Pacesetter Exhaust?

[CerealkillerJST]

Greetings All, my first post.

I have a '92 LX with 161k, and the original exhaust is finally corroding('cept for the cat, replaced it 5 years ago). There is a small hole developing just aft of the last flange(?) before the muffler, so I'm assuming that would require a bolt-on replacement. (Bosal?)
BUT--I see that NOPI offers an attractively priced, cat-back 2.25" system by Pacesetter. Does it suck? I've been searching message boards, someone mentioned a problem with rust. My main concern is NOISE. I'd love a few extra hp, but not at the expense of a blatty sounding exhaust note.

TIA for any advice.
J. Scott Thomas

PS--any recommendations on a cat-back?

[FineWine]

The pacesetter is 2.5" IIRC.

Do not get it, you'll be throwing your money away. It WILL rust, and you WILL be replacing it later. I've never heard it personally but supposedly it sounds kinda raspy.

[Marc93lx]

Originally posted by FineWine
The pacesetter is 2.5" IIRC.

No, its 2.25".

[FineWine]

Ah ok. Well 2.25" is still a lil big for a 4 cyl. I'd recommend 2" at most, 2.25" w/o mandrel bends.

[limpgtx]

man not to be rude but 2.25 is perfectly fine for an n/a motor. 2" is what comes stock, so why bother getting an exhaust system if its just gonna be the same size? it's the muffler that sounds raspy, and thats easy to change obviously. and how come on your sig. it says 2.5" exhaust, and your running a turbo? you dont want back-pressure on a turbo. do you like small exhaust systems?

[FineWine]

2" didn't come stock on my car....

[FineWine]

Originally posted by limpgtx
you dont want back-pressure on a turbo. do you like small exhaust systems?

Mandrel bent + 4 cyliders. 2.5" is fine for under 1 atmosphere of boost.

[Kevin]

what our NOW turbo fed friend forgot to say, our car CAME with what measures out to be dual walled exhaust piping, 1 3/4 inch inner piping and 1 7/8th inch piping sheathed on the outside of that to disseapate heat, reduce noise and improver overall operation of the exhaust. it's been talked widely about, both jesse and daryl have proclaimed the benefit of 2 inch exhaust, i wouldn't shy to say itzcatz would be too far off from that. i have had the pleasure of hearing a pacesetter cat-back pipping with a brospeed turbo muffler in the back instead.. and while piping has a lot to do with the sounds you'll get out of your exhaust, the muffler is just as important. the pacesetter exhaust on festivasrule (wil)'s car rusted right at the muffler if i am correct, so he just had the turbo muffler put on there, i forget. and also take into consideration, how much snow do you actually get through out the year? is salt ever a concern? those would be some considering factors? but IMHO, you can get a BETTER 2 inch mandrel bent exhaust, slap on a high flow res (for lack of a better term) and kill the stock one located inline of the muffler and the cat, you should be fine, won't be too incredibly loud, and depending on your muffler, could be soft and low, or loud and raspy. i don't know, just read the reposts on back pressure AGAIN, and make sure you understand why people recommend the 2 inch. general rule of thumb, 2 inch is ideal, 2 1/4 is alright, 2.5 is more for turbo setup running stock level's of boost, up to 3 inch for heavily boosted BP's. am i right?
peace
p.s. 2 inch mandrel cat back piping does me just fine limp

[Gro Harlem]

I had a pacesetter exhaust, it lasted 4 months before the muffler rusted out. About a year later, the exhaust tubing rusted so bad, that 2 holes appeared, at which point, i replaced the entire exhuast.

And FYI, our exhaust tubing is 2" outside diameter, which is about 1.875 or so, inside diameter.


If you live in a non-salty area, pacesetter is a bargain! but it does sound pretty ****ty and raspy, but it isn't horrible.

[randallb]

My experience - they do rust...

Went through 2 or 3 Pacesetter cat-backs on my old MX6. They rust out in the salt belt after a couple years. However, they were real cheap. They did have a somewhat loud drone, at least on the MX6 2.2l.

[Tai Mai Shu]

is there any way to rust proof it?

[Kevin]

a coat of heat resistant paint?? sometimes that can help a little, aside from that, i don't think rubberized undercoating can survive the temperatures that radiate off of the exhaust... if painted directly on the pipe. depends, never have picked up a good quality can of that stuff to know. and all technicalities aside, is not the ideal size 2 inch? i mean there is an entire post on back pressure backing it... or is that complete bull?
peace

[limpgtx]

just go with the pacesetter exhaust and get a muffler that youll like. yah youll have less torque, but who cares? you gonna be towing stuff anytime soon? i always thought you wanted horsepower over torque when you race? if you dont race then just get a cheap meineke job for $80. the 2.25" will just benefit you more if you were to do more motor work, if you dont plan on doing more motor work then dont go so big. just paint the piping that way it wont rust.

[Kevin]

heh, interesting thing, axle back with flowmaster40 muffler, 190 dollars.. so even so, menieke is going to charge you out of your ass for each portion of the exhaust you open up. i got raped, but full cat-back, w/ 50 to 100 dollar muffler should run 250 to 400 depending on where you go... thats the going rate around my area anyhow.
peace

[limpgtx]

daaaaaaamn, $400 for a meinke job. lmfao, you got some crooked losers working there then.