i am planning on getting exhaust this week and im not sure about something. I have a sohc and i hear that it is a bad idea to get 2.5" exhaust because of breathing problems, but what should I do if i dont plan on turbo for a long time. is it best to get 2.25". also this is a dumb question, but if you get headers, a cat, and a muffler, will there be a difference in the piping from the headers to the cat than from the cat to the muffler. is there anything else that i should know about b4 i get the exhaust. i also heard that after a couple thousand miles with aftermarket exhaust the exhaust gasket at the header starts to leak. should you get a new gasket when doing the headers or no. thanks for any help that you give me. i really appreciate it.

 

arent all neons s/u w/ 2.25 exhaust??? and 3.00 piping isnt bad for a neon i did it to my last ones and never had a problem. I never have any leaks w/ my exhaust system...maybe if you get pace setter headers it might cuz I hear the welds are cheap...

 

If you get a good header with a proper merge collector, then it doesn't matter how big the downstream piping is, as long as it isn't restricting flow (goes for the muffler too...). 2.5" does nothing if you don't replace the cat and the piping right after it with a 2.5" outlet cat and piping (stock is 2.25" cat outlet, and that ridiculous bend where the O2 sensor is). 3" is really nothing more than overkill unless you've got a 350+ HP turbo setup to push that much air. On a cheap dump collector style header, it may hurt low end power because gas velocity is too low. A total 2.5" setup is pretty standard on just about any naturally aspirated Neon.

Best of luck!

 

The 2nd Gen Neons come with 2" exhaust. Borla is 2.25 inch piping (.25 larger than stock). The aftermarket headers normally come with the gaskets so you should be fine. Just make sure you tighten the header a few times after installing it. Tighten it after about 4 months and then do it again.