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Alright. I’ve been doing some research shopping in the matter of getting a new exhaust system for my 2002 Civic coupe (EX). I’ve realized that the best system to purchase is one that is bolt-on, or one that is pre-manufactured for my car without the need for welding, cutting, etc. Additionally, I had the choice of a full cat-back (muffler, resonator, and mid-pipe) or an axle-back system (muffler alone). Shopping around through various internet pages I came to the following choices:

Axle-Back Systems:

Vibrant - Type-V (p/n 1784) direct fit @ $244.96
HP Racing - MSX tunable (p/n 255+3164) @ $248.19
Mozart - Hiper Tunable Straight Style (p/n 255+3595) @ $209.40 NOPI
Mozart - Racing Medallion Straight Style (p/n 255+3607) @ $209.40 NOPI
HKSA - Carbon Fiber Racing Muffler (p/n?) @ $220.00

Cat-Back Systems:

DC Sports - Twin Canister System (p/n HCS7024) @ $499.95
OBX Racing – Type-H (p/n H-EX20012) @ $449.00
Greddy – EVO Exhaust System (p/n 10156603) @ $479.00
A'PEXi - N1 Series Exhaust (p/n APX-162-KH13) @ $479.00
Skunk2 - Mega Power Exhaust (p/n 413-05-2005) @ $539.00

So I have a choice to spend $250 or $500 (plus shipping) on either of the above. What I want is a nice low rumbling sound from my 1.7L VTEC engine, rather than a screaming super bike. Only the Vibrant brand seems like it’s an official bolt on, with the rest I can’t find any info on the internet. Could Tsudo or Mozart be universal? Do the Axle-Back Systems come close to sounding like the Cat-Back? Which of the above do you gentlemen recommend, knowing that I’m going to keep this car for no more than 2-years? Would I have any value after 2-years in a trade in? Would anyone even buy this off me after some 2-years or 50,000 km? I’ve done some listening to the exhaust clips, but it’s never the same as it is in person, so I'd appreciate all your experienced help on this one.

Cheers,

PiCASSO [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

 
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well if you just want your car to have a rumble then just get an axle back, but my friend has an axle back and its very quiet. i think cat back systems are louder because the tubing has a larger diameter, so its more free flowing. but if you're thinking about selling your car to a dealer, you wont get much or anything for your exhause, or parts, they dont care for that kinda stuff. actually, they want you to keep the car as stock as possible. but anyways, the bigger your muffler is, diameter wise, the quieter it will be. so, the n1 style will be louder, and bigger mufflers like the skunk, will be quieter and give you more or a droned tone. good luck with your choice!

 
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APEXI n1 style muffler with custom axle back

it sounds good . not loud not quite. i cant really explain but i wish i had soundclip though.
i got axleback because i didnt want loud exhaust.
catback would be more deeper sound. since bigger piping. free flowling

 
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i have the ractive (hehe) axel back...it's actually really good...it sounds nice (which was all i cared about) and it's stainless steel...it ran me around 300 cdn...

 
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well so far, in the past 13 months that ive had my civic....ive had 3 exhausts
first of all i had a magnaflow catback system...it was good, sounded good and gave a good hp....buuuut, it hung about 3 inches from the ground and scraped on everything.....

next i had a Thermal R&D....it sounded better than the Magnaflow, and i didnt feel any difference in hp between the two.....but i had some problems with the system, when it got wet it vibrated the car horribly, and at idle there was a "sssssssssssssssss" sound, like a snake..haha, but it was loud and annoying as heck

Now i have the OEM pipe with the HP Jspec axle back system...it sounds GREAT, very deep and nice...i also feel no difference in HP from the two cat back systems....

i recomend the hp.....its good for the price

 
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i personally love my skunk2. loud, but deep, no buzzing sound (no fartcan sounds), looks good, subtle. good gains but maybe its just mental.

 
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wut bout tanabe...anyone have a soundclip or have any feed back on it

 
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do u have a resonator on there as well?

 
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yeah i do have a res.

 
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That HKS link, is NOT an actual HKS exhaust. That is like an OBX or something.

I sell authentic HKS for $330 shipped. I believ I have the best price on that one.

Rob

 
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Listen to it, without a muffler, just unbolt your stock one, sounds like the Greddy Evo in my opinion

 
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Skunk2 offers a lil' high end torque improvement. Raced my friend on the freeway with it from a 40MPH roll and beat him by nearly a carlength with only the exhaust on. Since I took it off, the car feels a lil' slower at high RPMs. He has an SRI and custom catback. Intake gives you back your low end but you'll still have a slight mid-range handicap. I'm hoping HP's 4-1 header with high flow cat clears that up since it's the only real bolt on part we have for our cars.

The sound of Skunk2 is "pretty" loud... always very deep and smooth... people *love* it at high RPMs.

