Civic exhaust - fuel economy???

[ben98gs]

Well nailed a pot hole this weekend and combine that with a rusted exhaust and I now have an extremely loud and annoying exhaust leak. Exhaust shop quoted my $518 after taxes, parts, etc. What are my options? This is a daily driver that I want to be quiet, but also want it to be cheap. For ~$500 I can get just about any aftermarket exhaust but figure most of those might be loud.

Also, if I am going to replace it, might as well try and find something that might help fuel economy a bit. Any ideas on were I might find out which exhuast(s) might actually help FE?

[GasSavers_BEEF]

personally, I would go to another shop.

I paid less than that for a true dual flowmaster setup with 3 1/2 inch stainless tips for my truck.

if you still have most of the components, you can buy the clamp together kits from summitt or jcwhitney and just repair what you have.

that is a lot for an exhaust system that you are just trying to fix and not go all performancy. have you tried midas or minekey (spelling is horrible)?

[theholycow]

I agree, shop around for shops to repair or replace the exhaust system, that is way too much money - with the possible exception of if it includes a new catalytic converter, which can get quite expensive.

See if a chain or local shop can weld a repair in instead of replacing the entire system, or if they can replace the whole thing for less money.

I too would like to know if anyone can find decent data on the effect of aftermarket exhaust systems on FE. There's loads of testimonials on forums where people are looking for go-fast modifications and of course on sites that have something to gain by selling you on the idea, that's for sure.

[bowtieguy]

Originally Posted by theholycow

I agree, shop around for shops to repair or replace the exhaust system, that is way too much money - with the possible exception of if it includes a new catalytic converter, which can get quite expensive.

See if a chain or local shop can weld a repair in instead of replacing the entire system, or if they can replace the whole thing for less money.

correct! but...

i've used universal cats before w/ no ill affects. that said, there's a guy here locally that will do everything behind the manifold for ~$300(cat, piping, resonator, muffler, and tail pipe).

[kit352]

ive been researching the exhaust thing for awhile now since ill be needing one. it would seem that improving the exhaust does little for fe if any at all. due to the range we drive it would seem doing anything drastic would be detrimental to our mpg. increasing size would most likely kill some low rpm torque. same for getting too good of a muffler or getting rid of cats. seems the only thing that was suggested almost all the time was to get a mandrel bent system. it smoothes out the flow while keeping the same size tubing creating a more efficent exhaust without the loss of torque. it was almost universaly agreed that a dynomax muffler was a poor fe choice. it was simply to good. ive pretty much settled on getting a thrush turbo muffler to replace mine as well as stick to the oe sizing. im not sure if the mandrel is worth it. its alot more and i have to drive way farther to find a proper shop. im still looking into it but it doesnt seem like their is any real gains to it, at least not worth the extra money. theirs even talk of decreasing the size of some systems to get better lower rpm drivability.

[bowtieguy]

agreed. we've discussed this before, but to review...the only significant increase would come from replacing a cat or muffler that was going bad and coming apart. but, this would be noticeable in the performance of the vehicle.

[ben98gs]

Originally Posted by BEEF

have you tried midas or minekey (spelling is horrible)?

Midas was where I was.

I have gotten performance exhausts before custom made on some of my project cars for no more than $400 and that was with a dual (not true dual) exhaust with 2 Flowmaster mufflers.

I was pretty sure I was getting taken for a ride on the price if they needed to replace more than just a section. That said... I was pretty sure that the exhaust was getting bad. They did tell me when I asked if they could just weld a piece in as a temporary fix that it was rusted to the point there was really nothing to weld to (no surprise to me on a 15 yr old car, as far as I know only the muffler had been replaced). Plus it makes sense considering it had to be rusted enough that a damn pothole broke it loose. Did say that the front pipe off the manifold and Cat. still both looked good (so did not try and tell me I needed a new Cat. at $400 just for that (after their mark-up and install... lol)

I ended up ordering OEM replacement aftermarket exhaust through RockAuto. The brand is Bosal, which I guess actually makes some OEM exhaust systems. I have no problems doing the work myself, I just do not have a welder, and that is why I took it to an exhaust shop (hoping to just replace a 2' section or something). All said and done I paid $170 shipped to my door for the central muffler/resonator w/piping (longest section of the exhaust), rear muffler w/piping, all new hangers, new gaskets, and new springs/bolts. Did "splurge" and buy a true exhaust tip to have welded to look better than the 1 1/2" pipe that current is back there. Looks like you could shove a quarter up there and choke my car... lol

Will probably use some of the misc. cans of high temp paint I have laying around to at least try and stop/slow the rust (since it is aluminized steel) from coming back. Not going to cost me anything since I already have them and would actually finally get them off my shelf. Will probably start with the red and blue and do a final coat in the aluminum color (not that anyone would see it under the car anyway... lol)

Pictures of the two main exhaust pieces I ordered:







Can't forget my exhaust tip... lol It is hard as hell to find a "small" exhaust tip. Seems like the most common sizes are 3.5" or 4" in anything that looks somewhat decent/fancy. This one is still larger than I wanted (I wanted 2") but 3" is not that bad and it is the style tip I wanted:

[GasSavers_TomO]

Good choice!

The many exhaust systems I've done on Hondas, I've always coated with high temp aluminum or high temp black paint. Most of the systems have lasted ten years before the paint gets worn off and surface rust starts.

[pgfpro]

Looks like a good choice. Let us know what your mileage is after the install.

[LarryJ]

try your local high school auto shop. it may take some time, but labor is generally free. you'd have to pay for or provide the materials.