5/01 - Stock 2-1/4" piping with a Thermal Muffler from Modern Performance.
4/02 - JRB Exhaust 3" Cat back Exhaust - Less restrictive exhaust = More boost. But there are some issues with it and it needs some work to fit properly in the exhaust tunnel.
5/02 - Dynomax Ultra-Flo Muffler from Summit - A less restrictive muffler is needed to keep the exhaust as free flowing as possible but it is also needed to keep this beast quite. An open exhaust on this thing is loud and obnoxious so a muffler is definitely needed.
5/03 - Just a few days after I reinstalled the EGR system on the car and passed the emissions test the exhaust system from the downpipe back dropped off on the way to work and about the only thing keeping it under the car was the downstream 02 sensor. Luckily enough I had my tools with me that day and I reinstalled the exhaust in the parking lot. I started it up and drove the car for no more then a block and the exhaust dropped off again. I reinstalled it again and drove the rest of the way to the apartment without the exhaust falling off.
6/03 - A few weeks went by since the incident with the oil galley plug and after it was replied I drove the car to work a few days after I replaced the plug and wouldn't you know that stupid exhaust dropped off the car again and rather then have the car towed home I stopped off at a muffler shop which was only a few hundred yards from where the exhaust dropped off. Unfortunately they couldn't do anything for me so rather then getting towed I had my mother come up there and bring some rope to tie the exhaust up so it wouldn't drag on the ground. Well the thing with the rope didn't work so I opted to drive really slow back to my parents house and hope that I didn't run over anything which would rip the exhaust off and destroy the downstream O2 sensor. I made it home and I think I am now death because my ears are currently ringing from the fact that the car was dumping all of the noise of the motor out just below the center console near the shifter.
I pulled the section of exhaust that the flexpipe was attached to and it was completely trashed but I kind of thought that it would be so I ordered the part already and it arrived a week after I pulled the exhaust off.
7/03 - The exhaust still has yet to be reinstalled since I am messing with other parts of the car that are in need of more attention but I did have the new flexpipe installed into the original section of pipe. For some strange and unusual reason I am starting to like the sound of the car with an open downpipe but I highly doubt that anyone else on the road will appreciate it so I will have to eventually reinstall the midspan section of exhaust to some what shut it up. I have however figured out why the exhaust has been falling off of the Dynomax band clamp that is coupling the downpipe to the rest of the exhaust. It seems that you need to use an impact gun to tighten the bolts on the band clamp to keep it from loosening. I personally don't think it will make a whole hill 'o' beans difference but I am willing to try anything at least once. For safety though I am going to install a new exhaust hanger somewhere in the midspan of the exhaust to help support the weight of the exhaust. My whole theory on why the exhaust falls off is the shear fact that it weighs quite a bit and I really don't have any support in the middle of the exhaust to help hold it up. the only support I have is in the rear of the car where I have the regular exhaust hangers which tend to act as a pivot point for the exhaust which cause there to be even more force being applied to the band clamp. So I am going to install the midspan hanger and be done with it.......now if I could just find a nice place to drill a big hole through the floor boards to put the bolt.
The exhaust was finally installed the last weekend of July and rather then use the weak looking Dynomax strap band clamps Richey opted to use a pair of 3" I.D. exhaust couplers that were purchased at AutoZone with a ton of anti-seize generously applied to them to kinda sorta make it easier to remove when the time comes to do so. Chances are the exhaust will probably find its way onto the GT Neon someday if I ever put a turbo system on it.
3/04 - Recently when I was under the car dropping the fuel tank and I noticed that my exhaust doesn't even travel down the exhaust tunnel like it is suppose to do. More over the flex pipe is about the lowest thing under my car aside from the intercooler pipes, which I will be working over in the not so distant future. So another thing is added to my future to do list but as of now it sits at the bottom of that list since it really isn't bothering me at the moment (at least not yet that is).
5/04 - I was checking out the exhaust again while I was looking at the pressure pipes. It seems like the only way to fix the problem of the exhaust hanging down the way it does is to completely remove the midspan section of the exhaust again and remove the downpipe. From there I will have to shorten the downpipe and reinstall everything again. I am not currently interested in ripping my exhaust off since as I mentioned before it isn't really bothering me at the moment but I am still thinking about what needs to be done to fix it when the time comes to do so.
9/04 - The wheels have been put in motion to redo the downpipe from the turbo all the way to the midspan of the exhaust. My current plans are to have a V-band welded to a swingvalve housing which is being worked on as we speak. From there I will have a 3" dia shallow 90degree mandrel bent pipe with a V-band. After that it should be a straight shot pipe with V-bands at both ends (length is undetermined at the moment) to a 45degree bend pipe with just under the firewall going into the exhaust tunnel. After the 45degree bend the final V-band to hook up the rest of the 3" exhaust. In the straight shot on the downpipe there will be the option to have a catalytic converter, an electronic cutout with dump pipe to an undetermined location, or just a straight section. So I should have some more news to report next month and a few pictures of the new parts.
10/04 - The V-band adaptor has been welded onto a new swing valve housing and I have been procrastinating on ordering the parts for the exhaust. I did however take a bunch of measurements a week ago for the exhaust from the midspan all the way forward to the turbo. The basic plan is still as I have mentioned above save for maybe the cutout which might have to wait a little while.
5/05 - The exhaust is slowly being pushed on to the current to do list. All of the components are now in my parents basement and waiting to be installed the only limiting factors are money is getting tight and my parents are having a garage installed soon so chances are it will no be done in the next month.