Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post - Top Speed Exhaust (Resonator) vs. Invidia Gemini

TBSS2008 · 04-15-2011, 02:47 PM

I recently purchased a Top Speed Y Pipe + Top Speed Exhaust because my Invidia Gemini had some issues with the resonator. When the exhaust shop pulled off the Invidia it became clear why the exhaust was making such terrible vibration noises at certain rpms. Both Resonators had cracked factory welds to the exhaust pipe right after the cats. Basically the exhaust was degrading quickly (Resonator Factory Welds not holding up). I had put 30k hard miles on it. I am glad I purchased a replacement exhaust after seeing the condition my Invidia was in, did not want to have an exhaust I constantly need to have patched.

Top Speed Installation Review:
Both the Top Speed Y Pipe and Exhaust look top notch and very well packed from shipping. The installer did have to put in two washers under the cross member so the exhaust would clear the cross member. I also had him install a hose clamp over the rubber exhaust hanger to raise the exhaust off the cross member, which worked great. You’ve got to love this forum for tricks like that. I found it in another tread for a Stillen Exhaust install tips and tricks. I have not heard of other Top Speed Exhaust owners having issues with cross member. So this may be just an installation issue or maybe the Top Speed Y pipe has a different angle causing the exhaust to sit too low?

Sound Comparison:
The Top Speed exhaust sounds great! It has a higher pitch tone then the Invidia which was deeper but less pronounced. The Top Speed does have more volume to it but it does not drone at all. It’s still breaking in I’ve only had it on my Z a few hours now so I think the tone will get a little deeper and volume a bit louder. I don’t think this exhaust is too loud. The lack or drone is probably why the volume is so tolerable. When cruising not under load it has nice quite throaty rumble to it. But when you lay into it WOW my Z comes to life I Love it!

Performance:
I did not have the car dyno’d so this just my butt dyno talking. But I think the power is pretty close at this point. However I need to reset my ECU and put some more miles on the car to really see if there is a noticeable gain. I definitely did not loose any power with this exhaust car pulls hard!

Overall I am a very happy customer. I will be putting on my flame suit for this next comment, but I like the Top Speed Exhaust better then the Invidia. I am basing this on Sound, build quality, and price (Which is close). Time will tell how well the Top Speed Exhaust holds up but I can tell you that the Invidia Gemini did not hold up well with only 30,000 miles on it.

UPDATE
I have put some more miles on the Top Speed exhaust and can tell you it is A LOT louder then the Invidia Gemini. The Invidia was quite most the time unless you are getting into it. You can always tell the Top Speed is back there exhaust note is noticeable even cruising then WOT holy Sh** it really screams. The Top Speed exhaust will draw attention to your Z the Invidia Gemini is for those who want to hear the exhaust but stay under the radar. I like it loud the Top Speed exhaust is about as loud as I would go.