bentrim

I am getting ready to purchase my exhaust and intake and after searching the board, just want to make sure I am correct so far.

Out of all the diffrent options currently available... Neuspeed, Mugen, HKS, Comptech, Nippon, and RM Racing, that the RM Racing Intake and Exhaust are the best bet for performance as well, a nice loud thick sound for the money?

I believe from what I have read and seen, that the RM exhaust gives you around 7 hp, compared to the others at around 5... am I right?

Any info will help, I am currently searching the board for more info as I type this.

Thanks.

BlueS2000

Considering the fact that they call it RM Racing cold air intake it still sucks a lot of hot air from the engine bay.I own an Injen intake and at this moment i

pnty drpr

bentrim,

About the RM Racing exhaust, do a search, or talk to some owners. Bottom line, don't believe all the advertisments.

And I too have the Injen (hot air) intake.
It sucks up a lot of hot air from the engine bay, and the RM has a similar design (with a small tube attached).
You have to understand that the engine will suck up air from the least resistance, and that will be through the open element filter sucking up hot air and not the thin pipe.

Mugen has a nice carbon fiber intake (expensive), which is a cold air setup but it has the filter element enclosed in carbon fiber. MG Racing has a similar design for half the price. Also, owners have gotten pretty good results from the stock intake setup and just an upgraded filter.

Oh, and the exhausts, you missed a new one. MG Racing has one out now.

shingles

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bentrim
[B]I am getting ready to purchase my exhaust and intake and after searching the board, just want to make sure I am correct so far.

Out of all the diffrent options currently available...

Phantom

bentrim,

I recommend the MG Racing cold air intake.

I have the RM Racing cold air intake...only because Wesmaster sold it to me for $100.

RM Racing looks tight, but only ~1/4 of the air is cold, which is comming from the other aluminum tube. I'm working on a heat shield for it right now.

GTRPower

Hmm...

The only company to actually show dyno plots from engine dyno testing with their header/exhaust right now is Mugen.

In any case...

The MG Racing intake is still under development, although the basic package is complete. Do a search Greg Stevens' prototype installation. Greg had some problems with a wiring harness/bracketry but I'm sure Giampiero will take care of him. FYI- the opening of the MG intake is below and behind the radiator, angled at a 45 degree angle towards the front/ground in front of the steering rack on the right side if my memory serves me correctly. It uses a cotton panel filter, and the entire assembly is made in Europe.

I personally have some issues with the location of the inlet of the MG intake. It's very close to the ground, it's in a relatively low pressure area that will not maximise the airflow, and the inlet is completely exposed. Anyone familiar with AEM CAI and the problems it had that required the need for a air bypass valve design will know what I'm concerned with. However, I understand that Greg is very happy with the intake. I'm sure he'll chime in sometime...

The Mugen intake that I have on my car is fairly self explanatory. In standard form it uses a full carbon fiber box with the inlet under the nose of the car. On my car it is an integral design to the Mugen bumper shroud, but on the standard bumper it sucks air from the center, right below the license plate holes- both locations are at the highest pressure zones on the car- at the front, at or in the nose area ensuring a good flow of air to the box. It uses a custom K&N manufactured cone air filter element, made to Mugen's specifications. Both versions of the Mugen airbox were developed with the help of Japanese National full scale rolling road wind tunnel to ensure it's efficiency at speed. I have had zero problems with my intake. The standard hood requires some modification to fit the Mugen intake- the Mugen hood requires no modification.

Headers and Exhausts-

I've only used the Mugen header and exhaust on my car- but my first experience with a S2000 was in Greg Stevens' HKS exhaust equipped S2000.

We wanted to do some rolling acceleration tests with Greg's car on Sunday morning to see the performance differences with Jason/Brad/Juliann's Mugen-exhaust-only equipped car, but his car had a "check engine" light that we later traced down to a wiring harness problem from the recent installation of the MG intake.

The Mugen exhaust is almost OEM silent at idle all the way to VTEC actuation- but when above VTEC, it screams with a manic cry that really, really gets my heart pumping. Apart from the fact that it is significantly lighter than stock, it also utilises a pair of titanium canisters with the rest of it being full stainless steel. Unlike almost ALL the other systems on the market, Mugen has incorporated the harmonic dampener pipe of the OEM unit into the basic tube butting and forming. This is not your basic "straight pipe" exhaust. Mugen says that the header/exhaust combo is worth significant horsepower- check that dynochart at King's site for more details.

The HKS exhaust, as on Greg's car, is more boomy- deeper sounding. It uses stainless steel canisters on mild steel ceramic coated pipes. For the money, it's a nice item, but HKS does not make any claims for increases in horsepower or weight reduction.

Everyone who has the Mugen header has been happy with the performance increase it provides. Check http://www.kingmotorsports.com to see dynocharts of the header/exhaust combo. As stated in previous threads, power comparisons can only be done with an ECU that is more stable under heat than the OEM. I haven't seen any other headers that make power- but I have seen many, many claims that say they are "just like Mugen but make more power." It's a funny thing...

I haven't seen any other information from anyone else on other header/exhaust/intake systems that I would even consider installing on my car.

bentrim

Pnty Drpr, from what I have read, I do not believe the MG Racing exhaust/header is available yet.

Shingles, I too have already ordered a JRs air filter, but waiting unpatiently for it. I thought I had read though, that the Neuspeed exhaust had a hollow, less dominant sound as the majority of others.

Phantom, how do you reccomend the MG when dyno numbers havent been shown, and I believe it has been anticipated for almost 2 months now. ?

GTRPower, yes I have read most of the posts concerning Greg Stevens and the MG Racing guys... I dont think its availble yet, and not sure how long I can hold off. Thanks for the info though.

You guys have been great so far, I appreciate the info. It just gets a little overwhelming with 5 windows open searching for all this info.

Thanks.

mingster

If you would wait a while, I'll have the full dyno numbers for (listed from intake to exhaust):

1. Prolene's car:
JR Filter->Pro Flow TB->Mugen Header->Mugen Exhaust

2. Mingster's car:
JR Filter->Spoon TB->Spoon Header->Mugen Exhaust

3. Ultimate Lurker's car (?):
???

shingles

Bentrim,

Look at ming's post in the forsale forum on the exhaust GB... there are some sound files for it. It's pretty deep, not very hollow if you ask me. Also, it's made by Borla... I've always liked Borla's exhaust notes as they are deep and not raspy.

-Shing

pnty drpr

bentrim,

Mg Racing exhaust and header are on their way.
One set is here and is going on Greg's car any day now, and the full production set is on its way.

As soon as Greg gets the parts on his car, it will be dynoed. Be a little patient so that at least you have all your options in front of you. This is a big enough purchase where you want to make sure you have all the stats in front of you.