Custom 3in stainless exhaust build

[travish325]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share this build with you. My brother and I (well mostly my brother) built this setup yesterday at his performance shop. He mainly does work on domestics but is a very good fabricator, as you will see from the pictures.

I was looking at full exhaust systems and just couldn't justify spending so much. That being said, I have about $700 in this set up, not counting labor.

Here is a parts list:

- 2.5 to 3 cone reducers

- 3in v-bands

- 3in stainless piping kit

- 2, 3in vibrant bottle type resonators

- 3in inlet RS style stainless tips

- 2, 3in stainless flex pipes

If anyone is interested I can give links to all the parts I used.

Started out by cutting off the exhaust just in front of the secondary cats. This allowed me to gut the pre cats with the downpipes still in the car. I used a 12in 5/8 concrete bit, a hammer drill, and a pry bar and made pretty quick work of the cats.

Next we welded on the 2.5in to 3in adapters to the down pipes. I chose not to do 3in downpipes just yet as I didn't feel like dropping the engine or subframe.

Next we welded the v-bands to adapters and the flex pipe for easy removal and install.

Next came fabbing up the exhaust. Overall it went pretty smoothly, and we did not run into any hangups. We used the factory exhaust hanger locations, and essentially followed the factory routing. The piping is ran back to 2 resonators and then tips. No mufflers and no cats at all. Because of this we saved about 60lbs over the stock system. Everything clears perfectly and there are no rattles.

Below is an album with the pics as well as a few videos. If anyone is interested I will make some better videos to show how it sounds in and outside of the car.

Link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hfXZreGV4NkUQLHU2


Thanks for looking!

[GreggPDX]

Looks really good! I would like the links please. Also, can you provide some details on the welding setup? Was it Mig? if so, what type of wire/gas was used? I have a small Lincoln Mig, but I'm not setup for stainless.

and where is your brother's shop?

[travish325]

Looks really good! I would like the links please. Also, can you provide some details on the welding setup? Was it Mig? if so, what type of wire/gas was used? I have a small Lincoln Mig, but I'm not setup for stainless.

and where is your brother's shop?

Just a 110v Lincoln on 80/20 argon. I will post up links shortly.

Also the shop is I'm Southern IN.

[GreggPDX]

Did you consider putting an x-pipe in it? I know a lot of people like them, but I'm not sure how much difference it would really make in turbo setup, especially with 3" pipes.
It definitely sounds good, almost old-school muscle car! I don't hear much of the "raspy" sound that you get sometimes with open exhaust either.

[travish325]

Did you consider putting an x-pipe in it? I know a lot of people like them, but I'm not sure how much difference it would really make in turbo setup, especially with 3" pipes.
It definitely sounds good, almost old-school muscle car! I don't hear much of the "raspy" sound that you get sometimes with open exhaust either.

I though about an X-pipe but ended up going with this. There is no rasp at all, and yes, it does have that muscle car sound. The turbo sound is amazing as well.

[travish325]

So here is the parts list and where to get them.

Qty 2- Evilenergy 3 Inch Stainless Steel V Band Clamp Male Female Flange Assembly https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07439C4Z1..._dpvtAbDQDJSBJ

Qty 2- Vibrant Performance 1794 Bottle Style Resonator 3in Inlet/Outlet x 12in L, 1 Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001804TPI..._BqvtAb23ADSC5

Qty 2- Squirrelly 3" x 4" Exhaust Flex Pipe 304 Stainless Steel Interlocking Liner Coupler For High Performance Applications https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CPS1QNY..._6qvtAbP7RS5BC

Qty 1- 3" Squirrelly Universal 304 Stainless Steel Mandrel Bent DIY Kit 45 180 90 Degree Straight Piping Tube Bend for Intake Exhaust https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LXQVX3U..._xrvtAbST8TE2S

Qty 2- https://www.summitracing.com/parts/VPE-2630

If you have rear 02 sensors you will obviously need threaded bungs for them. My o2s are coded off with the tune so I did not need these.

If I had to do it again I would probably go with a different rear muffler/resonator as it is a little loud inside the car.