I did the exhaust myself. Back about the time Cardoc did his. He argued that crush bent was every bit as good as mandrel bent until most of the people on this board started showing him proof that it wasn't even close. (among pointing out many other things he was wrong about) He then left and formed his own clique. (another story in itself)
I (& others) asked him to do head to head dyno comparisons, but he chickened out IMO. Likely because he didn't gain anything but weight. Good thing for him too because I would have slaughtered him...
About weight. If you make maybe 3HP more than stock with the cardoc system (a big maybe) yet it weighs 20lbs more. You have gained zero real world performance. Matter of fact you have lost real world performance because the car is slower off the line and loses a little in the handling department.
BTW - My exhaust is actually lighter than the stock setup. (only a mere 8lbs for the cat-back, but 30lbs total including the Y-pipe)
2.5" mandrel bent from the Y back as well... (meaning a hair over 2.4" ID at the 90 degree bends)
Yes weight does matter a lot to these cars. If you don't think so that's just something else you are misinformed about.
BTW my car is currently field stripped; so nyah nyah
When it goes back together it will be a good 70lbs lighter. Around 110lbs lighter than when I bought it. Don't even try to tell me that isn't noticeable. It's like another dozen HP/TQ in the bank! Not to mention the handling & braking benefits!
Morale of the story: Crush bends & adding weight sucks!
