Catback Exhaust vs Axleback Exhaust – What’s the difference?

When looking for performance parts for your car or truck, it's often times difficult to understand what the difference is between certain parts if you are new to the performance and aftermarket scene or simply haven't heard of what the difference would be between two parts that might not have interested you in the past. A common question we get is "What is the difference between a catback exhaust and an axleback exhaust and which one is better?".

What is a catback exhaust?
A catback exhaust is an exhaust that begins at the end of your catalytic converter and goes all the way back to your rear bumper. For short, people call a catalytic converter a "cat", and this exhaust is a cat-back, so it goes from the cat to the back of your car or truck. A full catback exhaust includes the intermediate pipe, muffler and exhaust tip. For some cars or trucks that have extremely restrictive exhausts, it would make sense to replace to get a performance catback exhaust to free up your exhaust, so your engine can breathe better and make more power. Not all cars or trucks need a catback exhaust, and we'll explain more below.

What is an axleback exhaust
A catback exhaust starts from the catalytic converter back, but an axleback starts from the area of the rear axles back to your rear bumper. It doesn't include an intermediate pipe, this is why the axleback exhaust is typically more expensive. For front wheel drive cars that do not have a rear axle, it starts near the area where your axles would be, which is right in between your rear tires. For cars that are rear wheel drive, this would be the area where your rear axles are. Both a catback and an axleback include the muffler with tip.

So which do you recommend? A full catback or an axleback?
Usually a catback creates more power over an axleback. This is because you are replacing more restrictive exhaust with a catback than you are with an axleback. For some cars, there is only an option of an axleback. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. If the only option is an axleback, it will save you money over a catback, plus some cars have pretty decent size piping from the factory so there is no benefit to replacing more of your exhaust than is necessary. If your exhaust is already good flowing for your performance needs from the factory (minus adding a power adder such as nitrous, a turbo or a supercharger), then an axleback would be perfect. It would give you the sound you like plus remove the restrictive factory muffler. If your car has the option for both, we would recommend for you to plan if you will be adding more power adders such as a short ram intake or cold air intake, then we would go for the catback exhaust. If you are just looking to upgrade your ugly factory muffler with something sporty and that sounds good and save a few hundred bucks, you can't go wrong with an axleback. On the other hand, some aftermarket companies only produce an axleback for a car, because they believe the extra cost is worth the added power.

If you care about noise, an axleback is usually quieter as well, since you keep your factory resonator (which is located on the mid pipe or intermediate pipe) if your car has one stock.

What's the difference between mandrel bent exhaust and press bent exhaust?
A mandrel bent exhaust means the bends in the exhaust are smooth and do not neck down. A press bent exhaust has "dents" in the bends which causes a disruption in flow and isn't good for producing power. Many older cars have press bent exhausts, so a performance unit would give you a good boost in power.

What size piping is good for an exhaust?
This really depends on what you are going after, and what size your factory exhaust is. For example, for a turbo car, we recommend a 3" exhaust for max flow. For a non turbo, we would recommend a 2.3" to 2.5" exhaust depending on the size of your engine. For max flow, we would go with a 2.5" exhaust, but bigger if you are going to have a fully built engine, or some engine work such as porting or cams. Typically aftermarket companies take your stock engine size into account and create an exhaust size that will work best for you.

I put on an aftermarket exhaust and now my car feels slower, what's going on?
Depending on the car or truck, some people feel as though their car is slower or has lost power. Generally this is not the case. For an otherwise stock or slightly modified car, it might feel like some power has been lost because your power curve has been adjusted upwards. If you still have a stock catalytic converter, you won't notice it as much, but since your power curve has changed, you will need to get used to the new power delivery. After a few days, you will begin to appreciate the added power.

Do I need to get my car tuned after getting an exhaust installed?
Usually no, but if you have a turbo or supercharged car, then yes. On an otherwise stock or slightly modified car, the exhaust will not throw off the air/fuel mixture enough that the factory computer can't compensate. As you drive your car, the ECU will adjust for the added exhaust flow, and your car will run smooth and you will have full power benefits.

Why do people have angled exhausts? Is this just a style trend?
The angled exhaust trend started in Japan with drifters, but has caught on everywhere. The reason the exhaust is angled is to keep the exhaust piping as straight as possible. The less amount of bends, the more power you will make due to less restriction. The goal is to give your exhaust an easy way to escape.

My car has a dual exhaust. Do aftermarket exhausts also have dual mufflers?
If your car has a stock dual exhaust setup, most aftermarket exhausts will also be dual. However, some specifically say single muffler and the reason is to keep weight down. Since a dual setup requires two mufflers and an extra pipe, it's also less expensive to go with a single setup. This is a personal choice, and usually more hardcore people go for the single setup when their cars are dual stock to save as much weight as possible.

