I have Borla headers, stock cat section, stock midpipe and SPT axelback.

Right now the exhaust is not obnoxious, looks pretty low key and the car feels a bit better. I want to get a midpipe to "complete" the system for my purposes.

My question is how loud would this be with a midpipe with no resonator be? The stock piece has a resonator I believe.

I'm ok with a bit of an increase, but if it is going to be crazy loud then I'll try and have a midpipe with one.

Thanks

Jared

PS: I know that the Borla's aren't gaining me much and the stock cats are restrictive etc....but I'm aware of these limitations and I'm really only interested in the above question. gracias. :D

i went from stock to stock OEM sti axelback mated to a custom matching diameter midpipe(2.25") without resonator...

it's not much louder at all, but you will hear the little 'rally pops' of normal backfire- not a serious backfire but one that subarus have all the time... the resonators in the stock system really don't kill noise much all they do is suppress the rally pops on lifting the throttle.

looks like the midpipe would be "resonatorless" and less 1 cat. How about sound with 1 less cat and no resonator??

Jared

It's not that bad. The upstream chanber in the midpipe is not a cat, it's a preresonator chamber IIRC.

Sound is nice and deep, the stock cat section keeps everything pretty quiet. If you eventually install a high-flow cat it'll be loud to the point of being obnoxious, but sound awesome.

Search my username for exhaust clips and you'll find a link for what my car sounded like with a high-flow cat, revolution motorsports headers, stromung midpipe and scoobysport axleback.

Since then I've reinstalled the stock cat and can now hear my stereo again:)

This is on a Legacy by the way. Not sure if that makes a difference or not.

thanks for the input.

anyone else?

Jared

the upstream chamber, like BlkTS said, is NOT a cat, it's just hollow- BlkTS02 is right.

i'm pretty sure the exhaust system hasn't changed much, but just to be sure, you might want to make sure the shop who is going to make the midpipe does a good job so if you decide it's too loud(i can't imagine you'd find the difference significant, if even noticable) you can change back to stock.

I was planning on having an exhaust shop make this, but the only one that can mandrel bend told me that SS is really expensive right now and that a midpipe would be around $300. :eek: I questioned that it was for just the midpipe and the response was "yeah, and for us to install it to" I laughed and hung up. And the other shop that could crush bend stainless quoted me like $135. I think I might just end up buying a Stromung because I know that it will fit perfect, flow as well as possible and be easily removed. Plus, I think they would have used the flanges from the stock piece if I had them make it removable. So really, I would have a custom mid pipe that was removable and then a stock midpipe with no flanges. For a bit more money I think the Stromung might be the best/safest way to go.

thanks

Jared

first of all mandrel bending won't do you all that much good on your car as it stands(stock cat, spt axelback) but it's going to cost a hell of a lot more, as you found out.

if you want the stromung, that's fine, but you're paying a hell of a lot extra for the pre-fabrication.

in OR you're probably going to see a lot more life with SS, but you're going to end up paying so much more that it really is completely dependant on your willingness to pay.

either way, i doubt you'll feel either terrible nor overjoyed about your midpipe decision. it's not going to turn your car into a monster, but it's not going to be a crippling bad choice if you end up regretting it.






if you have money, go for the stromung.
if you'd rather spend the money you'll save on something else, i don't think you'll be too disappointed with a crush-bent piece.

and the "for us to install it" isn't them trying to insult your intelligence, it's just that it's easier to install it while they're fitting the bends than it is to make it and then unbolt it and give it to you. 135 sounds like a very fair price for SS.

I had TWE headers -> 2.5 HO cat- 2.5 mid pipe -> Magna flow muffler. Nice flowing setup.

Obnoxious! My commute to work is only 15mins. 5 mins in I had a head ache.

However that was a nice increase in Umph, I won't say HP.

All I can say is install it without the resonator and see what happens.

Shawnrs

If you want a pre-fabricated midpipe with a resonator, I would try giving Rallitek a call. They deal with TWE and can get you a SS midpipe with a resonator that is mandrel bent. They offer them in two sizes 2.25" and 2.5". I am waiting for mine to be shipped (since they custom make per order). I'll post again with feedback when I receive it in the mail.

If you want a pre-fabricated midpipe with a resonator, I would try giving Rallitek a call. They deal with TWE and can get you a SS midpipe with a resonator that is mandrel bent. They offer them in two sizes 2.25" and 2.5". I am waiting for mine to be shipped (since they custom make per order). I'll post again with feedback when I receive it in the mail.

Yeah, I know about TWE. Stromung makes one with a resonator too. I talked with Stromung on the phone today. That makes the price up to $200. TWE's is the same range w/resonator I believe. That is really pushing my budget/philosophy, as I only paid $100 for the headers and $150 for the axelback. I've been really pleased with my "thriftiness" thus far on the exhaust, so I'm not too excited about doling out so much cash for just a midpipe. I might just go with the SS crush bent for $135 or so. Thanks for the feedback. I guess the real noise comes when the hi-flow cats come into the picture.

Jared

Simply changing to a non-resonated midpipe will not make it much louder at all. We ran that way for quite awhile with no complaints about noise. It's still a very quiet setup until you go WOT.

Jay Storm