Hi guys, (first post!) I just bought a TH 3.5 Magna Si for my partner, she's always wanted a manual in a bigger car and I must say I enjoy the smile on her face when she drives it, very cute! :)

The problem is it's too quiet!
Objective: Louder! Performance gains are secondary, provided no power/torque is lost we'll be happy. We don't want annoyingly loud but close to it will be nice.

Headers + Exhaust system (2.25-2.5", including cat/resonator, muffler, tip) - I think I've listed everything needed? I'm a bit rusty on modding cars so bare with me.

Headers: Pacemaker looks good.
Exhaust system: Open to suggestions.

I guess I'm looking for suggestions on the exhaust combination, including which resonator and cat to get. At the back maybe the Lukey LR2779 / AL4-5597, though will it be loud enough? Unsure. We're looking at getting the lot installed together, I'm happy to source parts myself to save money though.

We live on the Central Coast, happy to commit a 1-2hr drive for quality workmanship.

Feedback welcome.

Him are far better but I do have a customer selling a 12 mont old set of pacemakers ready to bolt on, I recon you would get them. For the $350 mark, they are very clean

Him are far better but I do have a customer selling a 12 mont old set of pacemakers ready to bolt on, I recon you would get them. For the $350 mark, they are very clean

Interesting. I'll have to look into HM vs Pacemakers, it seems HM are built better from a quick search on AMC. Do they offer better performance or sound any different or is it all about the build quality that people choose them?

And thanks, I'll keep the pacemakers tip in mind too, $350 would be a very nice starting investment.

From the front to the back...

1) HM headers for bolt on upgrade - can DIY if you want.
Pacemaker or others work too.

2) Body of the exhaust should be almost 2.5" diameter and no real need to replace, up to you. Maybe check Cat hasn't collapsed? 200cpi metal cat is what I would consider as a replacement.

3) Pickup a Sports or VRX muffler for a little bit of noise or the Lukey in my sig for a little more. This isn't what I would call loud, but IMO it's quite enjoyable. If you want louder, I'll leave that for others to provide ideas :)

Here's what mine sounds like from inside with only the rear muffler changed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6K38em9PKY

Cheers!

Thanks Oggy,

1. (Headers) Okay it looks like everyone likes HM on Magnas so I might be leaning that way now.

2. (Exhaust body) Thanks for clearing that up, I'll check the Cat once this weather clears up. What about resonator, does anything need to be done there or can we leave that be also?

3. (Muffler) I think I definately consider Lukey as my starting point. Yours is sounding nice. I'd personally like to go a little louder but as this is my partners car she'll have the final say on that. Would love a nice throaty burble at idle if possible. But that said, Lukey is still going to be a massive improvement from the vacuum cleaner sound ours currently produces :)

smaller the rear muffler louder the car, remember that.

smaller the rear muffler louder the car, remember that.

Thanks, someone just told me the same thing. Noted :)

Go with a hurricane rear muffler, greatest investment ever made. Everyone who has heard it reckons it is the cleanest sound they have heard, and even better, no droning when doing 100km/h in 5th on the high way :D and some gains were also had.

Go with a hurricane rear muffler, greatest investment ever made. Everyone who has heard it reckons it is the cleanest sound they have heard, and even better, no droning when doing 100km/h in 5th on the high way :D and some gains were also had.

I got hurricane rear muffler. Sounds pretty good. Just don't get the revs up to around 3k on the highway, drones like hell.

smaller the rear muffler louder the car, remember that.

Hey, only a small thing but I was just wondering. Applying the above logic, would adding dual tips at the very end counteract some of the sound? I like the look of the dual tips but only if it won't have an impact of the sound, otherwise a simple straight tip will do fine :)

Also, my other half confirmed she wants to hear the engine without it being too loud, so we're going to go with the Lukey option, tried and tested, many Magna owners here can't be wrong.

the tips really wont affect sound at all, in terms of decibels onlyvthe mufflers have the ability to absorb the sound.

I have duel tips on my car and i love the look and sound of my exhaust.

My dual tips aren't rolled completely over and I suspect caused turbulence that created a dreadful "tearing" sound at high RPM.
I filled the gap with exhaust gasket cement and it improved a lot, so if you have the opportunity to inspect the tip before selection, be choosy :)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b129/Ogier/Magna/IMG_1140_resize.jpg

Good advice thanks :) Will be very choosy, good thing to know as I wouldn't have thought about that until after it was installed.

We're not going to do too much with this car as it was only a $2000 purchase, never intended for long term ownership so we have to keep things in perspective. Things like the exhaust and tinted windows will be upgraded and a few aesthetics and that's probably about it. Just make sure it's clean, safe, looks and sounds good :)

Don't bother with extractors (too epensive for minimal gain, and louder sound is what you seem to want), and if standard pipes are ok keep them too.

I would replace rear muffler and resonator with performance items, then If still not loud enough for you add a high flow cat.

Brett H: Okay we'll start with the muffler, I should be able to do that myself as the Lukey AL4-5597 is a bolt-on. I just took a look at the resonator and it seems to have taken a beating, a large gash from the bottom of it so I'll swap that. The standard pipes and cat look to be in fairly new condition. What you say makes perfect sense for this car, we'll do those and only proceed further if not happy with the results.

EDIT: Would $400 fitted for a 'high flow' Catalytic Converter be realistic or should I budget for more? Whilst I may not need one as mentioned above, I'm putting everything on a list so I don't have to research this again later.

EDIT2: Nevermind, found plenty on eBay for reasonable prices and probably 1 hours labour to install?

Sure flow in ingleburn make sell good hi flow cats at a very reasonable price.

I paid $170 for mine and $50 to install, however the exhaust guy I use is very well priced.

Windsor exhaust at Richmond beside the Airbase..Great service and fantastic price..Magna flow stainless 200cpi cat,2 1/2 inch system,Lukey muffler..I got an 18 inch hotdog so a tad quieter,but can go a smaller hotdog to make it louder..Sounds fantastic..Also got a stainless dual tip looks good as well
http://i785.photobucket.com/albums/yy137/markassg/exhaust001.jpg
http://i785.photobucket.com/albums/yy137/markassg/exhaust002.jpg
http://i785.photobucket.com/albums/yy137/markassg/exhaust003.jpg

Thanks guys I'll check out both of those guys.
And Markass, those are exactly the tips I would like for our (err, her) car. Very slick.