Chris
Thanks for the welcome Chris; it’s good to be here. My car’s stock dyno numbers before these upgrades were 433 hp and 468 tq, which Jason said were a little south of stock average. Hence I picked up 34.5 hp and 35 tq. Getting rid of the crossover allowed the entire exhaust system from the Burns merge collectors to the exhaust tips to be three inch diameter, as opposed to 2.5 inch, and removed the, in effect, baseboard heater from behind the seats (I’ve also noticed that, as a consequence of the improved flow, the rockers don’t seems to be getting as hot either).
Sound is another matter altogether. As far as quality of sound goes, I personally love it, and so has every car enthusiast that has listened to it so far. Admittedly, however, the volume has taken a little getting used to and a little bit of management at times too. I'll give you some examples. Now, when I start the car cold in the garage (which has sound reflecting concrete walls—gasp!), it’s, well, startling. And don’t even bother trying to talk over it. In fact, I’m usually in a hurry to get it out of the echo chamber and onto the driveway where I can relax a bit. Once the engine warms up a little bit, however, the idle, even in the garage, is a pleasant and soothing deep rumble. I find myself just sitting in the driveway enjoying it. And then there’s driving. Gently cruising around the stereotypical suburban neighborhood at 2000 to 3000 rpm will slowly turn heads, as people look up from gardening and croquet to see what’s coming down the street. Most looks are eventually accompanied by grins and friendly waves. On the other hand, gunning it in the same neighborhood results in enough of an increase in volume to evoke much different physical reactions from my formerly supportive neighbors. Oh well, no more zipping through the neighborhood at midnight for me--which is actually a good thing I've rationalized. When cruising on main arteries around 45 and 50 miles an hour, I’ll pass people on the road side that won’t even notice me, but if I’m initiating a pass and gunning it, well, everybody knows it. It's funny, a lot of foot traffic around main arteries will give me a thumbs up if I’m being noisy, contrary to what we can expect in the more serine neighborhood settings, hehe. Go figure.
Oh, my favorite characteristic of the sound is that gurgling and popping noise it makes when decelerating. You know the one. You’ve heard Harley’s make it. Sometimes that can be pretty loud too, spooking animals and people alike. It makes me melt.
The bottom line on sound: To me, the car didn’t have a sound of its own before--mean car; no exhaust note (is it running?). Now, it has its own sound, which is a sound befitting the car, IMHO. Sometimes I have to consciously make an effort to keep the volume down and sometime it’s just a little louder than would be my preference (and I certainly wouldn't want it any louder). Still, considering the performance enhancement, the former heat issues, and the character improvement overall, I wouldn’t personally trade it for anything less. For those considering something a little quieter, however, I understand that if you use ceramic cats, as opposed to steel cats, you’ll drop a few decibels in exchange for a little more heat and a little less power gain.
I hope this helps.
So how do you get that little picture to post under your name? I can’t seem to figure that one out. Oh, and I was courous as to what kind of camera you were using, if you don't mind sharing. You take some really nice shots. Thanks for sharing them!
Best regards,
Russ
And with these modifications alone, the rear wheels now are putting out 467.5 hp and 503.0 tq. How cool! 
Thank you Jason! I will be back for more upgrades!
