Fair enough. I’m in contact with another local member so hopefully we can use his space. I’ll report back with installed photos and volume/drone findings within a month or so!

Your Mum -- i.e.Mom -- doesn't have a driveway? Only place you need. :)

-- Chuck

Yeah, man. Save yourself the cost of having someone else do it. Plus you get the satisfaction and peace of mind knowing it was done right.

Aside from an S2K and new exhaust system, all you need is a driveway, jack, jack stands and a socket set. I did this myself and it was a piece of cake -- you'll be done in just a few hours. (that's not counting time to let the penetrating oil set on the cat bolts + however much time you spend obsessively fussing with getting the exhaust tips perfectly centered in the bumper)

I agree with others, this swap goes quite smoothly and can be done with minimal equipment. You do need jack stands to be safe, an a 16mm wrench, which is not in most of the metric sets I have. I did soak the nuts with penetrating oil several days in advance and had no issues getting them loose. The rubber isolators removed easily with a little silicone spray, and appear to be quite durable. I did not use the new ones I had purchased. OEM exhaust is a little heavy, so be ready when it comes down.

Regarding sound levels, either I am getting used to it, or the annoying aspects are getting better over time. Perhaps the new style packing is settling in? Only explanation I can think of. Start up on cold idle is still loud, but everything else is good.

Best of luck with everything!

I will add that if you don't spray the rubber bushings (silicone, etc), they are virtually impossible to remove.

So this isn't a makes it easier step, but makes it possible.

Any aftermarket exhaust will add noise and drone. That's the entire point of an aftermarket exhaust, if you think about it.

If Honda could have made the car louder without it becoming annoying...they probably would have done it.

As far as paint....look into a 2 part urethane paint. If you're planning on using like..."high temp" spray paint from a store, its going to start to flake off in a few days and you'll be left with a bit of a mess. You need a catalyzed paint or some sort of specialised coating.

I was actually looking at spray cans and they all seem to follow a similar curing process a day after spraying:“Run vehicle at idle for 10 minutes then allow 20 minutes to cool. Run vehicle at idle for 20 minutes then let cool for 20 minutes. Run vehicle at normal operating conditions for 30 minutes then allow vehicle to cool.”

From what I’ve read, it seems to be more of a prep issue (250 grit scuff + isopropyl) than a paint quality issue when it comes to chipping.

When I thought about painting my mufflers black I was going to use the same high temperature paint I use on my gas grill in the back yard. Didn't paint it as the stainless steel isn't that noticeable on my Silver car.

-- Chuck

Spray paint is just air cured acrylic, usually. It won't last. No chip resistance from rocks that hit it. Almost no long term UV resistance (which matters less on an exhaust, I realise), almost no chemical resistance, and other factors that mean it won't last.

BUT....give it a shot if you want.

Just throwing out my recent experience.
I just installed a Revel Medallion exhaust that I received from Evasive this past weekend. I stumbled across this thread after ordering it, and it made me consider sending it back.

Oh, whoever gave the tip about silicone spray on the hangars, spot on! I can’t remember if that was in this thread or not… I’ve been overwhelmed by research.

One negative, someone else recently had this issue, the right muffler isn’t centered in the cutout, but the left one is.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...44e04d309.jpeg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...181c0228c.jpeg

Otherwise, I think it is a pretty system.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...3ae300aff.jpeg

The main reason I wanted to chime in is to give my opinion on the sound/volume level. After seeing this thread, I thought “oh no, it’s gonna be too loud” and “it’s clearly not the same as the older Tanabe.” Now, I haven’t heard on old system in person, but I did all the research that many of you have done… watched the YouTube vids and read up on the forums and decided that I thought the Tanabe Medalion was right for me. Then I saw that it’s Revel now and not made in Japan. Well, ok, whatever, this is what’s available now.

