I'm looking for either an intake, charge pipe, down pipe, or exhaust system to upgrade on my car. Nothing more than 600 dollars.

One or the other down pipe or exhaust system. Pros and cons. Would the down pipe be restrictive to an upgraded system or would a system be restrictive to an upgraded down pipe? Also, are catless downpipes illegal in CA?

I'm also interested in a deeper yet still quiet sound if i were to get an exhaust.

I am not a racer, just an everyday commuter. Except at those tempting stoplights....

 

go with down pipe and stock exhaust and yes catless is illegal in CA

 

Also, I know there's an ongoing debate about the K&N, does it really decrease surging? I can't seem to find a definitive answer on any forums.

Is an aftermarket muffler worth purchasing?

 

Most all TCs in socal are catless who cares if it's illegal put the stock one back on when it's time to smog

 

Am i losing quality or ease of install if I buy the cheaper zzp down pipe over the MPx downpipe?

 

Hahn all the way!!!!Little more money but worth it!

 

Get the ZZP downpipe. I've had mine for over a year now. It's a great value and their customer service is stellar!

 

This.

But it takes all of 15-20 minutes to throw the stock DP back on for inspection or whatever you guys have.

 

well before you buy anything...do you have a tune? or do you plan on getting one?

 

gm stage 1 if you also want to keep warranty. if you dont get a tune (hpt, trif, etc) those parts wont do **** as the learn down will keep you at 260hp/260torq.

 

ZZP DP + Tune. Both can be had for under $500.

 

so with GMS1 you can still modd and not worry about throwing codes?

 

I would go with the cat less downpipe since the stock is so restrictive, then a tune. At least that is what I am going to be doing in the next couple weeks.

 

yes, you can mod and not throw codes. just make sure you buy the right product. for example, if you want a catless downpipe, get one that is known to be reliable for not throwing codes, but even then, there's still the chance of throwing a code. but i would recommend Clear Image's catless...their angled O2 bung has worked great for me over the last 7k or 8k miles...no codes yet.

do what this guy said. save your stocker to put back on come inspection/emission testing time. its a 15 minute job. plus a downpipe is definitely the best hp gain per dollar spent...besides an awesome tune maybe

 

yuppers. I have a hahn catted downpipe in the mail. But after seeing zzp's bung finally from a recent thread I would recomment theres, its not angled per say like hahn's but it moves the o2 sensor far out of the way (for catless) so it has a less likely chance of throwing a code.

I didnt want to deal with that "if" code bs so I got a high flow catted downpipe.

 

Well I wish you luck with that but don't be surprised if a month down the road you throw a cat inefficiency code...These things are extremely sensitive...

 

yeah, I've heard more about the high flow cat ones throwing codes actually...because they're less restrictive the O2 sensor still thinks it's inefficient...hence the code.

 

Eh...probably not more often...but I think that the people (myself included) bought the catless knowing full well that a code was bound to pop up and they would look like a fool coming on here bitching about it (some still do though)...but the people that buy the high flow cat think "Oh there's a cat there so It'll never throw a code!!"...so when they find out that the extra money they spent trying to save themselves from throwing a code has failed...they come on here and bitch saying "Oh this vendor sucks ass don't buy from them evar they have shitty products!!"...those are the threads we remember most.

 

quick question, what hp numbers should somebody see with just gms1, catless dp, and an intake? im guessing 290-300 to the wheels, that sound right?

 

More like 280-290

 

really? wow. i thought gms1 alone was around 280whp. thats pretty gay. i want 300whp with a warranty. lol

 

i would say it depends on what intake they purchase really. one dyno I have seen showed 277 whp with just the GMS1 and a short ram. So with a catless downpipe (15whp) and maybe a cold air, which isnt huge over a short ram, but maybe 1-2 whp, they'd put down probably 290 whp, and depending on the downpipe i'd say 295 whp is attainable...hard to get...but with the right intake and downpipe it's probably doable.

 

Get a real tune if you want real power. Warranty can be still retained with either HPT or TF tunes.

And IMO, the intake is hurting things with that tune. If you plan on getting GMS1, skip anything intake related.

 

im guessing a hahn intake and dp would be best then huh?

 

I agree with BYT on this...skip the intake. Do the factory airbox mod with a K&N drop in. Getting 300 whp out of it will be tough...but with a catless dp and airbox mod you should be darn close to 290.