Megan Racing 3" TB install w/pics
Sep 26, 2005 | 04:06 PM
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From: In da streetz
Megan Racing 3" TB install w/pics
I purchased my Megan Racing 3" Turbo-back exhaust w/ resonated cat delete from the GB that Zeus was running. All the rumors are true he is an excellent person do deal with and seems to go out of his way to answer questions and what not. Not to mention the price was awesome
I have to admit at first I was a bit skeptical about getting a full TB exhaust for such an inexpensive price, the term you get what you pay for was going through my head. Another thing I was concerned about was how it was going to sound on the highway where I do 90% of my driving. I must say that both of my concerns were put to rest this weekend.
The system arrived early last week and I was impressed with the construction & finish. Not at all what I expected for such a little amount of $$ especially when most other "JDM" cat-back systems cost this much or more!
I was hoping the cat delete pipe would come with an extra bung for the WB and it did!
The DP looks like a work of art. All the flanges are thick steel and everything lined up perfectly under the car. Here is a pic of the DP after I wrapped it...
Everything bolted up without a hitch, I wound up reusing my stock donut gasket with the OEM spring bolts as I couldn't get a positive seal or fit with the supplied Megan gasket seen below...
I did the whole install by using ramps for the front wheels and jacking up the rear at the diff and supporting it with jack stands at the correct factory locations. All together it took me about 4 hours to do, I wasn't trying to rush it at all. It was a little longer then I expected but I ran into an o2 sensor problem... I had to cut and re-splice the wires cause my 7/8" craftsman wrench actually broke trying to remove it.
There were a couple of things to note while doing the install. While the system came with more then enough nuts, bolts and gaskets the bolts that they supplied for the stock exhaust hangers don't fit the pre-drilled hangers on the Megan exhaust. Which means you either have to drill out the hangers or get new hardware... I chose the latter since I already had that laying around. Also the position of the o2 sensor in the 'mid-pipe' is sitting at about 8 o'clock which means that moisture "can" collect on the sensor causing premature ware. I brought these things up to Zeus and he is going to relay them back to the Megan Company.
Now on to my driving impressions:
Like I said earlier I was very worried that the noise was going to be too much and that it was going to be "boomy" or drone on the highway and at the first startup I thought my initial suspicions were correct. It wasn't until this morning when I had to take a 360-mile trip that I realized this system is "almost" as quite as stock when cruising on the highway with light throttle. Between 60-80mph in 5th gear you can barely hear the system at all if you just give it a little gas (like 15-20% throttle as read by my SAFC). But all you need to do however is smash the gas the she opens up. Anything above 90mph and no matter how little throttle you apply the exhaust note is present, but that is totally acceptable because I usually never cruse at that speed.
Around town if you stay between 2,000 & 3,000 rpm and give it light throttle it’s almost impossible to tell you have an aftermarket exhaust. I drop by a couple of cops in my town and they didn't give me a second look... very impressive.
BUT if you want to make noise and get sucked back in your seat all you need to do is smash the gas! The note at full throttle I think it very mechanical sounding, not buzzy but not deep either. It doesn't sound anything like a Honda but it’s not a deep glass and nail gargling sound either. It’s about what you would expect from a 2.0L engine with a 3" exhaust... it’s loud but it’s not too loud.
I found my spool up happens much sooner especially in the higher gears. It takes only two or three seconds to go from full vacuum to full boost in 5th. I had to turn my MBC down 2 whole turns to bring my boost back to 1.4bar in 5th.
One other thing I noticed which I though was kind of odd was that my fuel economy actually went down. I usually get around 300-320 miles to a tank until my gas light goes on, that’s with light to moderate boost usage on a trip. This morning I just got 276 until the light came on... strange. I don't think it was because I was boosting too much because I purposely tried to stay out of boost as much as possible in order to see if I could hear the exhaust buzzing, which I couldn't.
I actually have pics of the system on the car not just lying on my floor but they are in my digi cam at home so that will have to wait until Saturday to upload.
My overall impression of this exhaust on a scale of 1 through 10:
Build Quality - 9.5
Fit and Finish - 9.5
Sound - 9
Performance - 9
Bang for the buck - 10
Overall - 9.4 out of 10
I have to admit at first I was a bit skeptical about getting a full TB exhaust for such an inexpensive price, the term you get what you pay for was going through my head. Another thing I was concerned about was how it was going to sound on the highway where I do 90% of my driving. I must say that both of my concerns were put to rest this weekend.
The system arrived early last week and I was impressed with the construction & finish. Not at all what I expected for such a little amount of $$ especially when most other "JDM" cat-back systems cost this much or more!
I was hoping the cat delete pipe would come with an extra bung for the WB and it did!
The DP looks like a work of art. All the flanges are thick steel and everything lined up perfectly under the car. Here is a pic of the DP after I wrapped it...
Everything bolted up without a hitch, I wound up reusing my stock donut gasket with the OEM spring bolts as I couldn't get a positive seal or fit with the supplied Megan gasket seen below...