Do these come with silencers?
Depending on the design and size of the mufflers, not all exhausts come with silencers. A silencer hurts power by adding in a big restriction, and most aftermarket exhaust companies would rather you run it without a silencer.

Why are some exhausts so loud and some are so quiet?
Loud usually means power! If the exhaust is quiet, it's usually a muffler that is restrictive. A loud exhaust means it's very low restriction and the muffler doesn't do much to "muffle" the exhaust. This isn't always the case, some quiet exhausts produce as much power as loud exhausts, but every case is different. Generally speaking, a louder exhaust simply gives you more exhaust flow.

How can I keep my exhaust from being raspy or sound like a "bumble bee"
Usually an exhaust can get rid of it's "edge" or raspy sound with a resonator. A resonator is designed to ease the exhaust flow, adding a little bit of restriction, but many times removing the rasp or "bumble bee" sound many exhausts experience. Usually quieter exhausts do not have this problem since they have a resonator built in.

Which exhausts do you recommend?
Here are a few of the ones we recommend:

APEXi
COBB Tuning
DNA Motoring
GReddy
HKS
Invidia
Magnaflow
Megan Racing Axle Back
Megan Racing Drift Spec
Tanabe
Vibrant
Yonaka

We hope that you find our exhaust information useful. If you have any questions or anything to add, please do not hesitate to add your comments below. Enjoy!

Coilovers vs Springs – What are coilovers and what’s better?

We get asked this question a lot. There are many ways to modify and upgrade your suspension, and the two best ways would be to add lowering springs or a coilover system. The two are very different and there are many factors that determine what would be best for you. Some considerations would be comfort vs performance, longevity, adjust-ability and price. Some customers also do not want to lower their car, but just want to tighten up the suspension and give them added adjustability.

What are coilovers?
When springs are made, they are made into coils, that allow them to compress and retract. Coilovers simply refer to coiled springs that go over a shock. People have referred to adjustable coilovers that allow you to lower your car to your desired height simply as coilovers.

See examples of coilovers here:

Blackworks Coilovers
BLOX Coilovers
D2 Racing RS Coilovers
Drop Engineering Coilovers
Function & Form Coilovers
Ground Control Coilovers
KSport Coilover Kit
Megan Racing Coilover Kits
Progress Coilovers
Skunk2 Pro S Coilovers
TEIN Coilovers
Yonaka Coilovers

What are the different ways to adjust height with coilovers?
There are two basic ways that manufactures build their coilover systems. One is where you literally need to turn a spring perch to compress the spring against the top hat, which lowers the vehicle. The problem with this is that you are applying pre-load to your springs, so they are already destined to lose handling performance. The other way is when the manufacture threads the actual shock body, so you are expanding or compressing the actual length of the shock that the coilover is a part of. This doesn't affect the compression of the spring, and is a much better way to adjust the height. One benefit to the spring perch type is that you can adjust and fine tune your height without having to take the lower part of your suspension apart.

How low can coilovers lower my car?
This all depends on the brand of the coilovers and depends on your specific car or truck. Most coilovers lower at least half an inch even at their highest setting. The range is usually 3-4 inches and while most cars are lowered around 2 inches, some people who want to take their car to a show, like to lower their car even more to give it a very low, yet not very drivable look. So basically, most coilover systems lower your car more than you need. Some coilovers do allow you to raise your car or truck, for things like rally cross or baja, but those are specifically labeled as for off roading and raising your car.

Full Bodied Coilovers
When someone refers to coilovers, usually they mean the coilover system that comes complete with shocks. This is the most expensive and complete kit and comes with everything. Depending on the car or truck, these usually also come with pillowball top mouts or just brand new aluminum top mounts, and are ready to bolt on. This means you don't need to take your old shock and spring apart to reuse any parts. These coilovers even come with new bump stops specifically designed for the lowered car.

The benefit to these is that they are complete. With sleeve type coilovers (which are described below), you do not get shocks with them, because they are designed to be used with aftermarket performance shocks. The shocks with the true coilover system come set to take the abuse of a lowered car, higher spring rates, and competition use. Unlike weak stock shocks, these will last long and are designed to work with the coilover spring rates.

Sleeve Type Coilovers
The Sleeve type is designed to be less expensive, but give you the flexibility to use the shocks of your choice. Many customers go with an adjustable performance shock such as the Koni Yellows, Tokico Illumina, or non adjustable Skunk2 Sport Shocks. Many of our customers decide to use these with their stock shocks, which we can not recommend. While the shocks might last for a while before they blow out, the shocks aren't designed to be used on a lowered vehicle and usually balance out any handling gains from the sleeve coilover. The exceptions would be cars that come with performance shocks from the factory, such as the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO, Subaru WRX STi and various others.

