Finally getting around to posting some pictures of my H&S install.

Comments:
My system consisted of a 3" downpipe that tapers down to 2.5" all the way back (no cat). I wanted to keep some of the torque the car had so I stuck with the smaller diameter piping. The install went really smoothly with no clearance issues whatsoever (this was a given as the system is designed to bolt up to any and all stock exhaust pieces). The only problem that I ran into were exhaust leaks--but I finally fixed that with some exhaust gasket maker from Autozone (the stuff works ).

The look of the exhaust is very low-key and definitely suits my taste. As far as noise levels are concerned, when comparing it to a Buschur system (cat + JDM style muffler), idle and WOT conditions are both quieter. When idling, the car sounds almost like a tugboat (good or bad, it's deep, throaty, bassy, and different). The frequency/tone of the ehxaust is very similar to the aformentioned Buschur setup--however, it is less raw sounding and more refined, especially under WOT. Still mean and very badass.

In terms of performance, the only thing I have to compare it to is the Buschur setup again. After riding in/comparing both cars, it seems that my setup has more "punch" to it midrange and that the Buschur setup as a bit more pull upper range. This would be a expected result due to the difference of the exhaust diameters. We tried a couple of runs to see which car was faster--the Buschur setup (Syrihl's car) always seemed to be about 3-4 feet in front of me at the top of 4th. However, this could be easily due differences in shifting behavior. Syrihl usually shifts faster than I do (I'm scared of doing something bad to the tranny ) Or, it could be representative of the upper range pull as mentioned before. Or both. Who knows.

Pictures:


2 18 mm spark plug anti-fouler extentions, one drilled out 0.5 inches. So far, so good--no CELs.


downpipe + testpipe


downpipe, testpipe, muffler


muffler with the slotted hanger


comparo b/t the stock pieces and the H&S pieces.


comparo #2





Last but no least, here are the recorded weights of the pieces:
Downpipe: 8.5 lbs.
Test pipe: 8.5 lbs.
Mid pipe: 13 lbs.
Muffler: 16 lbs.
Total: 46 lbs. (not the lightest, but at least you have a 25 year warrenty)

 

what is the diameter of the test pipe? I am looking for something that will fit up to my HKS DP (2.75)

 

it's whatever size the stock pipe is (which I believe is 2.5").

 

Hey man, you forgot to mention that I'm still running a high flow cat and youz got a test pipe

 

Looks nice, but there are a LOT of quality 3in exhausts out there (both in construction and sound). And you're going to gain torque with a 3inch exhaus.

 

Trust me, I looked long and hard at my available options. However, in the end what attracted me to H&S so much was their rather lengthy and large experience in building exhausts for racing applications. So, I hoped that they knew how to design a good exhaust system based on this and decided to go with them. I am also planning on keeping the stock turbo and after talking to Ian at H&S, the exhaust should be fine for my desired power levels (~300whp).

Oh, one more thing. In my original post, I didn't intend for it to sound as if a 3" exhaust would not make torque. I just meant that a 2.5" exhaust would/should (from what I understand) provide more torque earlier in the power band. Sorry for the confusion.

 

read it again you fool!! j/k

besides, if you ran a test pipe both of us would probably be deaf by now.

 

Wow this exhaust is really nice. What are you looking to use for tuning or are you just going to use the exhaust?

 

I believe I'm going to go with the Vishnu route (please don't shoot me anyone ). I'll take it as far as its practical on the stock turbo. I'm not looking for crazy hp--rather, a car that I flog all day long on road courses.

 

what are you planning on having done? Are you close enough to have a custom tune? Have you read anything on using other exhausts with the off the shelf xflash or xede tuning?

 

I really don't see an advantage to this system(catback) over stock. It has the same 90 degree bend and the outlet looks restrictive. I'm not impressed with the build quality either. All of the bends are really sharp wich kind of defeats the purpose of getting a catback anyway. The fact that you had exhaust leaks is kind of a turn off as well. What was the motivation for choosing this system? If it was really cheap, than I understand.

Take Care

 

Wow, where the start.

First off, no the exhaust was not cheap by any means. It ran me (unfortunetely) ~1300 for the entire setup. In terms of the build quality, yes, the exhaust looks very industrial and not polished, and somewhat rough in the pictures. However, the material is top notch, the welds (as you can see) are top notch, and it includes a 25 year warrenty. Not many other exhaust manufacterers can match this warrenty.

The exhaust system is designed to be mated to any portion of the original exhaust on the car. This is why it contains those bends (which I'm not saying that they are good, but that's how it was).

