Cat back: Stainless Works Retro Chambered Performance

[50blackout]

Hey guys, I'm about to pull the trigger on a Stainless Works retro Cat back (Gt500's are great and have served me well but I want something that has more at WOT and beyond 5k rpm; the GT500's seem to drown out). All the you tube clips have sounded great and from what people say the drone isn't as bad as say Magnaflow competition or flowmaster outlaws. The only thing Im concerned about are some of the threads that have discussed the stainless works being a bit restricitive. Is this because of their chambered design, or is there really not much difference than any other catback? Can anyone with this system shed any light on how your car felt after the install? This forum has helped me so much with my car already :rolling: Thanks ahead of time guys!!!



Note: another system I was thinking of was getting the JPC over axle pipes and borla s types to go with my JBA after cat H- Pipe. Im not going to get headers or offroad pipes ever so I really want to make my cat back as free flowing as possible without inducing crazy drone.

 

[OveRBoreD]

You could always have SW substitute in the 3in cored version of the muffler into the system. Ask Beefcake about it. It's the system BUCKET uses and I wish I would have done it. Sounds amazing.

 

[El_Joker]

The only difference the SW kit gave me was in noise. I do not feel it gives any noticeable difference in feel. Once I went to a TVS, I do believe I could hear more back pressure from the exhaust and is making me think of going with Kooks since I believe their muffler is a straight through design and not chambered. Word of caution, I've found the SW kit to fit like crap. It is extremely tight and it rattles/knocks when going over moderate sized bumps. YMMV.

 

[50blackout]

el joker, do you have a 2013 2014 or 2011 2012, does the fitment suck because it was designed for a specific year? Thanks for the input guys, I'm gonna take a look at Kooks catback as well. I just want a nice free flowing exhaust with a nice rumble, and minimal drone. (I never even thought about fitment, but that's definitely important)

 

[El_Joker]

el joker, do you have a 2013 2014 or 2011 2012, does the fitment suck because it was designed for a specific year? Thanks for the input guys, I'm gonna take a look at Kooks catback as well. I just want a nice free flowing exhaust with a nice rumble, and minimal drone. (I never even thought about fitment, but that's definitely important)

I have a 2013 GT, but I am pretty sure the kit works for 2011-2014. I spoke with the shop that did my TVS and they told me it is mostly because the pipes are 3" and that they saw the same rattling issues with similar kits. Basically told me that the factory over axle pipes are a little smaller for clearance. They tweaked my pipes when I had LT's installed and got it the best the could, just rattles over bumps.


That said, the SW kit did not fit very well going together and was a PITA. Personally, I would recommend an axle back and save your money. You won't notice any major power difference between the two.

 

[beefcake]

when you start getting up in power, a better flowing exhaust can make a difference.

I really like the straight through design of the stainless works, it's one of our best sellers. Great sound, and great fitment.

we ran 9.0's with this setup

 

[50blackout]

Hey beef thanks for the reply, any tips on installing? I'm leaning towards this kit just because it sounds so unique and old school amazing. I have access to a lift would this make a good difference in lining up the pipes or making sure fitment is spot on, so there is no "clangin' and bangin'?"

 

[beefcake]

a drive on lift is the proper way to do it. make it right the first time

 

[beefcake]

Also, lube all the joints, makes it easier to adjust the system

 

[powerhogger]

I have the Kooks catback. If you're lowered at all you will hear lots of tappin of the pipes.

 

[Torchy]

Fit, drone and power was all garbage. It's more restrictive than you might think.

 

[beefcake]

power def horrible with their system, I was only able to make 1000 with it..

 

[Torchy]

Here comes the sales jargon/rhetoric BS. You can also make power with any other non-restrictive system. How much more power would you have made with it disconnected?

