NA 2+2 Exhuast Help

Hey everyone, I need some advice on what course of action I should take regarding my situation.

Basically I noticed the other day a loud drone noise coming from the rear of my car. I knew straight away the drone was coming from the exhaust and I must have a small hole in the exhaust system somewhere.

And after doing a quick inspection of my exhaust pipes, this is what I found

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Now my exhaust system is the factory system which and I have never ever thought about changing to an aftermarket system due to my purist belief that stock is always better. Well times have change and I can now see that the stock steel exhaust system just inst designed and built to withstand the humid environment I drive it in daily.

Because I need to replace the rear muffler completely to fix the problem I thought this might be an excellent opportunity for me to maybe upgrade my exhaust system with a more modern stainless steel version which would not just look better but also be more resilient to rust and hopefully with some maintenance I can keep the system rust free for a very long time.

So which exhaust should I go, Having no experience with exhaust systems I don't know whats best for anti rust preventing (eg chrome plating or stainless steel) and do I go with a stock looking system and blow money prepping it to look chrome and give it some anti rust protection or do I but a pre-made stainless stain system?

The one thing I'm mostly worried about is devaluing the car with an aftermarket random exhaust system. As I don't want to put just any exhaust system in I want to try and keep the system as stock as possible so it fits easily and should help keep the cars value the same I think. The other options I was think of was maybe trying to find the 3 other somewhat factory performance exhaust systems available to a select few production sold Z32's these include

The 25th anniversary Stillen SMZ

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The Waco SR-71 Z32

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Or my favourite Tommy Kaira M30Z

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As I'm sure you guys know getting any of these exhaust system is near impossible and after spending a few hours trying to find even something close to any of these was like looking for a needle in a hail stack.

So I thought about what if I get a custom made exhaust system made to look like the tommy kaira exhaust? Would that be possible? would I get get bagged for making such a exhaust when cheaper alternatives are available?

If if was able to get a custom exhaust made how much would it roughly cost as I don't want to spend huge bucks right now but if the price is decent I might consider it but I just don't know what to do. Whats worth it and whats not.

I know I'm being picky and what not but as I'm only thinking out aloud at the moment I was hoping the more experience members might have more experience with this stuff and suggest more better options I didn't consider with my decision making process.

If you guys need more questions please ask away. I am not looking for a performance exhaust as such, not into big cannon style exhaust and don't want to have loud droning while I'm driving. just a shiny clean sutle exhuast.

 

Exhaust systems as disposable items. Unless you have a super expensive titanium system, once steel systems get old and rusty, bin them and make a new one. Recall a while back BennyC had a kakimoto that he loved, too rusty to save and went in the bin.

Off the shelf systems aren't necessarily better than something you piece together locally. It's just metal pipes at the end of the day.

Take it to any reputable exhaust shop they will custom make the whole lot for you. If you want it to work properly tell them to copy the stock system but go slightly bigger and put the square tips on the ends. You could ask for the whole lot to be made out of stainless... which looks great but it's overkill to do the whole lot due to price, generally stainless mufflers are all you'd really need and the rest can be mild steel.

 

Thats mike, i was think this might be the case, like i said didnt want to do hwat everyone else is doing putting big cannon exhaust systems i want it to be unquie and different hence why i like the tommy kaira exhaust. I think your right about not going all stainless steel so im happy with that and do you think they can copy the tk mufflers without needing any dimension info?

 

I agree with Mike, any decent exhaust shop will be able to custom make what you want even copying something like a tommy K or a kakimoto , if he has the images and as close to genuine specs to work with no problems.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/90-96-300ZX...L-EXHAUST-SYSTEM-X-PIPE-/371831586771?vxp=mtr

 

I'd go custom - a decent shop will be able to make you something just as good and it will probably be cheaper.

You can go stainless, it'll outlast the rest of the car. Or go mild steel and it will last another 27 years....

I know you're anal about your car being quite OEM. Have a talk to a good exhaust shop and they would be able to offer something that looks and sounds practically standard. They might be able to re-use your OEM tips, or buy/make some tips that look the same.

 

thank you guys for all the advice I feel like alot of the things I was obsessing about now don't matter anymore and I think I can finally get a nice chrome looking exhaust to compliment and update the rear of my Z compared to the old factory system.

I did a bit of research into rust and exhaust systems and I just got a bit overwhelmed with what options there are like nickle plating, chrome, triple chrome with nickle the list goes on and none of them guarantee complete rust prevention from what I read.

So I am hopefully I can get the system I want custom made at a reasonable price which my wife wont kill me over and ill have a nice clean looking exhaust I always wanted on the Z.

 

If a car is manufactured with quad pipes its a bit of a performance signature, all though I am sure there are plenty of shit boxes with quad pipes these days.

So from a purest prospective and even mine, its a bit of a pity to lose them.

Sure you can get a custom exhaust and sure its no big deal as Mike and others have said but if you want to keep it close to stock and quality the next level is something JDM.

Fujitsubo OS Ginken who may have made the TK exhaust, and I am with you I like it but it doesn't have quad pipes and impossible to find, and if you could would cost more then the Fujitsubo system brand new.

