got the package the other day. great packing. prompt shipping..

fit and finish is top notch. everything that is needed is right there for you . with some simple instructions to help.

install. its not really hard but a lot of work. you need to pull the radiator out. we found that if you drain a little from the radiator you can pull the top hose, plug the hole and lift the radiator out of the car and CAREFULLY rest it on the rad. support. everything is pretty much straight forward. make sure you soak the turbo bolts as soon as you can while you work on other parts of the install. you will need to replace the lower stud on the turbo. the one on our car was stuck. in stead of stripping it out we trimmed it to the lenght of the replacement stud and rethreaded the stud. no prob here.

the rest of the install is a snap. LOTS of little snaps to hold the under covers on...

i dont have the EXEDE installed yet so there wont be much of a power gain at the moment. but the sound is almost perfect. its not obnoxious like a lot of other setups i've heard.

i'll take some good pix this weekend while i install the Max-q data in the car.

Happy Shifting
Tom

 

UPDATE:
finally got 1K on the ODO so i could lay on it a lot more. going to chage the oil again tomorrow and install the max-q then datalog some tests.
overall noise is really sweet. its a bit louder at idle, full throttle the turbo is more predominate sounding and what i think is is a great exhaust pitch.

more to follow.
Tom

 

I installed this exhaust last Monday; it is awsome!. It's not all that much louder than stock at low RPMs and idle. At higher RPMs it is still reasonable quiet (less noise than a loud Honda with a fart-can) and has a really great tone. My car has a nice rich growl that sounds much better than stock. When boosting you can really hear the car spool.

The install was a snap. I used Tom's radiator trick and that worked slick. As for replacing the stud on the turbo, mine didn't want to budge, so I ran a nut down the stud, cut the stud down with a grinder and turned the nut back off to clear the threads. It worked like a charm.

An awsome upgrade that went in smooth. My EXEDE should be here Friday; I'll add some info then.

 

Exactly the same point i'm at now. but you prob get real gas.. i get 91 **** water

keep me posted on how you like the XEDE.
Tom

 

Wait, why do you have to pull all sorts of stuff out to install an exhaust? Can't you go from underneath and only have to remove those two lower crossbraces and be set?

 

not with the standard exhaust. This setup replaces the O2 housing. its not really that bad. prob about 3 hours more than a normal DP back.
Tom

 

I saw the exhaust... it uses MagnaFlow muffler... ??

 

Your thinking about the Signature Series. The standard exhaust uses a Tiapan muffler.

Anyway good info Tom. I'm gonna be installing mine Tomorrow.The radiator trick will come in handy.
What torque did you guys use on the turbo studs?

 

I'll check that and post when I get home - don't have the info here at work.

 

good job on the writeup Tom,

now go back to your shop and make some short shifters. i had your short shifter and bushings on my wrx and that is the only thing i am missing from that car.

 

Do you have any sounds clips from in and outside of the car? Thanks.

 

One of you should do a thread in the installation section detailing your install. I'm debating on whether to buy the sig or non-sig turbo-back (dump-back for sig I suppose) and installation is part of the deciding factor. I'd say I'm a pretty smart guy, but far from a master mechanic.

 

the car is appart right now doing some R&D. install is really not that bad. just take your time and watch your self.
The reason i went with the standard exhaust is its a lot quieter than the Sig one.
tom

 

Now this got my attention. Were you able to listen to them or does Vishnu have sound pressure level measurements?

 

This exhaust is really quiet; alsmost stock at idle. Proof of this is my pulling into a lot full of modded cars last night and no one noticing the exhaust change (well, one guy of about 10 did). Everyone noticed it had been lowered.

I also have my XEDE installed now . As for performace, wow! I'm not a drag racer so my quarter mile times bite. Anyway, I did some datalogging with a g-tech before and after this mod and the XEDE. Before my best quarter was about 14.4 (I'm really not a drag racer ), after I pulled a 13.1.