Exhaust sounds for P5
 

I just got a new red P5 and i have the only one at my school, and I need to make this baby sound sweet. I read about the Bosal cat back system but I don't know what that will sound like. I DON"T want a wraspy, whiney honda civic sound, but more a smoother sound, what kind of muffler do I need to acheive this sound and should I have a shop custom install it for me or should I buy the Bosal cat-back system. :confused: if any one has any advice please reply, peace out

I should have the bosal on my car this weekend but so far, my customers that have the bosal love it. They say its loud but it sounds good (and bosal offers a plate the dampens the sound if its too loud for you) so far, everyone loves it. They all hated the honda sound (which is actually caused by the engine not the exhaust) and say this is far from it. A nice deep loud sound. Im hoping to have some sounds clips of it but that isnt as easy as it sounds. I would suggest the bosal. You can do it yourself pretty easily & it is a great system (looks good & is a direct bolt on for your car) and it was designed to help the performance of the Protege (as opposed to a universal muffler that wasnt!) I have it sofr 385.00USD shipped in the US also. :D

Protege5online, how much is this "plate" and where does it go? Will it restrict exhaust flow?

And is the Bosal exhaust made of stainless steel?

The bosal is all stainless steel (all pipes & everything, not just the muffler or tip). I have a system coming in to test out this week (they normally ship straight to my customers from out of the bosal warehouse so I dont ever get to see & touch them!) so I will know exactly how that plate works hopefully this weekend. It some how inserts into the muffler. And I would assume it has to slightly hamper the exhaust flow. But maybe they've designed it where it wont. I have to call Bosal again tomorrow so I'll ask them. And Im thinking the plate is around 30 or 40 (probably cheaper but Im not sure...havent had anyone that wanted it yet...they all like the sound!)

I think Eric F has the Bosal already installed (from previous post) and he has bought the inserts...

Eric F, can you answer this question? :)

Sure can, I do have the insert, and it's more of a tube that slides into the muffler after you remove the interchangable tip. It quiets the exhaust significantly, but since you can see straight through it, like the muffler, I doubt it increases backpresure at all. Certainly not enough to hamper performance. In all honesty, the entire exhaust didn't make a difference in performance I could feel, probably because of the stock primary cat being the biggest exhaust restriction. The exhaust is excellent, full polished T304 stainless steel from cat to exhaust tip. You'll never need to replace it. At $385 shipped, Mitch has a great price on it too. The exhaust tip retails for $49, but should be available a little cheaper through Mitch. I didn't actually buy mine though, Bosal contacted me after seeing my reviews of the system on ProtegeTech. I was the first Protege owner to get the exhaust, so they sent it to me free to help promote the exhaust I guess. :dunno:

Eric F, how is the sound of it? with and witout the silencer? Anyway you could hook us up with some sound clips? :cool:

Thanks Eric F. But you forgot to tell us the price of that insert, and where did you buy it. :P

Also, do you have pics of the exhaust posted somewhere?

Exhaust
 

I have a muffler very similar to the 5Zigen fireball, and it sounds great. Not too loud, but still has a nice exhaust note. It is a little loud when travelling on the highway though.

I'm amazed how concerned so many of you guys are with the sound. :confused: I don't know if I have everything I need to record my exhaust, and honestly, it's not high on my priorities list, but if I get a chance, I'll give it a try. ;) I don't really see the point though, by the time the sound is recorded and played back on your computer speakers, I doubt it will give a very accurate representation of it. Just get the exhaust! It's great, the sound is fine. It's a little loud for my taste without the insert, but not bad at all and still legal. The insert will come in handy for any of you married guys. :(

??? Did you read my post? The retail price of the insert is $49, but you should be able to get it cheaper through Mitch. I didn't buy it, Bosal sent it to me to evaluate. I have a few pics of the back of the muffler on ProtegeTech under the Photos section.

Oh, i thought you said the exhaust tip was $49.

Anyway, I just got my P5 today and I won't be revving it for the next 950 miles, so no point in getting the exhaust now :)

Thanks anyway! :)

Picture of Bosal tip...
 

