BeanSoldier
04-18-2006, 01:36 PM
Will be added to the next write: NA Power Stage 2
Pipe Info:
- Manufactured by Thermal Research and Development, sold by Draxas
- $85 + shipping (used to be $100 shipped). Not too over priced for a perfectly straight pipe and a flange. Wished they updated this (with 2 flanges) and their adapter pipe to connect with flanges to make switching in minutes not an hour or more (takes a long time to \"slip\" the adapter pipe out of the resonator if it\'s lodged in 4 inches to prevent any leaks).
- The hanger is slightly smaller than the adapter pipe\'s so it won\'t dig into your insulation
- Mine didn\'t come with hardware. I had to go to home depot to buy bolts (1 1/2), nuts (3/8 [one for the 14mm socket]), 4 washers, and 2 lock washers.
- Can be installed into stock exhaust piping. Muffler shop just needs to weld the necessary reducers to gradually connect it to the stock piping.
Initial engine start up / idle / smell:
- Cold (morning) start: There\'s a quick growl in the cabin just when it starts - never get tired of it :)
- Warm start: Sounds the same as base kit- just a tiny bit louder
- Idle: QUIET and DEEP like base kit. Outside, you have to be about a foot away from the tip to really hear it (you\'ll hear it in the cabin of course), exhaust pulses are much stronger, and it SMELLS LIKE STOCK.
Gears 1-3/R:
Loud. From a stop, you\'ll need even more gas to get going compared to the base kit. Reverse is even zippier than base (now if I only got that oomph going the other way). Letting off the throttle and having it engine break rewards you with popping (a small backfire), happens much more than the base kit. Rev it high on 1st, and it almost sounds like the HKS. I found that shifting off from 1st at 2-2.5k is best for both sound and acceleration. Doesn\'t feel like there\'s any torque at 1st gear at a higher RPM than 3k anyway.
Gears 4-5:
Not too bad, almost sounds like the base kit at low rpm. The sound seems to be mostly controlled by the throttle position now instead of just engine speed. The sound delta is not linear like the base- its more sudden, so going from ¼ throttle to ½, your exhaust immediately lets you and your passengers know what throttle position you have. 3k on 5th cruising in the freeway sounds like base- you only need a volume of 5-6 to hear your music. Letting off the throttle at 4th/5th gives you an occasional popping sound, which never happens with the base kit.
Mileage:
Less exhaust restriction = better mileage. Let’s just say I finally broke 28mpg with the RX8 wheels (stock 26mpg / base 27mpg)…. Oh, and this is with 6 WOT dyno runs.
Pics:
The stock cat is very restrictive. You can only see the light at the end if directly in front of a light source. Pics are below the dynos.
Weight:
Draxas base kit: 29lbs + 3lb race pipe = 32lbs
Stock exhaust: 26lbs + 9lb cat = 35lbs (cat felt so much heavier though)
Dyno Runs:
The only thing different from the last dyno is the race pipe. I kept the stock lugs just for consistency. Dyno guy was very surprised of the gains. Yes folks, the stock cat was just that restrictive. I can only imagine how much power is gained by putting in the header and removing the first cat. I also no longer have an A/F curve. It’s now pretty much flat until the VVT begins to kick in at 4700. Let me remind everyone again that these are with the heavy RX8 wheels, SAE Corrected at 4500ft. 76 87oct gas. 5-20w oil Mobil 1 i think (EZLube, can\'t find my receipts at the moment). Dyno pics show which mods were installed during the test.
