Thanks for all the replies so far... I'm pretty noob with this stuff, so try to bear with me. (I'm doing tons of "homework" online before I post in here)
Quote:
Originally Posted by LP700-4
None of them require cutting or welding. All of them should be direct bolt-ons and come off the same way.
Since your car already has the secondary cat, all the corksport ones would do is take off the OEM cat and replace it either with the test pipe (no cat) or the high flow cat. The catback from there on is the same between the catted and decatted.
Its hard to recommend one as it depends on what tone and or loudness you want from your car. You do gain more power without the cat if that is what you are looking for.
|
Based on YouTube research, I'm happy with the Borla or Corksport exhaust tone. I don't want my car to be excessively loud, and I don't want to deal with swapping out a test pipe every time my car goes in for aircare.
Based on the Borla picture posted above, I see 2 "bigger" sections. But I'm getting confused if one is a muffler, or a cat, etc?
Quote:
Originally Posted by SumAznGuy
Assuming your car is an 05 Mazda 3, your stock exhaust has a primary cat built into the exhaust manifold
The cat-back exhaust replaces this part
No cutting or welding is needed to install it.
From what I can tell by these pics, you may not need the second cat. |
Is the first diagram a stock 2005 mazda3 exhaust system?
I can see the (1) is the primary built-in cat you mentioned. What is the (2)?
Is the second diagram, is the (1) the muffler? And is that the entire thing I'm replacing with the aftermarket exhaust?
If I keep my OEM cat that's built into the exhaust manifold, can I get the Corksport test pipe version, but just not use the test pipe, and attach the rest of the exhaust system to my OEM cat (without welding)? I don't think spending $200 for a hi-flow cat seems necessary, but using the test pipe makes my car not street legal, too loud, and smell bad.
The diagrams helped a lot, and I think I'm slowly starting to get it... Kind of feels like LEGO, but I just need to figure out how all this connects together.