OnlyDaanish

Hi All,

So for the past few years I've been contemplating wether or not to get a J-pipe and High flow pre cats. The car is almost complete and runs extremely smooth and as quiet as can be, but not really "quick"

Im aiming for a quiet ride but with a bit more low end power and i'm wondering if getting HFPC and a J-pipe will make the car feel smoother and struggle less on the low end acceleration (a little better MPG wouldn't hurt too). I feel it might, but Im concerned the car will also get a bit louder which I don't care for as much :/

Any information would help me greatly

Ltfa182

I have a ATLP V2R Jpipe, RV6 Pre Cat deletes, and the endless RPM exhaust. Before the Jpipe and PCDs it was tolerable. Now the car is so loud. I don’t mind volume on the outside as much, but the drone around 2-3k RPMs is terrible. If you value quiet, don’t touch the cats. The Jpipe alone won’t add too much noise and will help pick up a few HP.

OnlyDaanish

oh that’s very helpful. I absolutely didn’t want pcd that’s why I figured maybe a high flow cat would be a better alternative. Also it sounds like the jpipe will add a little noise though?

Ltfa182

Yeah an upgraded Jpipe will definitely give you a little bit more noise. With a stock exhaust and stock cats it’s won’t be loud at all. On my TL I did PCDs and Jpipe at the same time so my car went from loud to louder.

On my old Accord V6 I did the Jpipe first. At the time, I just had a magnaflow exhaust which was quiet to begin with. For reference, I could hear more intake than exhaust. I was surprised how much louder the car got when I added the cat deletes. I’ve never been in a car with the high flow cats but I imagine it would still be loud.

If you plan to keep the stock exhaust, that might help a lot with the volume. I think it’s just the combo of what I have on my car that’s making the drone terrible. I even have a vibrant ultra quiet resonator on it. I’m planning on going to an exhaust shop next summer to try and solve the drone.

twokexlv6coupe

I've heard of zero people complain that HFPC's are too loud. Whereas more often than not, anyone with PCD's complain about too much drone (see above).

I have RV6 HFPC's, PLM J-pipe with an XLR8 resonated cat-back and by no means would I say it's loud. I drive 80miles/day and would not be able to stand a loud, droning exhaust.
I'd like to think it sounds sporty and aggressive, like when you hear a G37 with a nice exhaust. But since I've never heard it from the outside, I'll never know exactly.

Ltfa182

^^^so maybe I need to get hi flow cats! I switched the PCDs and Jpipe off of my Accord when I got the TL. I didn’t want to buy new parts. Hope the info is helpful for you OP.

PgLgGrg

Cant chime in on the pre cats. But if you are looking for the j pipe which also "deletes" the 3rd cat, you will likely notice very little in terms of volume.
I also dont see how a J pipe will make more noise as it just reduces the restrictive bends. gets you about 15HP or so.
Here is my before/after comparison of deleting the 3rd cat:

Slightly brings out some midrange tone into the exhaust. Notice maybe 5% more volume, which isnt a lot. But the stock res, mid muffler and rear mufflers are really excellent at cutting out basically all noise.

Ltfa182

I personally noticed more noise when upgraded the Jpipe. It wasn’t a lot but definitely there. I’ve also considered trying to find a stock exhaust to help with the noise.

pohljm

J-pipe will offer some performance gains and a little different sound. No way will you see 15HP that is a dream

Locustjones

I have Endless RPM v1.5 (non-resonated) catback and endless rpm jpipe - from 1800 to 3k rpm, the drone is pretty bad for me.

Just swapped out HFPC and HF 3rd cat. Made things overall loud when really stepping into it but in a good way. It did knock down the drone in the 2k to 3k when just cruising and no heavy accelerating.

But I do plan on adding a resonator and will see how that goes.

PgLgGrg

Are you putting a resonator on to get rid of the drone? Because a resonator will not help for that.

if you have your mid muffler, you could put that back and it will help. Will also help with rasp actually, if that’s your concern too

Locustjones

Thanks for the feedback. No rasp really, so been pleased with that. Originally I bought the resonator (Vibrant Ultra quiet 1141) for drone but was waiting to get these HF cats installed first. With the HFPC and HF3rd cat done today, the drone (in the 2k-3k) is less now but overall loudness is higher.

I've been reading conflicting reports on this resonator. Some have said it knocked out the drone and some haven't and some partially. Everyone seems to have slightly different setups so figured I'd just try it and if doesn't work try something else. Endless RPM only had the non-resonated version available.

If resonator doesn't do enough I may try the mid-muffer. The old was was beat up and rusty. So would find a new one.

Ltfa182

So I inherited the exhaust on this TL. It’s a non resonated endless RPM as well. It has a vibrant ultra quiet resonator in the middle of it and the drone is so bad between 2-3k. The outer volume is not bad at all. I want to take it to an exhaust shop to help fix it but I’m not sure what would actually fix it. Being catless probably doesn’t help. I know I mentioned some of this above but just thought I’d clarify the setup and that I don’t know what would fix it haha

PgLgGrg

You need to chat with Ltfa182 on this lol. He has the Vibrant on his E-RPM exhaust. Exactly you are debating to do, and it hasn’t helped drone.

