Just put a new MBRP cat-back exhaust on my K1 ZX3. Looks and sounds great. What a great deal for $200. I'm in no way an auto mechanic and was able to put it in myself. Hey guys, should I go ahead and replace the header, cat and flex as well?
And my reccomendation to you is if you don't have quite a bit of time on your hands and have small gumbi-like arms (flexible), then have somebody else do it. Me, fx3, and coroner19 recently did one on my car, and it was a HUGE PITA. But if you're up for a fun time scratching your arms all up than go for it. I had to have fx3 and coroner19 reach some of the bolts for me, mostly because I have popeye arms. Other than the tight squeeze for the bolts the install is fairly easy. Just my 2 pennies.
____________________ "Men and boys alike love burnouts because they involve machinery, loud noises, and destruction."
You really just need a decent set of tools and you shouldn't have any problems. You need a few different sizes of extension, maybe a few swivel sockets, a cresent wrench or two, and of course some sockets and a rachet. Rachet wrenches come in handy two.
When I put header on the first time it took about 3 hours. I recently put the stock header back on and it might have taken me about 45 minutes and that includes putting the tools up. If you have any questions, just let me/us know.
Did anybody buy a MBRP exhaust about 2 years ago. I did and I Had it replaced (free of charge) with a new MBRP system because of some screwed up rattling. When I replaced the old one the Muffler and Resonator were different if you looked inside. Does anybody know the deal.
____________________ To be the Man! You must first beat the Man.
I just wanted to update my mbrp exhaust problem. The new and approved design was developed becasue of a problem they were having with there old design. The new design has a strong and approved design. the soun note is alot better and the quality is unreal. They use bronze for ther welds and eveything including there flanges are stainless steel. the only thing i would suggest is that you weld the resonator to the muffler section for a better fit but for 199 dollars you will never get anything better. If you go to http://www.mbrp.com you can hear the sound of the exhaust on a focus.
____________________ To be the Man! You must first beat the Man.
gr33nlemon wrote: Me, fx3, and coroner19 recently did one on my car.
gr33nlemon,
Question on state inspection. Any problems/trouble with the new exhaust system?
I'm getting all kinds of flak just asking some garage to install an aftermarket on my Focus; needs custom install with piping/welding. Most say if not OEM replacement per NH RSA won't pass. Also no measurable noise limits, therefore at the discretion of the person doing state inspection, and even then an officer may feel different and still ticket.
Any experiences, suggestions??? Thanks!
____________________ 2001 Ford Focus Wagon SE2 (STREET EDITION), Egg-yolk-YELLOW, upgraded 05' OEM 15" multi-spoke rims, 6 in-dash CD, genuine European taillights (AMBER signals + FOGLIGHT), Euro suspension, sport buckets.
95db's is as loud as the exhaust can be legaly. I have also found that shops are jerks about installing aftermarket parts. When I used to ask shops to do stuff I always got the same responce, "it might not be legal" or my favorite "That will void your warrenty". So I do most of the stuff to my car myself, screw the shops it's more fun to do it myself and it's cheaper.
Anyway, back to your question, there should be no problem with your exhaust and inspections.
____________________ Honda's are like assholes, everyone has one.
Your exhaust is considered an expendable part like your air filter and brakes. By replaceing them with a performance cat back exhaust will not void your warranty nor will it be illegal. As long as it meats your states emissions Law. But if you just change your cat back then you will be fine. Installing an cat back is prety straight forward. Some parts of the cat back may need to be welded especialy the resonator to the muffler. Most cat back exhaust have a u bolt that connects those two pieces and not a flange.
____________________ To be the Man! You must first beat the Man.
gr33nlemon,
Question on state inspection. Any problems/trouble with the new exhaust system?
I'm getting all kinds of flak just asking some garage to install an aftermarket on my Focus; needs custom install with piping/welding. Most say if not OEM replacement per NH RSA won't pass. Also no measurable noise limits, therefore at the discretion of the person doing state inspection, and even then an officer may feel different and still ticket.
Any experiences, suggestions??? Thanks! NHStreetwagon, we installed this after my inspection was done. I was recently puled over for rolling through a stop sign and for my cracked windshield and the cop didn't take a second look at my exhaust. Or the slammed stance that my car has(ask anybody on here who has seen me try to fit a jack under my car to get a clue about the height). I wouldn't worry too much about the exhaust. Just keep it quiet if you see 5-0 around, you should be fine. And if you are making a custom exhaust, save youself the time, money and hassle of having a shop do it and attemt it yourself. With the $$ you save on the installation, you might be able to buy your own welder and just have somebody bend up the pipes for you. Or maybe go to a mom and pop type shop and see if they will bend you something up. Let me know what happens with this, and I'll ask around to see if anybody around here will do an exhaust. I think a friend of mine had an exhaust (custom)bent up for his camaro a few years back. I think it might have been midas on Elm St. in Manchester. I'll try to get in touch with him to see where he got it done.
____________________ "Men and boys alike love burnouts because they involve machinery, loud noises, and destruction."
I have been looking to have a custom 3" ss exhaust made up for my car, and so far haven't found anyone to do it. Most shops I talk to say that they don't work with ss because it's hard to bend. The one shop that does it gave me a quote of $480. I can get a 3"ss exhaust from Trubendz for less than that. Check out there site if you are looking for exhaust, there prices are really good and there customer service rocks.
____________________ Honda's are like assholes, everyone has one.
Custom SS exhaust is going to be expensive. The reason Trubenz sells theirs cheaper is because they are massed produced. But a custom is original and most of the time very eyecatching. And if you go to the a local area to get it done then you also can get it fixed faster and probably cheaper. I would go with the custom. You have any design plans. Like a double exhaust coming out of the center of the bumper, or a double coming out from right behind the rear tires with some super sport tips. If you Get the custom do something of beat. The price he has quoted you is not that bad at all. Good luck. I would be interested in the sound note it would make.
Last edited on Thu Jul 22nd, 2004 08:17 pm by myprecious38
____________________ To be the Man! You must first beat the Man.
I heard you could take it to like Monroe and they would do it WICKID CHEAP. SOmeone told me that, actually several people have said that. But others say they wont cuz its illegal. Anyone done that?
I drove the back end of my car on ramps and I jacked the left front car up and put it on a jack stand for support. it's realy not that hard. if you take it to monroe i think they said it's about twenty to thirty dollars to install. If you take it there then i highly suggest that you get the resonator and the muffler sections welded together. total it should be around forty dollars. The MBRP looks good and sounds great, and the new system is probalby the strongest made. It has a one piece muffler and resonator.
____________________ To be the Man! You must first beat the Man.
Almost forgot.