RL428

Forgive the stupid question but this is my first import, I was used to driving muscle cars before and have never heard the term "test pipe"......

On the stang i used to have, you had your headers, then your mid-pipe with the cat. converter, and then your catback with the mufflers all the way to the exhaust tips. You could of course replace each section separately.

Is a test pipe like an off-road mid-pipe would be in my old car? I'm trying to get a decent, louder tone out of the car without breaking the bank (I'm really on a very low budget, but can't help myself lol)... i noticed that Invidia test pipes are very affordable, heard one on youtube with the stock exhaust which sounded nice. But can someone clarify it for me before I get all excited about this?

Vik2000

It's basically a de-cat. Since your cat limits the flow, you put a straight pipe in there to replace it. Depends on where you live, it might be prohibited. It's definitely one of the mods that give you highest hp/$. There will be bad smell though.

BTW, I could tell you used to drive muscle cars because of "headers".

thebig33tuna

factual helpful info:
test pipe = straight pipe where your cat used to be.

editorial:
don't do it! smells terrible, annoys the crap out of anyone behind you, especially if you ever do a group drive with friends. makes everything around your exhaust area extremely dirty. gives you almost no horsepower and very little change in sound.

suggestion:
buy a cold air intake. Fujita, K&N, whatever... any CAI will give you that small boost in power (mostly in your head..) and a great sound when you hit the gas hard. i have K&N, bought used from another s2k owner for $150. you can find similar deals on here in the marketplace forum.

RL428

Does it really sound that bad? I don't care about the smell, it would smell like any other car with no cats right? I've always had off-road pipes on my other muscle cars so im used to it, and I know a guy that gives me the inspection sticker without even checking the car for like a $10 tip.

Tsuchiya

you would gain alot more in sound from an intake than from a test pipe on the stock exhaust system.

If you don't want to spend money on an intake right now, modify your stock intake box since alot of it is designed to eliminate the cool noise

If you want to test it out, just remove the top cover from the intake airbox and drive around like that. You may be pleasantly surprised.
The downside is heatsoak when you're in traffic for example. Look into modifying your stock intake, maybe adding a drop in K&N filter, or get an aftermarket intake. I think it may be what you're looking for because the intake noise can be pretty loud and it sounds awesome.

RL428

Cool, will look into that. I already did remove the intake and it sounds really, really nice.

senor_flojo

I put a baseball card in my spoke, makes it sound like a motorcycle.