(I have a stock cat and stock headers/exhaust manifold; only have the K&N FIPK installed)

This stuff is all personal preference and subjective, so no one knows if you’ll like it but you. However, I am very pleased with this exhaust. It has a nice deep tone. It’s a bit louder at high idle, but very tame at idle once the car warms up. I think the “boominess” is actually most prominent from 1-2k rpm, then it’s even but a little less from 2k-3500, then after that it’s just a good blend of sound with my K&N intake (not droney) as the car winds up, but not super loud. I could see some thinking it’s a little droney from 1-2k. Personally, it’s what I was looking for. I wanted the car to be deeper and make some more noise than stock, but not obnoxiously loud. My dad has the Fujitsubo Legalis-R on his AP1, which is commonly touted as the other “gentlemen’s exhaust” for our cars I believe. Just to give you a frame of reference for my opinion. Many years ago we bought the invidia for that AP1 and quickly sold it bc we thought it was too loud. The Revel is a bit more “boomy” on the low end compared to the Fujitsubo, but I would describe it as a deep, more full sound.

I’ve rambled a bit, but I just wanted to share that I ended up happy with the Revel in the end. Maybe I can ease some minds for those that second guessed themselves like I did.

Hey mate, thank you for the in depth experience and pictures. It's certainly helped to ease my mind about it. I ordered it a while back and was told by tactical Racing it would arrive in October. Been chasing for an update since the start and they said its with tegiwa who is fulfilling the order? I'm guessing they ordered through them or something. Still not arrived yet, but hoping it does soon. Thanks again.

Thanks for the update and photos! I’m waiting for mine to arrive still as well (early November potentially). I’ve decided I’m going to have a black ceramic coat put on the mufflers prior to install so that’ll be fun to compare against the raw stainless that everyone has been posting.

I have mine and am installing at the moment. Will see if I can manage to make the tips align in the cutouts.

Just dropped the OEM exhaust :-)

Help!

How did y'all line up the tips in the cutouts? I have tried everything. On the passenger side I used the original hanger but used the two bottom holes instead of the one top hole and one bottom hole. My tip on passenger side is touching the top and left of the cutout. Did y'all bend the crap out of the cars hangers?

I didn't need to make any adjustments, mine just bolted up and I tweaked the rubber slightly on the right side as I was being fussy.

Any chance the hangers have been dinged previously?

No damage to the hangers

I didn’t bend anything either. I honestly didn’t think that just bending the hangers would help much, because it seemed like it had more to do with the way the exhaust piping lined up. I did use a different hanger hole on the passenger side than the driver side. It made it a little better, but still not perfect. You could try using a heat gun on the hangers and slightly bending the hangers a bit.

Tried the "AP1" 2-hole hangers for the rear mounts? You can buy 2-hole hangers at AutoZone-type stores, no need for OEM.

-- Chuck

Any pictures on which hangers and what holes to use?

I haven't had a chance to hear one in person since the rebrand, but I bought one for my last '05 in 2013. It was a very sedate sound at cruise with virtually zero drone when paired with a 63.5 HFC, and sounded great when on heavy throttle. It got a little louder by the time I had put almost 100k on it, but it was never what I could consider loud, let alone too loud.

If they've ruined the sound in chasing cheaper costs or "improvements," that's a shame.

I installed the new one two weeks ago and I have nothing but love for it. I don't know how the Tanabe version originally sounded but the revel is good and I really can't see why people are complaining-it's the perfect exhaust for this car.

The exhaust has been delayed for the UK. Placed my order back in August. Delivery date kept changing from September, October, now January next year! Really don't know whah tegiwa UK is playing at.

I finally installed the exhaust this morning after waiting about three months for it to arrive. It looks like pricing actually went up substantially since I placed my order so I’m glad I did so before metal/shipping prices shot through the roof!



I decided against ceramic coating the mufflers because that would void the warranty with the small chance something was damaged internally due to shipping. Additionally, you all scared the hell out of me into thinking I would not enjoy the sound and I’d just end up selling second hand.



