A big justification in buying the whole catback for me was that if I just welded in mufflers, then I would have to do something about the tips, the stock 2 1/2" or whatever they are weren't going to cut it. So the price after buying the mufflers, tips, and having them put on was pretty much the price of my catback. And yes, if you have the time you can put it on yourself, maybe 3 hours at most. I think paying $125 for a catback install is ridiculous, but if you have the cash, then don't worry about it. Plus, I know every time I work on my car, I get a sense of pride knowing I did it myself.
Either way, pick a muffler, or catback, based on the sound, not the performance, because IMO, a better sound is much better than a crappy sound and 7 hp...
So....what exactly about the stock 2 1/2" tips wasn't cutting it?
I'm not trying to be a smart ass here, I'm serious! It's not because they're too small to be effective, since they'll move more spent exhaust fumes than all but the most serious horsepower junkies will ever need. And...it can't be because of sound quality, because nobody on this board could tell me that a set of aftermarket tips....even in a slightly larger diameter changed their exhaust note to any great extent. Not to mention if I recall, the factory tips are "real" stainless steel (along with the rest of the system) which will last forever and clean up quite nicely when you put a little elbow grease into it. So it's gotta be the "bling factor"?!?
Lets be honest.....that's it, isn't it. You (and lets be frank most of the people suggestion a complete catback on this board) are suggesting picking up the entire cat back for the bling effect of the big shiny set of tailpipes that come with it and the ability to brag to your buddies you've got an aftermarket exhaust system on your car, aren't you.....not the difference in sound....not the difference in quality and certainly not the difference in performance!?!
I guarantee you I could weld in a set of mufflers onto a stock cat back and combine it with a high flow mid pipe and 99% of the people on this board wouldn't know the difference just by listening to it! If you want to talk what's good for performance, you'd actually do more for your car with a high flow mid-pipe and mufflers alone than just a complete cat-back would....and you've spent about the same amount of money. And before anyone gets into "well, I could add a high flow mid-pipe to a cat back system and make even more power still" Yes.....you could.....Probably to the tune of about 3hp and all of it at the very top end of your power curve. So now you've spent over twice the amount of money that the other guy did on power that you'll never notice. Congratulations, but now the other guy has taken the difference that you spent and put it towards something that's going to make him even more power still.
Getting back to the subject of sound....how exactly do you figure a set of weld in mufflers would sound like crap? These cars already sound great stock and unless you're putting a set of glass packs or cherry bombs on for replacement mufflers anything else you buy is going to sound just as good or better. The only thing that's going to affect your sound to any
great degree is the type of mid-pipe you choose and the style of muffler you go with. Sure a set of long tube headers, a 1/4"-1/2" jump in pipe diameter and a couple of mandrel bends will change the sound to some degree as well, but it isn't going to change your religion.
...and that's an awful lot of money to spend just to make your car a little "louder" if the exhaust serves no other purpose otherwise.
I know I sound like a **** here guy, but I hate seeing some of you spend money needlessly when it's not warranted to achieve your goal. If you know the facts and still choose to go that route, because the bragging right and bling are what's most important to you then that's your business. But you should know it's not necessary from a performance aspect, or to achieve a nice sound. Not to mention unless you're buying nothing the most expensive systems like SLP, Bassani or Borla (a true stainless steel exhaust systems....not just a set of tips) then there's no real increase in the quality of the system either.
