Got Boost? Part 2

Overview
With boost in the near future, a new exhaust was in order. The puny stock exhaust was definitely not up to the task of letting a turbocharger efficiently breathe.

Since nobody make a bolt-on kit for the 1st gen CRX, a DIY kit was in order. I got one from this site. They make a DIY kit for the 2nd gen CRX. I figured that the kit would be close enough that it would fit on the 1st gen with some minor mods.

This is the kit that I got. Everything here was about $375. That's quite a bit cheaper than many catbacks on the market and that $375 also included a brand new catalytic converter. The exhaust tubing is 2.5" aluminized steel and the muffler and resonator are both made by Magnaflow.



This is my welder. It's an oxy-acetylene gas torch. This is a very "old skool" setup that takes a little patience and finesse to use. However, it can produce first rate welds if properly used.



To start off, I made 6 of these flange "stubs". It takes a lot of heat and control to weld the thick flange to the thin tubing. It would be practically impossible to do this accurately if it wasn't done on the bench. Connecting the "stub" to another piece of pipe will be easy though because the pipe-to-pipe weld (aka butt weld) is easy to do while under the car or on my side, etc.



This is the section of tubing that goes over the rear axle. The piece in the kit was a little too long, so I had to chop a piece out of the center.



Here is the rear section done minus hangers and paint.



Here's an up close shot of one of the welds on the rear section. The gas welder produces excellent welds with some patience.



Here's the test-fit of the rear section. The clearance over the axles was perfect. I used a jack and a bungee cord to help position the muffer.



This is how things looked so far. I really liked the look of the new setup.



Now that the rear section was done, it was time to work on the b-pipe. The b-pipe connects the catalytic converter to the rear section of the exhaust.



Here is the b-pipe almost done. This piece was difficult to make since I had to keep it help up into the car while I eyeballed things. A car lift for exhaust work would sure be nice!



The hangers in the kit fit a little loosely into the rubber hanger mounts under the car. Instead of buying new rubber mounts, I made the hangers a little thicker by welding the tops of them.



Here's the b-pipe done, painted with flat black "Stops Rust" paint. It came out real nice.



Here is the rear section after paint.



This is the last piece in the system. After I welded flanges onto this, I bolted everything up and took it for a spin.



How does it run? Great! I expected some power loss down low, but it doesn't feel like I lost any power. The mid-range and top-end feel noticeably stronger. The new setup was worth about 2 tenths and 3mph in the 1/4 mile.




Back to main