Update 2: Headers installed and impressions at post #40.
Update 1: Intake, B-pipe and muffler impressions after 3 days at post #12.

Hi all,

Late last week I received a number of items from AJR for my Fit:

1. Carbon fiber intake
2. Response Headers
3. B-pipe
4. 50s v2 muffler

Here are my impressions...

In general, AJR's packaging is OK. My headers were put in the same box as my 50s v2, and insufficient packing material was used. As a result, one edge of the header inlet put a small dent in the rear part of the muffler canister. It was minor, but still noticeable upon unpacking the parts. Since it's on the rear part of the canister, I'm not exchanging it. I would have had this been on a more visible area of the muffler. Insist that AJR package each part separately to avoid such things from happening to you. Also, no license plate frames were included as promised, but Sam followed up with me after reading this, and has since sent me these along with some other goodies, which shows *excellent* customer care post-purchase! Thank you!

Anyway, everything else arrived in top quality with no scratches or dents, and all within one week.

Installation notes:

1. CF intake: First thing I noticed? No instructions. Installing an intake is easy, but if you've never done it before, you have to spend some time looking online and printing them out yourself. There should at least be some text-only instructions/tips in the box.

Anyway, everything was straightforward except for clearance on the battery. I had to remove the protective cover and shift the battery a few millimeters to the right in order for the CF box to fit. No problem. Everything else fit like a glove, and the rest of the install went without a hitch. Oh, the only other problem is that one of the clamps' diameters was very small, so it was a tight squeeze getting it threaded. But it worked. Otherwise, the grommet, piping, hoses, etc. all fit great. Nice quality piece, and I like that the blue hoses and filter match the VBP paint on my Fit.

Install difficulty: Easy. Aside from moving the battery and test fitting everything, this is a very straightforward install and should take no more than an hour if you take your time.

2. Response Headers: Speaking to the headers themselves, these are of the highest quality. Beautiful welds, bends and a winning finish that really shines in the engine bay when you look behind the motor. Fitment is perfect (you can use all stock gaskets/hardware).

Install difficulty: Medium. Of all the I/H/E components, this is the most difficult if you don't have a good set of tools. If you're having trouble loosening any of the nuts and bolts, use a penetrating liquid like PB Blaster first and let them sit for 15-30 minutes. The bolts between the header outlet and catpipe are particularly tricky, so take your time. This job can be done in about an hour and a half, but give yourself two to three hours if this is your first time, particularly if you're working under natural light and don't have access to a well-lit garage bay.

3. B-pipe: Get yourself 2 nuts that fit your springbolts back at the muffler. Because the T1R B-pipe does not have threads on the outlet side, you can't use your springbolts to hook up to the muffler with the supplied hardware. These 2 nuts really should be included. For now, I'm temporarily using the standard bolts/nuts included with the B-pipe, but I'll be using the proper springbolt setup as soon as I can get myself to an automotive store.

As for the pipe itself, this is a quality part! Great welds, bends, and finish. Fitment is perfect. Everything aligns to the hangers with no problem. As others have mentioned, it hangs a little low, but I haven't had any clearance problems yet. Once I'm dropped on coilovers, we'll see how I do with driveways, speedbumps, and ramps. Overall, I would have to say that this was the highest-quality piece of my order (along with the headers).

Install difficulty: Easy. If you're having trouble with loosening nuts (the three at the catpipe/midpipe might give you a little trouble), use a penetrating liquid like PB Blaster first and let them sit for 15-30 minutes. Silicone spray works extremely well for removing stubborn rubber hangers. This should also only take about an hour if you take your time.

4. 50s v2 muffler: First impression is that this muffler is heavy. It seems to weigh about the same as stock, and it's a substantial piece. I had some plastic stuck to the underside of the muffler that didn't want to come off, and the previously mentioned dent in the back kinda tarnished the otherwise nice finish on this part.

The circuit-style tip is cool, although the cut didn't seem perfectly straight. Then again, it's tucked a bit under the bumper, so you can't really see it. After it was installed and I drove around for a while, it looks like it's not hanging perfectly even, but that can be fixed with some minor work on the hangers. Like the B-pipe, I enjoyed perfect fitment on this muffler in terms of how it mates up to the B-pipe and the hangers.