Off gates I made 5.9 psi with stock OAP's and Corsa Xtreme's.
Put this on and made 5.0 psi changing nothing.
Explain why I lost .9PSI peak boost when I added this cat-back compared to stock OAP's and Corsa's.
Thinking something was wrong I put stock OAP's and Corsa's back on and peak boost went back to 5.9 off gates.
Added JPC OAP's, left Corsa's on and now make 6.8psi off gates.

but there's probably something wrong with my set up right?

EDIT: also there is this review. He only had to cut a pipe, weld in a few extra hangers and readjust the OAP's a few times to get it right. If that is OP's idea of great fit then go for it.

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?1005787-Stainless-Works-Catback-Review

 

[beefcake]

19 out of 20 times, it Is an installation issue.

We install them all the time on drive on lifts, with NO ISSUES.

Just because it's on the internet, doesn't make it true and doesn't mean they didn't know what they were doing.

we do 2 - 3 Paxton kits a week with remote tuning for example and there are always issues, you talk to customers, it's the tune. it's not the tune. we do them all the time. it's the tune.

last week, same thing. tune tune tune, customer had stock plugs, told him to put in colder plugs, problem solved.

same thing goes here. we have installed 15-20 locally. NEVER had an issue getting them to fit. I've run them on 2 different personal cars without issue.

if you know what your doing, they fit great. They are all tight being 3", but they fit fine.

 

['14 Shelby]

Here comes the sales jargon/rhetoric BS. You can also make power with any other non-restrictive system. How much more power would you have made with it disconnected?

Off gates I made 5.9 psi with stock OAP's and Corsa Xtreme's.
Put this on and made 5.0 psi changing nothing.
Explain why I lost .9PSI peak boost when I added this cat-back compared to stock OAP's and Corsa's.
Thinking something was wrong I put stock OAP's and Corsa's back on and peak boost went back to 5.9 off gates.
Added JPC OAP's, left Corsa's on and now make 6.8psi off gates.

but there's probably something wrong with my set up right?

EDIT: also there is this review. He only had to cut a pipe, weld in a few extra hangers and readjust the OAP's a few times to get it right. If that is OP's idea of great fit then go for it.

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?1005787-Stainless-Works-Catback-Review

op:

 

[chao5.0]

if the system is banging or rattling then it just needs adjustment, the only I found I needed to do is space the pan hard bar brace on the drivers side down a little, a side from that every rattle I got was from needing adjustment. yes the 3" pipes are a tight fit but I'll deal with tight fitment for the sound of the system. when putting the system on start from the rear and work your way forward, the last pipe I installed for the kit were the pipes that transition from the first set of resonators to the OAP, also don't forget to align the tips in the outlets by turning the OAP accordingly.

 

[Rdrcr]

The SW Retro Exhaust has a very unique and aggressive sound and is why I purchased it. I took Beef's advice and had it installed on a drive-on lift. The fitment was good, but we had to make several adjustments to get it right. In the end I modified the muffler length and exhaust tip length to suit my personal tastes.

I performed a back to back dyno test, stock vs. SW. The SW exhaust lost 1whp and gained 1wtq. Basically, there is no difference between the stock vs SW.

Overall, it is a good setup made of high quality components.

Mike

 

[50blackout]

Thanks Mike for the input, I'm going to make my decision next week and its down to 3 exhaust:

SW catback
Kooks catback
Jpc over axle pipes w/ Borla S-types

Thanks guys for all the input!!! I will make sure to post a video (even though I'm, not that tech savy epper once I install the new exhaust.

 

['14 Shelby]

Thanks Mike for the input, I'm going to make my decision next week and its down to 3 exhaust:

SW catback
Kooks catback
Jpc over axle pipes w/ Borla S-types

Thanks guys for all the input!!! I will make sure to post a video (even though I'm, not that tech savy epper once I install the new exhaust.

Sign up for photo bucket, load your video there, then put the link in your post

 

[Rdrcr]

Thanks Mike for the input, I'm going to make my decision next week and its down to 3 exhaust:

SW catback
Kooks catback
Jpc over axle pipes w/ Borla S-types

You're welcome. My pleasure.

You can't go wrong with any of those choices.

Mike