Exhaust questions

[niSm095]

I'm looking into getting an 89ish 240sx in august, and I plan to sooner or later get the SR for it, but until then I want to be able to get intake and exhaust, just because thats pretty much all i'll be able to afford after the car. What exhausts do you guys recommend that I could use on the stock engine and keep for the SR? Any photos would be helpful as well

[240Stilo]

You won't be able to use your intake once you get your SR. If anything get an exhaust. There are a lot of exhausts you could get for the SR but it depends on what you prefer as far as look or the sound of the exhaust.

[the head]

exaust pics in FAQ section along with sound clips

[twitchy]

let me know what you think of this.. I have a 93 240SX and was looking at some aftermarket exhaust setups. Theyre expensive. SO I went to a shop and had them cut the cat off, and replace the pipe from the downpipe to the (stock) muffler with hand bent piping that was a half inch bigger than stock. This cost me 90 bucks (Canadian) which is like 5 bucks American. Anyhow, It really improved top end pull a lot, and only reduced low end a bit, hardly noticeable. I kept the stock muffler for backpressure, I was told by the mechanic who did it that larger bore pipe tends to increase the power at higher RPMs, and if I didnt have the stock muffler for some restriction it would have likely shifted the power curve up higher than I could have used it. Sounded...unique, pretty good. I have since put the cat back on and noticed little change at all other than its quieter. I personally wouldnt put intake on it. I find theyre useless other than if you want that sound, then you can take the baffling off and it does the same thing. I told K&N I would buy a filter from t hem if they stopped advertising a 15 % increase in power! Good luck to you.

[Dousan_PG]

Originally posted by twitchy
This cost me 90 bucks (Canadian) which is like 5 bucks American.

more like $61 american...

[Dream240]

Originally posted by twitchy
SO I went to a shop and had them cut the cat off, and replace the pipe from the downpipe to the (stock) muffler with hand bent piping that was a half inch bigger than stock. Anyhow, It really improved top end pull a lot, and only reduced low end a bit, hardly noticeable. I kept the stock muffler for backpressure,
Man I really hate OBD II cars alot! I have 96' and when I got my header I had to by a High flow cat and rewire the O2 sensors to get the same effect otherwise I got an engine light for CAT failure from removing the stock CAT. Then I tied all this neatly to my exhaust and everytihing works great.
Original poster, if you want a good all round exhaust for the KA AND the SR20 look at the N1 dual CAT-back. Good exhaust that sounds good, looks good, and good durability. Check out www.enjukuracing.com for a good price, those guys are really great over there.

[niSm095]

not really into the dual N1 or any of those two muffler ones, but thanks for the advice and all that, I'll probably either go with the N1 or the HKS

[AKADriver]

Originally posted by twitchy
I kept the stock muffler for backpressure, I was told by the mechanic who did it that larger bore pipe tends to increase the power at higher RPMs, and if I didnt have the stock muffler for some restriction it would have likely shifted the power curve up higher than I could have used it.

The mechanic doesn't know what he's talking about.

Proper exhaust design isn't about "backpressure" except trying to eliminate it entirely, while maintaining flow velocity. This means a properly sized pipe (which it sounds like you had) but as little restriction as possible (bad idea keeping the stock muffler). A more effective cheap upgrade would be to leave the stock tubing and change the muffler. You'd see small gains all across the curve.