Install difficulty: Easy. Silicone spray is useful if you're having trouble with the hangers. Everything else is very straightforward. Leave the protective covering around the tip until you're finished, and if you want to be extra careful, wrap the tip with a cloth to prevent any scratches resulting from it hitting up against the bottom of the bumper. This is a quick 30-minute job.

Afterwards, I reset my ECU and went for a spin.

Driving/overall impressions:

I went from stock to having these three parts put on, so my car went from near-silent to not-so-silent. Overall, I was expecting the exhaust to not be much louder than stock, but the B-pipe/50s v2 combo is pretty loud under load. Conversely, it is quiet at idle, normal acceleration, and cruising. I've run or been around just about every exhaust since 1990 on Hondas, Toyotas and Subarus, and I'd put this one on the quiet/moderate end. It's not super-mild like a Fujitsubo or GReddy, but it's not crazy like an Espelir JGT500 or Blitz Nur Spec on an STI (that's my take on quiet vs. loud). With just the muffler, I found the sound to be pretty quiet (just about perfect IMO). It definitely got louder with the B-pipe.

Today is still my first day post-install, so it'll take a few days for the exhaust to get broken in, and for me to adjust to the sounds and changes from these mods.

In a nutshell, however, I absolutely LOVE the way it sounds! For a Honda, it has a nice, deep bass-heavy sound. Definitely a far cry from the Autozone fartcans so common to small imports. So, from a sonic perspective, I'm really happy with it, and you get a really nice balance of sounds from the intake and the exhaust.

Looks-wise, I'll probably do more CF throughout the engine bay to help balance out the large CF intake box. It looks nice, but it's not totally in-your-face, either. I like that. The muffler is pretty low-key as well, and unless you know what the stock muffler looks like, the Average Joe probably wouldn't notice. The polished canister looks great, and the tip doesn't scream "Look at me!" However, its larger diameter definitely gives the car's hindquarters a beefed-up look.

Conclusion:

I think these are very worthwhile mods, and for the money, I think the quality is exceptional. Aside from the few negatives I mentioned, my experience with these parts have been quite positive. Ben and Sam also responded to all of my emails and calls, and took good care of me on this purchase. That says a lot too: that the company selling these parts exhibit good customer care. That's a quality which is surprisingly rare in the import aftermarket industry.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Hope it was helpful, and I'll be happy to answer any questions that come up.

-Mike

 

Great review,now get on the pics lol
any notice of gas mileage difference?

I always hate to hear about brand new ordered parts that come damaged,whether from the shipping company or in this case improper packaging. At least it was on an unseen part of the muffler.

 

Thanks -- I'll get pictures up once I have some time to get the car washed.

As for mpg differences, I'm sure that my mileage for this tank will go down since I've been leadfooting it to see how it sounds, and to see how the pick-up is on acceleration, etc. I'm only on day one right now, but over time, I'll do an analysis to see if it's getting better, worse, or staying the same.

-Mike

 

Wah very detail write up. I really loved how the 50s v2 muffler sound with my SPOON b-pipe back when I took in car videos for Ben. What I missed is an intake........

Wonder what kinda sound difference there is between the T1R b-pipe & my SPOON b-pipe

 

great write up....except how is the PERFORMANCE, the bread and butter of ordering new parts?

 

yeah, weird. i burned right through my first tank of gas after i installed my mid-pipe. this current tank is showing an overall improvement from stock. before, i was averaging 28-32mpg and i was really trying to squeeze as much mpg out of the Fit that i could. now i ream right through the gears screaming through the whole rpm band (occasionally) and i've been averaging 34-38mpg.

with my current mods --Fujita SRI, Megan mid-pipe, Apexi World Sport II exhaust-- there's definitely more power than from the factory as well as mpg.

hope you see the same increases

 

^^^ Very cool to know about your mileage. Hope I see similar results!

Thanks! In terms of gains, first of all, I don't pretend to have any delusions about magically dramatic increases from an intake and catback. Lots of folks drop some significant coin on IHE systems for all Hondas, and the net gains are usually pretty mild (again, depends on the motor and other supporting mods). Horsepower per dollar, one's expectations should be kept realistic on an IHE system.