I did the whole install by using ramps for the front wheels and jacking up the rear at the diff and supporting it with jack stands at the correct factory locations. All together it took me about 4 hours to do, I wasn't trying to rush it at all. It was a little longer then I expected but I ran into an o2 sensor problem... I had to cut and re-splice the wires cause my 7/8" craftsman wrench actually broke trying to remove it.
There were a couple of things to note while doing the install. While the system came with more then enough nuts, bolts and gaskets the bolts that they supplied for the stock exhaust hangers don't fit the pre-drilled hangers on the Megan exhaust. Which means you either have to drill out the hangers or get new hardware... I chose the latter since I already had that laying around. Also the position of the o2 sensor in the 'mid-pipe' is sitting at about 8 o'clock which means that moisture "can" collect on the sensor causing premature ware. I brought these things up to Zeus and he is going to relay them back to the Megan Company.
Now on to my driving impressions:
Like I said earlier I was very worried that the noise was going to be too much and that it was going to be "boomy" or drone on the highway and at the first startup I thought my initial suspicions were correct. It wasn't until this morning when I had to take a 360-mile trip that I realized this system is "almost" as quite as stock when cruising on the highway with light throttle. Between 60-80mph in 5th gear you can barely hear the system at all if you just give it a little gas (like 15-20% throttle as read by my SAFC). But all you need to do however is smash the gas the she opens up. Anything above 90mph and no matter how little throttle you apply the exhaust note is present, but that is totally acceptable because I usually never cruse at that speed.
Around town if you stay between 2,000 & 3,000 rpm and give it light throttle it’s almost impossible to tell you have an aftermarket exhaust. I drop by a couple of cops in my town and they didn't give me a second look... very impressive.
BUT if you want to make noise and get sucked back in your seat all you need to do is smash the gas! The note at full throttle I think it very mechanical sounding, not buzzy but not deep either. It doesn't sound anything like a Honda but it’s not a deep glass and nail gargling sound either. It’s about what you would expect from a 2.0L engine with a 3" exhaust... it’s loud but it’s not too loud.
I found my spool up happens much sooner especially in the higher gears. It takes only two or three seconds to go from full vacuum to full boost in 5th. I had to turn my MBC down 2 whole turns to bring my boost back to 1.4bar in 5th.
One other thing I noticed which I though was kind of odd was that my fuel economy actually went down. I usually get around 300-320 miles to a tank until my gas light goes on, that’s with light to moderate boost usage on a trip. This morning I just got 276 until the light came on... strange. I don't think it was because I was boosting too much because I purposely tried to stay out of boost as much as possible in order to see if I could hear the exhaust buzzing, which I couldn't.
I actually have pics of the system on the car not just lying on my floor but they are in my digi cam at home so that will have to wait until Saturday to upload.
My overall impression of this exhaust on a scale of 1 through 10:
Build Quality - 9.5
Fit and Finish - 9.5
Sound - 9
Performance - 9
Bang for the buck - 10
Overall - 9.4 out of 10
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Sep 26, 2005 | 04:55 PM
#8
Great write up. Like you I am skeptical about the overall product, but it looks (from the pictures) like the set up is almost flawless. I just read on here about some fitment issues, etc. But if you recommend it, why not consider it for the price, right?
Sep 26, 2005 | 05:13 PM
#9
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I'll have pics of the exhaust when I return home on Friday and D/L them to my cpu. The muffler tip fit very well in the stock bumper location with just a little finess... also there is a slight JDM angle to the exhaust.
Seat of the pants dyno says there is more power there now for sure, how much more I'll hopefully find out this wednesday when I go to the track.
Price was an amazing $550.00 shipped from the man Zeus!
Seat of the pants dyno says there is more power there now for sure, how much more I'll hopefully find out this wednesday when I go to the track.
Price was an amazing $550.00 shipped from the man Zeus!
Sep 26, 2005 | 05:20 PM
#10
Hey, nice review...
Not to throw water on my own fire, but I'm suspending selling these for a little bit as I'm having Megan make a few changes to a few things on the downpipe. They are also going to add the hardware to make sure everything you need to bolt it up is in the box.
There are a few of you guys riding me pretty hard to get these... hold tight, as I want to improve the system a little. I've had my Megan 1st gen downpipe/delete pipe, and 2nd Gen cat back on for over a year, and still believe it is the best bang for the buck out there in a full turbo back. Barring a rear end accident that required re-welding of a hanger, it has performed flawlessly for me!
There are a few of you guys riding me pretty hard to get these... hold tight, as I want to improve the system a little. I've had my Megan 1st gen downpipe/delete pipe, and 2nd Gen cat back on for over a year, and still believe it is the best bang for the buck out there in a full turbo back. Barring a rear end accident that required re-welding of a hanger, it has performed flawlessly for me!
Sep 27, 2005 | 09:17 AM
#13
Originally Posted by AlwaysinBoost
Zeus, you will have to let me know if/when you do a GB on Megan 3" o2 housing... that is going to be my next mod 
