Another Tanabe Exhaust installed!
 

Took a day off from work today (classified as "mental health day" - yes, we do get those at the office :) ) and spent the morning picking up and installing my new Tanabe Medalion muffler.
The car went on ramps at 11:00 and I was all done an hour later.
I was taking my time, enjoying this immensly, so I guess this was on the longer side - I am sure you could be all done in less than half an hour if you were rushing..
Had absolutely no issues, everything came off and then went on without a single snag.
I went all out and used Akrapovic copper anti-seize on flange bolts. I had some left from an install I did couple of years ago and also this is closest Akra makes for our car. Now I can put their sticker on my Fit. Legit.

Anyway, first of all, like others have mentioned, I am also very impressed by the quality of materials, workmanship and finish of this muffler.
This is really a nice piece of kit and it arrived flawless.
Hell, why am I holding back - this thing is freakin' beaufiful!
Even the packaging was top notch.

I think I got a pretty great deal - paid $399 all in.
But I believe this is definitely worth its original MSRP (which I believe it started as $520), but since you can find it listed for as low as $420 nowadays, it is a steal.

Secondly, I had this on my car for only a couple of hours and I fell in love with it already.
I had no idea our I-VTEC 1.5L actually sounds like this.
Once uncorked , it actually sounds pretty great.
No more pathetically asthmatic wheezing noises from behind the firewall and not a peep from the back.
The car now sounds balanced and robust, has a nice low rumble at low rpm and solid mechanical grunt as you go up.
I am very impressed with what this axle-back did to the way the car sounds and feels now, The transformation is remarkable and shifting gears - up or down - yields so much more aural pleasure.
The tone of the muffler itself is deep, mellow, mature, throaty and expensive all at the same time. That is the best way I can describe it.
It is just loud enough without being at all annoying, but I suspect it will get slightly more pronounced after a couple of days (or months?) so it may sound even better then.
I took the car for a nice, long spirited drive, but I do not think I burned all the residues off yet.
It still smells a bit as I write this.
So in closing, my very early initial impressions are very, very positive.
This thing sounds exactly as I imagined it would and I have absolutely no doubt that from what is available for GK Fit, this strikes the very best balance between sound, look and price.

I will try and record a video with some drive-by footage (I need someone's help, so it won't be today) because from the driver's seat this sounds very awesome under load. I can only imagine how it sounds from the outside, but chances are hearing this in person would give you a way better idea on what to expect.
Bur still, here is a mandatory "in neutral revving upto 4500rpm" video, because you cannot have enough of exhaust videos, right?
Once again, this was just installed and I am using my HTC potato-cam, so put on some good headphones and give it a listen!


And some pictures:

can u post a pict a little farther away of da car? looks good so far.

Very nice!

Here you go:

I love mine as well....although yours is still all shiny goodness, and all....mine's a bit dirty at this point :) Sounds "just right" to me, as the factory exhaust seemed whisper quiet and all I heard was the sewing machine sounds of the engine. Looks great, sounds great, not loud enough to attract the attention of the LEOs, and doesn't sound like a fart can (thank God). Not inexpensive, obviously, but it seems a quality piece. IIRC, I got mine for perhaps $429 w/free shipping from where, I don't recall....heh

that looks, and sounds damn good. def a quality piece


suggestion, to further increase more noise and add more ear candy .... consider a resonator delete mod?

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...ec0aaedb5f.jpg
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/3rd-...ml#post1402943

LOL....I used a piece of strapping tape, has held up so far, although we've had little rain.....well, let me rephrase that, we've had little rain while I'm actually driving - I swear, Knoxville borders on rain forest climate when it comes to precipitation...thankfully, it rarely gets cold enough to dump a lot of snow here in these here hills, and all :) I'm sure rain is gonna get in there with the ram air thang, so will either retape as needed or plug it up. I have various sized rubber bungs for carboys (glass vessels used, in my case, to ferment adult beverages), some without holes. May just measure the opening, go to the homebrew store to buy an appropriate sized bung to just plug it up. When I'm feeling motivated ;)

hows this for bung hole problems?

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...a4c814c3b6.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...fe457130e6.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...21d6ba3136.jpg




Credits go to this man:
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/3rd-...ml#post1406395

subtle yet sporty. i likes.

A little update:
This is day 2.
I absolutely love it.
Last night on a steep hill at a steady 4500 rpm for a good little while...everything got nice and hot and holy crap, was this thing blowing clouds of smoke.
No longer happening though, it's all good now.
I spent some time driving the car today and I have to say I am quite surprised how much I like this exhaust.
I knew Tanabe makes good stuff, but did not expect much from this engine. I'm glad I was proven wrong.

was it da seals? ive had new exhaust burn in gaskets with some smoke for it to break in.

It did say in the included pamphlet that the exhaust will smoke for up to 2 days while the muffler breaks-in. Normal.

i really like the look and sound of the medallion. thanks for sharing.

I'm ready to pull the trigger. Is there only one model for 2015+?


I have a 2016 and don't want to order the wrong one.



Thanks,

Steve

as far as exhausts go, 2015-2017s should all fit the same

Yes it will fit just fine.
Mine is a 2016.

Nice. Does it drone?

No it does not.
It is remarkable how it does not have any peaks in loudness regardless of rpm.
Very smooth and linear sound with zero resonance.
It is a well engineered setup - definitely not just an overpriced glasspack.
http://www.tanabe-usa.com/manufacturing_exhaust.asp

But that is not a drone. You are just hearing the engine under load.
Drone is a resonance that happens at a certain frequency and affects the mostly-metal-made car around 2,000 rpm
All materials on earth have that frequency at which they resonate.
That is why exhaust systems will include resonators to attenuate the offending frequencies associated with unpleasant resonances.
The trick is to get rid of those AND retain what we find pleasant - exhaust tone.
If you look at Tanabe Medalion Touring closely you will find that there is a resonator chamber built into the inlet pipe just before it enters the muffler.
I have actually looked inside the muffler with an endoscope and while a free-flowing muffler, it has pretty complex innards.
Those guys are serious about keeping the dB levels within strictly regulated JASMA standard while still getting a nice tone from this setup.
This is how it does not sound like a typical Honda coke-can muffler.