The bad is that if you have to bend the hangers so that they're about 9 and a quarter inches apart side-by-side so that the muffler tip won't lean against the bumper and melt it. It's not hard to do, just step on it. If you have a rear skirt on or a body kit for the back bumper, you might have to modify the kit and there are a few ways you can do that. You can have a body shop cut and remold the bumper or I think you can put something on the bumper over the exhaust tip to prevent the bumper from melting. (I dunno what it was, I forgot.)

 
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intake giving low end? rigghtttt...

I duno, if I have money, I'll waste it on the apexi ws.

if I dont.. I guess the thermal rear section.

either way, thats a lot of money for noise.

 
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you did not even consider the magnaflow?

 

HKS hi-power from tornactive

 
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The HKS fits the 4door too right? I was also wondering what the diameter of the HKS piping is vs. our stock piping. So if I just buy the HKS Axel Back, I can just take off my stock muffler and bolt that one on with no modifications?

 
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If you have an ex, I would go with an axle-back. The stock piping is perfect and doesn't need to be changed. I am not sure what the piping on the lx looks like.

 
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yeah I'm rolling in an Ex. Obviously the piping of the HKS is a larger diameter than our stock piping (which I think is like 1.75?).. So I guess the airflow will go from small to big at the end, possible giving some torque? I have no idea, just a guess.... [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG]

 

yeah it fits sedan too...the stock pipe is 1.75' the HKS piping is 2.0'...so no low end torque is lost....and since it's axleback you can switch from HKS to stock in like 10 mins....

I think the EX and the LX have the same piping for the exhaust....the only difference is the cat converter location....

 
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Thanks for the list of options for exhaust. Noticed that Tornactive now lists the new Neuspeed catback system. Looks nice.

I am however wondering about the Tsudo axleback SP style at Nopi. It is listed only in the 2001 section and not in 2002. I have seen similar instances of this as well. So were there some 6th generation 2000 (DOHC) CivicSi that were marketed as 2001? [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG]

I am also looking to upgrade but do not want it too loud or high pitched. I am considering keeping the stock exhaust & resonator and going with an axleback. But if I added a header later would the remaining stock exhaust from the cat to the the new axleback (including resonator) work okay or would I need to switch to a full catback system with the header? Benefit vs cost is the issue.

And as a new member I would like to thank everyone for all the information and DIY's as well as all your personal insights into 7th Gen Civics and incredible member's rides pictures. I went from a '89 Thunderbird Super Coupe w/5-speed to a '95 CivicEX Coupe and never looked back. The Civic was not as smooth or refined but it would run circles around the SC. Then Honda comes along with a new Civic that is more smooth & refined. Now I have a 2002 EX. I am hooked. I can't imagine ever not owning a Honda or Acura.

 
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or u can do what i did.... i went to the local muffler shop... with my tsudo universal.... and they put in a 2.25" straight pipe from the cat and
i gotta tell u that thing roars... nice low growl... not like v-8s but throaty.... all im missing now is a turbo sound.....
i had the same exhaust as a rear section... and it only starts to sound mean at around 4k-5k rpm..... i dunno if u want it to sound all the time or not...

while if u got a straight pipe like me.... it rumbles at 2500-4k and quiets after that.....

 
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Thanks for the info.

I just ordered the Tsudo SP type (oval) axleback from Nopi. They had only 2 left as this is a discontinued part. Also ordered the DC short shift from Nopi and the 19mm RSX sway bar from Hondawerx. Hope the muffler and sway bar clear. I have my K&N FIPK now and hope to install it this weekend. The intake will probably be louder than the exhaust [IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG]

 
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My K&N was loud as all hell at high rpm but when I put my exhaust on it seemed to even out a bit.

 
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if you want a sleeper look, get an used spoon n1 from RSX-s than custom axle pipe.....look nice and deep low sound~

 
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like someone else said, if you just want the sound and not too much hassle when you return the car, get the axle back. if you want a bit more "performance" get the cat back. either way, you wont get a whole lot of performance.

if you decide on axle back, HP Racing is great. not too loud, so cops wont pull you over, but not too quiet so you do get a nice rumble. Mozart sounds about the same, maybe a bit more buzz. HKS is really quiet if you leave your resonator, and really loud if you take it off. plus the HKS has that bend, so it hangs at an angle, plus ive heard that it sits very low and scrapes if you have a dropped car. these are the reasons i didnt get an HKS. plus its more $$$.

the + of axle back is that if you decide later that you want a cat back, you can get custom pipes made at any muffler shop.

if you go w/ a cat back, go w/ skunk2. it sounds awesome!! dont get the DC TCS, its too heavy.

how come you didnt consider tanabe? super hyper medalion is nice. theres a sticky thread on top somewhere with links to sound clips of all the exhausts (well, whatever people recorded)...take a listen.

 
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holy crap this thread is old!

 
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you heard wrong from people about the hks. it doesnt sit low at all. i've never scraped mine at all. its got great clearance, and the its not really loud at all.