Drag Coilovers
For those who strictly drag race, there are a few manufactures that make drag coilovers such as BLOX Racing and Progress. These come in either only the rear set, or all 4. However, the rears are set exceptionally stiff to keep the car from shifting weight to the rear wheels during launch. This is usually used on front wheel drive cars that want to keep the front wheels planted to the ground as much as possible to maintain traction.

What about lowering springs?
Some people just want to lower their car, and not worry about adjustability, cost and a stiffer ride. For those, there are companies that make lowering springs. Lowering springs work just like your factory spring except they are anywhere from half an inch to 2.5" or more lower than stock. They have a higher spring rate, and are usually designed to be used with stock shocks, so the spring rates are usually not aggressive. We always recommend a performance shock to go with lowering springs to make sure you get the maximum benefit and only have to do the labor once.

See examples of lowering springs here:

Blackworks Lowering Springs
D2 Racing Lowering Springs
Eibach Lowering Springs
H&R Lowering Springs
KSport GT Lowering Springs
TEIN STech Lowering Springs

Will my wheels rub?
Wheels rubbing is a bit problem for those with aftermarket wheels, tires and suspensions. Some people roll their fenders and that solves the problem. For others it doesn't. If you are rubbing now, you need to either raise your car, or get stiffer springs so you do not rub when going over bumps. If you need a suspension to help you keep from rubbing, we suggest a full coilover system, or a quality sleeve coilover with adjustable shocks. Make sure the spring rates are stiff enough to keep your fenders from rubbing, but not so stiff that you hit your head on the roof over each bump.

Will I need a camber kit?
We recommend a camber kit any time you lower your car or truck. Some of the better full coilover systems come with adjustable pillowball mounts which are the mounts that are on top of the coilover system that bolt into your chassis. They act as a camber kit. In order for the coilover to come with an adjustable pillowball mount, your car or truck would need to have the room for this, and also the coilover would need to be one of the higher end systems as this adds cost to the kit. We recommend camber kits such as the Megan Racing Camber Kit, Buddy Club Camber Kit and Skunk2 Camber Kit.

How do these suspensions stack up?
We are ranking these in order of handling performance. The farther down you go in the list, the better the performance:

- Lowering Springs with Stock Shocks ($)
- Lowering Springs with Performance Non Adjustable Shocks ($$)
- Lowering Springs with Performance Adjustable Shocks ($$$)
- Sleeve Type Coilovers with Performance Non Adjustable Shocks ($$)
- Sleeve Type Coilovers with Performance Adjustable Shocks ($$$)
- Full Body Coilover Kit ($$$-$$$$)

With so many options, brands, and features, it can be daunting to buy the suspension you want. Decide what you want now, and also in the future, and buy the parts you need to get you to that point.

If you have any questions, we can help you determine the best suspension for you. You can either send us an email or post your questions and comments below.

Cold Air Intake vs Short Ram Intake – What’s the difference?

We get this question a lot. People ask us the pros and cons and which is better daily. We decided to create an article about this topic to better explain the differences with intakes, which we recommend, and which would be right for your vehicle or performance needs. We will be adding to this as new technology comes out, so please check back often, or add a comment about how a short ram intake or cold air intake has worked for you.

What is the difference between a cold air intake and a short ram intake?
As the name implies, a short ram intake is "short". Due to it's size, the intake pipe doesn't stretch far away from the intake manifold, so the air filter remains somewhere near the engine. A cold air intake has longer piping, and is designed to push the air filter away from the engine into an area that has colder air, hence the name cold air intake. Typically, since the cold air intake draws in cooler air it usually makes more horsepower than a short ram. However, depending on engine design, this isn't always the case, and we'll explain further below. A short ram intake is generally less expensive as well, and easier to install and service since the air filter is typically easy to see when you pop the hood. A cold air intake is longer, and places the air filter farther away, sometimes in a fender, so installation is more difficult as is service, and is usually more expensive.

Short Ram Intake
The short ram intake is generally designed to replace your stock air box. Most stock cars come with a plastic box with a plastic hose connected to the throttle body (or directly to the turbo). A performance aftermarket short ram intake typically has a hard pipe made of aluminum that replaces the stock rubber pipe, and the stock air box is replaced with a open element air filter. This generally gives you a good power increase over stock because you are replacing the restrictive air box with an open element air filter, and replacing the rubber hose (which is usually accordion like on the inside) with a smooth metal pipe. Most quality short ram intakes are calibrated through design to keep the stock air/fuel mixtures the same as stock to not throw any check engine lights. Sometimes a manufacture won't offer a cold air intake when their research shows it doesn't increase power over a short ram intake.

