Tanabe Medallion Exhaust Review

SS_Firehawk

Finally writing a review on the Tanabe Medallion Exhaust. I did not install this myself, and this was installed with other exhaust components that will definitely change the original sound of this exhaust. Those were the PPE LTH's and Motordyne XYZ Y pipe with Cat.
Packaging: This was a big MF'N box. Everything was wrapped and protected well. Everything needed for the install was included and nothing missing. This would no fit in my 2011 Nissan Maxima trunk with the seats down because the box was too big to fit thorugh the hole that goes into the rear passenger area when seats are down.
Installation: This took less than an hour and bolted up with absolutely no fitment or rubbing issues. The shop said this was one of the easiest exhausts that they installed. It mated perfectly to the Motordyne Y pipe. This is easily done with simple tools and a jack. I didn't have any
Appearance: The exhaust looks stunning. My only complaint is that the entire exhaust isn;t polished but it is very minor. The cans and the tips do come polished. The welds look great and the quality was fantastic. The tips lined up perfectly to the rear bumper and were center. Speaking of the tips, there is no other exhaust for the Z that has these walled tips. The are absolutely stunning to look at and are the only visual giveaway that this car is not stock without looking under the car. The cans sit high up and are nearly impossible to dent. If the car were lowered, the exhaust would have no issues with clearance. The cans can be seen if you were to bend over to look, but not standing at any distance unless you were the size of a child.
Performance & Sound: This doesn't sound like any of the videos because of my exhaust configuration. This is considered one of the quieter exhausts on the market. When headers and HFC added, this is not a quiet exhaust system anymore. There are two 18" resonators that really help clean up the rasp from the headers and reduce drone to something manageable. I can't say enough about how well it sounds with the PPE headers. I hated the way the headers sounded in the videos, but came out lucky after everything was installed. It's quiet when cruising, and screams at anything more than part throttle. My Wife loves the sound, as does my Mother in Law (she's 56). My Father is slightly jealous (he drives a Cayman S) and I get to wake up my Pot head neighbors every morning I start it up. It shakes everything for a good 30 seconds on a cold start.
Conclusion: I picked this is for $1215 on a price match with shipping back in January. I don't regret this purchase at all. This is a great deal for a JDM piece that is definitely different from the crowd. The fitment, build quality, sound, and price were fantastic. If there is anyone on the fence with this particular exhaust, just hit the order button. There are a lot of exhausts available for this vehicle and I'll throw my hat in for the Tanabe system. I have dyno's and videos on this thread: LTH with HFC + CBE = ? If you want me to repost them here, please let me know. I'll post pics when I have time. (Heading to dinner!)

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ZBro16

Let's see some pics and maybe a video man! I would love to hear this thing with your setup. I had a Tanabe Medalion on my Altima Coupe and really liked it... bought a Greddy SE for my Altima only bc Tanabe didn't make a full catback setup for my car and I wanted to make some changes.

They make a killer product for sure. I was amazed at the attention to detail of my Tanabe. I'll check your other thread, but I'd really like to hear this thing in action.

SS_Firehawk

Going to the shop tonight, I know they took some pics. Here's a link to another thread I made full of videos: LTH with HFC + CBE = ?

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Streetlife

There's no doubt in my mind, Tanabe is the best exhaust for the 370Z, not to say others out there aren't good, for me Tanabe's the best for sound and quality ( i spent hours upon hours researching all of the available CBE's regardless of price) . Tanabe's attention to detail is another indicator of the passion they had for the 370Z when creating each CBE set (all of there exhaust systems are amazing though). I opted to keep my stock y-pipe and stock cats because it gives the Tanabe CBE more of a nice growl when accelerating to 4K RPM (i'm still way under 1200 miles, can't wait to hear her past 5K RPM, i have once avoiding a possible accident, she sounds even more amazing past 4K RPM trust me ). For me with the Tanabe y-pipe, it makes the exhaust too mature and quiets the growl down too much. I love all of my Mods and can say i won't be changing anything on my girl Vanity.

