I have been lurking on the forums for a while and thought i would ask something. What is the advantage of a full cat back over just the rear section. I understand that a cat-back replaces everything from the cat back, but it seems like there is not a difference in power over just the rear section, is this true? I love the sound and look of the Carson exhaust, but if there is no difference in power over something half the price, i think i can find a smiliar sound. Please correct me if i am mistaken.

 

No one has tired both? Or is there not really a difference unless I go FI?

 

I have tried both. I had an RMM rear section and it was great! Only problem (if you can call it that) was that the tips protruded a bit too far and I had a shop cut them and re-weld them at the proper length.
I sold them to another member and bought the Carson Tuned. I am going with the JB headers (install coming soon) and wanted the Carson exhaust for the supposedly higher flowing resonators as well as the overall look and sound. No, the difference in power is not really noticeable at all. I didn't expect it to be, so I am not disappointed. The Carson is very nice- awesome quality and sound!

 

Hum, for now its all about sound, maybe performance later. with getting the car, im gonna be broke. I am thinking about some Aero-Turbine mufflers, i can get a good deal on those. Just need to find someone to do a quality job installing them.

 

Actually, the exhaust has several sections:

Manifolds or headers.

Cats.

Front Y pipe section.

Mid Y pipe section.

Rear mufflers section.

On the GS300s Carson has replacement for all three after cat sections. On the GS400 I believe it is only the final 2 sections.

The stock mid Y pipe section flows pretty well and therefore is not going to show much help on a stock engine car.

The front Y section can probably benefit from slightly higher flowing parts but care MUST be taken to avoid loosing low and mid RPM performance. this requires a quality merge pipe at the y intersection itself and in fact I am working on a modified design to improve the curve even more.

 

Two sections you didn't mention after the front Y-pipe section is the 3rd cat (at least on Canadian and California cars), and then the two resonators before the mufflers section.

Regarding replacing the front Y-pipe with a quality merge pipe at the Y-intersection itself to not loose any power (regardless of the rpm range) - I would like to do this and would very much like to know what you come up with so that I can replace my front Y-pipe and then add a single X-pipe or double X-pipes after that and then straight pipes to the muffler section.

In this process, I would be getting rid of the third cat and the resonators. Yes, I know it will be loud, and that is what I want. Louder with better performance is my goal.

 

Actually, the front Y pipe section includes the Y itself and the catalyst or the center resonator depending on what model you have.

The mid Y pipe includes the dual resonators.

My Y pipe as with any Y pipe is not designed to work with an X pipe. A Y pipe system will join the 2 sides into one single tube. This promotes one way flow and velocity which enhances low and mid range power without hurting peak power. An option like on our cars is to use a second Y section to split the flow back into 2 pipes. This allows for smaller diameter resonators and mufflers and more of them which gives a quieter exhaust without restriction. It also allows for easier routing of smaller tube size. The design of the actual Y intersections are important in how efficient they work.

Like a Y pipe the design of an X pipe is important for efficiency/power. An X pipe can function like back to back Y pipes or like a modified H pipe. Where the X is located is a function of the tuned length of the secondary pipes. Without means to test I would recommend placement in the position of the factory Y intersection. Iif you choose to use an X pipe instead of a Y pipe... just adding a second X pipe without a reason will add additional secondary collector volume which alters the tuned length of the of the system which may in fact reduce power.

 

Here's a couple of pics for illustration purposes:

 

I love those Carson Tuned exhaust.......

 

That does look great.

However, it souns like a rear section will fit my budget better giving me what I am looking for(better sound, but not obnoxious) This will allow me to put my money into a Supra LSD, CS and the payment for now