[ThatOneGuy93]

Hello,

I am new to the site, and new to any sort of work on a car for the sake of potential fun and not just regular maintenance. I've got a 2016 Mazda 6 Sport with 107,000 miles on it now and am at the point where I would like to have some fun with the car since I am driving it more, and on long stretches of open road.

I've decided that I would like to have some exhaust work done and a local shop that comes highly recommended has offered to build something for a good price and mentioned removing the cats. I know next to nothing about exhaust systems and am wondering if anyone has any feedback or advice on what I should be asking for, or more importantly what I should be asking to not have changed. I don't want anything too loud to drive or that causes constant check-engine lights, but better sound and any performance gains are the desired outcome. I've looked at purchasing an exhaust system from CS or MagnaFlow, but not sure on what the best route is.

As of now, the only other work done is an AEM CIA. I am considering a tune this summer, but want to redo the suspension and get new wheels/tires beforehand and see how it's feeling then.

By the way, if this is too vague or against any rules please let me know. I have spent a few hours reading through other posts and still feel a bit lost on what I should do.


Thanks!

 

[Byakuya]

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry, this post required my approval for some reason. Free bump for your troubles. If you don't want to mess with the car much, I'd suggest sticking with a cat-back or axel-back exhaust. Cat-back exhausts start just after the catalytic converters and don't impede/change anything when it comes to emissions. They tend to lead to a bit of a deeper tone (depending on the brand). Axel-back start even further along the exhaust pipeline and are typically cheaper/easier to install. They may not offer quite as much of a tone change but they're still good for a new sound from your car.

Do some reasearch into different exhaust brands and see what sounds you prefer - there's tons of videos on Youtube.

 

[Cdn17Sport6MT]

Byakuya, I may be wrong, here, but for at least Corksport (and I think others) their catback system eliminates the underfloor main cat... That's not how I read your response, above. Me, I'm not in favour of cat removal...

I'd only go axle-back. Unfortunately, with the Corksport system the bottom-end torque is a minor amount inferior to the OEM system (i.e. with their axle-back system).

 

[ThatOneGuy93]

I've been a long time lurker and have spent countless hours reading through content here in the past few months trying to map out an idea on what to do with this car.

The cost is the only thing keeping me away from buying a bolt-on kit but it's starting to look like it might be worth the extra money than a custom exhaust as it's easily reversible in the event that I am not happy with the outcome or run into problems.

How feasible would it be to source some stand-alone parts and have an exhaust put together that I could bolt on in replacement of them stock exhaust? I am hoping to keep the sound tolerable, but get whatever gains I can out of it before taking it to get tuned later this year.

 

[Byakuya]

Byakuya, I may be wrong, here, but for at least Corksport (and I think others) their catback system eliminates the underfloor main cat... That's not how I read your response, above. Me, I'm not in favour of cat removal...

I'd only go axle-back. Unfortunately, with the Corksport system the bottom-end torque is a minor amount inferior to the OEM system (i.e. with their axle-back system).

You're probably right - tbh I haven't done research into specifics for our cars, I was just generalizing - perhaps I should've written that. Good catch, and I agree that I'd also stick with axel-back regardless.

I've been a long time lurker and have spent countless hours reading through content here in the past few months trying to map out an idea on what to do with this car.

The cost is the only thing keeping me away from buying a bolt-on kit but it's starting to look like it might be worth the extra money than a custom exhaust as it's easily reversible in the event that I am not happy with the outcome or run into problems.

How feasible would it be to source some stand-alone parts and have an exhaust put together that I could bolt on in replacement of them stock exhaust? I am hoping to keep the sound tolerable, but get whatever gains I can out of it before taking it to get tuned later this year.

I mean, depending on what you want to do/spend you have a decent amount of options. Some guys just change the tips to fit the bumper better and that's all they need (so far as I know, you need to cut the OEM tips off for this). Others want that minescule additional power so they go all-in. The amount of work required isn't anything terrible for a standard exhasut/muffler/auto shop provided you get an exhaust that fits the car and can use the oem hangers/mounts.

 

[TalonTsi90]

Youll get FAR more fun out of it with suspension.

 

[ThatOneGuy93]

I was reading the "post your custom exhaust here" thread and think I'm going to order a couple mufflers, tips, a Y pipe, and have it throw together. I am strongly considering having the cats cut out when it's installed, but want to prevent it from having a constant CEL if possible, and not have it unbearably loud. Think that's possible? (I just bought a house in eastern TN and cat removal/straight piping is pretty common around here)


Talon: I did just put in Bilstein B6s in the front with new mounts, strut tower bar, Mevotech lower control arms, Mevotech sway bar links, inner tie rods, but used the OE springs for now. I'm also looking at new wheels/tires and hub/bearings but will make another post for that soon!


I would like to start working on the rear suspension before committing to new springs all the way around and am very much open to suggestions!

