install my own muffler

A&Q about 350Z
Q:

Power adders are the only exception.
I'm only kidding....
A:

its the form over function thing for me.

I have no problems with someone that does it "right" and makes the car scoot by adding thoughtful engine enhancements. But most of the stuff these days, are all about image and performance is secondary, or not even on the list.

The fart can and maybe a cold intake doesn't do anything for a car other than make it annoying. Lowering it with walmart springs or even worse, cutting the springs, doesn't make it handle better, it makes it way worse. MOST of the imports that are played with, they spend as little as possible to make a laughing stock of the "image" they are attempting to copy, and its woefully short of the mark and instead of looking cool, ends up being painfully embarrassing instead.

I respect the few that do it right, but there aren't many
A:

No, we just think your mods to your four cylinder are crappy.
A:


if you mean me, then no. for now i want to keep it stock (lack of money) but later i'm thinking of putting some nitrous on it (because it's easy and you can swap it to another engine pretty easily) then once i'm out of university and am making a good chunk of change, i want to do an h22 swap and turbocharge it, nobody expects a 1992 accord to be fast.

can't wait until i make more than 2k per summer lol.
A:

i think 99% of the time it is younger people who dont have tons of money to make it acutally powerful from the beginning of the modifications. we have to start somewhere, and biuld up as we get the money do so, basically one or two upgrades at a time as we can afford it. we have the goal of ending up with a genuinely nice and powerful tuner-style vehicle, but have to do it slowly one or two parts at a time, because we dont have money coming out our rear ends. and the logical point to start when that is the case, is simple cheap mods like a cold air intake and a performance exhaust muffler.

of course, i speak from my own point of view, but i bet many of the people with these stock vehicles except an exhuast muffler are in this situation and feel this way about it.
A:

and i plan on lowering it with decent springs, definitely not cutting mine. im not that stupid.
A:

well a "performance muffler" isn't really going to do anything. it might if you do the whole exhaust system but you're not going to make much of an improvement (if any at all) much less feel it. i'd say save your money and put it into a whole exhaust system, that way you don't go driving around with a ricey sounding machine until you've actually made some kind of power.
A:

if you want to lower it "right" you don't just replace the springs, you have to replace the entire strut assembly, and you need to also get camber kits for it. It would also be recommended to upgrade the sway bar also.

As beef said, there is little gain in a fart can. Even a full exhaust system might net you 15hp. I personally wouldn't bother. The disadvantages (money, effort, annoying noise, hassle from the fuzz) don't outweigh the tiny advantage.

The piece-meal method of modifying a car can work in some instances, but motor enhancements don't work too well in that fashion. Only upgrading a single item in the system for a future planned combination of parts will usually create a large unfriendly side effect, because too many of the parts in question rely on other components to be there to take full advantage of it. Large cams with low CR pistons are a waste. Large throttle body/intake manifold without computer tuning and high CR is a waste. Etc etc.

You would be better off taking the money you want to put into such items and putting it in a savings account. Then when you have enough, and have researched it thoroughly, and found a configuration you believe will fit your desires well, do it all at once. Its not very fun waiting, I know....
A:

my resonator adds 75 RICEpower!! but my complete lack of 'grafix' or a bodykit or a 'hwing' make it not very ricey....funny though, i can usually beat the extremely ricey cars stoplight to stoplight. They're 3 times louder, 5 times flashier, but my old (and mostly stock) POS subaru is faster....

"Now that's what you call ironic!"

So don't dress up your car with intake and exhaust mods thinking your car will become vastly more powerful. It may gain some power, but not as much as the hype usually says. Most of all, don't modify your car "because its the cool thing to do". It's your money, spend it on what YOU want.
A:

Is that exhaust tip for real?
A:

What about "resonated" exhaust tips? Do they make a difference in sound?
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