Posted: Nov 23 2005 at 3:59pm | IP Logged

Nashville.... that's good mileage for that Hilly area.  My parents used to live in Clarksville, and my dad would commute to Nashville, to the old Cyanide Plastics. 

They live in Paris now.

Posted: Nov 23 2005 at 10:17pm | IP Logged

Kcidmil

 I must have really touched a nerve there!  Are you okay?

You have some good points:  100-200 hp motors probably don't know the difference between mandrel and pressure bent pipes.  Especially if the overall diameter of the new pipe is larger anyway.  And the fact that the new system usually follows the same routing as the original system is true as well.  For $140 dollars, what type of pipe did they use on your system? Plain steel? aluminized steel? Stainless? What gauge of material was used?  Maybe quality of materials or longevity aren't issues.

What caused me to share my opinion however, was a feeling of some over generalizing. i.e., "cat-back systems aren't worth the money."  While true for some, not true for everybody.  "The factory Eaton supercharger sucks."  This isn't exactly true either.  While a true aftermarket supercharger will put out a lot more power, we should consider what thinking probably went into Nissan choosing to install a supercharger from the factory.  I may be wrong, but I'd guess they wanted enough of a boost to be noticeable over the non S/C units, but mild enough that reliability wouldn't be an issue.  In my opinion, they succeeded.  (I doubt they had any illusions about turning it into the next 350Z!)

I realize the S/C frontier, as it comes from the factory is no land rocket, but I have a very hard time believing that the 153 hp 4-banger could possibly be the hottest motor; the non S/C 3.3 with 170-180 hp the second quickest, and that the 210 hp S/C 3.3 is the dog of the bunch.  Nothing personal, but I have a hard time buying that one. Please tell me you're kidding.  While your little 2wd 4-banger may out accelerate a fully loaded 4x4 crew cab, so what?  I doubt your 24D-? whatever would move the crew cab 4x4 quicker than either 6 cylinder motor.  Even with your special custom exhaust and K&N filter.  Am I missing something here?  I have also driven the 4 cylinder as well as each of the 6 cylinder motors.  Maybe something was wrong with the S/C you drove, because I could tell the difference between the S/C and the non S/C 6 cylinders. Surprisingly, the S/C is noticeably quicker.  Am I the only one who believes this? What about you other S/C owners out there?

As far as top end, that has more to do with the speed governor than the motor's capabilities.  My wife's 4 cylinder Altima will get up to 115 before the speed governor kicks in while My S/C Frontier's would kick in at 99 mph. Does that make my wife's 4 banger more powerful? No.

In all honesty though, if I had it to do over, I probably would have bought the non S/C crew cab for the better gas mileage and cheaper fuel, even though it IS down on power as compared to the S/C version.  (YOu hear that one? It's true. Straight from Reality Land.  Believe it.)  When I bought my Frontier, I traded in a full sized Dodge Ram 4x4 1500 that got 12-13 mpg on the highway. While the 16-17 my Frontier got was somewhat better, I was hoping for more. Hence the Gibson exhaust, K&N filter and a couple of other futile attempts at improving fuel mileage.  As of yesterday, I traded my Frontier off on a new Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab with a V8.  After returning home this afternoon from work, I have finally seen a 4 mpg improvement as well as a 75 hp increase - by enjoying General Motors Red Tag Sale. And, I finally have enough room in the cab once again for my wife, kids, lap top and whatever else I regularly haul around in my personal and professional life.  How about that?  More room, more comfortable, A LOT quicker, and MUCH better fuel mileage.  Who'd a thunk it?  My Frontier was great, I just prefer to keep as much of my mileage reimbursement checks in my pocket as possible. Call me greedy I guess.  Someone will get a very nice truck when they purchase my immaculate, garage kept, 95% highway mile Frontier WITH A COOL GIBSON EXHAUST!!!

Best Wishes to you all

Enjoy your Frontiers - whether living in reality or fantasy land   Or whether you choose a custom built exhaust or a cat back system.  I know from personal experience that the Gibson system rocks.  Kcidmil and others like their pieced together "custom" systems that don't need no R&D.  Cool!  Either way, you're a winner. You're all winners.  No hard feelings Kcidmil.  Some of your advice IS good.

Brad Martin

Phillippians 4:8

Posted: Nov 23 2005 at 11:16pm | IP Logged

I now have a '04 4X4 S/C Crew and Traded in a 4X4 '98 King Cab 4 banger on it, While basically stock my truck is quicker then a "Hemi" 1500 4x4.

Sure a Cat back is not as free flowing as a full custom exhaust but any freedom in the exhaust is welcome, on any engine, can we at least agree on this point. I guess thats why Greddy and every other speed shop sells the bolt on "Burp" muffler for the Tuners, it reduces back pressure and thus increases air flow and speed.

 Back to my first point 4 banger Vs. S/C, I would love to see my old 4 banger in a 1/4 mile against my S/C, esp. where I live. If my old truck even saw a hill it would slow down. I recall too many snowboarding trips where I was in 3rd gear, flooring it and doing about 5000 rpm's, just to maintain 60mph. Now I can accelerate going up hill and build power all the way up doing less then 3500 rpm's, even my wife's Jetta 1.8T can't do that. Sure its not going to beat a 350Z or Vette, But thats not bad for a 4000lbs+ truck with big tires.

I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents since you ask where the S/C owners were. I don't plan on doing an exhaust, since I want a quite truck and I basically live in my truck. 

Happy Turkey Day to all.

Posted: Nov 24 2005 at 9:31am | IP Logged

Yeah you are missing something Fastang... Power to weight ratio.

As you can tell by the picture, I have a 2wd, King cab.  Everything around here is 4wd, and 90% of those are Crew Cabs.  While the people I raced could keep up, they never could get their nose of the truck past mine.  Realize also, the KA24DE motors they put in, are the same motors found in the 2nd gen of 240sx. 

And you really didn't strike a nerve, cause if you did, your post would not be there still.  I love stuff that can bring out a good discussion, as long as it is kept clean. 

I'm not a fan of Cat-Back kits because what you USED to get for you money, was definitely not worth it.  But since prices have come down... it's actually a decent kit to get for those who don't mind it.  I just don't like the lack of choices on it. 

Flowmaster offers 3 designs.  Single out, Dual Side exit, Dual Rear exit.  With a Shop, I can have it adjust to have the single out come out in the stock location, or in front of the tire.  Dual Side out, same thing.  Dual Rear, it can be adjust in our out so I could have it placed toward the 1/4 and 3/4 marks... or at the very edge. 

Plus I don't like the sound of Gibson or Flowmaster.  While they sound good on some trucks, I really never liked how they sounded on the Frontiers.  So why should I as a consumer fork up money for an exhaust that I'm not going to like?  For someone like yourself, the Gibson kit is perfect.  But everyone has different tastes.