How decent is the stock exhaust
 

I've heard around the forums that the stock exhaust isn't very restrictive and it's mostly the stock headers robbing us of power in order to be more efficient. With this being said, I definitely want to invest in some headers but won't have the money for an exhaust for awhile.

Would it be a waste of money to install headers to a stock exhaust? I already have the FA20club stg 2 tune and CAI so the car would be retuned to take advantage of the headers.

I also like that the stock exhaust isn't that loud and that may allow me to go with non-catted headers to keep the noise down while having a little bit more performance over catted headers.

Headers + front pipe/overpipe + stock cat back exhaust will make pretty good power, and still be pretty stealthy. The stock cat back will probably cost you about 5-10whp over a good aftermarket one, but it can always be changed out later when funds allow.

Replace everything before the mid-pipe for moar power.

Thanks for the replies! I plan on going with an overpipe/frontpipe combo in the future too. Right now, Nameless looks very good. Probably Nameless Headers, OP, and FP. All uncatted. Then find the quiest catback on the market to supplement the noise made from the lack of cats. Would a quiet catback calm the system down in the noise department or should I get a HFC in the front pipe?

nameless is an excellent choice for what you're requirements are. If you have the money I'd go with their full exhaust system. It's a great value for under $1000.

You will want the offset-muffler setup with helmholtz resonator for that deep growl without being loud.

Thats what I've been thinking just needed some reinforcement on the idea. Looks like I'll just save up for awhile and then get Nameless on the phone. Order their headers and full exhaust system.

That is exactly what I'm looking for, no rasp, nice boxer growl like the older rally Impreza's had and no drone. :thanks:

How about having one HF cat to keep it legal, clean and not stinking for the other road users, including the cops?
It will also help keep it quiet with minimal loss of power.

Except for the fact that their headers are yet to be released (they've been in production for over a year). Also, if you're concerned about the noise level, wait until someone else gets the header first so you can hear it. They are making a 3" system, and that could be considerably louder than any other aftermarket header out there.

I believe the Nameless header is catted but I could be so wrong on that. If it is you only need that cat

I'm sure it will be optioned like the downpipe is.
Lots of options with their stuff, so you can mix and match to suit your needs.

good thread. i was thinking of doing this my self. I want tp get the nameless catted headers for more usable power but i want to stay stealthy, legal, and no codes and I was wondering how it would be w/ stock catback.

I think if the stock muffler had better exhaust tips it would be perfect. As ricey as it sounds, that's why I ended up getting the muffler delete. The stock muffler is also VERY quiet (especially compared to the muffler delete). Performance wise, though, I don't think there's any real gain in replacing the final section of exhaust, at least not until you're pushing a lot more air into the engine.

i'm running CAI and frontpipe right now, i plan on getting headers before exhaust...
so you're not alone if you make the derision

I am running Header, overpipe, front pipe with hfc, and stock catback with exhaust tips. The exhaust tone is nice, and I installed the JDM GT86 tips with the stock catback since I plan to keep it for most daily driving.