Exhaust pointers needed

[PORT3R]

Hey guys, just got my hands on a VT exec, and im looking around on what exhaust to put on it. I'm not really going for performance, more just for a nice sound, something that will turn heads. I've been told by a few people to get a Lukey, as they sound best on commodores, just I'm a bit confused, even after browsing their site. I just wanna get some pointers on:
- what i should expect in terms of prices
- what would be a nice sounding exhaust system for my VT

Any help would be great guys

Cheers

[mrss6ltr]

how you going mate. I had redback exhaust on my vt. It was from the cat back, it sounded nice and it cost me $550 supplied and fitted.

[PORT3R]

yeah i was thinking on getting a cat back, i heard they are "cheaper" and sound pretty nice.

thanks for the reply

[ZOMBIE]

ive got a 2.5" cat back with a rear hotdog insteadt of resi, sounds sweet. cost me 350

[fitz_vt]

i thought hot dogs were illegal.....

[ZOMBIE]

i dont think hotdogs are illegal, not here in melbourne anyway, not sure.

[PORT3R]

Thanks for replies

I doubt they would be illegal, since most shops sell them...

So 2.5in cat back with rear hotdog ya reckon?

Ill check out a few clips and see what I think

Dave.

[IMCRZY]

I had a 2.5' redback with no resi sounded sweet the was no droan or anything.

recommend it any day

[Tony.]

Every man and his dog with an ECOTEC Commodore gets a 2 1/2 inch cat-back system. Can't really go wrong with it. Most people also get Lukey or Redback and both sound fine.
When you say a system that turns heads, do you mean you want it to be loud or just sound good? The standard Redback or Lukey systems are still legal in terms of loudness so they are louder than stock but extremely loud. It you want loud you would need to replace the rear resonator with a hotdog.. OR for neighbour anoying loudness remove either the rear resonator(if manual) or middle muffler (if auto). Of course all of those options will probably make the system illegal (as the system will probably be over the dB limit with a hotdog, and the system needs the same amount of mufflers as stock ie 2) but a lot of people do it and don't get hassled by the police so its your choice.

Oops forget to answer the second part of the question.
Pricewise just ring around all the exhaust shops in your area and suss it out. The range of prices people have paid for a catback exhaust on this forum has ranged from $230 up to $500+. I think realistically it should be around the $300-400 figure.

V6 Exhaust - Post here

This thread will give you an idea of how systems sound.

[don0xer]

2.5" with no rear muffler sounds way to clacky upwards of 4k rpm imo, hotdog atleast or leave the muffler there

[PORT3R]

When you say a system that turns heads, do you mean you want it to be loud or just sound good?

A little bit of both to be honest. I want a nice note, without any droning, but when i really kick it, its pretty loud... but i don't want to get anything illegal loud.

Anymore suggestions?

Thanks for help guys

[Tony.]

The systems you can get (ie Lukey, Redback or whatever) are noticable but not crazily loud at idle and through the lower revs, but if you thrash it everywhere up at 4-5k rpms then it is a pretty loud. It sounds like you would be right with the normal system. In terms of what brands sound better... its pretty subjective, everyones got their own view. Use the exhaust thread to make your own decision. Regardless of whether you can an off-the-shelf brand system or an in-house made one by an exhaust shop, the sound isn't going to vary too much unless you have more mods on the car.

Is your car auto or manual? If you get a system and decide a few months down the track is isn't loud enough you can always replace the rear resonator with a hotdog as suggested.

[PORT3R]

Is your car auto or manual?

Auto


I'm thinking I'll just get a 2.5" cat-back system, and if i want it louder, ill get replace the rear resonator with a hotdog

Cheers for all the help guys!

Dave.

[Tony.]

Haha yeah just like majority of V6 Commo owners.

Yeah that sounds like the best way to go. When you get it done make a clip and post it in the exhaust thread!

[vxmad6]

I've got pacemaker 3 into 1 extractors with highflow cat or u can use a standard and bash the center out (but thats illegal) with 2 1/2 inch through single muffler into hotdog at the rear and it sounds sweet but is about $500 more then just standard high end cat back system.

[PORT3R]

Haha yeah just like majority of V6 Commo owners.

Yeah that sounds like the best way to go. When you get it done make a clip and post it in the exhaust thread!

Will do mate, I'm hoping I'll get it done within the month, but im putting some new rims on it first (before jan 1st), so I'll be posting those first

Dave.

[ZOMBIE]

Hey Davecho, just get a 2.5" catback with a rear hot dog from the start, 2 of my mates and myself got an exhaust with the rear resi and after a week we all wanted it louder so we got a rear hotdog put in. Even with the hotdog its not extremely loud, its just nice, so dont worry about it been illegal, it'll be all good.

[PORT3R]

Hey Davecho, just get a 2.5" catback with a rear hot dog from the start, 2 of my mates and myself got an exhaust with the rear resi and after a week we all wanted it louder so we got a rear hotdog put in. Even with the hotdog its not extremely loud, its just nice, so dont worry about it been illegal, it'll be all good.

Thanks alot for the help mate!
How much roughly would the hotdog cost? Out of curiosity of course

Off topic but i got my new rims put on today When i get it lowered and the exhaust put on, ill be sure to create a "My Ride" thread

Dave.

[ZOMBIE]

its alright mate, no drama's, when i was looking at getting my exhuast i wanted as much help as possible to make it sound good, they should charge you about the same having a hotdog in there instead of a rear resi maybe $20 more but you should still be able to get your exhuast between $250-$350, i got mine done at carline in mornington, did a good job.

[PORT3R]

Sweet, thanks for the help mate. Very appreciated!

Mornington is a 30 minute drive for me, but I've found a shop 5 mins from my house that sell and install lukey exhausts, so I'll head down some time to get a quote but I'll probably install with my dad, save a bit of $$

I'll chat to them about it in more depth

Dave.

[bardy]

hey sorry that im opening a can of worms here!
im wanting to get a catback exhaust setup and im thinking 2.5" lukey. i want to know will adding a hotdog as a resi make the system quieter or louder????
also, currently i have stock pipes without the resonator, would i just be better off keeping the stock 2 1/4" pipes and getting a new lukey centre muffler and a hotdog?
i want to keep it legal for insurance purposes. hence requiring two mufflers

cheers Tom