98 civic HX exhaust question

[civickid94]

Alright so I bought this civic in absolutely mint condition about 6 months ago and now that summer is here it's time to start modding it. Ive done a few visual things and the first bolt on 'performance' mod I did was exhaust. I bought (don't laugh) a d5 concepts axle back exhaust off of ebay for 60 bucks, and it actually sounds really good. It's deep, not raspy at all, but the only problem is it's not loud at all outside the car. I don't want my car to be like buddy club spec 2 type of loud, but I want it to be quite a bit louder. Since i've got the HX, I think the exhaust setup might be a bit different than the EX and stuff... What do you guys think should be done to make it a bit louder? Thanks

 

[Hecz]

why are you trying to make it louder man? youdon't want that.

 

[Billy.]

Not to dis on you (seriously), but the HX was designed for economy, not performance. Making it loud is like an oxymoron . EX's and DX's will walk all over an HX, and they are slow as balls in stock form.

If you have a nice deep, but subtle exhaust tone now you should keep it like that. That is the goal of most enthusiasts now anway, not the loud rice burner sound.

 

[civickid94]

No it's fine I understand why you would say that... I've got an EX tranny that I just haven't put in yet, and eventually I'll do a swap... not sure what yet, but something. And I'm not sure I guess I just like loud... not really raspy, but I like the way some people setups crackle on decel and they have a lot more snap and I guess a bit of 'rasp' not ricey, but just like louder.. kind of hard to explain I guess

 

[civickid94]

No it's fine I understand why you would say that... I've got an EX tranny that I just haven't put in yet, and eventually I'll do a swap... not sure what yet, but something. And I'm not sure I guess I just like loud... not really raspy, but I like the way some people setups crackle on decel and they have a lot more snap and I guess a bit of 'rasp' not ricey, but just like louder.. kind of hard to explain I guess

 

[HeX]

I have a 97 Hx with a K&N drop-in air filter. I replaced the cracked stock header with a Magnaflow header. I also installed a '02 RSX Type-S muffler. That combo produces a clean subtle low rumble that doesnt get obnoxiously loud at higher speeds. I also didnt lose any fuel efficiency while increasing responsiveness from the engine. Eventually I'll post a sound vid on YouTube because I honestly feel my sound is as good as a stock HX can get without sounding "ricey".

I just heard a Youtube vid of a 98Ex with that D5. In my opinion, it sounds just a bit deeper than the average ricer. Civics are not suppose to be loud, hence they dont sound well to the knowledgeable car enthusiast who knows what exhaust is suppose to sound like on certain engines.

To each their own, but there's only so much you can realistically get out of a stock engine, more-so from an efficiency-tuned D16Y5 engine. If you're up to it, install the Magnaflow header (#49282). Thats likely your best option to achieve any further sound improvement.

 

[civickid94]

How did you put in an aftermarket header without losing your cat? or have you converted to an EX exhaust system? and also, here's a video of my exhaust, but the video makes it sound way way wayyyy louder than it really is. I had my friend drive it around in a parking lot and i told him to really hammer down so I could hear what it sounded like at high rpm, and it's not nearly as loud as it seems. Also the video is pretty bad, but here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sCxUl6lYj4&list=UUTGWNS9rTHduvhFYVedDsTw&index=1&feature=plcp I want it to have more pop and crackle on decel like a straight pipe exhaust would. I guess I'm just a fan of loud exhausts even though other people may disagree. I can't stand american muscle that have mufflers you can hardly hear.

 

[HeX]

Your vid definitely sounds better than the other I viewed. Still a bit loud for my taste though. BTW, you should strongly reconsider attaining the crackling/popping sound. You cant compare muscle car exhaust sound to that of a 4banger. Its easy to properly louden a v6-v8 muscle car with the larger engine size that produces more power thus exhaust flow. On a 4banger, that comparative sound usualy indicates a crappy built system thats impeding your cars performance if anything.

To answer your question, remember HXs & other non-EXs have the header and cat bolted together. The MagnaFlow is a direct bolt-on replacement that has both as 1 piece (pictures below). There's absolutely no functional need to swap into an EX exhaust if you get this part. Remember that set-up is essential to maintain the HXs gas efficiency, as is for all non-EXs with the same set up. In the HX, its more imperative for its higher MPG that involves the 2nd O2 sensor with the extra wire for more refined readings.

Here's is the sound clip of my exhaust... http://youtu.be/ygKlnAnTLLY

 

[civickid94]

Call me a ricer if you want, but for some reason I just love this sound. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjgBZcMXQWM that's what I want mine to sound like, just maybe not quite as loud

 

[HeX]

Call me a ricer if you want, but for some reason I just love this sound. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjgBZcMXQWM that's what I want mine to sound like, just maybe not quite as loud

Hey, to each their own. In the end, you'll do what you feel is right. In my opinion, that clip sounds insanely ricey. Lots of noise at a low speed. You dont have to agree, but d@mn! LOL.

 

[TokyoSkies]

Hey, to each their own. In the end, you'll do what you feel is right. In my opinion, that clip sounds insanely ricey. Lots of noise at a low speed. You dont have to agree, but d@mn! LOL.

This. If that was the sound you were going for, you could have simply slapped on a shitty muffler, and been done.

 

[HeX]

This. If that was the sound you were going for, you could have simply slapped on a s***ty muffler, and been done.

Pretty much. That, or just straight pipe it from the header with no catalytic or silencer. It'll be quite loud then. But again, keep in mind you WILL be reducing engine performance while trying to achieve such a loud sound from a stock Civic engine.

 

[civickid94]

Well, I did in fact, slap on a shitty muffler, and surprisingly it was deep and low...this is with everything else stock. So somewhere along the line, something is massively quieting it, I can't imagine the stock cat/headers would make it that much quieter, so it must be the resonator, as i'm assuming all the other piping is just straight through. I'm guessing the easiest way to achieve that straight pipe sound would be so install the magnaflow header you were talking about and then straight pipe it back from there, maybe buy a cheap full ebay exhaust, cut off the muffler, and weld on a piece of pipe to the end to finish it off?