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Installing The MagnaFlow Ti On A Nissan
Everywhere we go, we hear people talking about how cool the new titanium stuff is. But do people even know what titanium is? Does it really make a difference?
When I got a call from Craig Lieberman, marketing director of MagnaFlow Performance Exhaust, to tell me about the company’s new Ti line, I was totally stoked. Not because it had anything to do with titanium, but because I was going to get a firsthand look at what the new stuff looked like and how it performs on the dyno. Although we didn’t expect anything in particular in terms of power, the weight savings alone was worth the install.
I was given a tour of the huge MagnaFlow Tech Center from Richard Waitas, the gentleman in charge of doing the tech install and dyno runs on our new exhaust. The crew offered me a dyno run with my old exhaust and promised it would perform other dyno runs after the new Ti exhaust was installed. After strapping the 240SX in and double-checking all the straps, we were ready to rock and roll with the first couple of dyno passes.
After four passes, Waitas was satisfied with the numbers and it was time to move the car from the dyno onto the lift. As you can tell from the photos, these guys don’t play around. Waitas took a peak underneath the car and made sure that the new exhaust would have no problems bolting on. Upon inspection of the old exhaust we noticed right away that it was a little beat up. The old unit was considerably larger than the new MagnaFlow unit and the piping and canister had been dinged up from the daily grind. With its smaller piping and smaller canister, the new exhaust will make road clearance 100-times better.
The new MagnaFlow Ti exhaust is made to perfection.
The crew removed the old exhaust and it was time to bolt on the new Ti unit, which requires one or two people. Most other applications that we have come across are built as one piece, requiring at least two people to do the installation. For this particular install, Waitas enlisted an assistant.
The Ti unit is broken down into two sections: the front section connects to the resonator and the second section contains the canister. The first thing that Waitas did was bolt the first section to the resonator. Then he connected the first section to the stock hangers. Nothing was fully tightened—always make sure that everything is correctly installed and aligned before fully tightening the hardware. Another important rule: Always start the install from the front and work your way toward the back, making sure that everything is aligned.
Waitas then took the second section and bolted it up to the front section, which was now hanging securely on the hangers. Then he made sure that the canister was secure by connecting the second section to the hangers located at the rear of the vehicle. Next, he made sure that everything lined up and that the canister looked just right from behind the car. After it was all secure, he went back and tightened everything.
The only tools needed for this install were 12mm and 14mm wrenches and a set of hanger pliers. Magna-Flow supplies the rest of the hardware, including washers and an Allen wrench.
MagnaFlow spared no expense when putting these exhaust units together. Attention to detail is only part of this crew’s recipe for success.
After testing the exhaust with the silencer, Waitas took it out and redid the test, just to see if there would be a difference. To our surprise, the decibels only went up to 96 dB without the silencer. Not bad at all. I loved it because it was nice and quiet, yet sounded just right.
Now was the moment of truth. Would the Ti exhaust be able to put out better numbers than the old unit? Waitas pulled the car back on the dyno and strapped it down one more time. Most importantly, before we started our next series of dyno runs, Waitas disconnected the battery for about 10 minutes. This resets the computer and gives it a fresh start with the new unit. After a 10-minute break, it was time to see what this baby could do.
Waitas made sure that the second section was aligned correctly and that the exhaust looked just right from behind the car.
Everything was aligned correctly before the final bolts were fully tightened.
The MagnaFlow exhaust comes with two springs and safety wire to bolt onto the rear of the exhaust. This helps with any tension that you may get during driving. You can use either the springs or the safety wire. As you can see here, we decided to go with the spring setup.
Don’t forget to disconnect the battery after installing the new Ti exhaust. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before reconnecting.
A total of four dyno runs were done and the new Ti exhaust put out an extra 6 hp and 3 lb-ft of torque. Not too bad if you ask me! Note that the 240SX didn’t have a stock exhaust; it had an upgraded unit with 3.25-inch piping. The new Ti exhaust is only using 2.25-inch piping and the numbers still improved. If you would like one of these beauties, you can pick one up for anywhere between $895 and $1,400, depending on whether you get the resonator (which is not to be confused with the silencer; that is included at no extra charge).
Article Sources
MagnaFlow Performance Exhaust
800/824-8664
22961 Arroyo Vista Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
