Exhaust -OEM -> What?

[1989AccordLXI]

Hi Guys,

Been reading and reading and reading. Now I have some questions I need help with answers before making some decisions.

1989 LXI Coupe.
Stock exhaust (not original must be 3rd one at least), making excesive noise, muffler is shot to hell, needs to be replaced.

Last time I went into the Honda dealership, (a year ago to pick up a child seat anchor bolt for rear seat) I had them change the oil as they had a "special" going on that week.

They did a check of the car (you know looking for work) and they told me I needed to replace the b pipe (170.00), Muffler ( 155.00), and Cat shields (45), plus labor for a total of about $520. neadless to saw I did not do anything at that time and decided I could live with the extra noise for a while.

It has now gotten a little rice sounding and I have always liked how quite this car has been when it has a functioning exhaust.

Now come the questions.
What is the diameter of the stock exhaust?
If I get the Magnaflow Cat on that will it make a differnce in hp/ performance?
I want to put a new exhaust (muffler/resonator), and I want it to be quiet, and more performance whould be great. I drive it around town (downtown Chicago most of the time, and some highway) so it needs to be quite with the Chicago's finest on the prowl.

I prefer the "stock/sleeper" look. No 4 inch bung hole for an exhaust.
I would even consider an SEI muffler with the dual tips, does it make a differnce in performance, is it worth the cost?

One muffle joint I went into asking questions said if the B pipe needs to be replaced he would just put in a LX exhaust and remove the ball joint and save a bunch of $$ (he said b pipe and muffler with labor for $150). He did not put the car on a lift and look at the car.

But is a LX muffler the same as a LXI muffler except the ball joint?
Does the LX "stock" have a flex joint?

I still need to learn more, but any help is appreciated.

Tom

[MessyHonda]

take it to a muffler shop i spent around 600 bucks for headers, high flow cat, 2.25 inch pipe, magnaflow muffler installed. it sounds great and i defenatly got a performance gain...at least like 5-7 hp more.

[labeledsk8r]

yes the LX does have a flex joint, but really you can upgrade to a performance exhaust and it not be over noisy. you can run a nice performance muffler that looks about stock but gives better flow, in fact i just picked up a flowtech raptor for my car that looks nice and low profile and i hope to get a nice sound from it. only thing is if you go FULL exhaust headers will make your car a little loud if you really get on the gas and go above say 4K rpm, the stock LX-i (im guessing 88/89) is not that bad and should be fine to run but you can run a full exhaust and still keep it sleeperish and stockish but get the gains

[2drSE-i]

diameter of stock exhaust is 1.75"
SE-i muffler will not add a noticable performance gain. Just get a flowmaster or hooker aerochamber (anything with multiple chambers), bump the diameter up to around 2 or 2.25", the stock flexpipe should be fine.

[1989AccordLXI]

Thanks for all the fast replies and help.

Does this sound about right, and reasonable?
if everythign to the Cat is good keap it, replace the Cat with a Magnaflow.
Then get a reasonable quite performance muffle. Flowmaster, Magnaflow or what not sure, any recomendations?
Is 2.25 from the Cat or B pipe on back reasonable, or does it need to be further up?

Thanks again.

Tom

[labeledsk8r]

that sounds like a perfect setup. 2.25 is perfect for that. just be sure to get a mulitble chamber exhaust so its will be quiet but just abot any known performance muffler company should have plenty of mufflers on the market with a good variety of price aswell

[2drSE-i]

my next plan for exhaust is sweet, i cant wait till i have some money lol.

[Civic Accord Honda]

my next plan for exhaust is sweet, i cant wait till i have some money lol.

X2

[Hauntd ca3]

getting a performance exhaust and keeping quiet dont usually go together.
from my experiance, 4 cylinder motors tend to get noisy when you free them up.
you could go with a rear muffler from a car with a much higher engine capacity, like some thing off a four liter or similar.
and true, when you do the headers thing you get loud
i run 4/1 headers, 2.25 inch mandral bent system with a straight thru res and a nearly straight thru rear muffler and it came up at about 95 db.
loud ? yep, but shit it sounds good

[A20A1]

https://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352

https://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44016

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