3" Thermal R&D Stainless Cat-back

[Van]

Awesome cat-back system IMO! Sound is a whisper at idle, a mellow rumble at highway speeds (you can still have a normal conversation with your girl), and loud enough at WOT to make the competition look twice. Not that bumblebee sound! Price was $550 @ Extreme. I have seen it for less. Being my first major DSM purchase, I figured that they oughtta have excellent customer service being a major DSM vendor with high visibility in the DSM community. Quality is top-notch IMO, perfect welds, flawless finish, fits perfect, utilizes all factory hangers, and have never scraped it on a bump. I had it installed in about twenty minutes, no bs. Simply jacked the car up, unbolted the stock pieces and put this one in. I ordered online with no problems. I've had it about 6 months now, and I'm still impressed.

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Rocky Mountain
'91 Talon Tsi AWD

[Danny]

I myself have installed a Thermal 3in cat-back on my 90 GSX. First of all I would like to say it was a perfect fit. Like it was stated before it used all the stock hanger locations. I installed mine in under 20 minutes; As far as performance, it made an immediate improvement. Turbo spools up very, very quickly now. Sound is a bit loud for crusing speeds but you get used to it. IMO this is the best cat-back on the market.

Danny

[spltscnd98gst]

I agree 110%. Best exhaust I ever had in any of my cars. the deep tone of the system sounds so soothing, especially when that mustang I just killed gets smaller and smaller in my rear view mirror. LOL! But seriously....its the best out there...

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Ray
1998 Eclipse GST
Mods: 3" Thermal R&D, Greddy TypeS bov, dump tube removal, MBC, Sprint Lowering springs, strut bars, Autometer gauges, HKS timer, custom interior, 17" performance rims

[Boosted20G]

I agree as well, I have a Thermal on my 2G and have had it for a long time with no complaints, and when you mate it to a test pipe you get a great sound.

[DSMing91]

Same here it DEF is a nice exhaust. i have it on my 91GsX. its is kind of loud on the highway but you get used to it. and also DEF a perfect fit and looks nice.

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SaL
DSMing91
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1202566&a=8868656&p=28934541

[Tractionless in PA]

Hmm. I haven't been very happy w/ mine. Upgraded to the Thermal for the extra flow of the 3" from My Greddy power extreme. No comparison. The Greddy fit better than stock. The Thermal hits my rear suspension. I've put like 20 complete exhaust systems on, so it's not like I don't know what I'm doing, but it looks as if the hangers were welded in the wrong place. Don't think I would reccomend it. Liked the sound of the Greddy better also.

[Lipster]

How would you compare the Greddy to the Thermal (sound-wise)? I bought the extreme cat back w/ resonator and the friggin resonator bangs occasionally off of the differential (you'd think that it would have been configured so that the resonator would not be located at the lowest point on the car - to differential!)

[Tractionless in PA]

The sound of the Thermal is deeper no doubt, but it just seems to have that sort of hollow (i've blown my gasket and need a new one) sound IMO. The Greddy was much raspier and more profound sounding, especially in the midrange. It was quieter at idle, and just a touch quieter at WOT, but overall, IMO, the GReddy seemed to be a much better built product. But I di have a few Greddy pieces on my car, so I might be biased towards them, but everything I purched w/ the Greddy name on it has surpassed my expectations. I know it costs more money then some, but I've never seen other products for our cars w/ such good build quality. The welds on the stuff even lok like they were done by NASA. I dunno. I might be the only unhappy Thermal customer, but I won't buy another....

[90GSTforME]

All right I finnally got my thermal catback on too.
Fit is ok... It rests on part of the frame over the rear axle which makes for a small banging noise fairly often.
The welds are also just "ok".
Power was improved much over stock, as was the sound.
So deep at idle you can FeeL the vibrations standing next to the car. Also made my friends car alarm chirp from the deepness.
I think the fact that it is resting on the frame accounts for the vibrations of it through the seats into your back.
Actually feels pretty nice though.
A bit loud for simple cruising but still a cool sound.

The worst problem was that my car has 10 years of experience on salty MI roads. All the bolts for the small hangers broke right away. THANK GOD I managed to save the front 2 on the cat.
The joint between the 2 rear sections of stock pipe wad worthless bolts too so I had to cut my pipe off.
It was easy to make the hangers bolt up using new bolts though. This may also account for the resting on the frame, so the fit of the pieces may be better than I give them credit for.
I'd like to hear opinions of the ATR catback.
Over all a good buy... but boy was it pricey. Not more than other systems but it hurt my wallet bad.

[MikeyboyTSi]

I installed my 3" Thermal today...replaced stock exhaust.

Fit and finish is absolutely spectacular. The entire thing is beautiful polished stainless, and the welds are impeccable. The tip is large, but not obnoxious, and gorgeous. I've seen plenty of exhausts, and this is really the only one that actually impressed me with it's looks.
It used ALL the stock hangers, which is a lot more than I can say for another (Buschur) exhaust I had, and everything lined up perfectly.