Video (DivX5.1 video codec) now THIS is a sound clip :)
3rd gear run: http://media.putfile.com/beanrp3rd
4th gear run: http://media.putfile.com/beanrp4th (a compressor in another room 30 ft away turned on, but the exhaust is still louder)
Dyno runs were taken indoors, of course, so the sound bounces around quite a bit like reving your engine in a parking lot structure
Cold start: http://media.putfile.com/racecoldstart2
Warm start: http://media.putfile.com/racewarmstart
Race Pipe drive by: http://media.putfile.com/racedriveby
Night time Base kit drive by http://media.putfile.com/basedriveby
Night time slowing to a stop http://media.putfile.com/base30-0
Compare the start ups with the stock/base kit sound: http://media.putfile.com/beanexhaustbeforeafter
(taken from my Draxas Base 9hp/11tq thread http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=30097.0)
Sounds similar, yes? :)
GAINS OVER STOCK EXHAUST:
GAINS OVER STOCK EXHAUST:
3rd Gear Run
peak gains: 14hp/17tq (old:137hp/136tq | new 149hp/148tq)
max hp gains: 14hp @ 6400
max tq gains: 17tq @ 4200
usable hp: really noticeable gains start at @ 3500
useable tq: really noticeable gainst from @ 3500-5000
GAINS OVER BASE DRAXAS EXHAUST
3rd Gear Run
peak gains: 8hp/5tq (old:140hp/143tq | new 149hp/148tq)
max hp gains: 10hp @ 6400
max tq gains: 8tq @ 6400
usable hp: gains around 4-6hp @ 4000-5000
useable tq: gains around 5-6tq @ 3500-5000
4th Gear Run
peak gains: 9hp/6tq (old: 136hp/143tq | new 146hp/148tq)
max hp gains: 12hp @ 6200
max tq gains: 9tq @ 4700
usable hp: steady increase from 4-10hp @ 2900-4700
usable tq: steady increase from 5tq-9tq @ 2900-4700
* #s rounded to the nearest whole
3RD GEAR RACE vs BASE
http://i2.tinypic.com/so5xd4.gif
4TH GEAR RACE vs BASE
http://i2.tinypic.com/so5xna.gif
3RD GEAR RACE vs BASE vs STOCK EXHAUST
http://i2.tinypic.com/so5xjq.gif
stock
http://www.mazda3forums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13371/cat-race.jpg
race
draxasracedyno
Pipe Info:
- Manufactured by Thermal Research and Development, sold by Draxas
- $85 + shipping (used to be $100 shipped). Not too over priced for a perfectly straight pipe and a flange. Wished they updated this (with 2 flanges) and their adapter pipe to connect with flanges to make switching in minutes not an hour or more (takes a long time to \"slip\" the adapter pipe out of the resonator if it\'s lodged in 4 inches to prevent any leaks).
- The hanger is slightly smaller than the adapter pipe\'s so it won\'t dig into your insulation
- Mine didn\'t come with hardware. I had to go to home depot to buy bolts (1 1/2), nuts (3/8 [one for the 14mm socket]), 4 washers, and 2 lock washers.
- Can be installed into stock exhaust piping. Muffler shop just needs to weld the necessary reducers to gradually connect it to the stock piping.
Initial engine start up / idle / smell:
- Cold (morning) start: There\'s a quick growl in the cabin just when it starts - never get tired of it :)
- Warm start: Sounds the same as base kit- just a tiny bit louder
- Idle: QUIET and DEEP like base kit. Outside, you have to be about a foot away from the tip to really hear it (you\'ll hear it in the cabin of course), exhaust pulses are much stronger, and it SMELLS LIKE STOCK.
Gears 1-3/R:
Loud. From a stop, you\'ll need even more gas to get going compared to the base kit. Reverse is even zippier than base (now if I only got that oomph going the other way). Letting off the throttle and having it engine break rewards you with popping (a small backfire), happens much more than the base kit. Rev it high on 1st, and it almost sounds like the HKS. I found that shifting off from 1st at 2-2.5k is best for both sound and acceleration. Doesn\'t feel like there\'s any torque at 1st gear at a higher RPM than 3k anyway.