I assumed these high end systems for $1500+ came with a great sound with all the drone cut out. I would be fuming to pay for it, install, and then discover it was droney, especially at such a large range.

it’s a trade off. A nice low end, deep sound does result in drone since drone is low-frequency resonance going crazy, but is what gives an exhaust that deep sound. As I suggested Ltfa, drone pipes, or putting back the stock rears are options to remove the drone. You might find my write up on comment 2 helpful

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

The original RV6 true dual was the most non drony exhaust we could get back in the day...
I have fucked around with swapping on and off jpipes over the years. The car itself is not "fast" but I did notice it felt less fast when I put stock jpipe back on.
I originally swapped to HFPC RV6 on my TL-S from PCD and over the last 100K miles they sort of gutted themselves back to being PCD (evolution? )
I get gas smell and SOME drone at a particular highway speed but nothing that I actually notice or annoys me and I'm old now and intolerant to that sort of thing.
The most annoying thing is the RV6 jpipe weird little resonance on the way back down in rpm at low speed. Other than that, overall it does make the car feel
a bit quicker with all the parts it has thrown at it.

If I were starting over though, I would keep the car quiet and smooth and enjoy it for what it is. Nowadays if you want a quick car, almost all new cars are quicker
than these although they don't have a soul and don't make you feel anything. Especially if they aren't manual.
YMMV.

Ltfa182

You think going back to stock rear mufflers with the current exhaust piping would cause any issues? I’m sure the piping is smaller.

Locustjones

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2...ation-1001525/ great thread started there. Thanks for the link.

Is still have my rear oem muffler+tips. So that could be an option. I need to see what kind of shape they're in though
I'll still try the resonator first just to see and then maybe the oem mufflers and test that. The HFpc and HF3rd cat did lessen the drone so if it was a tick less that would be good enough for me...for now

PgLgGrg

Of course, I’m having fun learning in that thread lol.

keep us posted when you report back. I would wait a week-10 days because there are subtle changes to the tone as it settles in I’ve noticed.

Also note a resonator that thick, you will lose a bit of that upper end frequency character. If you are fine with a low, deep exhaust you will like it. But if you want some of that mid-high rumble/roar to be present, it’ll be lessened.

Scottwax

Have you seen how restrictive the factory one is?

The bigger gains are midrange torque than top end power. But it was enough my son (who really isn't a car person) to notice. And since I couldn't hear any difference in sound (already had a Dynomax resonator, mid muffler delete but still had the OEM mufflers) it wasn't like there was any extra noise fooling the butt dyno. Supposedly a TL Type S picked up 19 hp and 30 lb-ft torque with the XLR8 v2 and in a test between the original XLR8 J-pipe vs the v2 that eliminated the 3rd cat, it was something like 7-8 hp better.

I've never had my car on a dyno so I can't say what I may have gained but midrange torque was definitely better.

Back to the TS, I noticed no real difference with the J-pipe that eliminated the 3rd cat. So if you want to keep your car quiet and get some additional midrange power, the long tube J-pipe is a better option.

Scottwax

Maybe adding a second resonator or swapping out the mufflers with something like a Dynomax Super Turbo muffler would help. I had to do that on my G35 because the drone was so bad. Vibrant Ultra Quiet resonator to replace the one in the Tanabe exhaust, and the Dynomax to replace the muffler. Huge improvement. Zero rasp and I'd say it eliminated 90% of the drone.

Ltfa182

thanks for the input. I actually have a new magnaflow resonator sitting in my garage. My friend gave it to me since he wasn’t going to use it. I’m going to bring it with me to the exhaust shop and get their opinion. Im willing to sacrifice sound as long as the drone stops haha

OnlyDaanish

Well this was very informational. So seems like for me a Long J-Pipe is the best option possibly. I do believe the restrictions on the original are significant so Im sure Id feel a difference. I just recently cleaned the cats and the car runs so smooth now, I'd hate to add the pipe cause its not exactly cheap and then have to go back due to a drone or noise :/ Maybe I wont touch anything for now since its all smooth aside from weak low end pickup (but I also have a oem tranny with 200k on it thats a bit sluggish so.. it could be that)

Sidenote: @rockstar143 Where did u get those tail lights.

Thank you all for helping. Im so close to being done with this TL project after 7 years of owning it. Soon I will make a guide to Dye Clazzio seat covers with Camel Color dye and add Ventilated Seats to the TL while adding the covers to completely redo the interior, might as well sound deaden while I have the seats off and then A new Tranny (once this dies but its still running well at 200k) and Paint Job and i'm done! (The most expensive stuff really is the cosmetics but thats where I am at this point...)

