Okay, which brand(s) are reccomended, I'm having a tough time finding performance parts for Vipers.. I'm used to being able to open a Jegs or Summit magazine and pick out parts.. lol
I'm really interestedi n full exhaust and intake
If you do full exhaust, that would include new Headers as well which will most certainly put you well above $3-$3,500. New headers alone can run you anywhere from $1,400-$2,200 and that's not including any labor.
My soon-to-be Full Exhaust is:
American Racing Stepped Headers(Not installed yet)
American Racing Metallic High-Flow Cats(Not installed yet)
Corsa Cat-Back Exhaust
My Current Exhaust until I install the new stuff is:
Stock Factory Headers
Random-tech Ceramic High-Flow Cats
Corsa Cat-Back Exhaust
Highly Recommended Headers if you didn't go with American Racing like I bought are: Belanger, M&M, B&B.
Highly Recommended Cat-Back systems if you didn't go with the Corsa are: Belanger, B&B, Random-tech, Borla.
As for Cats: Random-tech are the only American Made ones I know of.
From what I was told- Most, if not all companies selling exhaust get their cats overseas and put their label on them, so you aren't necessarily getting an American made cat and therefore have no idea where you are getting them from. So Random-tech is highly recommended. However, the only reason I'm swapping out my current Random-tech for the American Racing Cats, are because my current cats have a 2.5" inlet to connect to my stock headers. Since my new American Racing Headers require a 3" inlet, rather then getting an adapter for the cats to accommodate this(which would be pointless) I purchased the cats that came with the American Racing headers for the best fit. I also wanted to switch from Ceramic to Metallic for a slightly louder overall sound, and they were about half the cost of buying new Metallic Random-tech Cats. In the future, I might buy Random-tech Metallic Cats to replace these though.
*Contact JonB for Cat information, you could consider him the Cat Wizard since he knows all in that department.
**By the way. Never take anyone's opinion on what they feel is THE BEST exhaust setup, since usually whatever someone owns they will claim is the best. You need to hear other people's setups and decide on your own what you like. I LOVE the way my Corsa Cat-back sounds, however, that doesn't mean it's the best. My friend Martin has a Belanger Cat-back Exhaust which sounds awesome, has a really good rumble to it and is definitely louder than mine. His sounds like a classic muscle car. My Corsa is more raspy, but is loud at idle(not as loud as belanger tho), but prob gets just as loud as belanger when WOT and sounds more exotic like a Ferrari rather than a classic muscle car.
I almost bought Belanger Headers too, and asked several people on what their opinion was in regards to Belanger vs American Racing. Barely anyone had American Racing on their GEN II, and I couldn't find any sound clips to get an idea. Even though the majority of people recommended me getting Belanger over American Racing. I went with American Racing because I liked the idea of how they were built more, being Stainless steel. I also liked how they looked more being a stepped header, and lastly, I kind of liked the fact not as many people yet have the American Racing Headers on their GEN II car compared to how many people already have Belanger, B&B or M&M Headers. It sets mine apart from most people and I like being different. So I decided to go with American Racing, and from what I've heard and been told, I won't be disappointed.