On all of my Hondas, I've (in general) noticed a slight drop or no change in low end power/torque, but increases in the mid-high end of the rpm range. For me, the T1R parts have stayed consistent with that. Up to around 2.5-3k, I don't really notice any change. However, from 3500rpm on up, there's definitely a sweet surge of better power and response. The nice sound that the system makes might be slightly altering my butt-dyno impressions, but I can certainly feel a difference from the stock system. I've noticed this the most launching from the red/green lights on freeway onramps, passing cars while driving, and heel/toe downshifting, braking, and acceleration through and out of a turn. It feels really good, and gives the Fit some distinctive character. It also feels safer knowing that I have some extra power to play with to keep up with the flow of traffic (one of my gripes with this car).

Again, I think the system sounds beautiful. I've already received compliments from other drivers on how classy the muffler looks and how deep the exhaust note is. To reiterate, it's pretty loud under full load/acceleration, and during normal acceleration, the catback's sound is its most intrusive in the cabin at 3500rpm.

Let me know if you'd like to know anything else. Headers (and my red JDM hazard switch ) are going on this weekend, so I'll be back with my thoughts on that.

-Mike

 

The nice folks at AJR followed up immediately with me upon reading about some of the issues I had with the order, which really surprised me. Talk about great customer service. Thanks a lot, guys -- my next order will be coming soon.

-Mike

 

is it just me but were you able to track your order through prolator.com accurately?

i ordered my stuff on the 12th and on the 13th it said it left Vancouver, BC and i haven't seen any updates lately
i'm guessing i'll be getting my parts tomorrow


-Ricky

 

Hi Ricky,

Yeah, Purolator's online tracking is so-so. If you had multiple packages sent, updates will generally only show for one of the PINs you received from AJR. Calling Purolator's customer service number is the best way to get the most up-to-date info on your stuff (I had no problems getting through to a real human ). They can also tell you when to expect delivery (they were right on the money w/ mine).

My packages were delivered in the US by DHL (they were shipped from AJR via Purolator), so I'm guessing they work together on domestic deliveries like these.

-Mike

 

very nice write-up!!!
I cant wait to put them onto my fit!!

 

^^^ Thank you!

I'm 3 days in now, with some hard acceleration on the freeways, cruising speeds, city stop-and-go driving, etc. A few more impressions:

Cold/warm start-ups: Very nice sound when firing it up in the morning. Gurgles nicely and is not intrusive in the cabin. You can definitely hear the intake more when revving under zero load... so, for those who are into parking lot battle-of-the-BOVs/intakes, it sounds pretty good. Me, I'll skip that. Warm start-ups are nice and perfectly smooth. You can definitely hear it, but I think the cold start-up is louder and more raw.

Idle: With the fans running, idle is a touch louder/rougher than I'd like, and the muffler makes its presence known. It's buttery smooth with a subtle, deep tone when they're not blowing, though. Pretty quiet overall, and it does get more mellow once the motor/exhaust are hot.

City driving: As mentioned earlier, the system gets pretty loud when you hit 3500rpm+. If you're not flooring it, you can control the sound output pretty well rowing through the gears. Moderately heavy to full acceleration through the upper rpm band yields some pretty loud sound levels. Nothing N1/straight pipe-style, but I think it draws a little more attention than I would like (I'm 34, and I don't really want my exhausts to be setting off alarms and waking up the neighbors ).

Highway driving: Here's where I think the upgrades shine. When accelerating to highway speed, the increases are welcome. 3rd and 4th gear feel especially good, and once you're up to cruising speeds of 65-75, it's very quiet. No drone whatsoever, and the car feels like it has that extra needed pep to get around slower drivers. During actual heavy acceleration, the sound balance between the exhaust system and the intake are grin-inducing. Extremely nice!

I do get the occasional pop or two when downshifting in heavier traffic, usually between 4th and 3rd, but it's not happening regularly. Would like to hear if anyone else is experiencing pops with similar setups.

Additional thoughts: If you do a lot of stop-and-go driving, or aren't used to aftermarket exhaust systems, I'd recommend riding around with someone who has the setup you're interested in. Some folks love all the sounds cars make, some people would rather aim for Lexus-level isolation. I fall somewhere in the middle. There are days that I drive with the stereo off so that I can enjoy everything about the car itself, and then there are days where I like to just chill on my drive home with some nice jazz. This setup falls somewhere in the middle, too, which is what I like about it.

