RAWTEK
Shop Representative
Ara came to see us to squeeze some more power out of his 09 Acura TL 3.7L. A good way to get a few hp out of these cars is to replace the restrictive OEM j-pipes with something that flows a little better. As you can see from the pics, the rear downpipe meets the exhaust at a right angle, creating restriction and turbulence. We are going to build a j-pipe with a smooth flow, joining into a Y-pipe, then into a turboflex flexpipe into the factory exhaust system. Many TL owners claim to see up to a 14hp increase by replacing the OEM j pipe and secondary catalyst with a less restrictive aftermarket unit.
The criteria
- It had to remain factory quiet (easy since the car is still running two cats, resonator, and muffler)
- The system has to be easy to remove. This means the system has to bolt onto the factory manifold and exhaust flanges. Since the Acura TL doesn't have standard flanges, we will have to measure, design and cut the flanges out of 3/8 Stainless Steel on our milling machine.
- A test pipe will be made so the second catalyst can be deleted when desired.
Here we go, I'll update the fabrication process as the day goes by, it should be done by noon tomorrow!
Factory system:
Measuring OEM flanges:
Cutting process:
One down, four more to go!
The criteria
- It had to remain factory quiet (easy since the car is still running two cats, resonator, and muffler)
- The system has to be easy to remove. This means the system has to bolt onto the factory manifold and exhaust flanges. Since the Acura TL doesn't have standard flanges, we will have to measure, design and cut the flanges out of 3/8 Stainless Steel on our milling machine.
- A test pipe will be made so the second catalyst can be deleted when desired.
Here we go, I'll update the fabrication process as the day goes by, it should be done by noon tomorrow!
Factory system:
Measuring OEM flanges:
Cutting process:
One down, four more to go!
