My stock cats are toast! Need advice on H or X pipe, please!

[Car Nut]

My cats have gone bad (broken apart inside) and I am fortunately forced to replace the stock H pipe.

I need to pass emissions and I will be keeping my stock headers and stock catback for now. I did change out the stock mufflers with 2 chamber Flowmasters, but the piping is still stock.

Should I get H or X pipe? I want good quality, but also a good sound. I will pony up the dough for Bassani IF it will blend well with the rest of my exhaust. Mustangs Unlimited is nearby and they carry MAC, Bassani, and BBK, but I'm not sure what to get and if one of them might make my car sound crappy.

Any ideas? (Also, where can I get a decent price, if Mustangs Unlimited isn't reasonable?)

 

[Ryan Paterick]

H-pipe with the flows.
Do some research here though before making final decision.

http://mustangexhaust.com/

 

[Car Nut]

Would BBK H w/cats be a good choice then with my setup?

I did some research on this site and others AND I have found lots of posts stating that even welded in Flows on a stock system will sound horrible with the Bassani or any other X w/cats. If this is so, then I won't consider it.

Who makes a good quality H pipe then? BBK is available local, so that's tempting. I sure don't want a crappy sound. Louder is not a problem at all. I'd rather have stainless steel so that it lasts much longer than ones like MAC.

 

[Ryan Paterick]

http://reviews.stangnet.com/Exhaust/

That should help a bit.

I base my desicions off of the "Review" section here on Stangnet.

H, not X with the flows though.

 

[Car Nut]

Hmmmmm........Did some reading:

Now I may go ahead and get the X-pipe and possibly change the mufflers later. It seems that BBK H w/cats do not always fit very well and sometimes require a great deal of alterations to fit right. Nothing but positive comments on Bassani stuff.

I guess I'll start looking for a good replacement muffler. Haven't found anything to sway me another direction. A good fit and quality is seemingly hard to find, but not impossible.

Thanks for the replies. Anyone else???

 

[95GTvert[bv12]]

i found a exhuast file for flows with a catted x-pipe and it sounds good....it dosen't sound like the SLP exhaust (which makes your car sound like a chevy truck) and it dosent sound like bassani it kinda a mix of everything i can't seem to find the sound file but i think i got it of mustangexhaust.com

 

[Car Nut]

What about Magnaflow's Tru-X pipe w/cats? Magnaflow shows them as 50-state legal.

More research on Bassani's X w/cats has shown that a lot of people have experienced cat failure from 6-18 months and many do not pass emissions. Bassani now advertises that there cats do not pass emissions, even though a few might. Hmmmmm....

Brother's Performance has Magnaflows Tru-X for $450 which is about $75 cheaper than I can get Bassani.

I may have to wait a few days to get this fixed, because my research is making things more confusing. It seems that I am going to have to choose between which pipes have the least number of weaknesses.

 

[The Hitman]

it dosen't sound like the SLP exhaust (which makes your car sound like a chevy truck)

One Bad Ass Chevy Truck I might add!!!

 

[nf9648]

Go grab a x-pipe with cats and install o2 eliminators, many states only check obd sensors to see if theyre tripped, if they dont sniff the pipe then they wont have anything to suspect when they run a check on your system if they ever go bad again.

 

[Car Nut]

In Georgia, I am pretty sure they check for cats, but I do know they specifically test the gas out of the tailpipes. They also check to make sure the check engine light is not on (I think). Our emissions tests have gotten pretty strict, but not quite where California is.

I'm thinking since my engine is bone stock and in the past my car has barely registered any numbers on those tests, I should probably be ok. My engine runs well, I service it regularly, and I still get better than average gas mileage.

I'll look into that O2 eliminator, though. Thanks.

Now I'm tossing between a Bassani (cats may go bad soon), Magnaflow (pricey, but 50 state legal), and BBK (maybe the X fits better than H, plus it's much cheaper). I would just hate to have to replace a whole mid pipe again just cause cats went bad. I only put about 12,000 miles per year on my car, so I'm hoping the X or H will last a good 4-5 years.

 

[94GTLaserRC]

I dont think you will get more than 2 people to agree on any ONE 3-part exhaust combo.

Just about everyone on here has their own setup. I run FMS Ceramic shorties with Magnaflow X and 3-Chamber Flows. Sound is very deep and quiet at idle and cruising...Only loud when you get on it. My sound is not as raspy as others. I think just about all aftermarket exhaust sounds good on our cars.

You should just consider fit and emissions.
Good Luck
RC

 

[Car Nut]

Thanks 94GTLaserRC, I see your point and it makes sense.

