catback

Our recently released catch can for this 2016+ Chevy Camaro 2.0T needed a part two to our "The Making Of" (TMO) video series for the project, and I was tasked with directing it. I wanted to take our Camaro home (Washington D.C.) for the weekend to put some miles on it so our kit would catch real world content inside of the catch can to show in the video. It just so happens that we had a full cat-back exhaust prototype on the car for me to enjoy. Let me tell you something, this car turns heads.

Exhausts can be a tricky modification. If it sounds good, then it's a tasteful part of the car that you and others around you can enjoy, but if it sounds bad - I think you gearheads know the term for that. I can tell you first hand that this car sounds incredible. Even my father, who knows very, very little about cars in general, heard it during a cold start and was impressed. "Why does it sound so different from the blue one [the SS] you brought home?" I said it had a smaller engine in it with prototype

Here I stand, firmly within the land of people who spend egregious amounts of money on car parts, as I look back and wonder how in hell I got here. Those of us in my position often place the blame on a nasty little creature called the "mod bug."

The mod bug, as they say, is a tricky little bastard. Though you may think most damage-imposing biting insects live in Australia, I can assure you, this one is alive and well in the Americas. I've had firsthand experience as a victim, and it isn't pretty - just ask my bank account.

The feeling of that bug biting for the first time is unforgettable. At the beginning, you say "just an exhaust and springs, and then my car'll be perfect". Enter mod bug. Before you know it, you're dropping a Ferrari engine in your wide-body FR-S.

🇺🇸 #RyanTuerck for #President #CooledByMishimoto #Repost @fe_motorworks ・・・ Who wants to go for a ride in @RyanTuerck's GT4586 #CooledByMishimoto Go follow @Mishimoto The World Leader In Cooling Performance "

A Gaggle of Pipes,

Hello everyone! You may remember from our previous 2016 Camaro SS Exhaust post that we have decided to move forward with five different systems for this car. It is my pleasure to let you know that all our Camaro exhaust prototypes have been completed. We've been busy testing and re-testing for fitment, sound, durability, and performance - and fun, of course. Our on-road testing process usually begins a little something like this:

Rob, the project manager: "Hey Gardiner, I need you to take the SS home tonight to put some miles on the pro system."

Me: "Ugh, if you insist."

They really have to twist my arm.

So many options - which one to choose!

Exhaust systems are a complex endeavor in any regard, but this dual-mode Camaro exhaust is particularly intricate. This bear has demanded myriad engineering-hours, but we've readily progressed through the trials and tribulations of the R&D process. Now, I would like to show you a particularly cool piece of the system that came to

In our last post we took a good look at the stock Fiesta ST exhaust and the initial design of our cat-back exhaust. The exhaust was fabricated and installed on the car and then it was time to test the stock system.

To Resonate or Not to Resonate

Getting the sound just right was quite a process. Our initial prototype featured 2.5" piping with a single rear muffler. This design did not feature a resonated mid-pipe unlike the stock unit. The initial design was sound tested on the dyno and also test driven by several members of the team. While we loved the low growl of the exhaust as it was, we wanted to test a resonated version before settling on a final design. As with all exhaust development projects, we are aiming for a final product that sounds great on throttle while still being volume friendly to daily driven Fiestas. So we set out to test both a resonated and non-resonated option.

Resonated and non-resonated Fiesta ST Exhaust

Resonated and non-resonated Fiesta ST exhaust

First we needed