MP3-Owner

I went to a local muffler shop today and asked how much it would cost to make a custom exaust for a 2001 protege and he said 200 bucks! w/muffler which he has a nice selection of all types and they are all stainless steal as is the 2.25 piping which is mandrel bent! Can we say SOLD!

mazdaspeedwest

That is a hella good price! but what brand of muffler is he selling you?

Doesn't the MP3 have a cat-back???? or is it just a muffler?

MP3-Owner

hmm....Maybe, but I really don't like the look of the stock muffler call me silly but I like the big round look. I like to see the muffler along with the tip not just the tip as is the case with the stocker. I will think about it though. He has a small selection in stock but he says that he can order almost anything. He had one that I think would look tight on my car but we'll see. I am going over there sat. and I will get pics if I decide to do it.

mazdaspeedwest

If only we could all be so lucky to be able to call a Racing Beat Muffler a "stock" part....
My vote goes for keeping the Racing Beat muffler and just getting the piping.........IMHO

DuCKieMP3

Wells... today I went to a local muffler shop and luckily they do custom pipes... They charged me $250 for the 2.25" mandrel bent pipes and an Arospeed stainless steel muffler which came with a silencer...<!~which came off right away= better RrRRROARrr... All I have to say is it is definitely worth it... I know Racing Beat has a nice reputation and good products and all but once i saw the stock muffler on the ground... Geez... Looks ...ahhh... ordinary... the new one looks much better IMO... I 'll have the pics up soon...
With my Monster Flo Intake and custom cat-back exhaust... pretty good so far...GUys recommend any other mods to mess with?...I was thinking about changing the cams?...??? and light flywheel???

MP3-Owner

Went to the muffler shop sat. and put the car on the lift. Only thing is when he got the car up there he said that anything he put on there would NOT be as good as stock. He said that it already had 2in. piping in some places and 2.25in. piping in others. I was shocked when I looked at it for myself. The only thing I wound up doing was removing the resonator that was behind the second cat. A whole 30bucks. They just welded a piece of pipe in its place. He looked at the first cat and said that it was a mess but that it could be removed and a custom header could be fitted w/ a hole in the header for the o2 sensor. Only thing is you can't do anything to the exaust before the second cat. It would void the warrenty. So I will have to think a little more about what I'm going to do now. But I still want to change the muffler. Although I think I will keep this one until I get my CAI. I did take some pics of the resonator before and after just have to wait till I get them developed.

MP3-Owner

Well if I ever get a turbo I will definatly go bigger, maybe 3in. But for now it is good. Still might change the muffler but I won't sell the stocker Sorry