Is it necessary to go for ‘name’ brands on overpipe/front pipe?
 

Hi
I’ve got tomei UEL headers and an X-Force 2.5 catback. I’m happy with the sound tone but would like more volume. I know it’s advised to maintain the same brand exhaust through- however I can’t find anywhere to individually buy the x-force overpipe, can only find the front pipe, and not sure how well it would fit my Tomei headers. If I went tomei overpipe/front, it’s super expensive, looks like it’s 2.3inch, and also is catless which I don’t want.

Ultrex which is a local brand to me sells a hi- flow catted front pipe (100cel)/ overpipe combo which looks like it will match up with my x-force and tomei. It’s on the cheaper side- but they say the piping is 1.5mm thick compared to standard 1.2mm which they claim will prevent cracking.

Obviously for headers you want something high quality, but is it as important for the front/overpipe? I’m NA and don’t have any pops and bangs if that makes any difference.
Just want to keep the same tone but make more sound, whilst maintaining the illusion I still have a CAT (even if it’s doing next to nothing) as police are always looking for one

It will probably be fine. Usually the cheaper it is the poorer the fit and finish is. So it's more prone to leaking. Name brand shit leaks sometimes too though. There's nothing inherently incompatible about the parts though, since they were all made to fit into the stock system individually.

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The overpipe is kind of negligible until you start going FI. The determining factors on sound are your headers and catback. The front pipe acts kind of an equalizer between your headers and catback, even in it's stock form, all it does is reduce rasp/drone, there isn't anything in that cat that reduces emissions or anything for the matter. If you want to to increase sound but keep the same tone, I would recommend going with a HFC (High Flow Cat). Do keep in mind that the louder you get, the more attention you attract (cops), and the more drone you'll generate. That's why a HFC or a resonated/double resonated F.P could help mitigate some of the rasp/drone while increasing sound.

Pretty much any overpipe will work. I have however seen some junk eBay type overpipes that look like a downgrade from OEM the way the flange and pipe meet.

FT86MS sells a Ikon motorsports OP; I went in and looked at it before grabbing one. Ended up with a gruppe-s OP after seeing how poor it was put together.

I don't think you'll really get much of a sound gain from the overpipe change as much as you will from the front pipe change you hinted at. I think you should put your energy toward swapping that out instead, and if they have a version that's both catted and resonated then you'll get your sound gain without as much risk of gaining a drone you may not like. But either way, I say swap that before you go for an overpipe, and then you can save for whatever price you want to pay for the one you want to get.

Always go name brand. Always.

Thanks for the replies.

Yea- I don’t expect the overpipe to make much if not any of a difference just thought I might as well swap it with the front pipe so I don’t have 4 different exhaust brands.
I’m not too concerned about it being obnoxiously loud I just don’t want a rasp. My current catback has a pretty large resonator in the midpipe- the exhaust setup with stock Front/ Over is loud but not crazy. Good for general driving but I want the option to go really loud just for the rare occasion and so I can actually utilise my muffler valve

I’d like a hi-flow, catted and resonated front pipe just availability at a reasonable price is an issue for me as I don’t live in the US and it’s annoying having to pay shipping that costs almost as much as the exhaust component itself.

Is there any brand that sells a reasonably priced overpipe with a resonator that pairs with a hi- flow catted front pipe?

Nameless sells an overpipe/frontpipe combo that is one piece and catted. I have their 2.5 inch now. I am going to their 3 inch soon. You also have the option to add a resonator to reduce drone. It will make the car quite a bit louder though going to a high flow cat in the front pipe.

I Have been super impressed with this combo. I've had it for almost 6 years now. ANd the one time the resonator had an issue, they fixed it for me (i paid shipping both ways, but atleast they were prompt about fixing it)

https://www.ultimate-racing.com/coll...ont-pipe-combo

It continues to hold up well. I have the catless +resonator version.

Air doesn't care whatever medium it goes through.

That being said, going for something proven is a safer bet for dealing with hassles down the line. Case in point, those Borla headers were notorious for cracking

Don't get too hung up on matching brands. As long as they are designed to connect to the stock exhaust they will all connect just fine.

As you are in Aus like me I would recommend staying away from an American made overpipe. They are usually great quality but they don't have our local RHD cars to design around so the pipe may come too close to the steering column. I have a SME overpipe that is made in NSW, fits perfectly. They may do frontpipes also. I currently have a JDL catted ultra quiet front pipe and have been very happy with it, previous to that I had a catted Nameless front pipe with the Helmholtz resonator and I also liked that. If you plan on tracking your car make sure whichever brand you go with has a decent cat. Cheap hiflow cats have been known to melt under track conditions.

Thanks, found this
https://www.aerospeedperformance.com...-86-subaru-brz

Not sure if there's a typo though as it says its catted + resonated yet the first description line says
"Middle Cat has been Eliminated and Replaced with Dual Resonators for Maximum Flow and Sound".
Price is a little steep for just a front pipe though

That ad is confusing. I can't find a SME website but they do have a facebook page under Sydney Motorsport Engineering. Maybe shoot them a message there and see what's what.

The stock FP tames a catless header. So changing it expect some rasp. I had jdl quiet one and it was too raspy. I have Jdl catless uel header, stock OP and FP and Q300. But my Q300 is loud when on it.