So far, I like it a lot upon the first few short drives! There is the 1,800-2,000 boomy/drone some mention, but before this exhaust all I could hear was transmission/clutch/motor ticks at that RPM. I like a little low end bass off the line and around parking lot speeds. That’s the bit of drama I was looking for.


Cruising and downshifting below VTEC is totally livable and there is only a slight drone effect upon aggressive dip into the throttle. If you are cruising 3-3,500, the exhaust tone seems to fade to almost OEM levels. It is tame compared to my previous Q300 which was always loud. The Revel allows you to go completely incognito if you’re in neighborhoods or around police simply with throttle position or a quick up change.

A quick note on fitment: no issues and tips are centered with no adjustment needed. I have an AP1 with AP1 bumper for reference. I’ll post photos when I get a chance.

We will see how much louder it gets in a few hundred miles and I’ll report back.

Any updates on the sound mate? you still happy with it?

If any of you are looking to by one there is currently 7 in stock at Evasive Motorsports I just bought one:)

Did yours arrive mate?

I had mine on order since August 2021 with Tegiwa. It came close to the delivery date and they kept pushing it back and back, at least about 5 times. was meant to be delivered early Feb, now they are saying mid April at the earliest. have lost complete faith in them after waiting for so long and constantly being messed about. It's one thing just blaming 'shortages' and 'supplier delays' but ultimately they are the ones passing on a delivery date. if they weren't confident in it, they should hold the suppliers accountable to fulfill or stick to it.

Got sick and tires so cancelled my order and requested a refund. probably go down the route of a custom exhaust now... not happy.

Hi Fozzy! Absolutely 7 days after right from California to Montreal Canada:) I am pleased and very happy with the exhaust can't wait to take the care for a ride winter still in force here....

glad you at least got yours and are enjoying it!

The way shipping is right now, they aren't deliberately misleading you, it is a real mess. I had a container sit at a port for 30+ days waiting on a ship, then another 2 week delay at another port. Then took another 3 weeks for local delivery.

I just installed this exhaust today on my S, after waiting 9 months for a Greddy i finally gave up and ordered this one. I saw several comments saying one of the mufflers doesn't sit right in the opening, but actually I did get them to sit correctly. It took 3 of us to wiggle it into place and tighten it down, but it actually does line up nicely (the flanges have to be matched up exactly).

First impressions.
- It smells. REALLY BAD. I'm sure whatever it is will burn off eventually, but its a horrible smell.
- It's boomy at low revs (2-4kish). seems thats normal, i hope it will get a little less over time

Overall I think i'm happy with it, for the 20 minutes or so i drove around. No drone at highway speeds really with the top down, wind noise is louder. regular driving is not too loud but when you hit vtec it absolutely screams. Supposedly this is one of the quieter exhausts, i can't imagine getting anything louder.

Oh, I also have Tanabe Medallion mufflers on my G35 and the Medallion logo is actually different, I dunno what's up with that but that's weird.

Thanks for posting this.

I'm convinced there are differences between the original Tanabe Medalion Touring exhaust and the recent Revel Medallion Touring (not sure why the spelling differences). The rear diffuser on my car prevents me from looking for any logos on the mufflers, just the tips are visible. I suspect there will be anything notable in your experience with this exhaust.

The Tanabe installation instructions note the system will smoke for a while as (I'm guessing) manufacturing oils in the packing material in the mufflers burn off. I recall this stopped after a few days and was stinky. Exhaust is louder on cold start but since we back our cars into the garage startup noise is amplified somewhat.

Mine has now been on the car for roughly seven (7) years (darn time flies!) and around 30,000 miles without noticeable changes in sound or performance.

-- Chuck

I drove it 60ish miles today and I think the smell is starting to go away, it's still there but not as bad. Actually, the instructions they sent were a joke. It was basically just a picture of the exhaust laid out, didn't mention anything about the smell. But it does smell like some manufacturing oils are probably being burned off.