Gears 4-5:
Not too bad, almost sounds like the base kit at low rpm. The sound seems to be mostly controlled by the throttle position now instead of just engine speed. The sound delta is not linear like the base- its more sudden, so going from ¼ throttle to ½, your exhaust immediately lets you and your passengers know what throttle position you have. 3k on 5th cruising in the freeway sounds like base- you only need a volume of 5-6 to hear your music. Letting off the throttle at 4th/5th gives you an occasional popping sound, which never happens with the base kit.
Mileage:
Less exhaust restriction = better mileage. Let’s just say I finally broke 28mpg with the RX8 wheels (stock 26mpg / base 27mpg)…. Oh, and this is with 6 WOT dyno runs.
Pics:
The stock cat is very restrictive. You can only see the light at the end if directly in front of a light source. Pics are below the dynos.
Weight:
Draxas base kit: 29lbs + 3lb race pipe = 32lbs
Stock exhaust: 26lbs + 9lb cat = 35lbs (cat felt so much heavier though)
Dyno Runs:
The only thing different from the last dyno is the race pipe. I kept the stock lugs just for consistency. Dyno guy was very surprised of the gains. Yes folks, the stock cat was just that restrictive. I can only imagine how much power is gained by putting in the header and removing the first cat. I also no longer have an A/F curve. It’s now pretty much flat until the VVT begins to kick in at 4700. Let me remind everyone again that these are with the heavy RX8 wheels, SAE Corrected at 4500ft. 76 87oct gas. 5-20w oil Mobil 1 i think (EZLube, can\'t find my receipts at the moment). Dyno pics show which mods were installed during the test.
Video (DivX5.1 video codec) now THIS is a sound clip :)
3rd gear run: http://media.putfile.com/beanrp3rd
4th gear run: http://media.putfile.com/beanrp4th (a compressor in another room 30 ft away turned on, but the exhaust is still louder)
Dyno runs were taken indoors, of course, so the sound bounces around quite a bit like reving your engine in a parking lot structure
Cold start: http://media.putfile.com/racecoldstart2
Warm start: http://media.putfile.com/racewarmstart
Race Pipe drive by: http://media.putfile.com/racedriveby
Night time Base kit drive by http://media.putfile.com/basedriveby
Night time slowing to a stop http://media.putfile.com/base30-0
Compare the start ups with the stock/base kit sound: http://media.putfile.com/beanexhaustbeforeafter
(taken from my Draxas Base 9hp/11tq thread http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=30097.0)
Sounds similar, yes? :)
GAINS OVER STOCK EXHAUST:
GAINS OVER STOCK EXHAUST:
3rd Gear Run
peak gains: 14hp/17tq (old:137hp/136tq | new 149hp/148tq)
max hp gains: 14hp @ 6400
max tq gains: 17tq @ 4200
usable hp: really noticeable gains start at @ 3500
useable tq: really noticeable gainst from @ 3500-5000
GAINS OVER BASE DRAXAS EXHAUST
3rd Gear Run
peak gains: 8hp/5tq (old:140hp/143tq | new 149hp/148tq)
max hp gains: 10hp @ 6400
max tq gains: 8tq @ 6400
usable hp: gains around 4-6hp @ 4000-5000
useable tq: gains around 5-6tq @ 3500-5000
4th Gear Run
peak gains: 9hp/6tq (old: 136hp/143tq | new 146hp/148tq)
max hp gains: 12hp @ 6200
max tq gains: 9tq @ 4700
usable hp: steady increase from 4-10hp @ 2900-4700
usable tq: steady increase from 5tq-9tq @ 2900-4700
* #s rounded to the nearest whole
3RD GEAR RACE vs BASE
http://i2.tinypic.com/so5xd4.gif
4TH GEAR RACE vs BASE
http://i2.tinypic.com/so5xna.gif
3RD GEAR RACE vs BASE vs STOCK EXHAUST
http://i2.tinypic.com/so5xjq.gif
stock
http://www.mazda3forums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13371/cat-race.jpg
race
draxasracedyno