The sound is excellent. Very rumbly and deep at idle and low rpms. At WOT, it's definitely louder, but not obnoxious at all. It has a very nasty growl to it. I love the way this thing sounds now!

Performance increase is, as with most all 3" catbacks, very good over stock...no more choking above 5500 rpms!

All in all, definitely lives up to the hype as the best catback there is.

Mike

[1QWK4]

I also have the 3" Thermal Catback. I have no problems with the exhaust, it works great. I highly recommend it over other Catbacks for a DSM. It was a super easy to install and fits perfect on my 1G AWD. I paid $525 (Free Shipping) from DSS in March 2000, but I was not happy with the service from DSS.


93 TSI AWD (In Storage)
92 TSI AWD (Daily Driver)
91 GST (Sold it last night)

[SlowWhite]

I have a Thermal 3" R&D on my 96 GST and love it. the sound is a bit load on boost but was to be expected. After being into the DB seen here in MN for the past five years I don't know how well I hear anyway. :-)
I also get car alarms to churp in the idle when I pull into the underground garage at home. kind of fun. I used to
go to the MOA and see how many car alarms I'd set off with my system. :-) ( I was young then...OK )
I've also gotten a lot of comments on how cool my car sounds with the exhaust and HKS cams. got to love the low rumble. I like to think of it as a dog getting pissed off right before he takes a bite out of your @$$.

[reptiles]

Isn't the thermal the one that tapers down to 2.5" to fit the stock cat? When you later upgrade to a 3"cat/test pipe, a section needs to be cut off and a flange/extention welded on? I think thats what they were describing on vendors websites.

[MikeyboyTSi]

Well, as promised, here are some pics from my recent TR&D catback install. Please excuse the filthiness of the car. :)

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1288814&a=9553367&p=37441748
This is the TR&D catback laid out beforehand.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1288814&a=9553367&p=37441751
This is the "notorious" neckdown of the Thermal.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1288814&a=9553367&p=37441877
This is the tip end of the muffler. It's a big, but not obnoxious 4" with the Thermal logo etched into it. Very good looking.

[MikeyboyTSi]

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1288814&a=9553367&p=37441773
This is a not-so-good comparison shot between the stock catback, and the bright, shiny, TR&D. Notice the elimation of many of the bends.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1288814&a=9553367&p=37441784
Here's a better comparison pic that shows the difference in diameter much more clearly.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1288814&a=9553367&p=37441790
Not much to say here...just a muffler comparison pic.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1288814&a=9553367&p=37441744
Here's a pic of the lovely tip after installation. It didn't stay this clean for long!

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1288814&a=9553367&p=37441761
Finally, this is a rather unclear side shot of the muffler and tip.

All in all, it was simple, and definitely worthwhile aesthetically, and performance-wise. Feel free to email me for questions, comments, etc. I could rave about this exhaust all day!

Mike

[Dan4g63]

Just to make sure the 1g have a 4" tip and 2g have a 5" tip?

[dsm1995gst]

yep, the 2G has a 5inch tip.

[97GSTAT]

I love my TR&D exhaust. It mixes the perfect amount of sound and performance for any aftermarket exhaust out there.

[k91]

It seems like only FWD cars have had problems with the TRD exhaust banging on the rear suspension. Any AWDs have this problem? I know on my friends 2G GST the Tanabe exhaust we put on also bangs into the rear suspension sometimes.

[Ian 97 gst]

I've had mine for a while now and I have no such problems. I heard something about a little banging problem, but have never experienced it. Maybe it only occurs on lowered cars..?

[harry99GSX]

I have the Thermal on my 99GSX and love it. Yes you have to cut off the neck down section when going full 3". Its not hard to dp ,and my honest opinion is its worth it. The Thermal is a very good system. I like the low rumble at idle and the increase tone/growl when your right foot gets heavy. Its worth every dollar.

[overboostTSI]

Well I finally put my exhaust on Friday night. I installed the following(same time)BR 2.5"dp, 2.5"tp, 3"thermal catback. I purchased my catback slightly used for $300 in very good condition. At first I wasn't used to the sound increase but very quickly got use to it and now love the way the car sounds, it is low and deep at idle, very livable for highway driving. The catback bolted into place just as everyone else says, uses all hangers, fit and finish are top notch. As far as performance goes: its a huge difference over stock exhaust, maybe 30-40hp(turbo back), on the highway you just leave it in 5th to pass and lay into the throttle a little bit, spool up is a lot quicker, pulls to redline.
The only complaint that I kinda have is the neckdown at the testpipe or cat. The flange on my testpipe is a lot bigger then the little flange on the thermal catback but it still bolted up.