How about a picture of the Bosal tip on a P5. I can barely see the tip on the silver ES. :dunno:

I hope to have some pics of a customers car & I'll have the bosal on my car hopefully a week from today so I'll def. have pics then (and I'll try to get as accurate of a sound byte as possible but I doubt its doable)

Thanks...
 

Thanks Mitch, I know you are putting a lot of work for this P5's. I sincerely hope manufacturers see potential for more aftermarket products.

I have the Bosal exhaust on my P5. It sounds really cool, but it is loud. If you go on a long trip you will probably go tone def.. I should have an insert within the next day or two and I expect it to make a big difference... The performance increase felt huge on my car, but it was probably because I removed the secondary cat. Heres a link to the pics...

http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group...c=gr%26.view=t

blades242

The link dont work :squint:

Well thats a lot of work to set up, but it works, thanks. Cool pics.

Yes it does work. You need to register at the MP5online Yahoo Group in order to see the photos.

Great pics blades242!!! But maybe you can squat lower to take a close up of the installed muffler (rear pic) :)

Tell us how much quieter it is after you get the insert put in....

I should have mine in tomorrow to test!! I'll get all the pics I can & attempt to get some sound clips. I doubt I'll be able to install it until Thursday but I'll try. It all depends on how much work I have to do before.

I'am sorry guys, I registered and was able to see the forum, but cannot find links to pics. Any help appreciated.

Thanks for the pictures - it looks like each segment is an exact replacement for the factory ones - that is:

1) After first cat down pipe to post second cat
2) middle pipe including resonator
3) Rear muffler

Can someone remind me if Bosal makes a different exahust for the P5 vs the other proteges?

It looks like with the three sections I could get the non-CA exhaust, and at smog time put in the front (number 1) factory section back in.

Thanks!

Kevin M.
'00 ES

Mac Daddy, remember to login after u've registered. On the left menu, click photos (if you can't click it, it means u're not logged in).
You should see lots of albums. The photos are in the folder called "blades242 Red P5"

So back on the topic.. is anyone able to get sound clips?

Kevin, the main difference between the Pro5 & the other is that the Pro5 has a shorter tip (the 5 is a little bit shorter than the sedan) so the Pro5 has its own part number. That and the fact that the 2002 models are all California versions so to keep with the emmissions legality, the Pro5 (and the 2001) has to get the California version to keep their second cat. Else, the federal version takes off that second cat. I've got Bosal shipping me a system for the Pro5 (Calif version....I expected it to be here today but no UPS yet!!) and they will be sending me a couple of pipes & stuff to do some testing. I know if you buy the Pro5 federal version, it takes off the cat & to keep the cat on with the Bosal exhaust, I think you'll have to get a flange added to the bosal so you can pull the straight pipe out & put the cat back in. I've only had 1 customer with the Pro5 put it on so far & thats the way he seemed to say it would work.
ToMac, as soon as I have it on my car (should be Thursday), I'll do my best to get some sound clips. Recording the exhaust is sorta hard since its so loud! I'll have to try to figure out a way to get an undistored not to loud recording of it from a mic & get it onto the computer. But I do plan on having one, makes a huge difference in trying to sell the system by being able to offer a sound clip!! I'm also going to take a ton of pics to show good comparissons.

Thanks Mitch,

Based on the pictures, it looks like there is a one to one correspondence with the stock pieces - I suppose the question is, are they actually identical in their length, so in reality any of the three could be interchanged, assuming the flanges mate up, which might be your point.

A different way to look at my question is, is the CA (2 cat) version simple the single cat one w/out the front pipe.

Since you'll be getting one, we should know soon :-)

Oh, from reading other posts, it sounds like the insert is a must for those wanting a bit quiter system...