I may be patient a little bit and skip getting the Bassani Stainless w/cats for the Magnaflow X w/cats that seems to have cats that last a long time. Unfortunately, I don't think I can get them local, but I'm going to check it out (hate paying shipping costs).

Thanks.

 

[Venom351R]

Would BBK H w/cats be a good choice then with my setup?

Dont buy any BBK Products except for Headers, there H Pipes suck. I have a BBK H Pipe and the fit is horrible. Im currently running BBK Headers, BBK O/R H pipe and 2 Chamber Flowmasters. It is pretty loud and souds really mean. Im thinking of changing over to Magnapacks b/c not to many people seem to have them and they sound killer. If I do change over Im going to get a diffrent H Pipe and ditch the BBK one

 

[Car Nut]

Stripe5.0: Thanks for the info. The more I kept researching about BBK H and X pipes revealed that too many people have had fitment issues to the point of absudity.

WELL, I've made my purchase and the install is tomorrow. Bassani SS Xw/cats. The folks at Mustangs Unlimited said to try it out with the Flows for a bit, as some have found that the sound may be what I like, maybe not. However, if I don't like it, I can easily put in "non-chamber" mufflers or upgrade to a 2 1/2" catback. I will probably look at Dynomax Super Turbo's catback or possibly another brand (don't know what all my options are for "non-chamber" mufflers). I'll research sound clips later in a couple months.

Why Bassani? Quality seems to be better than average, my stang's not lowered (no clearance issues to bang up cats), sound clips show that it has enough aggressive to to suit me, and I shouldn't have any emission worries. Should the cats go bad prematurely, I can purchase emission friendly replacements (only two needed now) and have my muffler shop do the install for dirt cheap.

Do most people weld in Bassani X's or do they bolt them on? Lifetime warranty is voided for welded ones, right?

Using the advice by 94GTLaserRC, I researched and found that both Bassani and Magnaflow have great fittment and do pass emissions in my state. I want X to be different and my wife may agree to upgrade the catback later. I heard some great sound clips of Magnaflows, but the Bassani seems to be a ever-so-slightly more aggressive. I loved both, but volume is no issue. In the end, it's probably just splitting hairs to compare the differences.

Thanks all for steering me away from regret. I'll post the results once the new pipe is installed tomorrow or Tuesday.

 

[89 blue lx]

yeah im tellin you you will love the x pipe with flows i really dont like the ppl that say you shouldnt run the x pipe with a chambered muffler because it sounds damn good if i do say so myself.

 

[zenboy99]

I bought my MagnaFlow catted H-pipe on E-Bay, brand new shipped to my door for $256. This pipe is stainless steel too! I've been using it all winter and it still looks good. I bought it through some exhaust distributor, if you're interested PM me and I can look it up for you.

 

[94GTLaserRC]

http://www.100mphclub.com/movies/rc_runbye.mov

This is in quicktime.
Listen (I know quality is bad). This is my car with 3-chamber flows and Xpipe.

RC

 

[Car Nut]

94GTLaserRC:

Now I really can't wait to get the X pipe on. Do you have cats or no? All I can say is besides the shaky video quality, what I did hear sounds awesome! Where was the recording device? I'm surprised at the exhaust volume at the very beginning and how far away you were from the driveway. Great sound, wish it would have lasted longer. Of course with all your mods, you're going to have a significantly different sound than my nearly bone stock stang (just means I've got room to grow!).

I've got 2-chambers, but the whole catback is 2 1/4 inch in size which may affect the sound somewhat.

Thanks for the info and video. It sure is nice to see some progress and people like you who have already traveled the path many of us have yet to take.

Thanks again.

 

[94GTLaserRC]

94GTLaserRC:

Now I really can't wait to get the X pipe on. Do you have cats or no? All I can say is besides the shaky video quality, what I did hear sounds awesome! Where was the recording device? I'm surprised at the exhaust volume at the very beginning and how far away you were from the driveway. Great sound, wish it would have lasted longer. Of course with all your mods, you're going to have a significantly different sound than my nearly bone stock stang (just means I've got room to grow!).

I've got 2-chambers, but the whole catback is 2 1/4 inch in size which may affect the sound somewhat.

Thanks for the info and video. It sure is nice to see some progress and people like you who have already traveled the path many of us have yet to take.

Thanks again.

That was Jose in my driveway (str8stang036). The mods didnt matter, because the exhaust did NOT sound differently after the blower, intake, etc.

Good luck
RC

 

[stunner6910]

get the summit o/r h-pipe, nothing wrong with that one. all h-pipes gives you about the same hp, personally, x-pipes are way too loud. get some mac flowpaths to go with the h-pipe