Advice taken.

I'll take a much closer look at it. I would be very happy to just add the muffler and hi-flow cat.

thats what i did for mine. i got a mid pipe from a 92 se and sanded the rust off and painted it with high temp paint.

I ran over someone'* transmission on the highway - that'* why it needs replaced...sorry i didn't clarify.
Could someone answer some of my questions, perhaps? Sorry to sound rude, but I kind of have a time crisis on my hands, and I need to get the ball rolling on this replacement exhaust...

The muffler you quote is great. I got the aluminized, but if I knew beforehand, I'd have gotten the stainless one you quoted. The aluminzed costs less and both have a lifetime warranty, but I'd prefer stainless, so I like your choice.

I think your choice of tips is not good. Most people go with a double round tip, or a single fat oval tip. I used oval tips. If you have an SE you don't have bumper cutouts, and you'll need to sling them below the bumper. Check out some of the tips other people used. I'll look for the link to the Ractive tips I used. Some other people have used them too.

As for my intake, I described it all here:
http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...035&highlight=

I agree with some other people here, I think you probably don't really need new pipes. Make sure Midas or somebody isn't trying to scam you. Our pipes are stainless, so they last a very long time. Yes, it'* possible you need new pipes, but not very likely. If you get new pipes at Midas or Meineke, you'll need to replace them about every 3 years. As other people said here, you'd do better to find a donor factory exhaust at a salvage yard. But that may not be a very convenient option. Just know that if you go to non-stainless pipes, they will rot pretty fast. I'd try to find an independent ehaust shop.

Personally, if your stock Cat is good, I'd keep it and the stock resonator. If yours is rotted, then a performance Magnaflow ought to be okay, but maybe a little loud. It depends on how loud you want it, really. Don't stress too much about 2.25" pipes -vs- 2.5" muffler openings, any muffler shop can either weld it up or stick a little adapter pipe on there. If you truly need all new pipes you can go 2.25" or 2.5" and I wouldn't think it would cause any problem either way.

Again, I did the muffler first, and lost low-end torque. Great sound, kinda crappy low end torque. Added the ricepipe & K&N and got it all back plus some extra.

A TRANSMISSION ?!?!?!??!?!??!??!??!

ya no kidding...i would just get a exhaust from a wrecker

If you're going to do that, you MIGHT want to consider a 2.5" exhaust of a SC car. You'll lose some low-end, but gain high end. It'* all in what you want.

yeah, a semi dropped his transmission on the highway and i hit it, thus severely messing up much of my exhaust...i'm not sure if some pipes may be still ok, but i intend to find out.

Bugsi, thanks a lot man, you're a great help!

Few questions....1) on you're filter, what exacty is the point of the heat shield? 2) Could I have someone (or myself) cut out holes in the rear bumper so that the tips can slide in there? 3) Weren't the tips I quoted double-walled?

If I get holes in the bumper, then I definitely want round tips, but otherwise oval seems to look nicer underneath.

Oh, and, can't I just buy the piping exactly the same as the original stock piping was? If so, where?

w/o a heatshield, you will suck in all the hot air from inside the engine bay. not good.

i would just hang ur tips below the bumper. it will prolly look like **** if u make cutouts on an se bumper

Aw man, sorry, I didn't see that you ran over a transmission. Man, that'* crazy. Sure, Midas or Meineke can put aftermarket pipes on for you no problem. But they won't be made of stainless, and they will rot. If you have to go this route, see if any of them offer any pipes that are galvanized or aluminized to slow down the rot rate. I think Midas generally has pre-bent pips for whatever they need, and Meineke usually just bends what they need right there on the spot. But the reason everyone is recommending you rip the stock exhaust from a Bonnie at a wrecker is that it'* stainless and should last like 100,000 miles or more. If you can get it, get it.

The heat shield was my really lame attempt at making a barrier between the air filter and the rest of the engine compartment. A true "CAI" (Cold Air Intake) will have your filter completely blocked from the engine compartment so it can only suck fresh air in from behind the driver side headlamp. (Alternatively you can do a fender-wall intake "FWI".) -See everyone else'* pics on my link to see how people have done a much better job. If you don't make a barrier, your filter can suck in air that gets hot from the heat radiating from the engine and exhaust manifolds. In truth, I ultimately removed my little reflectix shield because it just slid around. I still have the power gain, so technically this is called a "HAI" (Hot Air Intake) but I think it only makes a difference when accellerating from a dead stop. At highway speeds I don't think it matters much.

Here'* what you need to know though: You can do the intake and always worry about shielding it off later if you want to do that. You'll still get a lot more power just with the ricepipe and the K&N filter.

Tips: I didn't mean double-walled, I meant two round pipes next to each other. Like the one in the first post here:
http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...ic.php?t=19324

Here'* the oval tips I used:
http://www.autobarn.net/raunextip.html

No, do not cut holes in your SE bumper. You can get an SSEi bumper cover if you want to look stock-dual, or just admit you love your SE and want to bless it with dual exhaust and sling them underneath. My installer set my tips so that the bumper overhangs them by about 1.5". If I were to do it over, I'd set the tips back more so the bumper overhangs them by about 3". Just my preference of look. I had them spaced to go just under the thin red reflectors on my bumper.

Enjoy!