KenH
Enthusiast
Thought I would share my impression on these recent upgrades for those who are considering similar mods.
HF Cats:
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I went with the Random Tech 3" Ceramic version. I was a little concerned that the metal substrate ones would be too loud. I already had the Corsa 3" exhaust. I was looking for a little more power, a little more aggressive sound, less sidesill heat (to sell the wife on it), all the usual stuff. I also assume I got some weight reduction since these things are dinky compared to the stock cats!
Sound - I was actually surprised how much louder the HF cats made the car. Almost the same jump as when I went from the stock to the Corsa exhaust. Exhaust note is louder, sharper, more of a bark to it and there seems to be more burble on deceleration. Overall, a much meaner sound. It also seems as though some of the drone is back as compared to the Corsa by itself, though not as bad as the stock system. This may also be partially caused by the fact that the car tends to run up in the drone prone 2000-2500 RPM range more than it did with the stock gears and I just notice it more. Might also be some of the reason that some people who installed Corsa didn't get as much drone reduction as they had hoped.
Heat - My sidesills never really got very hot, but they are now cooler than they were before. Barely even warm after a normal drive.
Power - Can't comment on any SOTP power gains since I also installed the gears at the same time. I figure the two changes will cancel themselves out on the dyno.
3:55 gears
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Since mine is mostly a street performance car, lower gears seemed to make sense on all fronts. I guess it could be summed up as primarily looking for a scarier ride for my passengers.
Initial impression was that this brought the gearing down lower than I was really expecting. I pretty much use 3rd when I would have used 2nd, 4th instead of 3rd, etc. Not really an issue, but it does mean a little more shifting. 6th is definitely more usable and is now the gear of choice for any laid back freeway driving and I no longer feel the need to downshift evertime I go to pass someone. It is still geared high enough that the engine feels like it is loafing along at 70 or so which is good. I know that going lower, like to 3.73's would have been too low for me.
Definitely got the expected improvement in SOTP feel. Tires break loose easier when rolling in 2nd than before. Haven't really had much of a chance to play with serious launches in first, but my intial impression is that I think it is going to be easier to get off the line without looking stupid.... time will tell on that one. Still haven't recovered from being smoked off the line by a couple of girls in a stock mustang GT.
There is also no noticeable increase in rear-end whine which is one thing I was concerned about. I chalk that up to good quality gears and good installation. I know that others haven't been as lucky.
Both these changes together definitely changed the attitude of the car when I picked it up, even more than I was expecting. As my Viper tech summed it up "She's less of a lady now"
Almost seemed a bit too much at first, but now that I have about 100 miles on this setup, I'm liking it better all the time.
All parts were bought through PartRack and installed by Timerberline Dodge in Portland. As usual, great service by both.
--- Ken
HF Cats:
--------
I went with the Random Tech 3" Ceramic version. I was a little concerned that the metal substrate ones would be too loud. I already had the Corsa 3" exhaust. I was looking for a little more power, a little more aggressive sound, less sidesill heat (to sell the wife on it), all the usual stuff. I also assume I got some weight reduction since these things are dinky compared to the stock cats!
Sound - I was actually surprised how much louder the HF cats made the car. Almost the same jump as when I went from the stock to the Corsa exhaust. Exhaust note is louder, sharper, more of a bark to it and there seems to be more burble on deceleration. Overall, a much meaner sound. It also seems as though some of the drone is back as compared to the Corsa by itself, though not as bad as the stock system. This may also be partially caused by the fact that the car tends to run up in the drone prone 2000-2500 RPM range more than it did with the stock gears and I just notice it more. Might also be some of the reason that some people who installed Corsa didn't get as much drone reduction as they had hoped.
Heat - My sidesills never really got very hot, but they are now cooler than they were before. Barely even warm after a normal drive.
Power - Can't comment on any SOTP power gains since I also installed the gears at the same time. I figure the two changes will cancel themselves out on the dyno.
3:55 gears
----------
Since mine is mostly a street performance car, lower gears seemed to make sense on all fronts. I guess it could be summed up as primarily looking for a scarier ride for my passengers.
Initial impression was that this brought the gearing down lower than I was really expecting. I pretty much use 3rd when I would have used 2nd, 4th instead of 3rd, etc. Not really an issue, but it does mean a little more shifting. 6th is definitely more usable and is now the gear of choice for any laid back freeway driving and I no longer feel the need to downshift evertime I go to pass someone. It is still geared high enough that the engine feels like it is loafing along at 70 or so which is good. I know that going lower, like to 3.73's would have been too low for me.
Definitely got the expected improvement in SOTP feel. Tires break loose easier when rolling in 2nd than before. Haven't really had much of a chance to play with serious launches in first, but my intial impression is that I think it is going to be easier to get off the line without looking stupid.... time will tell on that one. Still haven't recovered from being smoked off the line by a couple of girls in a stock mustang GT.
There is also no noticeable increase in rear-end whine which is one thing I was concerned about. I chalk that up to good quality gears and good installation. I know that others haven't been as lucky.
Both these changes together definitely changed the attitude of the car when I picked it up, even more than I was expecting. As my Viper tech summed it up "She's less of a lady now"
Almost seemed a bit too much at first, but now that I have about 100 miles on this setup, I'm liking it better all the time.All parts were bought through PartRack and installed by Timerberline Dodge in Portland. As usual, great service by both.
--- Ken
