INITIAL CONCERNS AND INSTALLATION:
Upon taking delivery of the exhaust, the first thing that I noticed was that the resonator pipe and the cat connector pipe (if that's what it's called) did not have flanges. It was brought to my attention that I was missing a clamp. Although this was indicative of poor quality control on Vibrant's part, their customer service more than makes up for this. I spoke to Derick at Vibrant Performance regarding this problem. The quality of his customer service is the tip of the sword.
The Vibrant Performance Catback Exhaust for the 2006-2007 Honda Civic Si Coupe is supposed to ship with a clamp. Why not have the two pieces welded together or flanged from the factory? If they were welded, they would be not meet the size and flexibility for the customer that they have in mind. If flanges were used instead of a clamp, then the price of the exhaust would rise significantly.
I decided to have the two pipes welded together, vice waiting for the clamp. I'm not a big advocate of mechanical coupling of that type. The first shop that I went to, Midwest Customs, was unable to install my exhaust because "it is stainless steal and requires a special gas". Suspicion is that they just didn't feel like installing it.
Enter: "The Meineke Touch": They installed it without hesitation and did a damn good job. $75.00 installed, 1 hr install time.
APPEARANCE, SOUND, AND PERFORMANCE REVIEW
Appearance 10/10
This exhaust looks amazing. That's all there is to it. As you can see from the couple of pictures below, this beast operates incognito as a relatively stock looking one. From the rear, you would very well think that this vehicle is stock. All concerns of it being stock stop right there.
Sound 9/10
This is no GReddy SP2. It can be heard. It is easily quieter than the Skunk2 Mega Power exhaust and I can attest to this because I've owned one before. I'll tell you one thing though, you can hear it while you're driving, and so can others. With that being said, the fact that it's not bumblebee like in nature makes it that much more of a satisfaction to listen to while I'm cruising the mean streets of Belleville, IL (lol). Droning present? To a degree, yes, I will not lie. Again, like the Skunk2? NO!!! Does it need a silencer, maybe, maybe not, that's personal preference. When I get a race header, it would be my preference.
Performance 10/10
I recall when I was trying to give my tach a little blip with a press of the pedal when I only had an intake. There was massive hesitation. With this exhaust, the K20Z3 breathes like a pizza fresh out of the oven. Hesitation is gone, and it will rev more freely and more fiercely. Performance gains are present in the midrange (torque, as noticeable in 4th gear, 40-45mph) and top end (VTEC, in the form of brute horsepower). Are the performance gains mind blowing? No. "Well why not stevenshizzle?" I suspect that a 2.5" exhaust would greatly benefit from a lower restriction catalytic converter and/or a race header. Major factor in the 10/10 score is the fact that it's obviously helping with flow, by getting rid of the hesitation at idle. And again, performance increases are present, just not massive.
I will modify the above reviews a little today as I drive the car a little more and put together my final opinion.
Installed Images:
Videos:
Disclaimer: pay no attention to the "popping" noise you may hear in these videos. The videos were shot with an HP Photosmart R725, a camera, not a video camera, quality is not the best:
giving it a couple revs
3rd - 4th gear pass
normal street driving
3-4 punch
2nd and 3rd gear