[MooreMayhem]

I have a 2007 Nismo CC. I've been wanting to put a cat-back exhaust on but don't have the $500 or so to spend. so i bought a Magna flow muffler on summit racing (item # MPE-11236) for $72.36 and am going to fab up the pipes. It seems a lot of people on ClubFrontier are satisfied with MagnaFlow. My buddy has some pieces of pipe from an exhaust kit he bought so we are going to use that. It's a 2.5" in/out Magnaflow muffler so we'll be using 2.5" piping. I'm hoping we can weld on the stock tip.

Also bought a K&N drop filter. I did this instead of buying a complete CAI b/c from what i've read, the Frontier basically has a CAI already since it pulls air from the wheel well. i'm interested to see if just by adding a high performance filter if i notice a difference.

The parts will be coming in later this week and we'll hopefully do the install this weekend. Pics will be coming.



Thought/Comments?

 

[ToddG]

Are you removing/replacing the "Y" pipe on the exhaust?
The factory "Y" is probably the most restrictive part of the exhaust system.
I have a dual in/dual out Flowmaster and ditched the "Y" pipe.

 

[Sweaty]

Are you removing/replacing the "Y" pipe on the exhaust?
The factory "Y" is probably the most restrictive part of the exhaust system.
I have a dual in/dual out Flowmaster and ditched the "Y" pipe.

I agree and ditching that big heavy stock muffler isnt a bad idea eather. I always seem to drag it, just a matter of time before it starts to leak and fall off. But I would really look into changing the Y pipe its very bad design.

 

[HightecRednec]

Also bought a K&N drop filter. I did this instead of buying a complete CAI b/c from what i've read, the Frontier basically has a CAI already since it pulls air from the wheel well. i'm interested to see if just by adding a high performance filter if i notice a difference.

Yes, it does get air from the wheel well already. No, you will not notice difference in power from just the drop in filter. I did the same thing before switching to the Volant CAI and I wish now that I had just saved the money and went straight to the Volant.
However, the biggest advantage to an aftermarket CAI is that they replace the tube that runs from the air box to the TB. The stock tube has baffles in it to keep the noise down which in turn restricts air movement. The aftermarket tubes are a open straight shot (which is why they are louder) and allow better air flow from the air box to the TB. Also, most of the CAI's come with a cone style filter which (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong here) have a larger surface area than the panel filter that comes stock which allows for more air intake.

 

[ToddG]

Also, most of the CAI's come with a cone style filter which (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong here) have a larger surface area than the panel filter that comes stock which allows for more air intake.

I concur with that statement.

 

[dubie2003]

I hate to burst your bubble but you may not get the best performance out of your system as you may think.

The drop in won't give you the power that the CAI will. Yes the oem set-up is cai-ish but it is very restrictive. This is what the CAI eliminates (Volant, AEM, Nismo, K/N, and some other).

Using the 2.5 pipe will work but may be too larger. You can get away with it if you doe a 2.25 into a Y-pipe and then 2.5 out.

The best system out there so far is a 2.25 w/o y-pipe into a dual in w/ either dual or single out. If dual out, keep it 2.25, if single I would go 2.5 or 3.0 depending on the tip. The key thing on the v6 is that you have to join the pipes at some point either thru a Y or and X or a crossover muffler or else it will sound like crap with the off firing cylinder count.

 

[MooreMayhem]

Are you removing/replacing the "Y" pipe on the exhaust?
The factory "Y" is probably the most restrictive part of the exhaust system.
I have a dual in/dual out Flowmaster and ditched the "Y" pipe.

I was not planning on replacing the "Y". The magnaflow kit that comes with the muffler and exhaust pipe does not replace the Y pipe either. But your comment makes sense. What if we fab up a custom Y?

Regarding the comments about the air filter... I might send the K&N filter back and just go buy the Nismo CAI.

 

[Spelvin]

If you are looking to stay cheap on the intake, Nisracer just wrote up his experience with a $75 intake that is supposedly the same as the K&N:
http://www.clubfrontier.org/forums/f11/just-got-my-kool-vue-intake-75-shipped-60470/


Good Luck!

 

[dubie2003]

I was not planning on replacing the "Y". The magnaflow kit that comes with the muffler and exhaust pipe does not replace the Y pipe either. But your comment makes sense. What if we fab up a custom Y?

Regarding the comments about the air filter... I might send the K&N filter back and just go buy the Nismo CAI.

That is a good comment on the magnaflow kit and this is a key reason why people don't buy it. They buy the JBA.

