Exhaust Cutout's

Hey everyone, I thought that I would share a few pictures of the exhaust cutouts that I installed this weekend. Back in September of last year I installed cutouts in my H-pipe just to try them out on a relatively inexpensive portion of the exhaust, I loved the sound but hated the reduced ground clearance (lost about 1.5"). So I finally decided to do relocate the valves further back and parallel my existing MBRP system. Below is a list of materials and a quick overview with pictures (I apologize in advance for the mediocre quality of the pictures).
Materials:
2x 3" exhaust sections from the local autozone
2x steel 3-bolt exhaust flanges
2x universal 3" electronic valves
2x turn-down tips from Jegs
Bunch of tools
Some time

I decided that I wanted to locate these valves just before the the mufflers. this would keep the system well hidden and have no effect on ground clearance.
Step One: Fabricate the joint between the valves and the existing system.

I decided on a 30° offset but unfortunately I do not have a tubing notcher so with the help from this website (http://metalgeek.com/static/cope.pcgi) I was able to print off a pattern and cut/shape the new exhaust section. Next was to determine the correct angle of the valves to allow clearance for the actuators, space was tight but I was able to make it work.

Step Two: Weld it all together.
I am not the greatest welder in the world and I only have a cheap welder but I'm able to get good weld penetration and with some finish grinding it doesn't look too bad.

Step Three: Paint.
I went with Rustoleum high temp, matte black. I figured if it works for grills it'll work with exhaust. I do have some doubts about the longevity due to road debris but I will keep an eye on it in the coming weeks.

Step Four: Install
Pretty straight forward, put it all back together! Overall I am very happy with the project. It sounds great and blends in very well with the existing system, the silver valves just give a hint that there is something else going on.

I will try to get some videos of the exhaust note either this evening or tomorrow after work. Thanks for taking a look and let me know what you think!

Looks really good! I'm also thinking of doing this mod to my GT. I'm currently running MAK cat deletes and GT500 mufflers but I would like to make it a little louder

Thanks man! With the cutout's open there isn't a big difference in volume at idle but once you put some load on the engine it absolutely howls! Overall it is a much deeper tone and when engine breaking you get the pop and burble which I love. I'll try to get some video of it tonight.

I installed cutouts pre-muffler on my GT as well, but with stock mufflers. I also added glasspacks after the X-pipe because I was afraid it would sound like a redneck truck without something there unless running WOT. I don't love the tone from the glasspacks (yet?) but I still like the fact I can run the cutouts closed - almost more quiet than stock, part open for some volume, or wide open for stupid loud.

If by next year I still don't like the sound of the glasspacks, I may consider rigging in a dual in/dual out muffler after the X - where I currently have the glasspacks, and cut out the glasspacks. They almost sound too deep and "muffled" to me, except they do almost nothing to muffle volume lol. I should really have someone do a pull in my car with me standing outside of it to make sure it just isn't how it sounds from inside the cabin.

Nice work. I really need to finish modifying my universal cut outs.