Exhuast confusion
 

I'm looking at piecing together a complete exhaust system for my new car! Exciting but daunting. I've been doing as much research as possible, but would appreciate some advice.

I'm going the OFH+OFT tablet route first off, but how does this sound:

OFH
Some brand of overpipe (recommendations that won't break the bank? ~$200 or less?)
HKS dual resonated front pipe (will this fit the AT?)
Perrin 2.5" resonated catback
+ a bunch of 2.5" doughnut gaskets?

So my goal is a complete exhaust replacement. I would also like to have the entire exhaust be 2.5". Not stock diameter. And it also needs to fit the Automatic transmission.

Thanks for any advice and help!

Objectively, Tanabe is the best sub-$200 overpipe, and the only one that doesn't have fitment issues for that price. Fitment is great, gaskets included.

This assumes you aren't looking at fp/op combinations.

You only need 1 donut gasket, and it's honestly pretty safe to reuse the factory one if you're gentle with it. Lots of 2.5 flange gaskets though, bad experiences reusing those.

CylinderHead _ header - OverPipe - FrontPipe * midpipe - axleback

- is 2.5 flange
_ is header gasket
* is donut.

Hope that makes sense. Oh, and the HKS will fit the auto.

You don't need any donut gaskets with that setup. Perrin catbacks use a flat flange. If you decide to go with the HKS overpipe, you will need to cut off the bit of pipe that sticks out past the flange (seen here) so that it can mate up with the Perrin flat flange.

You should get all the gaskets you need from the various vendors. In total, you'll need 2x header gaskets and 3x 2.5" gaskets (header/OP, OP/FP, FP/MP). The MP/S-pipe and S-pipe/muffler connections on the Perrin will use the included V-band clamps.

Edit: one minor point. if you decide to get your own gaskets or are buying used, remember that not all 2.5" gaskets are alike. When I was trying to find/fix an exhaust leak, I tried to use [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CQ45UE4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailp age_o04_s00]these Remflex[/ame] gaskets on recommendation from someone on here. Unfortunately, those gaskets didn't work for me because as you can see, the bolt holes are really close together. I was unable to tighten anything down because resonators/collectors/etc. blocked access to the bolts. Last night I redid everything using the OEM 2.5" gaskets and it worked perfectly.

Edit2: the URL linking is wonky. Here are the 2.5" OEM gaskets. http://www.ft86speedfactory.com/suba...sket-1100.html

Thanks for all the advice! I noticed the Tanabe was 60mm piping, which is smaller than 2.5". Will the flanges mate up correctly with other 2.5" piping?

I'd like to stick with 2.5" if possible. Do you think I'd notice a significant power restriction with the Tanabe if my ultimate goal is 300rwhp on E85 with a supercharger?

Oh and thanks for all the advice so far! Much appreciated :)

The HKS resonated FP will fit the AT.

Ask @Bergen23 about fitment on the AT with overpipes, he's had like 50 different exhaust combos lol

More like 3 exhausts, 2 headers, one over pipe and one front pipe.

Honestly I'm not sure about the flanges, but my gut says it will be fine. 60mm is larger than the stock OP, so you'd be better off with the Tanabe over stock. The difference between OPs is minimal, from everything I've read. Also, 60mm is 2.3622 inches--not exactly a huge difference.

If you're concerned about the OP size mismatch, I can personally recommend the JDL 2.5" OP. It's just pipe, but it's soooo pretty and so well-built. A bit more expensive than you were looking for, but take a look regardless. http://jdlautodesign.net/shop/ft86-overpipe/

Are there issues with specifically the over pipe fitting the AT or is it just the front pipe that has issues?

I'm also looking at the Berk overpipe. I've got a great quote on that as well. However I'm not sure if that's 2.5" all the way either.

I just want something that has a proven fitment and doesn't rattle around. I'll go Tanabe if that winds up being the only good choice.

AT case is bigger, less space to get the pipe in to the body of the car. you wont be able to use 3" so I have read

you could do the grupp-s header/overpipe group buy that's happening on here for something like 600$ plus shipping which might meet your need for a cheap overpipe/header option. they'll come with replacement gaskets so you won't need to buy new ones.

as someone else has already posted the perrin cat back uses a flat flange so no donut needed (and if you buy new will come with its own gaskets to use) and as far as the front pipe is concerned the HKS duel resonated should fit your automatic transmission (and will do a great job cutting out any rasp from having no cats)