hello everyone

im looking to buy an exhaust system for my h3, ive found a few online, but was wondering if anyone could give me some suggestions/links, looking for something that'll bring up a bit of HP and also has a nice sound, thankyou!

if you have switched to aftermarket exhaust, what do you have on yours?
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how much did you pay for it

 

anyone?

 

Flowmaster came on my used 2008. It's got dual exhaust with chrome tips that stick out too far, and I've already bent up the right side on a steep departure. Not sure what I want to do with them yet. I like the sound. It has a loud kind of low reverb sound just under 2000 rpm, and it really echoes in the cab if the windows are down. It builds to the point that you can't hear the stereo or a passenger talking; but that's if you keep it at the exact rpm. It's really only in 3rd(I've got the 5speed). But it doesn't bother me at all, reminds me of my Fiero GT I had with some loud exhaust. And I prefer loud exhaust with a personality when I'm driving a manual, makes it easier for me to know the engine and when to shift.

check youtube, a lot of guys and companies have posted their exhaust builds on there where you can hear the sound. Most of them are done with cheap built in mics on the camera so you can't get the deep sound of the exhaust though

 

thank you,
anyone else have some suggestions?

 

I would go to a local reputable muffler shop and have them build a kit for you to your liking. i bet you can get a really nice setup for $300-400 installed. i made the mistake of buying a used magnaflow catback kit on ebay which said it only had 4000 miles on it and it sounded like absolute crap at cruising speeds(like a honda civic). now regardless if the ebayer lied to me, magnaflow still has a lifetime warranty which would make me think that even if it had 40k on it it shouldnt have sounded that bad.

So since my liking is mainly for the dual tip look, and performance gain with a "little" bit of a throaty sound i had the muffler shop put a longer resonator on and a bigger muffler(R&R) while keeping the magnaflow dual tips and i love it now. FYI the muffler shop that i took it to has about 4 stores around the portland area, is listed as a dealer of magnaflow on magnaflows website, and he said he doesnt even like putting them on vehicles..he said the glass packs break up and blow out and thats when you get the bad drone. I hope this helps some.

 

Thank you mthoodh3, very helpful.
Although I would love to go with your suggestion, I live in a "City" of 8000 that you can only get to by plane, or cargo ship, and there are 3 garages in town that do nothing of the sort, unfortunately.

So the best I can do is find a decent one online.

 

I've had two H3's, my first was a 07 3.7L, I put on a Borla Cat Back myself with an impact wrench and a recip saw. It sounded great but took about 6 months to really break in. One thing I learned from that is to order the 3" Borla Bands to connect the pipes, the supplied brackets just don't cut it. Not sure about HP or Gas Mileage increasing, could never really tell a whole lot of difference. The look that the Borla gives is unlike no other out there IMO. Where I did see a difference in HP (and sound) was by adding a K&N Intake.

I now have a 08 Alpha, and if Borla made an exhaust for me I'd be putting it on right now, however as it goes I have a Appointment on Friday to have a MAGNAFlow Put on. I'll do an update this weekend once I get my truck back.

 

Got my truck back at lunch today and the Magna Flow sounds nice.
I've very happy to have a decent sound, however I must say with out question, the Borla I had on my 2007 3.7L had a better tone and Overall look.


But the Magna Flow is great, no dissapointed at all, I will try an make a video later today.

Thanks to 4Wheel Parts in Charlotte NC for doing a good, fast, clean Job!!!

 

sounds like Ketchikan.

i tried the Volant and Borla on my 07. they both droned at cruising speed. but, sounded good running around surface streets and offroad. expensive, but looked good.

i have the Alpha now and cat-back options seem to be more limited. i'm looking into the custom build option.

 

MagnaFlow's quality is good, welds are as good as a Borla syatem at half the price, and a better chromium content level IMHO. I've done the over priced Borla thing before, and had to have the muffler replaces because of a crack, and two seams re-welded, again because of cracks. Too much chromium = too brittle.

When you put a CAT back system on a vehicle, they take at least a couple 1000 miles to break in. Can't tell you how much whining I have heard from impatient and or people who didn't know what a CAT back does..... they make noise and not much else. If you are looking for a power boost from a CAT back system alone, you are looking in the wrong place. An Intake and a PCM tune will do more at a much lower cost. The best way to go is to do all three for the most increase in performance.

Last, I've had mine on my truck for 40K miles, with lots of wheeling, barely have a scratch on the pssgr side tip. You have to take care of what's back there, drive ***** nilly, and you will destroy them. I did notice that some of the newer sets have the tips lower and sticking out further, which won't help if you do wheel your truck.