jman649916

So I finally broke down and put the APR cat back 2.5" exhaust on today. I don't have pics yet because it isn't fully lined up yet, but just to reiterate, here's a little write up on the exhaust install.

1. Jack up car

2. Spray release agent or rust eater onto the two bolts on the stock exhaust clamps, and all the bolts that hold the stock exhaust hangers.

3. Loosen the two bolts on the stock exhaust clamps

4. Remove (2) 13mm bolts from the two exhaust hangers holding the stock exhaust

5. Pop exhaust out of the remaining rubber hangers and slide toward the rear of the vehicle to remove fully

(Crank car and listen...interesting sound)

6. Loosen APR exhaust clamp bolts and slide midpipe into its hanger and onto catalytic converter. Do not tighten exhaust clamps until last.

7. Remove stock exhaust hangers from stock exhaust and reinstall onto APR exhaust hangers

8. Put muffler in place and insert (4) 13mm bolts into respective exhaust hanger locations

9. Insert gasket between muffler and midpipe and install bolts/washers/nuts used to hold muffler and midpipe together

10. Tighten bolts down fully to secure muffler and midpipe together

11. Align Exhaust tips to desired spot and fully tighten 13mm bolts holding exhaust hangers in place

12. Fully tighten bolts on exhaust clamps at midpipe/cat junction

13. Lower vehicle and enjoy

Things to remember:

1. If you have a second person to help you, the process will take less than half the time.

2. If you do not have the gasket, or need a new one, Advance Auto Parts should have one from an older Nissan that is always in stock and needs only minor modification to fit perfectly. If you need new bolts, get stainless steel from Lowe's or Home Depot. If you need new exhaust clamps, get the flat type that comes with the exhaust, the cheap ones from the auto parts stores are not the best.

3. When aligning exhaust, remember that when it heats up, it will expand and stick out further than when it's cold. (about 1/4" it looks like)

Impressions:

First of all, according to my scale, the stock exhaust weighs 46.5 lbs. while the APR piece weights 34.0 lbs...for anyone taking score. Second, this exhaust is not as loud as most on the forum make it out to be. I have heard it described as "obnoxious" "too loud" and "droning," however, I feel that it is none of these. If anything, I would like it to be louder. It has an extremely deep rumble. Rumble is literally the only word to describe it. From about 1k to 3k, it has a beautiful deep snarl. Above 3, the engine/turbo spool (which is alot louder now) just about covers up the exhaust. On the topic of loud, if you think this exhaust is too loud, you're just too old. If I were to rev my engine at a stop light, I don't believe that a car two lanes over with the windows up or down with the music up would be able to hear it.

Overall Pros:

Beautiful tips, much more noticeable in person than it looks like in most pics.

Wonderful sound, very deep, fairly loud, not overpowering.

It does show a bit of a power increase. Mostly noticeable when pulling hard out of a corner at about 4k.

Slightly lighter than stock...12.5 lbs.

Very easy to install, and a very high quality product.

Overall Cons:
(Bear in mind, I did buy it used, and some of these problems could have occurred with shipping or during the first installation.)

The passenger side hangs down about 1/4" lower than the driver side.

Both tips hang about 3/4" from the bumper and stick out about 1", so they will require some refitting to make it look just right.

Could stand to be louder, though some don't agree.

There is a bit of a leak at the cat/midpipe connection, though I think it is due to the cheap exhaust clamps from O'Reilly.

InTTruder

This is an informative write-up. I'm doing a Borla. I'll post a similar story.

GeTT da NeTT

Good post. Thanks!

XCLR8TT

I've had my APR Catback for 3 years and love it.. just the right tune for me.

Ryan E.

Loosen up all the bolts. Then rotate the mid-pipe until the tips are where you want them. Then "carefully" tighten everything up. You will likely need a helper to do this right.

-Ryan E.

Cruzad3r

Ted, i thought u got an exhaust already?

JohnLZ7W

I had to shorten the center pipe to get the tips to tuck in deep enough (basically flush with the valence) and my tips still hang just a bit low.

InTTruder

"Inbound": delivery was delayed but expecting it soon!