Hi Chad, I just made a post to the site dave just posted. Below is a copy of what I said. Also, here's a pic of my old CRX with the SS Thermal: http://home.neo.rr.com/rjandbridge/thermalbutt.jpg
Have fun shopping! -RJ- Model/Year: '91 Honda CRX Si Price Paid: $350 at Passen Motorsports (1st), $450 at Slick Motorsports (2nd) Summary: I've had two Thermal R&D exhausts on my '91 CRX. The first one was one of the first available in central Ohio. I purchased it from Passen Motorsports ($350) in the Spring of '96. It was non-stainless and did not have a resonator in the b-pipe, just 2-1/4" mendrel-bent piping all the way back to the muffler. It had a nice deep, throaty sound without the raspiness of other systems on the market. I absolutely loved it for a year and a half until it started buzzing at mid-range RPM (4-5k). I was told adding a resonator (ie. a straight-through glass pack) would rectify the situation. Well, I was planning on doing that until the back half of the exhaust system was damaged by road debris (yes, it was pretty darn big road debris!). So in the fall of '98 I purchased a full stainless system from Slick Motorsports ($450). This one had the resonator right in the b-pipe. Craftsmanship was wonderful and everything bolted up nicely. And it sounded awesome, too! The resonator toned things down even more than I had expected. Still with a deep tone, it was much quieter than my original Thermal. I loved this one, too, and my neighbors started being a little more kind to me. ;) I can't say I got killer power gains from it since I never put it on a dyno. Would I buy another? Probably not considering I sold my CRX. But even if I did have a car to put one on I'd probably just go the custom route. At the time I bought my 2nd Thermal, I was in to pouring money into my car. The more logical being that I am now can't justify the cost of a shiny, new cat-back system. Summary: the Thermal R&D SS system is HIGHLY recommended (by me) if you want to spend the cash. Strengths: - Excellent construction - Bolts-up to the car easily - Sounds awesome - Looks awesome - Most likely gives you HP increase - Will definitely outlast the car if you get the SS version Weaknesses: - Like any other aftermarket exhaust system, you'll spend some dough for a quality system like Thermal's Similar Products Used: - Pacesetter (I can't believe I actually had this thing on my car... At least it was only for two weeks ;)