Exhaust leaks. This was not a function of the exhaust--rather, it was due to my reusing the stock gaskets. And instead of waiting for some new gaskets to arrive (they were not in stock at the local Mistubishi dealership), I took a trip to Autozone and picked up some high temp copper exhaust gasket maker.

So, you want to know why I got this system, depsite it being 2.5", despite it bending all over the place, and despite the fact that it looks like a poor choice overall. The answer is that I blindly trust Hayward and Scott to build a superior exhaust for the Evo--blind because I'm assuming they know much more about building exhaust than I do. This trust is based on their reputation, the fact that they do exhausts and exhausts only, as well as their experience in building exhausts for race applications (like I mentioned before). To quote whiterexman's post,

Q: Who is Hayward & Scott?
A: Hayward & Scott has built exhausts for Ralliart UK's WRC team cars for 12 years. This is the exhaust system that has taken Tommi Makinen to 4 consecutive WRC championships!!! Each system is handmade, and the design is specifically for the Evolution. Hayward and Scott have provided similar success to Nissan drivers in the BTCC. They were also the company chosen to design the exhaust systems for the Ford RS200 Group B rally car and are still a subcontractor to Ford Research, Lotus and Rolls Royce for prototype work. When the last 3 original Ford GT40s were finally assembled in 1999, Hayward and Scott were selected to provide the exhaust systems.

(taken from this link)

Many of the other exhaust manufacterers just seemed to be building 3" pipes and bending them to fit varying only in the connections of the piping, flex joints, material, etc. and not varying in how the exhaust flowed through (this statement is obviously a very, very general statement--please do not take any personal offense as it was simply how I felt when researching the various systems available). Hayward and Scott were, in the least, doing something different and providing reasoning behind it:

System Specs:
The exhaust system comprises of a 3" downpipe which connects to the elbow in the same way as the original one. Just before you reach the cat section, we decrease the pipe size down to 2.5." The rest of the system is mandrel bent (as the down pipe) with a standard back box and tail pipe. We offer a standard size of 3.5 " with a rolled tip. We use a variable diameter exhaust because as the gas leaves the turbo it does cool, as the gas goes under the car. It contracts, and if the exhaust does not reduce slightly in diameter it will slow, creating a bottlenecki. For this reason, our 2.5¡¨ catback offers the same hp as a 3¡¨ catback, but with superior torque numbers. All the flanges and tubing, backbox, etc are are made from 304 stainless steel 18/16 gage. We warranty the pipes for 25 years.

(taken from the same link as above)

Now I believe that H&S built a good, all around exhaust that is quiet enough, has high ground clearance, and will last me many many years (the fact that Ralliart contracted them to make the exhaust for the Evo Extreme helped convince me too). I realize that their philosophy (small piping, rough exterior, SMALL ROLLED TIP etc.) is definitely not what you or I would normally expect from a 1000+ system. That, coupled with the fact that H&S is relatively unknown in the Evo community makes this exhaust not look so good. But like I said, I blindly trusted them still even after weighing all my options.

Will this exhaust provide the best #'s peak? Probably not, but they are probably damn close. Will this exhaust provide me good numbers up top, and damn good numbers down low? You bet ya.

EDIT:

whiterexman had some numbers just from the catback. They can be found here

 

First, let me address a couple of things. If you are interested in this exhaust setup, there's going to be a horsepower limit due to the 2.5" piping. Now the supplier here in America (Rallyperformance) suggests using H&S's 70mm exhaust for people who intend to have ECU modifications done. However, when I emailed H&S directly, Ian said the exhaust would be good up to 325-350 whp. Now I realize that there's a million dyno differences, and I don't know which one he was referring to. But, as soon as I get dynoed (with the Xedeflash), I'll post the results (as well as Syrihl's for another comparo). If the exhaust does prove to be a significant bottleneck at whatever horsepower levels I achieve, I'll just have to change it out. But I *think* it's going to be ok.

I am planning on simply getting the Xedeflash for now. But before that I an waiting on the Quaife LSD. No use in making more power if I can't even put it down coming out of the damn corner. Later, I will move onto cams + cam gears + a custom tune. No, I am not close enough for a custom tune--however, I'll just attend a dyno day somewhere in the SE when they have another one. As far as using other exhaust with the general Xede maps, I haven't heard of any problems. But you'd better check the Vishnu forums as you'd probably get better input there. But I don't foresee that as being a problem (Xede coupled with X brand exhaust).

Edited for clarity.