This > http://www.fujitsubo.co.jp/prods/detail/000000000000002066/00000000000000004662/00000548

http://auctions.search.yahoo.co.jp/...-1&oq=&sc_i=&fr=auc_top&p=760-15454&x=44&y=23

Fujitsubo Legalis R 760-15454 will probably cost you about $1500 landed I'd guess.

Jesse Streeter might be able to do you a deal.

I think this is closest to the idea you are pursuing and should meet 90 db at 4000 RPM which I think is the legal level.

 

Or you could just patch yours up and keep an eye out for a stock system, there has to a few hanging around in the rafters of peoples garages.

 

And that's exactly how I felt for many years brisz if the Z32 was blessed with a quad exhaust system it should always have a quad exhaust system and this is why I never had any interest in changing my exhaust system as I felt the stock system was unique to the Z32 and it is not a drony or super loud sounding system which is perfect for my driving needs.

But like I said "times have changed" and I'm all back preventative maintenance these days with my Z. Its the whole point of why I did my build project which was to install new and upgraded OEM parts to not just update my Z but to give the car longevity with parts that will never break done or deteriorate.

So the idea of putting a more durable stainless steel exhaust on my Z, would help me achieve that goal but I don't want just any random exhaust it has to follow my strict build guidelines which are that any part I plan to install must be OEM or a part installed on a special production sold model, like the Stillen or tommy karia models. It might sound stupid to go all anal about a special exhaust system but that's is going to make my Z special compared to the rest of Z's around the world.

The problem now is those special model exhuast systems are no longer in production and I would never be able to get my hands a genuine one from either of these models any time soon so as failsafe build guide I can only use aftermarket parts when no OEM part is in available means a custom exhaust is allowed for this instances.

I was thinking that if I get the exhaust system I like replicated in some way from any of these special edition models then that would be the best result I could achieve but its all about time and money for me. I'm trying to buy a house at the moment and blowing a few grand into a exhaust system is not going to keep my wife happy unless its absolutely necessary. Yes I need a replacement LH rear muffler but that's it really. I could always buy a used rear muffler and install that and be done with it but I just thought maybe an upgrade would be better in the long run. I am still not sure what path to take atm so for now I may go either way, that is if I can find a OEM replacement muffler locally.

Due to the annoying drone sound I'm getting from the exhaust with the exposed holes, I'm planning to try and repair the exhaust this weekend using muffler cement and a repair bandage to try and give me more time to figure out what I want to do. I just hope a solution will appear sooner rather then later.

 

If you go with a custom set up there's plenty of twin tip mufflers on the market. Big single exit mufflers will never not look like a boy racer has owned it, obviously you can go whichever way you want but if you want to keep that Nissan styling I'd definitely make keeping it a quad tip set up a priority.

Since the hole is so close to the back of the system you should be reasonably successful if you patch it, you may want to put some sheet metal over the patch with clamps to make it a little more sturdy.

 

I know this might sound silly but would a copy of laters of tin foil plus exhaust cement and then repair bandage be ok to do i dont really have access to sheet metal and i know i can use a coke can but dont have any cutting tools to cut it. I know it mught be stupid but im not at home where i access to all my tools including car ramps and stuff. Im doing this solo atm.

 

You may be able to have replacement pipes fabricated & still use your rear mufflers if they aren't rusted.

 

Aluminium foil wouldn't last long, even a $3 pair of scissors should be able to cut a can open or supermarkets probably sell cheap craft knives (stanley knife) which will do it.

I haven't tried and compared different methods of bodging an exhaust leak but I think using the bandage as the first layer then using the can over the top to compress it is probably more likely to hold together.

 

If you want to fix it up quickly for now, just buy an exhaust patch kit from autobarn or whatever:

https://www.autobarn.com.au/permatex-px-mrk-1-exhaust-repair-kit-cg-80334

 

Adam did you have a look at the ebay link in my above post? It is for the Stillen exhaust that you said you couldn't find

 

I had to read that a couple of times to get where you are coming from.

The thing is that these special model exhausts are designed for TT cars, the ADM Stillen had a stock exhaust.

One on my key ideas is that you have to fix a problems and move on, get it right the first time, less time less money etc, sometimes a complicated approach seems attractive, ie replicating and exhaust.

The fact is you wont be able to, you wont be able to get the mufflers, it probably would look like a shitty facsimile that will fall in the try hard basket.

I really think that your best choice other then extensive rework of your system or finding an OEM system that certainly wont last another 25 years. Is to fit a JDM purpose built and designed NA system.

The only one still available to my knowledge is the Fujitsubo above, its purpose built for an NA 2+2, its been weighed, dyno tested, sound tested, road tested, its uber quality and its going to fit, and quiet frankly the price is right. There is even a video with sound.

If you get one custom made none of that is guaranteed, there are some options with Labree for about the same money but you will find like most custom exhausts that with out mid resonates they will be legally too loud, with resonators I would almost be sure there is no testing on performance on an NA.

I realise it doesn't exactly fit your vision but sometimes comprises need to be made to get the best results.