How to not sound stupid?

[Wytchdctr]

My wife is wanting me to install an exhaust system on her car that doesn't sound like a pissed off bumble bee. I managed to do that with my elantra by keeping stock exhaust manifold, going to 2 1/4 inch pipe after the second cat, dropping the massive stock resonator, and installing some generic "turbo" muffler. Nice deep sound. Combine that with the howl of my intake and its a really nice sounding 4cyl (IMO of course). I know its not a mazda3 but the 5 uses the same motor (2.3) and the exhaust pulses will/should be the same. Only diffrence really is the length of the piping. What resonator/muffler setups has the mazda3 crowd installed and managed to get a nice deep growl out of this motor? Thanks for any advice in advance.

 

[WetsuitxNinja]

Vibrant. Not nearly loud, specially when you are in the car. The sound of the exhaust isnt annoying, its deep, like a pur not even a growl (IMO of course) The tip looks nice and there isnt a huge can sitting where people can see... almost stock in appearance. There are sound clips floating around I could find if you want, but it makes it sound louder than it really is. I think with a header, it will sound perfect, the megan I had on the p5 got unbearable with a header.

It was pricey though, ~600 shipped. Id say if you dont wanna pay that much, go custom again, and use a magnaflow muffler and tip(s) of your choice.

 

[mazda3zoom]

the way i had my exhaust last time was 2.25" piping from the 2nd cat back, deleted the resonator, and then put in a magnaflow universal straight through muffler. Had a really nice sounds to it, not too loud so that its annoying and on the highway it wasnt loud till u hit the gas. Now i have 2.5" piping and deleted the 2nd cat, i used the same muffler and its a little louder now. It still sounds good but if ur going for subtle then do the first one i described. (thumb)

 

[Wytchdctr]

Thanks for the info guys. So these motors sound good with pretty much the same setup mine has.. good to know. I have two custom exhaust shops around here that do really good work. Going to go back to them to have this cars exhaust installed. I might actually go with magnaflow on the 5, if anything so it looks nicer. My exhaust is ment to look exactly like the stock system and is hidden behidden the rear bumper. I am trying to make the hyundai a sleeper.

 

[firefox_mp]

put a 2.5" cat back on mine, with a smaller can at the end. its pretty much like a magnaflow exhaust, and sounds good. its loud without the silencer, but nothing like a pissed off bee. its more of a deep agressive sound, which was what i was looking for.

 

[Solo2Protege]

I have the ARK exhaust and it sounds similar to the Vibrant. It's sporty, not ricey. Perfect for what i wanted in a daily driver exhaust. Infact, it's almost too quiet. The tip is 4.5", but it still looks stock like. I was used to a full blown system on my Protege, and that sucker was LOUD.

ARK used my car as the test fit car, i have to assume it was made for a HB, cause it's recessed into the bumper cutout, which i really like. Ya really have to bend down to even see it. I beleive ARK now has both HB and sedan versions.

Quality is excellent, although it's a slip on, not flanged like the Vibrant, i wish it was flanged, but eventually, i'll flange it myself.

BTW, there is a GB going on now for the ARK exhaust.

 

[WetsuitxNinja]

LOL solo we sound about the same. Loud ass protege's to almost too quiet mz3s. I figure when I get a header ill be happy as a clam with the sound levels.

 

[ZoomVT]

where is the group by you are talking about? and how much is it?

 

[WetsuitxNinja]

I was origionally going to get the ark, hell they are based about 20 mins from where I live, but then I decided on vibrant because it was flanged, I wasnt feelin the slip on type. SOLO how do you feel about the short shifter?

 

[Solo2Protege]

the GB was on the M3Forums. Was $399 + $49 shipping, but seems to have ended on christmas. Kinda pricey for a slip on, but the quality is of very high standards.
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=34734.30

The slip on is still a very tight fit. But the flanges make it an even easier and nicer DIY install. Like i said, i would have prefered flanged, but i wasn't gonna turn down a free exhaust system (thumb)

I like thier short shifter alot, only issue i had was loose screws on one of the cable arms, but a little threadlocker (blue) and they've stay'd put since. Again, i was the test car and the prototype did not have threadlocker.

 

[Solo2Protege]

LOL solo we sound about the same. Loud ass protege's to almost too quiet mz3s. I figure when I get a header ill be happy as a clam with the sound levels.

LOL...(thumb) and now that i have changed race classes, i can delete the cat and then shorten the exhaust to dump right under the car. So it'll be even louder, not to mention it'll now have 6 pistons pushing out gasses (first)