Cold Air Intake
A cold air intake is designed to place the air filter as far away from the hot engine as possible. Especially important when your radiator fan turns on, it will not blow the hot air into your air filter as with most short rams. Some manufactures make the cold air intake so that it places the air filter inside a fender or under a fender to try and capture as much cold air as possible. When an engine takes in colder air, it's packed with more oxygen, and creates more power. When a intake manufacture tests the intake, they test different air filter locations to see which is the coolest location. This usually creates more power over a short ram, but due to the location the air filter gets dirty faster, is harder to install, and harder to maintain when the air filter needs to be cleaned.

Do I need a bypass valve?
An air bypass valve is designed mainly for the cold air intake. Since the air filter is placed so low in the engine, it can suck up water when driving over a puddle or in heavy rains. If your intake sucks in water, the engine will likely hydro-lock, and be destroyed. A bypass valve attaches to your intake pipe, so that if the air filter does become submerged in water, the air will instead go to the path of least resistance, and get pulled in through the bypass valve, and usually not suck in any water. Highly recommended for rainy areas.

Which intake sounds better?
Usually a short ram intake would be louder, since the pipe is shorter in length and closer to the throttle body. A cold air intake isn't much quieter, but might sound a little less deep due to the air traveling a farther distance in the pipe and the pipe almost acting as a resonator. Both give your car a strong deep tone when on the throttle that is undeniably a modified sound that any enthusiast recognizes.

Are air boxes better than open element air intakes?
This really depends on your vehicle. Some vehicles are designed in a way that places the air filter in front of, or near the radiator. The problem with this is that the air filter will get hot air pushed into it when the radiator fan turns on. One way around this is to put the air filter into a box that blocks the air from the radiator fan from directly hitting the air filter. For vehicles with a design like this, an air box would be better. Keep in mind also that sometimes an open element air filter doesn't necessarily make more power than a properly designed aftermarket air box. The air box can also keep the air filter cleaner, requiring less maintenance.

Is it better to have an intake with a dry air filter or an oiled air filter?
This is up for strong debate. Manufactures that use oiled air filters claim they capture more dirt particles. Enthusiasts say that the oil in the air filter can get sucked through the filter, and clog the mass air flow sensor (MAF or MAS) and cause erratic readings. Now a days, most manufactures offer a dry filter that does not need to have oil applied to it. We have had good luck with dry filters, and don't see any need to go with an oiled filter if possible.

What are some short ram intake brands?

AEM Short Ram Intake
K&N FIPK Kit
Weapon R Secret Weapon Intake

What are some cold air intake brands?

AEM Cold Air Intake
Injen Cold Air Intake
K&N Cold Air Intake
Takeda Cold Air Intake

Above you see an Injen Short Ram Intake installed on a 2007 Honda Civic Si. Notice how the intake remains in the engine bay. This is the stock location for the factory air box.

Above you see a cold air intake on the same 2007 Honda Civic Si. Notice how the air filter is not in the engine bay. We circled the intake pipe that runs from the throttle body down under the car into the driver side fender well. The arrow shows the intake pipe.

We hope you find this useful and it helps you decide which intake you want to purchase. You can see our catalog of short ram intakes or cold air intakes and if you have any questions, please leave a comment.

Video of Internal Combustion

Ever wondered what it looked like inside of your engine? This awesome video shows the steps of an internal combustion engine so you can see first hand what happens.

This video is inside of a unknown 4 cylinder engine, slowed down so you can see the combustion process. It's pretty interesting to see just how much abuse an engine takes. Imagine if this engine belonged to a Lancer Evolution pumping 40 lbs of boost down the cylinder. Would be cool to see.

The spark is interesting... it doesn't even seem like a spark but more like a flame. Anyway, hope you enjoy the video.

Increase Horsepower On a Budget – 4 Easy Ways

In today's day and age you are flooded with aftermarket parts that promise to increase power and performance in all aspects. Some parts are expensive and might offer more show than go, while others might be bargains that seem to be too inexpensive that it makes you wonder if you should be putting that part on your car. One thing that all performance parts have in common is they try to address the main areas of the car that come heavily restricted from the factory. Parts that are designed to not necessarily cause a restriction, but do so in the effort of trying to meet strict CARB laws, noise ordinances and various other things. So what we did was to put together a small list of 4 things that are most common that you don't need a big wallet for, but allow your car to gain power as much - or in some cases better than - the expensive stuff.