The exhaust is for sure louder on cold start. It's very boomy at low RPMs. So far I still like it.

Exhaust fitment:
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...b656c60e89.jpg

Logo:
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...40a6aea50f.jpg

Logo on my G35 Tanabe Medallion
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...8be2b7a45f.jpg

Spelling seems consistent. Here's mine moments ago. One "L" (sorry about my garage):


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...9d92be830d.jpg

That's on both sides of the tips. Nothing else visible with me lying on my garage floor. I was wrong I couldn't see the bottom of the mufflers. I can but there's no logo on them just a Made In Japan tag and a serial number. I think there's also a date as in 1412 which I'm guessing means December 2014 which makes sense as I bought these in the spring of 2015.

-- Chuck

Has anyone tried adding a Helmholtz resonator ( the dead end pipe near the front of the stock system) to the Tanabe Revel system? It should change the resonance in the system without adding restriction, only a little weight.

After a year I think the Medallion Touring is a bit quieter. 2-4k issue is still there and can get annoying on slower roads. I do think top end power is increased and there is a little burble off throttle during shifts that was not present with the stock system.

Not getting any drone but that may be a form of selective hearing on my part and being used to the system after many years. Not sure of the science and engineering in a Helmholtz resonator but if that was published it seems it would be easy to weld into the system.

Those on the OEM exhausts are different depending on AP1 or AP2. Is there one on the CR or S versions?

-- Chuck

CR exhaust still has the helmholtz resonator.

I'm wondering if it's the same one as on the "base" exhaust as the mufflers are different. Probably no way to tell without them side by side. AP1 and AP2 look quite different.

-- Chuck

I noticed the little burble as well, i like it.
I did also have the same thought about the resonator, but I don't really want to cut up my new exhaust just yet. I'll give it some time and if it's annoying I'll look into it.


Also, i think the smell went away finally lol.

(paraphrased quote)

So I installed the Revel Medallion today and have exactly the same original fitment issue as you. Had to manipulate the bumper's soft lower edge with zip ties to avoid the tip melting it for now! Any advice on what you did to fix the alignment? Looks like you got it spot on here! I tried refitment twice and also tried to manipulate the hanger, but nothing really changed. Next option is to take it down and bend the pin to sit better in the hanger...
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...6c73108408.jpg
Before manipulating the bumper to avoid touching

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...d38837737.jpeg
This is the hanger and you can see the pin is not aligned or level. I've twisted and secured the hanger to pull it down a bit for now. The driver's side is perfectly level and straight compared to this...
​​​​​​
I came from a UK mod to this and I am very happy, minor boom included. In Sweden we have really low speed limits and the sounds (and burbles) I can now get while pottering around town are superb.

Mine also feels faster off the line but I think that's just my inner teenager's imagination... :D

No Burbles on my Tanabe Medalion (one L) Touring exhaust but it's also behind a Berk high flow car and I'm FlashPro tuned. The Burble is the ONLY thing I miss from the month I had the the amazingly horrible and amazingly popular Invidia Q300 dual exhaust on the car. I think my high school diploma has something to do with those perceptions 'cuz those guys loved it when I drove by. :) "Someday" I hope to hear the Medallion (two Ls) Touring side by side with mine.

Obligatory note: Before buying any aftermarket exhaust (or the UK modification) hear it on a S2000 on the road. Sound clips ain't gonna help nor will comments like "barely louder than stock, etc). I wear hearing protection in many factories and at the range but "free the ears" when driving. Anyone who wants to drive their S2000 to Richmond is welcome to drive mine. (Behave 'cuz I'll be driving yours. :) )

-- Chuck

Did you actually fix this in the end? My passenger side is too high up, left side sits very nice.

Yes, put it back up on the lift and used human weight to just bend the whole system until it was perfect. No further refitment or adjustment, just pulled the right side down until it was aligned well and that was it. Perfect since then.