Making your own Y-pipe is fine but it may just be cheaper and less time consuming to buy a pre-made one.

Why the Nismo CAI? I only bring this up since a few members have started with the Nismo but ended up selling it used at a loss to get the Volant.

Its always easier to do it the right way the first time, it is also cheaper in the long run.

 

[ToddG]

Why the Nismo CAI? I only bring this up since a few members have started with the Nismo but ended up selling it used at a loss to get the Volant.

Its always easier to do it the right way the first time, it is also cheaper in the long run.

That's what I did (learned the hard way).
Sealed CAI = best CAI imo.

 

[MooreMayhem]

i like the idea of removing the Y and doing a 2 in/1 out Magnaflow muffler.
What would happen if i used 2.5" pipe from the cats to the exhaust as opposed to 2.25" pipe? And would using 2.5" out of the muffler as opposed to 3" make much of a difference?

Thanks for the reply's and input. i want to do it right but i'm also getting antsy and just want to get it done!

 

[MooreMayhem]

That is a good comment on the magnaflow kit and this is a key reason why people don't buy it. They buy the JBA.

Making your own Y-pipe is fine but it may just be cheaper and less time consuming to buy a pre-made one.

Why the Nismo CAI? I only bring this up since a few members have started with the Nismo but ended up selling it used at a loss to get the Volant.

Its always easier to do it the right way the first time, it is also cheaper in the long run.

after doing some more digging it appears the Volante would be better.

 

[MooreMayhem]

get-r-done

:itsfriday:

so i bought the 2 in /1 out magnaflow muffler. plan is to build custom pipes from the cats to the muffler, eliminating the Y altogher. will be using 2.5" pip so i hope this is ok. may use the stock pipe that exits from the stock muffler. doing this tomorrow and will try to take some pics of the install.

 

[Ironman]

^^Ya I might give this a shot too. I have some friends that are able to fab up some pipes for me too, so all I need to buy is a muffler and an exhaust tip. As far as the muffler goes, I'm thinking of ditching the Y like people have said here and getting a 2 in 1 out magnaflow muffler. Would 2.25" piping from the cats the the muffler with 3" out be good for a 05 Frontier KC V6?

Would an 18" Magnaflow muffler be sufficient? I think that is what they use on their exhaust kits for the truck.

 

[hunterdan]

^^Ya I might give this a shot too. I have some friends that are able to fab up some pipes for me too, so all I need to buy is a muffler and an exhaust tip. As far as the muffler goes, I'm thinking of ditching the Y like people have said here and getting a 2 in 1 out magnaflow muffler. Would 2.25" piping from the cats the the muffler with 3" out be good for a 05 Frontier KC V6?

Would an 18" Magnaflow muffler be sufficient? I think that is what they use on their exhaust kits for the truck.

That is the set up that I am running, dual 2.25" in, with a single 3" out. I feel that this is one of the better ways to go for a single exhaust. My first exhaust system on this truck was a dual 2.25" inlet, single 2.5" outlet cherry bomb vortex. I replaced the y-pipe, but kept the factory tail pipe. Sounded, good, little bit better than stock performance. My current set up is the same, except a 3" tailpipe. Performance is even better than with the stock tailpipe. FYI, the stock tailpipe on my truck was 2.5".

Dan

 

[MooreMayhem]

install complete

so the install is complete. i will post pics in a day or so. overall i'm happy with it. looks good and sounds great. HOWEVER, there is a bad drone inside the cab b/w 2-3k rpms. we didn't reinstall the big rubber piece that is mounted to the stock exit pipe from the muffler. i wonder if that would make a difference?

 

[hunterdan]

That piece is just a damper and I think is used to control the amount of vibrations coming through the tailpipe, so it won't make a difference in drone. You need to get a resonator, or bigger muffler.

Dan

 

[MooreMayhem]

Here are the install and final assembly pics:

Picasa Web Albums - Ryan - Frontier exha...

 

[airbag]

^^^^ Great job !

You have definetly inspired me to make my own exhaust. I have an '04' 1st gen with the super restrictive exhaust package :laugh: Similar crappy Y-pipe. I like the 2 in 1 out. Don't really have room on the right side to run a pipe without re-locating my spare to the bed anyway.

Thinking about going with a longer muffler though. That drone would force me to install a louder sound system. Wait, that isn't so bad, is it ?

I see your Lincoln there. I have a Lincoln Pro Mig 140.

 

[goody]

I hate when I cant see the pictures at work because of a stupid firewall..