I picked up my NRP exhaust for my MCS on Saturday at Minimania in Nevada City and installed it yesterday. Put the rear up on Rhino ramps and did the work myself.

This was my first exhaust work and the install was easier than I expected - about an hour, with another 15 minutes this morning trimming the shield covering the battery box. Cat bolts came free easily, and even the donut thingies came off without too much grief. The NRP went in easily. Only one clamp to tighten, and alignment of the tips at the rear was trivial. Needed to trim a couple of areas from the battery box shield, and I cut the excess 1.25" from the center clamp bolts so that I could rotate them to point up.

The NRP weighed in at 31 lbs vs. the stock at 44 (bathroom scale weights). I guess you save another pound or so since you don't need the rear hangers from the stock system. The NRP construction seems to be quite beefy.

The tips are understated (they are not just straight pipes; there is an interior flare), but this appeals to my own aesthetic sense.

The sound is quite mellow, reportedly a bit louder than the Borla. At idle, it's similar to stock (maybe a slightly deeper note). Taking off at low RPMs, the deep tone is pronounced but drops off quickly as you rev up under moderate throttle. On the highway, I think it's actually quieter than stock when just cruising at 2500 to 3300 RPM. Volume picks up slightly as you increase the throttle. But, pretty quiet overall at speed and no drone that I've noticed yet.

Actually, with the warm weather, I think the stock system had gotten noticeably louder when it got hot. The noise entering the cabin at highway speeds was starting to become intrusive.

So far, I have the Madness intake and now the NRP. Still pondering the pulley, and waiting for the Shark.

 

hey bicoastal,

i too have been considering the NRP rather than the Borla, suggested by Jim B at Minimania. what made you decide on the NRP? are you in California? any problems with emission controls?
thanks, m.

 

Bicoastal - what power gains if any have you noticed? I see you already have the intake so you should have noticed more umph with the NRP, no???

 

Nice to see you're still alive Bicoastal! :smile:

Got any pics of your install, and what does your Butt-Dyno tell you versus the stock exhaust?

Cheers,
Ryan

 

Congratulations on the NRP. I have the same exhaust and am very happy with it. Have the Mania Intake (similar to the Madness, I think) and the pulley. Another exhaust might have given me more power, but the tone is great, and with the pulley, the car screams. I think you'll be happy with that system. I guess my one complaint is that I wish they had spent a little more time finishing the tips. I like the design, but mine looks a little unfinished . Get the pulley! JR

 

How would you rate the performance increasE?

 

Jayar,
I have the same Exhaust on order, wonder if you can make a comparison with the pulley and with the pulley+NRP? thanks, Itzamazn

 

Yes, I am in California (south Bay).

Ryephile - OK, OK, I know I have been derelict in my April Club responsibilities. I have about 6K miles at this point. I should post a report. I will.

I chose the NRP because the install seemed simpler than the Borla (far fewer parts/clamps), reports of drone with the Quicksilver and Magnaflow scared me (no reports of drone with NRP), and Minimania was providing a 15% discount for pre-orders for their Nevada City weekend. There's also an emotional element - the NRP folks specialize in exhausts for Land Rovers and Range Rovers, and we looked into the Land Rover mystique for the 12 months that we owned a Range Rover (dumped that sucker the instant it left warranty). I also seem to lean to the underdog (I owned two consecutive Peugeots, for God's sake). Also, once I had ordered, I figured I could take a listen up in Nevada City and cancel if I didn't like what I heard (and saw).

Jayar - I agree with you about the finish on the tips. I like the basic shape. But, it seems that they have welded that internal "flare/cone" into the 2.5" pipe and then basically ground down the welds to make them barely visible. But, some texture remains. Could be better. But, the tone seems very sweet to me. At higher RPMs, the exhaust and the supercharger sing a duet! Very nice.

On power - frankly, I've only driven a few miles and it's hard to say. Post-intake, I was obviously catching more "DSC-time" when starting off. Too soon to tell with the exhaust; I have been focused on the sound so far. Also, the weather here has turned abruptly HOT (since yesterday), and that has an impact on performance.

Minimania guy (Steve, I think) tells me (after sale) that he has heard of noticable improvements in fuel economy and he was wondering about my experience.

I'll follow up with any significant new impressions.

I live in Los Altos, if anyone wants to arrange for a drive/listen.

