Got Cantrell headers and Taitec GTLW installed!

[lutera]

First, no issues reported with the installation from tech. at Tischer Acura (Laurel, MD). Everything went super smooth and the tips sit well in the rear valence. The engine definitely is running smoother, revving a bit faster and feeling peppier. Sound is loud (for me personally) even with the inner tube silencers installed but everyone at the shop loved it (without silencers of course :biggrin. I hear it in the car unless I'm just cruising. According to Taitec, the difference is 6 db (GTLW Only = 106 db, GTLW + Inner silencers = 100 db) which is probably not a whole lot of difference. I have driven 20 miles since yesterday but I can feel some power gain. Will update in a few weeks if anything changes. One thing for sure, the car's lost 40+ lbs :biggrin:

 

[kreh]

I would suggest you remove the silencers for more enjoyment. Looks nice -- good mod!

 

[ashman]

Yeah, ditch the silencers. The tone will change after the first 1k miles to a little more mellow if thats what you perfer.

 

[Angelo08]

Are you running test pipes? In my opinion running the Taitec with silencers sounds a lot smoother & tuned rather than that annoying variant sound once the Vtech kicks in (not sure if thats on the parallel exit you have whereas i have the center exit). When i get my headers installed (CCs) i will get a dyno run with and without the silencers to see if there is a drastic difference.

 

[lutera]

Are you running test pipes? In my opinion running the Taitec with silencers sounds a lot smoother & tuned rather than that annoying variant sound once the Vtech kicks in (not sure if thats on the parallel exit you have whereas i have the center exit). When i get my headers installed (CCs) i will get a dyno run with and without the silencers to see if there is a drastic difference.

No test pipes.

 

[Angelo08]

No test pipes.

where do you feel the increase in power mainly?

 

[brandonsan]

Lookin good ! Does it still drone with the silencers ? I ran my car without the silencers and I thought it sounded pretty cool but sometimes it was a little too loud.

 

[IsR]

Lookin good ! Does it still drone with the silencers ? I ran my car without the silencers and I thought it sounded pretty cool but sometimes it was a little too loud.

I've tried it with the silencer, still drones but not as much.

 

[lutera]

O.K. an update. Took out the tubes today and noticed that it got a bit more loud. Low RPM rumble/growl seems higher now. At high RPM's however, it now really sounds sweet, may even a tad quieter. Taking the tubes out seems to have freed up the exhaust further and I can feel a bit more power across the rev band. The engine seems to be running better, smoother and more eager to rev higher. As far as power gain is concerned, I do feel it at the lower RPM's as well as high but it seems biased towards higher RPM's. As I got both headers and exhaust, I can not say how much each component may have contributed. If you want a GTLW however, I think the tubes need to go.

It does drone at lower/mid RPM's (if I understand the word "drone" correctly). If you like louder exhausts and love to live in the higher RPMs, you will love it's sound and performance. Personally, if I could get keep everything else but the lower RPM loudness/droning, it would be perfect 10/10. I have noticed however that the droning decreases as RPM's get higher. I was aware of it's loudness before purchase but decided to go for it because of weight savings and also thought that the tubes may make it much quieter. May be I'll try a Comptech or, RS-R exhaust in near future. If exhaust loudness is your number 1 concern, I'd recommend seeing/evaluating one in person before buying.

As some have noticed, the exhaust is known to mellow down after a while (approx. 1K miles?). I'll post another update once I've had it for a while. Hope this review helps.

 

[4AU4LIFE]

I'll be so glad when I finally get my Cantrell headers put on. They are just sitting in garage right now waiting for me to have the time, and patience to install them.

 

[lutera]

Lookin good ! Does it still drone with the silencers ? I ran my car without the silencers and I thought it sounded pretty cool but sometimes it was a little too loud.

Thanks Brandon.

Yes it does, but a tad less. A couple of people had mentioned to me that it becomes really loud once under FI. May be that's what happened with your car?

 

[kreh]

I have the GTLW with Comptech headers and there is no drone at all across the RPM band. Love it.

 

[WealthBuildR]

I went through 3 stages.

As far as sound goes. IMHO it sounded the best with stock exhaust manifold.

GTLW=best sounding, similar to F355ish up top.

GTLW+CTSC=too darn quiet. No longer as high pitch up top.

GTLW+CTSC+Headers=significantly louder, different tone, not sure if I like the exhaust note or dislike it.

Hey Jason, I highly, highly recommend installing test pipes on your car. Guarantee it'll put an even bigger grin on your face once you do it. Forrest felt a noticeable increase in power, and responsiveness with test pipes. His car is high on my list of the rawest sounding street cars i've ever heard. A pure race car sound at idle and at wide open throttle. You'll love it.

 

[spartan2-3]

Lutera, I know how you feel..

I have the Taitec JGTC Exhaust w/Comptech Headers for several years and now its gone to a point that its getting tooooo loud (I guess I've outgrown it)..cruise it in 2nd gear @ 40MPH+ and the car screams for attention (unless you want attention). I constantly have to granny shift to keep the DB down. Everyone notices your presence (including cops) blocks/miles away..

I recently installed the silencers...and love it..I can now hear the sweet humm of the engine to redline without the "get me noticed" roar..All the kids at work loves the open exhaust of the JGTC.

The rumble is still there at idle and still has the loud "race car tone" if you blip the throttle.

You can install and remove it in 5 mintues so try both worlds :smile:

 

[I1O101I]

I have about the same set up as u do. I have a SOS header and GTLW exhaust with SOS high flow cats. I had another guy with a black nsx with cantrell header and the GTLW installed with a stock cat, his car was a lower pitch at idling. I love the sound of the exhaust without the silencers in. If u are ever in the Tyson's VA area we should go grab some lunch sometime.

Bryan

 

[splitz]

I dunno, I've got the exact same setup, Cantrell + GTLW, but w/o silencers and I think the exhaust is a lot quieter than I expected.

 

[I1O101I]

I dunno, I've got the exact same setup, Cantrell + GTLW, but w/o silencers and I think the exhaust is a lot quieter than I expected.

The man I was talking about when I put my car side by side with him at a meet we had acouple weeks ago.

 

[lutera]

Final update. After some extensive driving, I've decided to leave the tubes in place for good. For me, the sound is now real sporty (not loud), droning is minimal and any performance hit is hard to notice. IMHO difference made by Cantrell headers and Taitec GTLW isworth the price. Where I used to prefer downshifting from 5th, now I just press the accelerator. There is more zip at the lower RPM's as well and I'm enjoying driving the car more than ever.