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Tanabe Medalion Exhaust + Tanabe Y-Pipe, Baker Tuning, K&N Drop-Ins, Z1 Post MAF Tubes, GT-R Button, Nismo Magnetic Oil Drain Plug, CeramiKool Tint 35%, Solar Gard Clearshield Clearbra

SS_Firehawk

The Tanabe Y pipe would make it louder rather than quieter. You would also gain a sizable increase in hp because it will flow a lot better. Their Y pipes are very popular and always seem to be on back order. Sorry I haven't posted pics, been on orders and working late. I have plenty of vids I can post though.

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Streetlife

To each his or her own, that's the beauty of the JDM market for the 370Z there's plenty of options available for a CBE. To me, the growl is not as pronounced when the Tanabe y-pipe is added (given the added resonator on the Tanabe y-pipe), the y-pipe makes the exhaust sound more deeper and mature. The y-pipe is top notch for those on the fence on which one to get, on backorder for a while now though.

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Tanabe Medalion Exhaust + Tanabe Y-Pipe, Baker Tuning, K&N Drop-Ins, Z1 Post MAF Tubes, GT-R Button, Nismo Magnetic Oil Drain Plug, CeramiKool Tint 35%, Solar Gard Clearshield Clearbra

Streetlife

Have to admit, i'm in the process of purchasing the Tanabe Y-pipe right now, brand new from my original Tanabe dealer. You can't beat a complete system, and i've been promised the sound will be better, (5 more HP and 11 lb of torque), and i've always wanted to have the whole Tanabe system, my last mod and Nissan oil drain plug.

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Tanabe Medalion Exhaust + Tanabe Y-Pipe, Baker Tuning, K&N Drop-Ins, Z1 Post MAF Tubes, GT-R Button, Nismo Magnetic Oil Drain Plug, CeramiKool Tint 35%, Solar Gard Clearshield Clearbra

SS_Firehawk

Awesome I'm sure you'll like the Y pipe. I sometimes think about getting a Tanabe one, but then reality hits and reminds me I already have a good one. I did notice I never posted pics of the exhaust here. The Y pipe pics are the Motordyne Y pipe.


















Here goes some vids, but in reality, I wouldn't say this is a good representation of what it would sound like. It has LTH's and HFC. The dyno and cold start were the same day and the morning after install. The rasp is not really there anymore with the M370 manifold and warmed up.









The dyno is just the full exhaust and headers. It's DIN, so subtract like 5-6whp and for a good SAE number

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Z_ealot

hey SS if you see this, might want to take down that first video as it has your license plate numbers in it and judging by your pictures i didn't think you would want that shown lol awesome exhaust though man

SS_Firehawk

eh, too lazy. My house has weapons and both occupants trained, an alarm, and my 7lbs dog that will go in bark mode to a mouse fart. I may have my Wife edit them later, she does graphic and web design.

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SS_Firehawk

One more video for good measure.

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Streetlife

You were right SS_Firehawk, she is louder and better in every way with the Tanabe y-pipe. More power through the whole power band and combined with my Z1 MAF tubes i'm completely satisfied, Vanity is complete now! Can't always go by sound bites and youtube videos when choosing an exhaust.

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Tanabe Medalion Exhaust + Tanabe Y-Pipe, Baker Tuning, K&N Drop-Ins, Z1 Post MAF Tubes, GT-R Button, Nismo Magnetic Oil Drain Plug, CeramiKool Tint 35%, Solar Gard Clearshield Clearbra

JonnieN

Just installed the tanabe exhaust and y pipe. I also have the berk hfc. Oh man its loud. Does it quiet down a little after the break in??

ZBro16

I'm curious as to how it compares with the FI. Also if the full system will fit the Nismo.

SS_Firehawk

The big difference between the two is the Tanabe is a Y pipe exhaust. It also drops to 2.75" at the Y. It won't bottleneckwith an NA car, it didn't bottleneck with a SC'd car, but I could imagine a turbo car wanting more flow. It's probably as quiet as an 18" F.I. exhaust with the full CBE.

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