 

>>hey bicoastal,
>>
>>i too have been considering the NRP rather than the Borla, suggested by Jim B at Minimania. what made you decide on the NRP? are you in California? any problems with emission controls?
>>thanks, m.

m -

Didn't respond directly to your question about emissions. I had to smog my MCS when I registered it (I bought it in Milwaukee and drove it to CA) and it passed with a very large margin (pre-mod). I wouldn't think the exhaust and intake would have a significant impact on this, but you never know...

 

>>On power - frankly, I've only driven a few miles and it's hard to say. Post-intake, I was obviously catching more "DSC-time" when starting off. Too soon to tell with the exhaust; I have been focused on the sound so far. Also, the weather here has turned abruptly HOT (since yesterday), and that has an impact on performance.
>>

Well that's not good that you really haven't noticed it. HOWEVER, with the warmer weather, a stock or non-pullied S gets REALLY lethargic. Anemic. So I guess that could be a legitimate excuse. Thanks for the update! Please keep us informed with further updates!

 

>>Yes, I am in California (south Bay).
>>
>>Ryephile - OK, OK, I know I have been derelict in my April Club responsibilities. I have about 6K miles at this point. I should post a report. I will.
>>
>>I chose the NRP because the install seemed simpler than the Borla (far fewer parts/clamps), reports of drone with the Quicksilver and Magnaflow scared me (no reports of drone with NRP), and Minimania was providing a 15% discount for pre-orders for their Nevada City weekend. There's also an emotional element - the NRP folks specialize in exhausts for Land Rovers and Range Rovers, and we looked into the Land Rover mystique for the 12 months that we owned a Range Rover (dumped that sucker the instant it left warranty). I also seem to lean to the underdog (I owned two consecutive Peugeots, for God's sake). Also, once I had ordered, I figured I could take a listen up in Nevada City and cancel if I didn't like what I heard (and saw).
>>
>>Jayar - I agree with you about the finish on the tips. I like the basic shape. But, it seems that they have welded that internal "flare/cone" into the 2.5" pipe and then basically ground down the welds to make them barely visible. But, some texture remains. Could be better. But, the tone seems very sweet to me. At higher RPMs, the exhaust and the supercharger sing a duet! Very nice.
>>
>>On power - frankly, I've only driven a few miles and it's hard to say. Post-intake, I was obviously catching more "DSC-time" when starting off. Too soon to tell with the exhaust; I have been focused on the sound so far. Also, the weather here has turned abruptly HOT (since yesterday), and that has an impact on performance.
>>
>>Minimania guy (Steve, I think) tells me (after sale) that he has heard of noticable improvements in fuel economy and he was wondering about my experience.
>>
>>I'll follow up with any significant new impressions.
>>
>>I live in Los Altos, if anyone wants to arrange for a drive/listen.
>>
Bicoastal,
I live in the Saratoga area and I am really interested in hearing your system as it was recommended by AE Performance in Campbell. The only thing that I didn't like were the tips as they look unfinished, but hopefully that can be changed later. Are you part of the "Pulley Party" with Randy mid July!

 

itzamazn: I added mods in the following order: airbox & exhaust....then pulley. Other than the sporty sound of the airbox & exhaust, was not blown away until I added the pulley. I'm trying to be objective when I say I didn't feel a big difference before the pulley...the enhanced sound certainly made it seem faster, but I didn't do dyno runs along the way. Very happy with the car, though. I have noticed that the hot weather hurts performance, though. JR

 

Jayar,

Thanks for the response on the NRP Exhaust. I was afraid you were going to say that you really didn't notice much difference, but I like this system because its a simple design, built strong, fairly lite, and sounds good (from what I read on the forums).
I could use a little less weight on the drivers side, it'll be like I lost 13lbs.
I'm planning on adapting a polished oval stainless tip from Reative on mine just to make it look a little better, it might even change the sound some.
I've done the pulley and have the Alta Intake, and 22mm Swaybar, and the NRP on order.
The pulley made it a rocket! With these other toys I've ordered it should sound like one soon! Then the ECU for the finishing touch. At least til I start on the brakes.
.he,he. Itzamazn

 

gosharks -

I'll PM you to see if we can meet so you can drive/listen. I'm in town this weekend.

The AE performance guy was up at Minimania in Nevada City this weekend. I take it that Minimania was once located here in the south Bay. Anyway the AE MCS had the NRP exhaust, but he also had a CATless header, so he'd spliced in a Borla muffler to reduce the volume. I think that's what he said, anyway.