Just changed my NB stock exhaust system to Town and Country

[miatalim]

This is my first post. I bought my 1999 NB about 3 weeks ago. I used to have an NA 6 years ago but had to sell it due to the new baby.

The first thing I noticed about the NB compared to my 1989 NA was that it really sounded like crap ! The engine pulled harder but it wasn't as sweet. I soon found myself not driving the NB as much.

My first contact was the MX5 Factory but his solution was a bit above my budget so I started searching on the web and came to this forum. I read a lot of positive experiences on town and country exhaust in Geelong so I thought I would give it a go.

To cut a long story short, I got my entire exhaust system (except for headers) replace with a Town and Country one. I also had the pleasure of meeting Peter there. Peter is a hardcore MX5 fan and I really did salivate when I saw what I did to his NA. Apparently Peter helped design the exhaust system for the MX5.

It took me 1.2 hours drive back from Geelong to Melbourne because getting the right advise from Peter and Colin saved me a lot of pain and money. The exhaust sounded superb !!! No cheap dronning or irritating pitches...just a nice deep throbbing exhaust. The car seems to have more torque but that could be due to the placebo effect of the better exhaust sound. However if Peter says it develops more power than I believe him. I took my kids for a drive and the sound was so addictive that they kept asking me to rev up again and again. Now this is how a roadster should sound like !

Great service at Town and Country exhaust and they were honest enough to tell me not to waste my money changing the header as the Aussie 1999 NB header was tubular and good enought.

Thanks to Peter and T&C. I have to get some groceries in my MX now....

[miatalim]

My next mod is cold air intake. I am thinking of a mx5 mania one. It seems that is the most effective way to ram cooler air from outside the engine bay. Anyone got any experience with the MX5 mania cold air intake. They seem like good value compared to most.

[ak_perth]

Hi,

I bought a Mania Cold Air Intake a few months ago. All i can say is it's brilliant!

I was so impressed with it that a put a post up:

viewtopic.php?f=29&t=44311

It is LOUD, but i love induction roar on cars, so for me it's heaven.

Cheers

AK

[miatalim]

thanks for the feedback on the cai. loud is something I am not too keen on. did you perceive any performance improvements?

The T&C exhaust solution should be emulated by more Aussie companies I reckon. they have basically looked at what was around globally in terms of performance and price..and came to the party with something as good priced very competitively. These guys know how to do business. Sadly, a lot of aussie retailers and manufacturer have not caught on to the global nature of business and how that will change things quite drastically.

[Mr nanotech]

Hey guys I finally decided to sell the RSR and after not being able to get the exhaust I want into the country for a decent price I've decided to get the T&C exhaust.
Thing is, I know this has a lot of good write ups and I have booked my car in to get it done due to hearing so many people rave about it...
But I'm curious to know what actually IS it about this exhaust that makes it so great?

Keep in mind I'm not being judgemental or condescending here, I'm honestly asking!

As I've been told by the proprietor of T&C, the system is a 2.25" press bent mild steel cat back with flanged midpipe containing a 15" resonator to highflowing stainless muffler and tip.
I'm only getting the axle back muffler section as I already have a 2.25" resonated midpipe, but what separates this setup from other exhaust shops?
Because to be honest, it's press bent not mandrel, most of the exhaust is mild steel not stainless... So is it just the muffler can that is responsible?

I'm interested to know! Thanks for taking time to read this!

[NitroDann]

Josh if you look back at some of my recent posts on the topic ive suggested a 2.25 press bent mild steel system with a large hotdog resonator as being what id suggest for a stockish car.

Its good because this is the right combo for the car. And mild sounds better than stainless.

Ive stated it time and time again, its the details, not the price or company that is important.

Dann

[Apu]

Dann's right. I have a stainless system with mandrel bends but the reality is, there is very little in it if the press bends are well made. If there is a tight bend, they can use a larger pipe, bend and weld that section.

Sound is subjective, I find mild steel systems more "muted". And of course, stainless will last longer (but really...how much more for the cost?) and it is also more blingy.

[jerrah]

Having had all sorts of exhausts on my MX5 from the original mild steel press bent aftermarket, to a stainless Roadster Sport 3, to a DIY stainless system to now having a SE stock system on my car - my thoughts.

#Mild steel has a deeper muted tone. Hotdog + generic muffler. Droned like all hell at 100km/h. Not sure when it was fitted but was pretty rusty.

#Stainless has a raspy 'twin cam' note.
Wasn't entirely happy with a namebrand exhaust for drone and volume. Had an annoying constant pitch at 100km/h.

#My DIY system IMO had the best 'sound' (hot dog + big Magnaflow muffler) but was louder once I changed my 'intake'.

#SE stock system sounds nice on a NA6, not particularly light, press bent, but quiet on the highway and I noticed no difference in performance over the others. Has a rorty throaty note once the boost is up. Looks stock.

SE exhaust is my favourite so far and was extremely cheap. Quiet on a SE obviously but less muffled than a normal NB because I don't have a turbo in my exhaust flow and is a larger diameter than an NB exhaust AND certainly larger than a stock 1.6.

+ Now my car has MAZDASPEED written on it.