 

[Byakuya]

I was reading the "post your custom exhaust here" thread and think I'm going to order a couple mufflers, tips, a Y pipe, and have it throw together. I am strongly considering having the cats cut out when it's installed, but want to prevent it from having a constant CEL if possible, and not have it unbearably loud. Think that's possible? (I just bought a house in eastern TN and cat removal/straight piping is pretty common around here)


Talon: I did just put in Bilstein B6s in the front with new mounts, strut tower bar, Mevotech lower control arms, Mevotech sway bar links, inner tie rods, but used the OE springs for now. I'm also looking at new wheels/tires and hub/bearings but will make another post for that soon!


I would like to start working on the rear suspension before committing to new springs all the way around and am very much open to suggestions!

Definitely off to a good start with the suspension. Getting some wider, grippier, and lighter tires/rims will make a world of difference in cornering.

Please thoroughly read my experience with Bilsteins and this generation 6's rear suspension, lest you have a self-induced headache like I did Byakuya's 2014 Grand Touring Shiro Shinobi

 

[ThatOneGuy93]

Definitely off to a good start with the suspension. Getting some wider, grippier, and lighter tires/rims will make a world of difference in cornering.

Please thoroughly read my experience with Bilsteins and this generation 6's rear suspension, lest you have a self-induced headache like I did Byakuya's 2014 Grand Touring Shiro Shinobi

I apologize for the late reply! Was definitely a good read. What a nightmare! I was on RockAuto last night and saw they had the rear B6 shock absorbers in stock for $110 and B8s for $115. I hesitated on the purchase and now they are gone...ugh. I do plan on waiting until I have the shock absorbers, control arms, mounts, and trailing arms before doing the actual swaps to try and make it easier but want to get this exhaust done first...


Which I have now decided to make it a lot more complicated and am trying to find a used OEM exhaust pipe (PY03-20-55x) so I can get full dimensions, chop one of the cats off and replace with straight piping, add a Y pipe, Borla or MagnaFlow mufflers, and new tips. My thinking is that I can then bolt it on and keep my OEM exhaust for whatever reason. Finding a used OEM exhaust pipe is proving difficult without having to pay $200 for shipping.

Somewhat off topic, but what's the requirements to post a WTB thread? It's like a ghost-town over there but I am looking for a few things (OEM pipe would be a great start) as the end goal is to rebuild a motor and have one to stick in it after another 50k-70k miles with the original one. Always wanted to build a motor and with the used car market being what it is, and the love of this car, I figured there's no better time like now to start planning this out.

 

[Byakuya]

I apologize for the late reply! Was definitely a good read. What a nightmare! I was on RockAuto last night and saw they had the rear B6 shock absorbers in stock for $110 and B8s for $115. I hesitated on the purchase and now they are gone...ugh. I do plan on waiting until I have the shock absorbers, control arms, mounts, and trailing arms before doing the actual swaps to try and make it easier but want to get this exhaust done first...

I believe I got mine for a good price at ShockWarehouse - wasn't 100% sold on their site but figured I've give them a try. No complaints and they took my return once I told them about the fit issues.

Which I have now decided to make it a lot more complicated and am trying to find a used OEM exhaust pipe (PY03-20-55x) so I can get full dimensions, chop one of the cats off and replace with straight piping, add a Y pipe, Borla or MagnaFlow mufflers, and new tips. My thinking is that I can then bolt it on and keep my OEM exhaust for whatever reason. Finding a used OEM exhaust pipe is proving difficult without having to pay $200 for shipping.

This is out of my league lol - I'll defer to the more knowledgable members.

Somewhat off topic, but what's the requirements to post a WTB thread? It's like a ghost-town over there but I am looking for a few things (OEM pipe would be a great start) as the end goal is to rebuild a motor and have one to stick in it after another 50k-70k miles with the original one. Always wanted to build a motor and with the used car market being what it is, and the love of this car, I figured there's no better time like now to start planning this out.

Yeah, the 6 was a bit of a niche thing to begin with, and most OGs have moved on to other things. Unfortuantely, Mazda announced the end of the road for the 6 coming soon too, so this place will slowly see fewer and fewer enthusiasts.

Last I checked it was 50 post minimum before access to Buy/Sell, but since the website overhaul a couple years ago I've lost all access to those controls

If you create a thread elsewhere, I should still be able to move it to Buy/Sell for you and then it should let you at least reply to your own thing.

 

[ThatOneGuy93]

I ended up checking RockAuto again and they had the B6 rear shock absorbers in stock again and this time I got them for $90 each so it turned out to be a better deal! They should be here next week. Now to decide on springs. I don't think I want to lower it so I may be stuck using OE but haven't looked much. I wont be putting them in for awhile as I'll end up doing most of the rear suspension/steering/alignment parts all at once.


I may have a lead on some parts that I was going to post a WTB for so for now I will hold off, but I appreciate the offer and will keep it in mind!