed in the class, so it has to perform well. So far I've seen full cat-back systems ranging from 500 dollars all the way to 1500 dollars for some of the top end ones. I've got some following quesitons:

1. Sound: I'm looking for not really something with deeper sound, but actually something with raspier racier sound. I know that probably not possible without removing catalytic converters, which I don't want to do, but what will get me the closest? I really like the sound in the video below. I know it's a coupe, but they can't sound that different can they?


2. Power: Since cat-back is my only power mod, it has to perform. Fast Intentions claim 14 rwhp in the curve (not at the peak). Is that about the average of what you would get from this modification?

3. Price vs Fit & Finish: I know the old saying, you get what you pay for, but spending 1500 dollars on cat-back is kinda expensive in my opinion. I've seen some stories where the cheaper stuff had horrible fit and finish, so obviously don't want to deal with that, since I want it to be a direct fit kind of deal. What is the more realistic price I'm looking at here?

 

You can throw #2 out the window. You'll be lucky to gain anything from an exhaust system on this car - let alone any N/A platform. The good news though, is Infiniti / Nissan went all in when it came to maxing this car out in N/A form. Even if you slapped the typical I/H/E you'd probably add 30-35 WHP if the stars aligned. $1,200-1,800 for a new cat-back exhaust is pretty typical when shopping for this car. That's for brands that put the research in and have put out a bad a** product. IMO - Fast Intentions, MotorDyne, and Ark are the "B+" tier exhausts, IMO, and the most popular. If you feel like dropping over double that for the "A" then GTHuas is what you want.

That being said, you're actually looking for it to sound like a $1,200 civic? I know everyone has their preferences but why in the hell would you buy this car when you could've done a b16 or K series swap into a civic if that's what you were going for? The swapping would allow for multiple class eligibility as well.

I guess to sum up - No exhaust will get you the power you're looking for; as this engine is maxed as is. For the Ricer sound, just get a custom shop to slap piping under the car and delete the resonators. This should also fit the price range you're going for and give you the '87 CRX sound you desire....and may God have mercy on your soul.

 

I don't get it how you think that the car in the video sounds like a civic, but whatever I'm not hear to argue that. Basically, what I'm reading here is, "don't bother", which is probably the route I'm going to take here. If I have to spend 1500 dollars on a full exhaust, and "be lucky to gain anything from an exhaust system on this car", then there is no point for this really. Maybe I'll go with the original plan, and get the Tanabe Axleback and call it a day. Someone told me recently, that it's too quiet and you can't even tell a difference between Tanabe and stock.

 

The car in the video is not "rice" sounding at all. The Medallions are one of the best axle back systems for the car. We have different ideas of what ricey sounds like if you classified the Tanabe as such - just a communication error. Sounded like from your original post you wanted a cheap exhaust and intended for the car to sound like ****; thought you were trolling me for a second. I think the Tanabe is a perfect tone but a lot of people have said it's a hair above stock and leaves something to be desired; comes down to preference. I think, judging by your previous post, you'd prefer the Beluga axle back.


I think it's a little more of the tone you're going for but this is from a 370Z coupe. Yes, the Coupes, even the Gs have a different tone to them. My original statement stands though, you won't get anything from an exhaust unfortunately. If I were you, and had $1,500 to spend, I'd grab the Beluga/Tanabe and get custom mendrel bent pipes running from the cat to the axleback system. Most brand exhaust systems are 2.5'' so that would be my diameter. That's going to give you whatever tone you want and magnify if - squeeze 3-7 ponies if you're lucky. With the remaining cash, throw it at the suspension if you are able or upgrade your tires if you haven't already.

 

In F Street you're only allowed very few changes:

1. Any tire you can fit on stock width with +/- 1 inch diameter change, 200 tw mininum
2. Any stock route exhaust past cat
3. Any stock location shock
4. Any stock style brake pad
5. TCS kill switch, if TCS can't be disabled on its own.
6. One sway bar may be changed.
7. Drop in air filter.