Get rid of that restrictive muffler

One of the easiest things you can do is to get rid of your power robbing stock muffler. Stock mufflers are designed to be as quiet as possible at the expense of horsepower. They are filled with twists and turns that the air has to go through that makes them not straight through and awfully restrictive. Plus, they muffle the exhaust too much, and you don't get the true performance sound from your car.

When you buy a catback exhaust, you are replacing the exhaust from the catalytic converter back. Of this whole catback exhaust, the most restrictive part is the muffler. Even when you buy an axle back exhaust, most manufactures now release an axle back as a less expensive option because the difference between the two is usually only 1-2 horsepower, but $200-300 in price. Save yourself the hassle, and just buy a muffler. You can get one that is straight through with no restrictions for $25-$100, and you would just bring it to a muffler shop to get welded in for another $30. You get the style you want, the sound you want, and you gain almost as much horsepower as if you bought a full exhaust for hundreds more.

Cars that are turbo or supercharged from the factory gain the most benefit.

Junk that factory catalytic converter

Next to the muffler, the catalytic converter is the next biggest item on the exhaust that creates the most restriction. The stock catalytic converter is designed to catch as much of the exhaust as possible to ensure that as it flows through the catalytic converter that it trims all of the toxins as it exits. This is good for the environment and to keep smog pollution down, so replacing the catalytic converter can be done in two ways. The first way would be to replace it with a straight pipe. This simply gets rid of it all together. The other way would be to replace it with a high flow catalytic converter.

Straight Pipe or Test Pipe or Cat Delete - The pipe that replaces the catalytic converter has been called many different things. It's purpose is to simply bolt in place of the catalytic converter. These pipes usually sell for under $100, and give you a nice bump in power. Some people say that they feel a loss of torque low in the RPM band once doing this, but really what you are doing is shifting your power band. Most dyno's will prove this. However, you aren't looking to increase power at 2,000 rpm, right? You want power when you are full throttle. Keep in mind, removing the catalytic converter is not smog legal. This is good for off road or track only cars.

On some OBD2 and higher cars, this can cause a check engine light. You can fool the computer by using a defouler or o2 sensor spacer.

High flow catalytic converter - A high flow catalytic converter can cost about as much as a cat delete, and in some cases gain almost as much power.

Combine the high flow catalytic converter with the muffler, and you just removed two of the biggest restrictions in your exhaust system.

Get flashed

If you are all motor, supercharged or turbo, you can benefit from getting your car's computer reprogrammed. Most power is to be made from cars that are forced induction because on more modern cars the computer controls everything from boost pressure and timing to fuel delivery, so a good flash could increase power substantially. There are many ways of flashing the computer with everything from a piggy back system such as the "old school" APEXi Super AFC, to modern full engine management systems such as the AEM EMS. We recommend to search around on forums to find out what is the best for your particular vehicle. For example, many modern Lancer EVO and Subaru WRX or STi's gain up to 40 horsepower with a reflash that can cost under $500. That's power on a budget!

Let in some air

One big debate is the best way to let your engine breathe. Some people simply go with a high flow drop in air filter. Others say you need a short ram intake or a cold air intake. Some people ask us what the difference is between short ram and cold air. It's all pretty straight forward. Engines work by taking in air compressing it with fuel, burning it, and expelling it. The colder and more dense the air, the more power the engine will make. When you get an intake kit, you want the kit to draw in the coldest air possible.

Short Ram Intake - A short ram intake is called this because the pipe is short. It's usually in the same location as the factory air box. On most cars this factory location does not have cool air, and infact could be hot air due to the engine heat. By removing the restriction of the stock air box, your short ram air filter will still gain you power, but not as much as a cold air intake due to the heat.

Cold Air Intake - The cold air intake is called this because it places the air filter into a different location from stock, usually the coldest part possible. Many times this location is in the fender or another area away from the engine and in an area of cool outside air. Due to the amount of piping and research that needs to go into this, the cold air intake is the most expensive. It gains more power and torque than a short ram or a drop in air filter. You can get a good cold air intake on a budget, simply pick up a used one, or go with a brand that has a good track record. On more modern cars, you don't want to go with a brand that hasn't done good testing. The air flow sensors on new cars are very picky and you could actually hurt power and driveability. If you can't afford a new cold air intake from a good brand, buy used.

By doing these 4 things, you will have gained just about as much power as someone who went the expensive route, and have money left over to work on your suspension. We know every car has something unique about it that restricts power but it easy and cheap to replace. What have you found on your car or truck that gave you power for little money?