Nismo exhaust review, Stage II, installation and noise level tests

[Papa_D]

The installation went smoothly with the exception of some grinding that was required on the previously installed custom Bpipes. The pipe was hanging out past the rear flange and it was preventing a tight seal with the new exhaust pipe flange. It was nothing a grinder couldn?t take care of but I don?t use him anymore because of his lack of attention to detail and poor welding. I also had to pick up some more bolts because the bolts that he had installed before were not large enough in diameter for a proper installation, again, his fault and not the new exhaust.

The installation went fine and although I did it on my own because I didn?t want to trouble anyone at 9PM on a Wednesday night, I would recommend a friend to help and if you can?t manage that you may want to have a jack handy to lift the dual muffler assembly in place and keep it from rotating. The brackets used require that the bolts be inserted through the bracket, the flange they are adjacent to, the gasket and the receiving flange of the mating section all at once. Since the assembly is rotating at the same time due to lack of stability, it can get kind of aggravating if no one is holding it steady for you.

The flanges are ample and the bolts can be torqued tight enough to bring everything in line and leak free with the exception of the connection at the Bpipes. It is a two bolt flange and no matter how hard you tighten it, the design is inferior and it will probably leak somewhat whereas the three bolt flanges are rock solid. Nismo did this to make it a direct swap and I suppose given the market there was no way around it but I much prefer the 3 bolt design employed in the rest of the system.

I caught myself looking at it instead of working on it a few times because the fit and finish of this system is remarkable, it looks like a factory system all the way from front to back and I always love the factory modded look. All the bolts and nuts were accessible and I used a 3/8 ratchet and a closed end ratchet wrench for the entire install, thanks for those Slick Nick, they came in very handy.

Bottom line is, if you want a factory modded look with an easy install and no welding whatsoever in a leak free exhaust system, this is it. Now on to the first impressions and noise/ drone tests.

My first impression when I started it up was, WOW, I have a muscle car. It was a far bit louder than my Zoomers with a deeper tone at idle and made the fact that I had cams installed more noticeable by the readily apparent lope which isn?t a bad thing.
After enjoying the sound for a minute I hopped in it for the test drive and gunned it when I got out on the main Boulevard, holy HP Batman, this thing is loud. I couldn?t believe the increased decibels at WOT especially since it was relatively quiet until I got on it.
I am used to the Zoomers, which is quite subdued compared to this and all you muscle car lovers will go ape over the sound of this exhaust. It reports WOT with the authority of a boot camp drill Sergeant and if you weren?t paying attention before you will as soon as the pedal is floored. If you are an attention lover this exhaust is for you and you could set off car alarms all the way through the mall parking lot with this BAD BOY.

I got on the uphill entrance ramp to the highway and gunned it again only to find my CD?s inside the console rattling from the noise vibrations and I started to laugh a bit.
Driving on the highway was pleasurable with not a lot of drone but more than the Zoomers with a 2? Y pipe to be sure and most noticeable to me around 1900RPM?s. You may be more sensitive to it however and if Rap music has taught me anything, it?s that sound is a very subjective thing. Bruce Willis? quote from ?The last Boy Scout? may be appropriate here. When the bad guy said he wanted to hear him scream in pain, Bruce replied, ?Just play some rap music?. If you are hyper sensitive to drone and noise you may feel the same way about this exhaust and if you decide to purchase it anyway, you may want to plan on some resonators to quiet it down later on.

I drove to work this morning and coming across the bridge I gunned it and the exhaust note reported back off the barrier wall like a 50 caliber machine gun. For those with an appreciation of large caliber automatic weaponry, this exhaust could be your ticket to heaven. Under WOT this sucker is loud enough to make a HP statement for certain and although it is probably quieter than the Banks, it will still get your performance point across quite adequately.

I really hadn?t formed a complete opinion on the sound of this thing till I was in the elevator at work just after sitting in the parking lot and revving the motor. There was someone in the elevator smiling at me and I realized I had unconsciously been smiling at him. I was thinking about the exhaust and grinning like a kid on Christmas, lol.

I think that pretty much sums it up, uncontrollable smiling, I am definitely in my second childhood now and the Nismo true duals may have a Zoomers convert, lol.

Here are some videos courtesy of Pinoytitan and DeepH2O, thanks guys for all the effort and time.

Sound comparisons
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...91802013&hl=en
Pinoytitan Banks road test
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...87564589&hl=en
Papa D Nismo road tests
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...04582089&hl=en
Papa D Nismo torque demonstration, my favorite, lol.
http://videos.streetfire.net/video/N...ust_154292.htm