That is it. I just recently bought stock sport package sedan wheels again, going to run RE71Rs on those. Looks like I'm better off investing into a really good set of adjustable shocks for autox, and just getting some axle back for the sound. This year is mostly a trial and error year, while my daughter is still young, but next year I intend to do the full season of SoCal SCCA AutoX

 

Yea, I figured as much - with the S model you are already getting a good brake set-up. The 71s are really ideal for what you're using them for...not a lot of room for improvement there. I can't remember if there was a better option for sways, thought I remembered seeing guys using the G37S coupe rear sway on the Sedan but you'd have to research that.

Not sure if you've looked into it but KW-V3s are highly regarded in the racing community,probably the best, and a close second I'd say would be the Tein SSPs. KW-V3s are pricey but I've seen them for a couple hundred more than $1500 and the SSPS are about that.

 

So as far as the sway bars go, I will go with Hotchkis front bar. It will help me settle the rear end, and balance the grip front to back a little better. RE71Rs is what everyeone uses in Nationals, so I figure this is the tire to go with at the moment.

Both options you've mentioned for shocks are coilover setups. I'm allowed to change damper only, so neither of those are legal. I think I might look into custom valved Konis or something similar. I've got a set of custom valved and shortened Konis on my track car, and they are superb. Maybe even off the shelf might work too, although I remember my off the shelf Konis were kinda loose for the body roll control that I would need for autox.

 

Oh damn, sorry about that. I saw guys were running those set-ups and regurgitated what I had seen done. The person to really get advice on this in blNewt (Brad). Has a lot more knowledge on what is available for this car in terms of suspension. Perhaps he will see this and comment.

 

Motordyne CBE.

If you want rasp, install some non-resonated test pipes as well. Or no rasp, install Motordyne Art Pipes.

 

He's chimed in on pretty much every post I've made so far, so I think he'll end up here eventually lol. But it's been good input so far. I'm planning on working with one of my friends who races his 370Z in Global Time Attack, and other time trial type of events, and has been fairly successful with it. The good news is, since front can't be aligned, and aftermarket alignment arms aren't allowed, there isn't much that I can do in terms of suspension setup. The only variables become tire pressures, shock valving (if I get adjustable dampers), and just different driving techniques.

 

You mentioned you had another track car, mind if I ask what it was?

 

It's my 94 Mustang. 3100 lbs, 275 NT01s, full suspension, Brembo brakes, 364 rwhp. I've got it dialed in for NASA TT3, but have to detune 20 rwhp to meet the lbs/hp ratio limit of the class.

 

Damn that looks good. I'm looking to get into a track car and have been doing my research. Think I've narrowed it down to about 8 and the SN95 GT and Fox are on my list. Just a PITA finding that sweet spot between of 94/95 and 99+ when the PI heads were introduced but I have a love / hate relationship with the edge mustangs. Love them when done right or left alone....hate it that they are riced to hell and back. Also liking the E30 and E36.

Was there anything in particular that made you go with the '94?

 

I wanted to make a 95 Cobra R replica. The base for that would have been 94-95 GT in white with manual. But honestly, it was just a car that had a lot of mod potential, most of it for very little money, which was perfect for a full time college student. Add to that reliability and decent gas mileage, and that car ticked all the boxes for time being. As time went on, it got more and more focused on track, so it became weekend car.

If I were you, and had the budget, I'd do E36 M3. Fox and SN95 will never feel as good as E36 chassis does, and at the end the car is only as fast as the owner is willing to push it. E36 provides the chassis composure that you'll just never get with older mustangs. E36 is a great combination of speed, and affordability.

I've actually recently started my motorsport page on facebook, so if you feel like it, follow it, and you'll see some cool updates for both G37S and Mustang.

www.facebook.com/2khlisMotorsports

 

Back on topic, is Tanabe the only axle back exhaust for the sedans?