Ltfa182

Do you have a picture of the exhaust on your car? I’m mostly curious about the dynomax mufflers. Did you use aftermarket tips or something to make it look normal? For the TL, I’d want to keep the quad look if possible, but I’m willing to lose it if I have to.

csmeance

J-pipe will not really alter to much of the exhaust sound and will give a nice power bump, the factory j-pipe is terrible on the 3G TL and chokes a lot of flow at lower RPMS. A dyno done a long time ago showed it adding a bunch of power at around 3-4K RPMS.
As long as you don't do the PCD's, you won't have to worry about drone.

For what it's worth, the OG comptech exhaust (sold until 2011ish) was in my opinion one of the best sounding ones with no drone (unless you delete the PCD's). That had a midmuffler and was 2.5" stainless.

https://www.heeltoeauto.com/comptech...l-230-049.html

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

A custom set I made.
Back about a decade ago, nobody was doing anything with the base red tails so I scooped some up and came up with some different looks...ex wife and I actually named them "red stripes" and "super reds" depending on what I blacked out.

Scottwax

I did add a 3.5" chrome tip on the end, otherwise it looked very similar because I'd painted the original Tanabe muffler black and then the Dynomax.

Currently have a Megan exhaust now (full 3") and swapped out the really short muffler it camewith a Vibrant stealth muffler. Finally got rid of the trumpet sound the VQ is famous for. Nothing like the silky rip up the RPM range a Honda J series has.

Exhaust sound is so subjective too.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I agree.
My hfpc turned themselves into pcd and I do wish I had a little throatier sound rather than the higher pitch, but it doesn't sound horrible.
I'll have to upgrade at some point, I guess...but with 6 other vehicles to maintain I'm not looking to spend a bunch on flashpro and cats just yet.

JavierC24

To be honest the HFPC and Jpipe are gonna cost about 1k or more. Can’t speak for sound but I know my stage 3 sounds stock until I get on it and people who do PCD tend to not be happy with the sound and spend a lot trying to figure out the sound . $1200 to get 15hp or so isn’t worth it imo. Id get a nos setup or save another few grand for a supercharger. I’m on the same boat where my car is basically stock and in a reliable state. Planning to save for a year for the nos kit.

Locustjones

Finally reporting back:
1. I ended up doing a heat wrap on the two mufflers and it helped reduce the range of the drone enough it was worth it. Drone was narrowed from 1800-2800 rpm down to 1900-2400 rpm. So that helps. Drive with that a couple of months.
2. Added an 18" tube type resonator. I purchased the Vibrant Performance 1141 2.5' Ultra Quiet Resonator but was too wide for the heat shields and hung lower than I wanted without scrapping things below. The 18" resonator did what I was after - it lowered the volume just enough for me. Drone volume lowered enough too.

But youre def right about the mid and upper range tones dropping out a bit. I think I could have gone with 14" resonator and maybe that would have kept a little more of it. But at this point its good enough and like the overall sound throughout the rpm range. Soon doing all new stereo system and I'll be glad it's 'quieter.'

OnlyDaanish

@rockstar143 @Scottwax @csmeance @Ltfa182 @Locustjones @PgLgGrg @twokexlv6coupe

I'm back! With some updates:
So after completely rebuilding the TL, my exhaust rusted apart after going over some water forcing me to get a new Jpipe and Cat Back.

I ended up buying the RV6 J Pipe w/ HFC (The cat is just a hollow opening and does nothing), and a Revel (Tanabe) Medallion Exhaust. All in total cost me $1.8k w/o install ... Was not worth it.

Didn't see a power increase at all lol, Doesn't even feel smoother. The Medallion was supposed to be a quiet exhaust and it is as far as quiet gets but now there's a drone inside the car between 1500-2000 RPM which is really F*cking annoying because its extremely quiet when up to speed but driving locally the car keeps droning until I get up to 40 mph every time... but screw it im stuck with it now.

All im wondering now is if the OEM cats with 200k on them are clogged and causing the sluggishness the car has... But HFPC are 800$ and If they increase the noise even more i'm going to lose it...

csmeance

RV6 J-pipe with high flow cat will be lower on low end power, but better in the upper rpm's.

Tanabe is supposed to be a "touring" exhaust; I wonder if you can get a resonator put in the middle to help cut back on the noise. Also check and make sure it's not rubbing on anything.

200K cats could be clogged but you would be getting catalyst codes on your car for them not being in range.

OnlyDaanish

no codes. So I have no idea.

This is their new j pipe with better low end. Still shit tho.

i thought about going to a exhaust shop to have them cut the pipe and put a resonator back

twokexlv6coupe

So you still have the 2 STOCK cats (bolted to the head), and you have drone?? That's nuts.
I've upgraded (and/or deleted) all of my cats, with zero drone.

Since it sounds like your Tanabe is essentially brand new, and too loud for you, you might be able to recoup about 90% of the cost selling it used for something quieter. Unless you do feel like hacking it up to add a resonator.

OnlyDaanish

Yeah the drone is like coming from the exhaust tips into the car. Don't even know how to explain it, and selling is just a ton of work. Ill have to have it hacked up... I don't wana throw money at HFPC so maybe i'll do it, maybe ill just do a temp test on the cats because I have random idle hunting issue that I still have no idea the cause of lol..