Exhaust System's

[s2ktx13]

Hey peeps. I was wondering about the HKS Cat-Back system for the S2k. Does it make any power. I really do not want to throw down 800+ Bills for and exhaust that will only be for looks. Also who makes a good header for the car. I know of Mugen, Spoon and Comptech. Are there any other out there and will they make a good amount of power.

[WestSideBilly]

You will find that no aftermarket S2000 exhaust will gain an appreciable amount of power. The stock system is quite good, albeit heavy. The single outlet exhausts (Spoon and one or two others) would gain the most power (still a very small amount, perhaps 2-4 hp), and also save quite a bit of weight. The HKS system is a tossup for power gain, but it sounds very good and is a few lbs lighter than stock.

For headers, Mugen and Spoon are both good, again you'll see a minimal power gain with some weight savings. Comptech, in my opinion, is garbage.

[Urmil]

I used to own the HKS...with my weight scale, I saved only 1.5 pounds. Also, not through any other dynos save a "butt dyno", I didn't gain anything. I felt no more power gain vs. the stock system.

On the other hand, at S2KDays '01, I had an opportunity to drive a car outfitted with the Mugen exhaust on it (and the thermostat, fan switch, and radiator cap). It definitely felt much stronger than mine. Mind you, I've had plenty of people drive my car, and they all feel that my engine is a stronger "feeling" engine than other S2K's they've driven. One of those opinions came from Greg Stevens (he's owned two S2K's (three engines)); he's had the advantage of getting comfortable behind the wheel of numerous S2K's.

My opinion is though, save the money for the exhaust for now. I did get a Mugen header and absolutetly love the gain I got in the mid range. After that mod, go with the Mugen ECU. After the ECU, it'd be a toss up for me in deciding for the exhaust or the intake....I'd probably do the exhaust (seeing that the intake runs about $1500).

PS. Greg's driven my car on numerous occasions, before the header install.

[s2ktx13]

So how much do you think that I can get the Mugen exhaust system for? Also did you feel more power in the mid-range or upper rpm range? Also what about noise. How does it sound compared to the stock exhaust?

[Urmil]

You should be able to find the exhaust from anywhere at $800,used, to $1200, new. With the car I drove that was fitted with the Mugen exhaust, fan switch, thermostat, and radiator cap, I felt the gain more near the "upper" mid range.

As far as exhaust note goes, If I didn't know what was on the car, it sounded stock until itting VTEC. In the VTEC range, its got a nice deep howl/growl.

If it's exhaust note that you're looking for, HKS makes a great note (but you have to learn to live with it at all times). Also a "Spugen" exhaust sounds great from clips I've heard online. However, I would just go ahead to a local muffler shop to see if they could just bend you a few pipes, select some cannisters, and weld on some hangers to match the S2000 hanger configuration. You'll get a great sound, some weight savings (probably much more than the HKS set up), and save yourself some great wads of cash (essentially, this is what the Spugen exhaust is).

[Legal Bill]

Originally posted by Urmil
You should be able to find the exhaust from anywhere at $800,used, to $1200, new. With the car I drove that was fitted with the Mugen exhaust, fan switch, thermostat, and radiator cap, I felt the gain more near the "upper" mid range.

As far as exhaust note goes, If I didn't know what was on the car, it sounded stock until itting VTEC. In the VTEC range, its got a nice deep howl/growl.

If it's exhaust note that you're looking for, HKS makes a great note (but you have to learn to live with it at all times). Also a "Spugen" exhaust sounds great from clips I've heard online. However, I would just go ahead to a local muffler shop to see if they could just bend you a few pipes, select some cannisters, and weld on some hangers to match the S2000 hanger configuration. You'll get a great sound, some weight savings (probably much more than the HKS set up), and save yourself some great wads of cash (essentially, this is what the Spugen exhaust is).

S2Ktx13,

While I generally agree with the above, I think you will find the Spugen system far superior to what a muffler shop will bend up, unless you can find a muffler shop that actually has a mandrel pipe bender on hand. The muffler shops have pipe benders that allow the pipe diameter to decrease at the radius of the bends. This reduces the effective diameter of the pipe and hence gas flow. Spugen uses mandrel bent pipes and high quality Magnaflow canisters. You can check out both by dot com-ming both names

If you want power, my research suggests you go with a 2.5 inch single. A single system avoids the silly Y connection in the dual systems which causes an interuption in gas flow. You might gain as much as 5hp based on dyno charts I've seen posted. It should also weigh 25 pounds less if steel and 40 pounds less if titanium. Of course Ti is loud and costs thousands compared to steel for hundreds. That's why i bought a Spugen, but I haven't installed it yet, so I can't report any increase.

Be careful comparing cars with other mods beside the exhaust. Who knows what mod is giving what power gains or losses at what RPM?

[desmo4]

I have a Mugen Airbox and when I added the headers there was a noticeable improvement in the midrange. I have the fan sw thermostat and radiator cap and the next thing will be the ECU, the exhaust will have to wait until re-employment.

Jonathan

[desmo4]

I checked with Spoon and they claim 2-3 HP and 1.5 ftlb of torque and I was confused about the weight because they said the system weighs 6 pounds.


Jonathan

[desmo4]

I checked with Apexi and I can get, through my business, their WS catback system for 10% off of list which is $799 so the net is $719.10. Does anyone have any idea how good or bad this system is? Or can I make the assumption it falls into the Spoon system catagory?

Jonathan

[Greg Stevens]

Jonathan, I don't have any experience with the Spoon exhaust or the Apex-i one...but who said the Spoon one weighs six pounds? I was thinking it was about twice that.

Also, have you checked with any of the club's sponsors to see what kind of prices you can get? Several of them would be able to score the exhaust for you, maybe you could save a few bucks by talking with them...?

[desmo4]

I am in the research phase at this point. I like Mugen quality and design philosophy but it would seem reasonable that a single ehaust system would be more efficient although it won't look as good. As for the 6 pound Spoon system that was on a distributers website. I think it was a misprint

Jonathan

[desmo4]

By the way my neighbor has a spoon cat back system. He didn't comment on the power but the sound is smooth but loud all the time.

Jonathan

[vecspeed12]

hey would anyone be interested in my feels exhaust?? it has less than 2000 miles on it and has never seen rain.. im located in SF so anyone??? this is worth 1400 bucks on the bulletproof website. of course im not gonna sell it for that much.



email me at vecspeed12@hotmail.com

[Yellow Streak]

Originally posted by Greg Stevens
Jonathan, I don't have any experience with the Spoon exhaust or the Apex-i one...but who said the Spoon one weighs six pounds? I was thinking it was about twice that.

Also, have you checked with any of the club's sponsors to see what kind of prices you can get? Several of them would be able to score the exhaust for you, maybe you could save a few bucks by talking with them...?

I have the Spoon N1 on my car and I can guarantee that it weighs more than 6 pounds. The other weight savings is in running the test pipe over the cat.

-YS

[monkeymaker]

I've heard the Spugen and HKS Hyper Exhaust in person and to me it's a toss-up as far as sound goes. Both sound awesome and are dual systems. They're both quite loud and neither made the car sound ricey. :) One warning is that at racetracks that have dB limits, both of these exhausts may be too loud.

The main advantages to Spugen over HKS seems to price and longevity in that Spugen is way less expensive and is also made of stainless steel, which the Hyper exhaust isn't. And as for the power boost, 2-4hp is about the best you should expect.