Anyway, looking forward to messing with this setup in other scenarios, so I'll be back with more thoughts later. Thanks for reading through this.

-Mike

 

why does one need to use the springbolts on that section? can't you just continue to use the hardware that was included with the t1r b-pipe? i'm asking because i'm using the supplied hardware on mine.

edit: also, the reason i used the supplied hardware is because the representative i spoke with from aj-racing told me that all the hardware (gaskets, nuts, bolts) necessary for installation is included with the b-pipe.

 

very helpful info! thanks for sharing!

 

cool

i installed my t1r b pipe and spoon n1
couldn't install the header socket wrench + hammer couldn't break the header spring bolts so i gotta go pick up a 12mm closed end wrench

i was surprised the exhaust setup is not much louder then when i was just running the stock b pipe no axle back

i guess i need to go invest in a test pipe because it's way too quiet for me
all the parts are perfect quality....definitely top notch.

-Ricky

 

The springbolts allow for some flexibility around the b-pipe's donut gasket (on the outlet side). This is the same setup as on Subarus, except the donut gasket it located on the outlet side of the downpipe, not between the intermediate pipe and muffler.

The T1R b-pipe comes with the 5 bolts, 5 nuts, and 2 gaskets. I assumed that you would use 3 for the catpipe/b-pipe connection, and 2 for the b-pipe's midsection. I just reused the bolts already in the catpipe plus the original nuts, used 2 new bolts/nuts for the midsection, and used the extra bolts/nuts for the muffler. I ended up with one extra bolt and nut.

Ideally, I would rather use the Honda springbolts plus some nuts from a hardware store for the muffler section. Having a solid pipe setup from the testpipe all the way to the muffler seems like it would cause additional stress and introduce the potential for a leak. I'm not an engineer, but if Honda designed their exhaust system with flexibility in the back, I'd prefer to mimic that.

Anyway, I'm running mine the same as you, and so far so good. I was going to stop by the Honda dealership to see if they had nuts to mate up with the springbolts.

-Mike

 

Sweet! So the Spoon N1 + T1R b-pipe are not much louder than stock? Wow... some folks have posted that the N1 is a pretty loud muffler, so I guess this is yet another example of how subjective exhaust sound levels are with different owners.

It's strange... today, my exhaust setup seems quieter. It could very well be that I'm just getting used to it, although when I floored it a few times, it was pretty damn loud (but not swarm-of-bees-in-a-fartcan buzzy ).

I felt like my head was going to explode trying to loosen the nuts at the catpipe/b-pipe (awkward angles, I don't have a lift, and I didn't let the PB Blaster penetrate long enough), but I finally got it. Thanks for the head's up on the header bolts. I think I'll spray 'em this weekend and then work on my hazard switch.

-Mike

 

ah i see, thanks for clarifying! mine is set up exactly like yours, i have an extra bolt and washer as well. i think i'll just take the word of aj-racing because it seems like even with the spring bolt, the extra flexibility would be very minimal since it would be very tight any way. anyhow, mine has been set up this way for a couple of months now, and no leaks so far. i've done at least 4 thousand miles with it on like this, but if something goes wrong in the future i will let you know in case you still don't have spring bolts on yours either. haha.

 

any luck on the header install?

i'm stuck on the 14mm top bolts
used a 3/8 ratchet and 14mm deep socket + ext and wd40 and can't break it

goin to pick up some pb blaster and maybe a breaker bar today

-Ricky

 

Hey Ricky,

I'm not going to be working on my headers until this weekend. Upon reading some other install guides, it sounds like there may be a few tools I'm missing that will make the job easier, so I may just bite the bullet and buy one of those mechanic toolsets on sale at Sears right now. Better to have more than not enough. It's tough not having a garage, either!

Yeah, give the PB Blaster a try... I swear by it, and has made many a turbo install on Subarus so much easier. Let it sit for 20 minutes minimum. And always be careful not to force or jerk it too much or you might strip, break, or freeze them. Then you're really up a certain creek w/o a paddle.

Good luck, and I'll be back later in the weekend or on Monday with a report on how mine went.

-Mike