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Installed Steeda aluminized h-pipe to go w/my Steeda axle backs

suckerv

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After installing the Steeda S550 axle backs last year, I was pretty pleased with the overall volume and tone of just the axle backs with the stock resonator in place. But as with most things, I eventually wanted more, so I started looking at resonator delete mid-pipes.

I finally settled on the Steeda aluminized h-pipe because 1) it was cheaper than the regular steel Steeda one, 2) I kind of wanted to keep everything Steeda since I run so many parts on my car, and 3) because I wanted the deeper sound compared to the more "exotic" sound of a x-pipe. So the pipe came, and I was ready to install.

Because these came via FedEx and not my usual crappy UPS guy, the box arrived in good condition and undamaged. It's a pretty simple setup in the box; just the h-pipe itself and a set of clamps. I was disappointed that there weren't instructions, but then again it's not super difficult to figure out how to remove the resonator and pop the h-pipe in there.









After getting the car up on jack stands, I ran into my first and only issue. The mufflers were clamped on, and the end of the resonator pipes up by the cats were also clamped on. Great, I thought, this should be easy. Just unclamp, drop the res out of there, and clamp the h-pipe on.

Unfortunately, the h-pipe was too short for the gap left after dropping the resonator out of there. Apparently when I first installed the axle backs, I cut the muffler pipes instead of the res pipes in order to get a perfect fit, so now I was left with muffler pipes that were too short to accommodate the h-pipe. i wish I had pictures to show, but I was so frustrated at this point I had forgotten to bust the camera out.

The only way I was going to make this work was to cut a length of the resonator pipe and fill in the gap, so to speak. I suppose I could have introduced yet another set of clamps, but having three sets of clamps along the exhaust didn't seem like something I wanted to do. I was worried about leaks and the overall structural integrity of the system from the tips back to the cats, so instead I took it to my local muffler shop and had them weld part of the pipe on.

That's probably the biggest thing I would watch out for. I doubt any h/x-pipe muffler combo would just drop and fit perfectly, especially if they come from separate parts. I guess this is why starting with a catback would have been easier, but Steeda didn't make a catback system when I was shopping around. Not a big deal though, other than not being able to do it myself, and being $100 poorer.

But oh man, that h-pipe addition sounds SO GOOD. I remember some threads here from before that said the sound ended up being too loud with the Steeda axleback/h-pipe combo. As a daily, I can totally see that. If I had to listen to that rumble on an hour commute everyday 5 days a week, it might be a bit too much. But as my weekend fun car, holy balls does this sound good!

From the outside, the system sounds violent as hell, like it could start earthquakes. it has a nice, rich, bass-y growl and rumble in the lower RPMs, but when you mash the throttle, the rumble turns into a straight up roar. I love it. Inside the cabin is actually not too bad either! I think I read too many horror stories about in cabin noise, but I didn't find it to be too much louder than having just the Steeda mufflers with the res. I could still listen to my music and chit chat just fine.

Here's a video comparison with a before and after the h-pipe. Videos do NOT do this justice!

[ame]
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tj@steeda

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Great write, photos & video ... very happy the H-pipe takes your car to the next level!

:cheers:

TJ
 

WhiteyDog

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Sounds pretty good. But I don't know if I'd rev it too much, it seems like you guys get earthquakes easy enough already.
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