sperry
04-15-2009, 12:16 AM
A while back I talked with Tom about building a full header-back version of his Bullet muffler based cat-back exhaust, but due to shipping costs, it seemed easier just to get one built locally, so here's my setup based on Tom's design.
http://www.seccs.org/gallery/Car%20Pictures/1994%20SVX/SVX%20Exhaust/svx_exhaust_to_scale_as_built.jpg
- Stock header flanges
- 2" to 2.25" reducer*
- 2.25" Y pipes*
- Magnaflow 2.5" dia spun pre-cat
- Catco 2.25"x2 dual inlet/2.5" single outlet main cat
- 2.5" pipe
- 22" long 4" diameter Magnaflow straight thru muffler for a resonator, (placed later in the exhaust than Tom's)*
- Bullet Camaro muffler, single 2.5" inlet, dual 2.5" outlets (Bullet makes a version w/ a 2.5" inlet and dual 2.25" outlets, but the place I ordered from only had the 2.5" outlet version, so I just added some reducers on the outlets)
- 2.5" to 2.25" reducer*
- Magnaflow 3" dual circle exhaust tips (2.25" inlet)*
(*Different between my setup and Tom's design)
I believe the much larger Magnaflow muffler (in place of the stock resonator) in my setup makes my exhaust a bit quieter than Tom's. My exhaust is literally as quiet as stock in the cabin between 1000 and 3500 rpm. Under 1000 rpm, there's a bit of a growl/purr that the stock exhaust doesn't have, and above 3500 rpm, the exhaust does get louder than stock, but it's never loud enough to overpower the sound coming from under the hood. The tone is very mellow (no tinniness, no brashness, no harshness), and even w/ my 4.44 gears, there's no droning on the freeway.
I'm super happy w/ the end result. I really didn't want a loud exhaust because this is my daily driver and I like to be able to take the car on long trips w/o getting droned to deafness by a loud exhaust. Mostly I just wanted to get rid of all the rusted, rattling heat shields and cats from my stock exhaust, and add a little more punch to the sound from outside the car. That's just what this setup does!
Big thanks to Tom for designing the original. I would totally suggest that anyone looking to go this route do it through him. In the end I got a great build out of the local shop I took the car to, but having someone w/ plenty of SVX specific experience would have drastically cut down the time spent by my shop dealing with stuff like ground clearance at the main cat, clearing the rear-diff without being too low, getting the rear muffler to hang properly so the tips were straight, etc. My shop ended up spending like 10 hours on the build, but were nice enough to only charge me for their original 5 hour quote.
With the exception of the of the Bullet muffler, I purchased all the parts for my exhaust from Summit Racing, since their warehouse is local here in Reno. The Bullet muffler I purchased from Express Distributing (http://www.expressrv.com/cart/cgi-bin/Html/Products/bullet_prod_links.htm) in CA.
Here are some video clips I took of the car this afternoon:
Start & Idle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TldOY0kbyc&feature=channel_page)
Interior Start and Revving (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BJ3duMtsyw&feature=channel_page)
Exterior Revving (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGDu4yh_QQw&feature=channel_page)
Next time I've got the car on a lift and my camera handy, I'll get some pictures of the exhaust. It's very similar to, but not exactly the same as the diagram above.
http://www.seccs.org/gallery/Car%20Pictures/1994%20SVX/SVX%20Exhaust/svx_exhaust_to_scale_as_built.jpg
- Stock header flanges
- 2" to 2.25" reducer*
- 2.25" Y pipes*
- Magnaflow 2.5" dia spun pre-cat
- Catco 2.25"x2 dual inlet/2.5" single outlet main cat
- 2.5" pipe
- 22" long 4" diameter Magnaflow straight thru muffler for a resonator, (placed later in the exhaust than Tom's)*
- Bullet Camaro muffler, single 2.5" inlet, dual 2.5" outlets (Bullet makes a version w/ a 2.5" inlet and dual 2.25" outlets, but the place I ordered from only had the 2.5" outlet version, so I just added some reducers on the outlets)
- 2.5" to 2.25" reducer*
- Magnaflow 3" dual circle exhaust tips (2.25" inlet)*
(*Different between my setup and Tom's design)
I believe the much larger Magnaflow muffler (in place of the stock resonator) in my setup makes my exhaust a bit quieter than Tom's. My exhaust is literally as quiet as stock in the cabin between 1000 and 3500 rpm. Under 1000 rpm, there's a bit of a growl/purr that the stock exhaust doesn't have, and above 3500 rpm, the exhaust does get louder than stock, but it's never loud enough to overpower the sound coming from under the hood. The tone is very mellow (no tinniness, no brashness, no harshness), and even w/ my 4.44 gears, there's no droning on the freeway.
I'm super happy w/ the end result. I really didn't want a loud exhaust because this is my daily driver and I like to be able to take the car on long trips w/o getting droned to deafness by a loud exhaust. Mostly I just wanted to get rid of all the rusted, rattling heat shields and cats from my stock exhaust, and add a little more punch to the sound from outside the car. That's just what this setup does!
Big thanks to Tom for designing the original. I would totally suggest that anyone looking to go this route do it through him. In the end I got a great build out of the local shop I took the car to, but having someone w/ plenty of SVX specific experience would have drastically cut down the time spent by my shop dealing with stuff like ground clearance at the main cat, clearing the rear-diff without being too low, getting the rear muffler to hang properly so the tips were straight, etc. My shop ended up spending like 10 hours on the build, but were nice enough to only charge me for their original 5 hour quote.
With the exception of the of the Bullet muffler, I purchased all the parts for my exhaust from Summit Racing, since their warehouse is local here in Reno. The Bullet muffler I purchased from Express Distributing (http://www.expressrv.com/cart/cgi-bin/Html/Products/bullet_prod_links.htm) in CA.
Here are some video clips I took of the car this afternoon:
Start & Idle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TldOY0kbyc&feature=channel_page)
Interior Start and Revving (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BJ3duMtsyw&feature=channel_page)
Exterior Revving (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGDu4yh_QQw&feature=channel_page)
Next time I've got the car on a lift and my camera handy, I'll get some pictures of the exhaust. It's very similar to, but not exactly the same as the diagram above.