ill meet u half way if u decide to sell the manifold..im in chicago...let me knw

 

I agree with Reign..You could get a couple bucks for your manifold and go header. I think buyin a header is the way to go. If I wasn't planning on going Turbo, I would go header all the way

 

I believe that I have identified your problem.

As a rule of thumb... an exhaust system is only as good as its most restrictive component. The stock muffler is a nightmare... it's god awful huge. If you can't afford a true cat-back right now just lop that SOB off and get a shop to weld you up a straight-thru design like a Magnaflow or a Borla... then you can work on the headers and what-not.

There's not really much need to flow that much exhaust up at the engine if your muffler is bottlenecking it all.

 

No no...Save up the money and do it right the first time. Please don't go hacking and slapping some mufflers on there. You'll end up wasting time and money in the long run, especially if you decide to do it right down the road

 

i dont know how restrictive the stock muffler is, but i do know the stock flex pipe is 2" diameter at the flex pipe thats where i'm going to start.
anyone have a stock ss muffler they are willing to dissect to show us how restrictive the innards are?

 

Yeah, the Downpipe was the biggest gain out of every thing I have done yet.

I did the intake and catback at the same time, and it was a decent gain, then manifold, and could barely feel that. Then I added the DP, and it was a completely different machine. Now it could be the fact that the car finally had gone over the 5K mile mark, which I'm told by GM techs, that is when the car reaches its full break in, and gets all its horsies. But the DP made a huge difference, I went from chirpin in first only, to spinning in first and chirping in second. (07 Auto LS)

You have to remember, the engine is only as fast as its weakest link. The stock DP was restricting my flow a lot, causing the other exhaust components to not perform to their full potential.

 

jimmy...i have a 2.5" d/p and all the rest stock.

 

Oh, I forgot to say this.

A true 4 primary to collector style header will get you more wheel horse power at the peak of your powerband. But You lose significant torque at the low and midrange. A friend of mine actually dyno'd his SS/SC w/ a 4 primary header (i don't know what brand) that net 9 whp at peak, against stock. And the GMPP exhaust manifold vs stock gained 7, but kept a much smoother overall powerband. In the end, he welded up his own header that made 9whp and maintained a better midrange than the one the aftermarket header. I can't remember, but I think it was a 4-2-1 style, w/ 3" collector.

But of course that is the SS/SC, he has forced induction so numbers might differ a little.

 

Do you have any videos of the sound with the DP?

 

they say like a 5 to 10 hp gain but if i got 60's and the 2.8 header and exahust I would benefit alot from a dp right i got the zzp 2.5 installing it next week

 

ha..dats not really lazy...

 

jimmy just call me up next week and ill let you hear my car!

 

John PM me your number or I'll get it from Alex

 

Actually, I don't. My camera was accidentally dropped into a ditch a while back, and I haven't gotten around to getting a new one. I can describe it to you.

It is much much louder than stock, and a very deep sound. Think suburu w/ exhaust sound, but w/o the lopey cam. Let me tell you, that it is not bad driving on a daily basis. Just make sure that you don't pull out the seats and sound deadener from from the trunk area, cause that becomes so loud that you can't stand it for more than a couple of days.

Hope I helped you at least a little. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

 

I appreicate all the info. So it sounds like a Subaru with exhaust eh? I test drove an 05' STi that had a catback and it sounded phenomenal. That is what I like to hear...

So I've priced an XTC "Stainless Steel" DP vs. a ZZP DP. Why I quoted stainless steel is because I've seen a picture of a used one:

What they adviertise


VS. Used (Correct me if I'm wrong)




Nevertheless, the XTC DP is roughly $50 dollars less than the ZZP DP (If you add all the components you need; gaskets, O2 Bungs, etc.) Are the XTC pipes actually stainless steel?

 

Actually, I am pretty sure that they are not stainless steel. They are painted. Who in their right mind would paint stainless steel!??!

I got XTC just because it was cheap, had decent gains, and sounded good. I only planned on getting this DP because I knew I would be going in a different direction in about a year. I originally planned to supercharge it, but now it looks more like I will return it to stock, dump my money into my Goat, and trade in the balt for a 2010 Camaro/GTO/Firebird.

And yeah, it sounds a lot like a suburu. I actually was cruisin on the freeway with my windows down just a couple days ago, and a WRX w/ exhaust drove by. It was the coolest sound with both our cars whu-whu-whu-ing down the freeway. If I had the same camshafts you wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

 

Awesome. I'd love to hear a sound clip if you could make one.

BTW, here's what Cobalt Addiction says: XTC Stainless Steel DownPipe

 

you have a pm

 

Quick question. if the downpipe has only 1 hole on the lower part. Does that eman it does not have a 02 Bung?

 

both of those holes seen above are o2 bungs. one for a wideband and one for the stock narrowband. the bungs are usually universal. how many you need just depends on if you are keeping the stock o2 sensor, using a wideband, or both.