September 20th, 2008 update: Dynomax DNX mid-pipe

Words: Adrian Farina Pics: Adrian Farina

After 14 years the OE mid-pipe on Project Accord finally rusted through. The rusted seam on exhaust tubing is always the first place to start rusting and that's were our's rusted through. After about three weeks of driving around with the exhaust leak and listening to sound clips I decided I didn't like any of the aftermarket full cat-backs. On the throttle the better quality brands sound good, it's when you let off the throttle that I didn't care for. Check out a few sound clips online and you'll see what I mean.          I planned to buy a welder soon and decided I would buy an aftermarket mid-pipe and fabricate my own rear section. With this decided I began shopping for mid-pipes. I decided to go with Dynomax's DNX line. Dynomax has been around in the domestic scene for awhile and got involved in import exhaust parts several years ago. They have a good reputation on the domestic side and from the pics I saw their 2.5" mid-pipe for the Accord is a nice piece, especially for the price. I picked our's up from Summit Racing for $120 and received it to days later. When I opened the box I was happy to see that the TIG welds looked good and the tubing wasn't thin. Along with all the hardware and gaskets a flex section is included, just like the OE mid-pipe. The tubing, flanges, resonator and flex section are all stainless and nicely polished.          I began the install by getting the car up on ramps in the front and jack stands in the rear. I then soaked all the bolts that would be removed with penetrating oil and after letting exhaust cool I crawled under the car. I removed the bolts from the heat shield on the cat, this isn't necesary, but makes getting to the nuts easier. I had to use a breaker bar to get the nuts on the back of the car broken loose since they were rusty and see alot of heat cycling. Next I popped the rubber hangers off with a short pry bar. Last I removed the two rear spring bolts and pulled the mid-pipe out.          This is were I hit the only real snag of the install. The donut gasket on the rear of the stock mid-pipe needs to be reused, but our's was fused to the pipe and was not going to come off in one piece. After a quick run to the parts store I had a new replacement for $8.          The install is just the reverse of removing the stock part with one exception. The Dynomax mid-pipe is a two-piece while the OE mid-pipe is a one-piece. You can either bolt the two pieces together and install or install both pieces seperately. I chose the latter since it seemed easier to maneuver the parts seperately. After about 10 minutes I had the mid-pipe installed, started up the car and began checking for leaks. All three points sealed perfectly.          Outside the car, with the stock rear section, you can hear the exhaust a little more at idle and while reving.Inside the car it sounds just like stock, nice and quiet. As far as driving goes, the car seemed to have a little more torque down low. Other than that you wouldn't know it's not a stock part.

More pics:

Home/Forums     Links     Project Civic     Project Accord     Tech     Event Coverage     Forums     ToS

© Copyright 2008, Honda-Performance.org