Thanks again,

Kevin

Kevin, the pipes are exactly the same. The only exception is the flange between the second cat pipe and the resonator pipe. For some reason Bosal decided that this would be the only place in the whole system that they would use a 3 bolt flange. Not sure why, but all it would take would be cutting the flange off of the pipe with the cat in it and welding one on that has 3 holes instead of 2. That would allow you to swap between having the secondary cat on or off at any time. If I understood correctly from the guy at Bosal, the pipes are EXACTLY the same as the factory pipe, apparently Bosal was supposed to make the OEM pipe for Mazda, but the deal fell through at the last minute. Keep in mind that this exhaust is also the SAME 2" diameter as the stock exhaust...

blades242

Thanks Blades - that was the info I was looking for - and I was just looking at the pictures in more detail and it _looked_ like a three bolt flange vs. the two.

Given the pipe diameter, what you gain is:

- a free-er flowing muffler (and resonator?)
- mandrel bent tubing
- lighter weight system
- Remove of the second cat :-)

I wonder what diameter Boral uses....

Thanks again - you and Mitch have given great info!

Kevin

The Bosal cat-back exhaust has 54mm diameter T304 polished stainless steel piping. That's approximately 2.125", not 2". It was dyno tuned to find the best size for a power increase from our engine. The Borla cat-back exhaust uses 2.25" piping. The Protege 5 is about 4" shorter than the sedan, so the exhaust piping after the rear suspension is shorter than the sedan exhaust, not the tip. The non California exhaust comes in two pieces only, which would replace the second cat on Cailfornia exhaust equipped cars, but would require cutting and welding to fit the second cat back on to pass emissions testing. The exhaust is significantly louder when accelerating/decelerating than at steady RPM. It wasn't bad, but took a little getting used to after the stock exhaust. Bosal sent me the insert to test, and I left it in since my wife liked it much better. It does quite the exhaust quite a bit, but still leaves some of the more aggressive tone.

Hi Eric,

In the pictures for the P5 49 state one (see original topic post), it is three pieces. I was hoping the standard 1.8 ES one would be the same.

So, Bosal did a two piece Protege ES 49 state one, but three for the P5 - or so it sounds :-)

Kevin

Sounds like it, it's definitely two pieces for the 49 State sedan. I thought all 2002 Proteges came with 2 cats though? Did Bosal goof here? It might be to some P5 owners benefit if they want to remove the second cat though...

O.K. now for the nitty gritty. By installing this system, is there any chances of the engine light coming on? :confused:

Alright, Im going to try & answer a few different questions here & pose some new ones. I will know more tomorrow since I should finally have the Pro5 California version in my hand to look at! Heres what I've been told. There are 4 part numbers for the Protege exhausts. 2 of them for the sedan (1 for California, 1 for federal) and 2 for the Pro5 (1 california, 1 federal). Now, Bosal told me that the only difference between the federal sedan exhaust & the federal Pro5 is the tip is 2" on the Pro5 & like 4" on the Sedan. Now, Bosal made these seperate part numbers after a request from me & attempting to get the right set up for the Sedan & the Pro5 (before, they sold 2 exhausts for the Proteges, a federal & a calif) So they switched the tips & made a different part number for the Pro5. This was also before Bosal was aware of the fact that all 2001+ Proteges are California versions. So I had a Federal Pro5 system shipped to Tommy (which is the pics you've seen) and it dropped his cat (exact bolt on from what hes told me, just no cat). Bosal is sending me the California version to test out (this one should be the same except it doesnt drop the cat & you dont get the resenator). Now, 2001+ Prowners have 2 options now. They can choose to stick with the legal version & buy the California one keeping both cats. Or they can get the Federal dropping that second cat (if they want, they can have a flange added so if they need to add the cat back, they can easily). Now, in the case of it being 2 or 3 pieces, Im not sure there. Tommy, yours is 3 right? And you got the Federal, And Eric says his is 2 & his is Federal...so my whole theory and what I though bosal told me about the 2 systems being the same, isnt true. From there, I dont know what to think!! Once I get the system in, I'll be calling Bosal up to talk through some stuff & they are going to send me some different set ups to test (straight pipes & stuff) so once I get that in, I'll try to figure out some more stuff. So far, this has been confusing!! Mazda up & messed it up when they moved all Pros to 50 state legal! Now, about the check engine light. You wont be messing with the O2 sensors so I cant see how you could get a check engine light. From my experience, that would be the only reason you'd get the light.

