Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post - Garageline Cat-back Exhaust Reviews with Picture and Video

imwazn · 06-14-2013, 12:53 PM

I recently purchased the Garageline cat-back exhaust and installed it yesterday. They also sell the midpipes and xpipes separately, as well as an axleback. Since almost no one has had or at least said anything about this exhaust, I thought I’d be the guinea pig.

Shipping/Packaging

The exhaust came in three separate packages: muffler, midpipes and x pipe. The muffler and mid pipes were wrapped in bubble wrap, but also everything was in foam. It probably took me close to ten minutes just to get everything out of the package. With that said, everything was in perfect condition when I got it. Shipping was also very quick, at least for me (I’m about an hour drive from their store though). I don’t have a scale, but the shipping weights on the boxes were 36, 18 and 12. You could probably take quite a few pounds off for the shipping materials.

First Impressions

The first thing I noticed was the TurboXS stampings on the muffler and the packaging. This surprised me, because nowhere on their website does TurboXS appear. For those who are unfamiliar, TurboXS is a company that deals mainly with forced induction cars, namely STI’s and Evo’s.
Moving on though, the exhaust looked really nice. The welds looked great, as did the tips. However, the tips were slightly different colors. One was burnt to a more purple hue, while the other had some more blue. I’m not sure if this will change with the heat though, and honestly if it bothers me, I will simply polish the tips later on.

Fitment

The install went quite well. The only problem we ran into was the gaskets. When we went to put them on, we realized they were the wrong size. So, I had to run out to the store and spend about $40 on new gaskets. For the record, I did not contact Garageline about this and I’m sure they would have resolved the problem. I already had the stock exhaust off though, and I didn’t want to wait another few days. Other than that, there were no problems with the install.

A big concern of mine though is the height of the exhaust. I am lowered on Eibach springs, and at the midpipes, I have about 3.5 inches of clearance. For reference, the cross-member that the midpipe goes over is about 4.5 inches up.

Performance

I honestly can’t say. My butt dyno approves, but that isn’t very accurate. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time, nor the money right now to go to a dyno.

Sound

The biggest part of an exhaust, in my opinion, is the sound. I believe it gives the car the same tone as the stock exhaust, just louder. It is not as deep or loud as my Ark was. When people describe other exhausts as “this is how it should have come from the factory”, I would throw this exhaust on that bandwagon. It sounds good. Also, my camera makes it sound horrible… I apologize for that.

And sorry for the horrible video. I was trying to hold the camera, steer and shift...
370z Garageline Cat-back exhaust - YouTube

06-14-2013, 12:53 PM	#1 (permalink)
imwazn Base Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Virginia Posts: 187 Drives: 11 370Z Base, M/T Rep Power: 14	Garageline Cat-back Exhaust Reviews with Picture and Video I recently purchased the Garageline cat-back exhaust and installed it yesterday. They also sell the midpipes and xpipes separately, as well as an axleback. Since almost no one has had or at least said anything about this exhaust, I thought I’d be the guinea pig. Shipping/Packaging The exhaust came in three separate packages: muffler, midpipes and x pipe. The muffler and mid pipes were wrapped in bubble wrap, but also everything was in foam. It probably took me close to ten minutes just to get everything out of the package. With that said, everything was in perfect condition when I got it. Shipping was also very quick, at least for me (I’m about an hour drive from their store though). I don’t have a scale, but the shipping weights on the boxes were 36, 18 and 12. You could probably take quite a few pounds off for the shipping materials. First Impressions The first thing I noticed was the TurboXS stampings on the muffler and the packaging. This surprised me, because nowhere on their website does TurboXS appear. For those who are unfamiliar, TurboXS is a company that deals mainly with forced induction cars, namely STI’s and Evo’s. Moving on though, the exhaust looked really nice. The welds looked great, as did the tips. However, the tips were slightly different colors. One was burnt to a more purple hue, while the other had some more blue. I’m not sure if this will change with the heat though, and honestly if it bothers me, I will simply polish the tips later on. Fitment The install went quite well. The only problem we ran into was the gaskets. When we went to put them on, we realized they were the wrong size. So, I had to run out to the store and spend about $40 on new gaskets. For the record, I did not contact Garageline about this and I’m sure they would have resolved the problem. I already had the stock exhaust off though, and I didn’t want to wait another few days. Other than that, there were no problems with the install. A big concern of mine though is the height of the exhaust. I am lowered on Eibach springs, and at the midpipes, I have about 3.5 inches of clearance. For reference, the cross-member that the midpipe goes over is about 4.5 inches up. Performance I honestly can’t say. My butt dyno approves, but that isn’t very accurate. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time, nor the money right now to go to a dyno. Sound The biggest part of an exhaust, in my opinion, is the sound. I believe it gives the car the same tone as the stock exhaust, just louder. It is not as deep or loud as my Ark was. When people describe other exhausts as “this is how it should have come from the factory”, I would throw this exhaust on that bandwagon. It sounds good. Also, my camera makes it sound horrible… I apologize for that. And sorry for the horrible video. I was trying to hold the camera, steer and shift... 370z Garageline Cat-back exhaust - YouTube Last edited by imwazn; 06-14-2013 at 12:55 PM.