bengali548

what are the pieces in an catback system (specifics)?

how does a cat back work?

what is the use of a filter in a cat back (i believe this is called a hollow catback)

can i put a hollow catback onto my car without a filter?

right now i have a muffler on my car but i want to make it into a full catback system so what are the pieces i need and where can i buy them

(i saw an add here for a hollow catback with a 3 inch diameter buy or not buy?)

subsonic-civic

iTrader: (2)

uhhhh... you mean hollowed out cat.

intake>engine>exhaust manifold/headers>Cat>resonator>muffler

sometimes there's only 1 muffler. depends on car.

There is no filter back there. The cat is the "filter". Running a hollow'd out or a test pipe is illegal.

You already have a full catback system (if you still have all your stock parts back there) just not a modified one. An upgraded cat-back system can be anything you want, rather whatever u can afford. You can have resonator and muffler after their cat, or just a pipe from cat to muffler.

bengali548

this is the message i got from the seller when i asked if i could attach his piece to my system

You're talking about a resonator, this is a catalitic converter except that the part where theres usually a filter is not there hence the term "hollow" cat..

The resonator as i understand it is to reduce noise


soooo... can i put this on my system or no?

MPR

No don't. thats a hollowed out cat which means your car will probably not pass e-test and it's illegal.

My new exhaust may be loud, but it's still legal and will pass e-test. You want to keep those features for street driven cars.

A "cat back" exhaust system refers to the entire exhaust system from the catalitic converter on back to the tail pipe. This includes (for most civics):

-A mid-pipe that will bolt up the the exit side of your stock cat (or high flow cat, should you choose to install one).

-A resonator, these reduce the higher pitched and anoying noises that the engine makes (a MUST for ANY exhaust system imo, unless you want a super buzzy raspy exhaust note). This is whay I put a resonator on my new system but no muffler. It may be loud, but it sounds "nice" if you know what I mean...

-And Rear muffler. and all piping in between.

These cat back systems usually come as one, or two pieces that bolt together. You'll want to look at the materials used (stainless steel is a good choice) when choosing.

There are lots of cat back systems out there so it's your choice. Ask around to see what different systems sound like.

Lots of people are liking the ws2 cat-back. I'm sure some guys on here have it and can tell you how good it is.

Cheers

spike

a cat back is from the cat back, a hollow cat is NOT a test pipe people. A test pipe is just a straight peace of piping, a hollow cat is when you remove everything from inside the cat and it still looks like you have one there, the test pipe look just like you have a peace of pipe there, when you should have your car there.

D.T.P

What you should do is:
A. find a nice muffler that you like. [go on youtube and see how they sound]
B. pick up a highflow cat from magnaflow or other brands but make sure that it is an actual cat and dont buy off ebay. [if you find info anywhere saying not street legal that means its illeagal and you will not pass etest.]
C. Go to a muffler/exhaust shop and get them to put those in.
or
A. find a full catback already made for you car model so it would be an easy install.
*********
Also dont get insanely big piping. im assuming you are running full motor no forced induction therefore 2.5" is perfect for a little 4 banger.

MPR

I think the ws2 cat back is 2-3/8" dia which is great for a d-series. Big but not too big, won't loose your lower end torque for daily driving.

Most cat-back systems have larger than stock piping.

D.T.P

well i mean you do not have to buy a cat-back system. cat back is just a setup for you. you can make your own and get some piping exact size as you want. in the end thats the same cat back.
also the ws2 sound real nice. sirux has it, took it for a spin the other day sounded real good. nice change from my fart can lol.

bengali548

where can i go to get the piping

ill get a magnaflow high flow with 2.5 inch pipin and im good right?

D.T.P

search for exhaust/muffler shop on this forum. its been covered like 50x. all shops will bend some piping for you.

MPR

Can you do some of the work your self?

If not, it may cost you more in the end to have someone build you a custom cat-back versus buying a pre-made cat back.

I just bought some straight pipe and some bends, bought the cat and resonator and jdm 2.5" header flange, all in 2.5" and cut/clamped it all together. Also had to make my own exhaust hangers. But you have to know exactly what you're going to need, before you buy anything.

There is a lot more to it then just buying the parts and slapping them together.

For example, if you buy a 2.5" cat, it will not just bolt up to your stock manifold collector flange. That is a smaller dia stock. This means you would need a reducer pipe from 2.5 to 2 inch (or what ever the stock manifold collector is) then you'd also need a flange to bolt to the stock manifold...

Also if you're going so far as to install a high flow cat and larger dia piping all the way back, your stock exhaust manifold will still be a huge bottle-neck in the system. In that case you'd need to pick up an aftermarket header to complete the system. You can see how it can become more expensive.

In my honest opinion, for you, if you are looking for nice sounding exhaust and to pick up a couple extra hp, just buy a good quality cat-back system.

spike

I can get a full 2.5" catback system with muffler, and all installed for like $250

D.T.P

or if you just wanna sound cool, buy a muffler, throw it on and call it a day. lol

MPR

Is that from a shop you know? Or is that you your self who would be fabricating it?

DIY no-labour costs ftw!

bengali548

X_X thats what i have on now lol ahhhhh

spike

that's from a shop

MPR

Yep...that works too.

Lots of places sell universal fit mufflers that you can just cut the stock rear muffler off and clamp the new one on. Done.

spike

I can get the piping for like **** all, and get it bent for free for me from a custom car shop that builds for tube cars. the muffler is the only thing that costs the most.

MPR

Yeah. I had most of the piping I used just lying around. The bulk of the cost for my system was the jdm 2.5" header flange, cat, resonator and header.

Martin_vtec

iTrader: (1)

whats the dif between high flow cat and jsut a cat