Eric, I think your exhaust must be different. My exhaust was definately in 3 pieces and I measured the ID not the OD of the pipe with a dial caliper in 3 places on both the stock and Bosal exhaust. I too was told by Bosal that the only difference between the exhausts was the tip... As far as the engine light; there is no O2 sensor behind the secondary cat, so you wont have any problems.

blades242 aka Tommy

I'm pretty sure all exhausts are measured by the outer diameter, which I was told by Bosal is 54mm. My exhaust part # is 112-210, the Federal exhaust version for the sedan. Mt tip is not 4" long, I'm not even sure it's 2" long. I don't see how my exhaust would fit on the Protege 5 with it being 4" shorter behind the rear wheel than my sedan. I think someone may have the wrong information at Bosal. Obviously, Bosal made a mistake by creating a Federal version of the Protege 5 exhaust, so they may be confused about other things also. In fact, one of the part numbers they gave Mitch for the Protege 5 exhaust is listed on their website for a different car? If you have a Protege 5 and you want to remove the second cat, I suggest you take advantage of their mistake now, because once they straighten things out, they'll probably stop producing that version. Bosal is a good company that makes a great product for our cars IMHO, and I'm sure they'll get all this confusion straightened out.

Bosal
 

O.K. Mitch, Iam going to take Eric's advice and set me up with a federal version for the P5. Please email me for info on ordering.

Exhaust
 

Whats up guys....just got a couple fo questions for any of you who may be able to answer them for me. First, anyone hear know which exhaust would be a better performance/value purchase? The Bosal or Racing Beat (or I think someone mentioned that Borla makes one as well). Second question...which ones of these will fit on my MP3. My car has a Racing Beat muffler, but thats it. The rest of the cat-back piping is stock size as found on the Pro and the Pro5. My idea was actually to see if I could just get the piping without the muffler from Racing Beat since I believe that it is larger diameter. However, then I am hearing that the Bosal exhaust is full polished stainless steel all the way....and it is cheaper. I like the quiet, yet deep tone my Racing Beat muffler makes, but I hate the dinky little tip. I don't want a trash can hanging under my car or anything, but I would like something a little more aggressive.
I think the most confusing part, is that I have noticed on several of these websites that part numbers are for the Pro5. I assume this will not fit on my car???

Thanks for your help.

I don't know the answers to all the questions, but it certainly is logical to assume that the exhausts by Borla (2001 ES) and Bosal (sedan, not P5) should all fit the MP3.

What I'm interested in knowing is if the MP3 muffler (or the one sold by Mazda parts for non-MP3) will fit on a 2000 1.8 ES. The question is on flange location, hangers, I suppose.

If someone sells their MP3 muffler at a decent price, I'd be willing to try.

Kevin M.
'00 ES

I'd be willing to bet the exhaust on the ES sedan and the MP3 are a direct swap. The only difference is the Racing Beat muffler on the MP3. You're right, you probably can't use the P5 Bosal exhaust because it will be too short. However, Bosal makes two cat-back sytems for the sedan, part #112-210 for the Federal sedan, part #112-209 for the CA dual cat equipped cars. These should fit the MP3, and are made entirely of T304 fully polished stainless steel. The exhaust looks great, and costs less than $400 shipped. It also has an interchangable tip that mounts with stainless steel allen screws to the back of the muffler. One side benefit of this is, Bosal developed an insert you can slide into the muffler after removing the tip, which quiets the exhaust substantially. Still has a nice growl, just not so loud it annoys the wife. ;)

Not to beat this one to death (too late maybe :-)

I wonder if Mitch/I/Strano Parts could get Bosal to send a three piece version with the sedan rear muffler - the reason that I'd like that is to get the center resonator (your's doesn't have one, right, Eric?) I know I can do the muffler insert, but would like to have it probably even quieter (or at least the option.)

Thanks again!

Kevin

Mine does have the resonator, just not the second cat. If it were much quieter, it would be stock. Sometimes I want to take the insert out just to hear it roar a bit. :laugh: