I am by no means an expert when it comes to vehicles. I drive a manual 95 Honda Civic VX (hatchback), and the stock muffler system I have has an exhaust leak causing it to sound horrible. Not to mention, it's rusted pretty bad so it rattles often at lower idle. So I figure I might as well upgrade the performance a bit by buying a cat back exhaust system. My first question: is there a difference in the hatchback exhaust system than the sedan, does the VX matter? Also, I only plan to do minor upgrades in the future (intake, header, possibly suspension) and I would like to go with 2" or 2.25" piping. Would it be cheaper to bring my car to a shop, have them make some 2" piping and have the weld on the muffler, or should I just get the catback exhaust with the 2.25" piping included. I would like to spend no more than $500, because I figure that is how much it would be to replace my stock system with another stock system. Also, I wont be doing any other upgrades for awhile, so if I ONLY get a catback exhaust system will it sound raspy and like every other honda I hear around town? I would like it to sound as deep and full as possible, with that said, any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

 

Okay, there's a few things to cover here. First and foremost, welcome to the forums!

Regarding your exhaust: I'm fairly certain there is a difference in the hatch/coupe/sedan exhausts, but I could be wrong. For the most part, the VX shouldn't matter, but it depends on what system you swap to. I'm not very familiar with the VX model, but I know some models have catalytic converters built into the exhaust manifold and others have the exhaust manifold and cat seperate.

Now about the cost: a custom-bent exhaust system will be much, much cheaper than a pre-made cat-back exhaust. Unfortunately, with a custom exhaust, you have to worry about what type of bends are used (mandrel, crush, etc.) and the welds rusting. Also, custom exhausts tend to have slightly smaller gains than aftermarket exhausts (since most larger companies dyno test and everything).

Also, the exhaust note is really dependant on the quality of exhaust parts. If you go the ebay route, expect it to sound like a big ol' box of Uncle Ben's. In contrast, if you get a quality muffler, it should sound great, even with a stock engine. Also, you can't forget the resonator. Resonators tend to take some of the raspiness away from the exhaust's tone. I've heard great things about Magnaflow's resonator. And remember: the longer the resonator, the better it'll sound.

 

So if I go the custom route I need the following: Muffler (Greddy SP2), Resonator (preferably Magnaflow), custom 2.25" piping they will do for me, and my current cat or a new one? How much is the general labor for this?

 

I know you said keep it to 500, but I cannot recommend enough the exhaust I have. It is by far the best exhaust I have ever personally heard on a civic. It will cost you about 600 shipped but you would not regret it. The RS*R exmag is just absolutely amazing, one of the clips of it on my car is in the exhaust faq sticky at the top of the page. That being said, I will respond in turn to what you requested.

For 500 dollars you can pick up a few good names including the Apexi WS2, Greddy SP2, and some people like the megan, but it is a little loud for my liking. Good luck shopping, and pm me if you have any questions, I did so much research when picking my exhaust (i'm **** like that) that I can answer almost any question about the exhaust side of the engine. Good Luck with your search!!

P.S. custom is a valid option, just make sure you have a quality resonator and muffler (RS*R has a muffler on sale right now I believe)

P.P.S. Most aftermarket exhausts (for civics) come with 60mm piping which is around 2.36 inches I believe...i'd trust that anything between 2.25 and 3" will suit your needs well.