Hello,

I now have the Invidia midpipe installed with stock exhaust (IS 250 2012). So far I am not happy with the investment. Very little sound change and comes to find out that I won't pass CA smog when it comes to it.

Getting a custom Magnaflow Axle back muffler (Saturday) exhaust and wanted to know should I stick with the Invidia midpipe and add the Magnaflow? Or pull the Invidia midpipe down, sell it and install the Lexus midpipe back in, install the Magnaflow and maybe have the resonator replaced with a glasspack or cut out entirely.

Thoughts?

I plan to keep the Invidia midpipe installed with the Magnaflow custom exhaust and just swap the pipes when it comes to smog check time, which is 1.5 years away.

Thanks.

Mike
IS 250 2012 F-Sport

 

Oh, and if I stay with the mid pipe and have the Magnaflow axle back, do I need to get my car "tuned" for best results? I had a car guy at work tell me not to bother with the mid pipe if I didn't have plans on getting in tuned for the exhaust changes.

 

Regardless of what you decided, KEEP YOUR STOCK MIDPIPE!! As in.. dont get rid of it or sell it. Trust me I put myself into a world of regret with that mistake... Anyway.

Is recommend keeping the Invidia on for now. The reason you dont hear it is because the stock axleback is really restrictive on the IS. Especially if you still have your resonator on. If you havent yet, try removing your resonator and see how you like it. It costs about $40 at any decent muffler shop and it changes the sound quite well for such a cheap mod. Its basically a secondary muffler from the factory.

Anyway if you dont like the resonator delete you can always put it back on. My advice is keep the Invidia until after youve installed the Magnaflow system and if you dont like it then just sell it lol. Also im not sure if the Magnaflow system is very loud either to be honest. If your trying to get good sound for the buck i'd look into the Tsudo axleback exhaust like the I have on mine. It cost $350 or so and has a great note and great quality for the price. Plus with my Megan midpipe and Resonator delete, it sounds awesome and I wouldnt have it any other way .

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

I plan to keep the Invidia mid pipe in and see what it sounds like. Thing is, I have nothing to compare it to, so if I get the Magnaflow axle back (custom) installed, I don't know if the stock pipes work fine and then maybe add a F Sport intake.

Yes, I plan to keep the orig exhaust, the muffler place has it set aside and ready to reinstall Friday, but I think I'll just swing by and pick it up Saturday morning for safe keeping.

Other minor issue - not passing CA smog every two years. So either find a dirty smog guy, pay $170 to have the pipes swapped, smog'd then replaced or do it myself in the garage.

Sooo, for now, going with Invidia and custom Magnaflow axle back. The Magnaflow sounds and reviews online seem pretty darn good. The Invidia axle back has a two month wait and Megan Racing is out of stock with no refill dates.

- Mike

 

My mistake was leaving my original pipes at the muffler shop for too long, about a month or so. When I went back they were gone. Guy said some one broke in not too long ago and stile all their stuff... BS story I know. Anyways, swapping your midpipe out every 2 years really isnt all that bad, especially if you end up liking the sound. I say its worth it. Or you could you know... Option #2 lol. CA sucks for smog.

Regardless on what you end up doing Mike, just make sure you go and get your original back in your own safe keeping a.s.a.p. You do NOT wanna deal with having to find another midpipe like I did this past week. F that crap , never again lol.

 

I don't know where you take your car for smog but Most of the place, they won't check the exhaust systems. at least i don't have any problem with it.

 

Ok, got the old pipes back (the OEM) ones and the magnaflow axle back installed with the Invidia mid pipe.

Startup sounds awesome, like a V8, accelerating sounds great too, but the drone noise at 2-3k rpm might be a little too much, windows up or down, you're gonna hear it.

Sooo, mid pipe might be coming down after all. But I will give it a try for a few weeks and see.

I love the fact that I can actually hear the engine now.

 

My OEM midpipe has a hole in it so since I have to replace it anyway, I figured I'd finally upgrade it to the Invidia, but I do wish I had a solid OEM as back up in case I want to swap it out. You can occasionally find them on Ebay for reasonable but MSRP is $1700 and my employee cost is still $1200 so it's insane. So yes, save your OEM midpipe!

 

I have my Invidia midpipe pulled from my car and the OEM reinstalled. The Invidia pipe is your if you want it, asking $250 with free ground shipping or $220 if you prepay your preferred ship method.

Let me know, I'll be posting to classifieds soon. The pipe is only one week old.

Thanks,

Mike

 

I'd be interested in it if he isn't! How was the sound with the invidia and factory axle back? I've heard conflicting stories on this. Some people say the sound is good, just toned up a little. Others say it sounds like a raspy fart can.

 

The pipe has been sold.

The invidia pipe and the OEM exhaust is a waste of money. Very little difference with just the pipe added. If you want a little more sound or v8 sound, just get the Invidia axle back or after market axle back. If you want more noise like drone and more back end sound, add the mid pipe.

The only thing with the Invidia midpipe is the amount of drone. Its too bad there was so much drone, my wife said it was starting to bug her. I didn't hear much rasp and I used to have a Mini Cooper S with no resonator. Now that was fun but a mess to own.

- Mike

 

I'm doing just the midpipe first because my OEM midpipe is starting to rot due to NYS rust. Anyone down south or out west should be so thankful not to have to deal with salt! I'm doing the Invidia for now with a brand new stock axle back that was just replaced under warranty. Later in the year here I'll be matching it with a new aftermarket axle back finally. But for now I'm not looking for a good exhaust note, just trying to stop the crappy blown exhaust sound! So this should work for my situation but yes, I would agree, if you plan on doing an exhaust, start with the axle back first or get both midpipe and axleback together because just a midpipe won't do much.

 

Good decision.
The only OEM mid pipe and after market axle back give some sound result. Not vice versa.