Folks, I contacted Megan Racing regarding development of a full cat back for our car. For reference, they make highly regarded exhaust systems, and more than a few members on my previous Mazda forum were very satisfied with the results. These systems are known to deliver great performance, are made out of quality stainless, and have excellent fit and finish. Better yet, they are typically priced far less than Borla. Even better than that, there is the possibility of down pipes, headers, etc.

If it is any indication how good of a company they are, you'll notice the enthusiasm in the below e-mail copy. What they need from us is some information about our aesthetic preferences (tip design, etc), as well as help from someone in Southern California that can lend use of his stock parts/car for prototyping purposes.

I will e-mail a link to this thread to Megan, so they can check up on our preferences. For those of you willing to volunteer your stock parts or car for a few days, please PM me and I will pass along Steve's e-mail address (I don't want to post it here, as this guy doesn't deserve spam). Thank-you in advance for your feedback and assistance.
E-Mail content from Megan Racing as follows:


The Crossfire, a beautiful drastically-underestimated car that graces our streets.. my name is Steve Johnson, I run the head of research and development here at Megan Racing as I also design and prototype most of the parts in the company. I've been a long time fan of domestics and favor them over imports and am actually getting ready to launch into the domestic scene for our products. My worry was always that because we mainly built for imports that Domestics would have a bad taste in their mouths.

I think that the Crossfire would make an excellent choice for stepping into the Domestic side of things and I would be more than happy to develop some exhaust parts for your car. I of course have to talk it over with the Head Cheese...but he is easily persuaded.

Let me ask, would you be able to attain stock parts for the Crossfire? Such as the exhaust manifolds, Down pipes or any other exhaust sections? Do you know any local Crossfire's that are able to help us out with our prototyping? In an exhaust, is the crowd more of a conservative type or are they more aggressive in styling? Please let me know so as that I can get a start in the designs for this car. I'd really like to step foot into the Crossfire and I think we can work with each other in achieving a product that the community would like. Thank you for your time and consideration,let the forums know that you touched base with me on this and see what they say.

 

I would NOT want the rice burner/fart can sound and would like very much to retain the stock look/tips.

 

Well, right off the bat, I'd say the gentleman knows nothing of the Crossfire and it's MB heritage. IMO wearing the Chrysler badge does not make it a domestic. The car is built in Germany using German parts and imported into this country.

Anyway, it's a start for more affordable aftermarket parts.

 

I would be VERY interested in a full header system and downpipe with high flow SS cats and a true 3" dual exhaust. I would consider providing the car for their prototyping, but my exhaust system is no longer completely stock. I'm sure they could still use it though. I'm not interested in a cat-back system as I already had one custom built about 1.5 years ago...

JUDDZ drop me a PM and let me know which part of CA they are in and I will touch base with them...

 

I am interested in a full exhaust as well. How much do these run for the Mazda's? Some good points have been made. It should not have a salad shooter (cantaloupe sized) exhaust tip, it should have a great sound, and should provide great performance. I think the tip needs to compliment what we have, or maybe AMG style...(flip this one over).

 

http://www.newmoparparts.com/mopar-parts.htm

If its parts you want, you can get just about any stock part for the crossfire here, for a price of course. But, you got to spend money to make money. If someone is finally going to start making affordable, effective performance parts for this car, then it might finally be a keeper. Otherwise, at end of lease it's bye bye crossfire. Where are they located? Cali, or florida, I am assuming.

 

I would like to retain the stock tips, but have a system that provides a nice deep, throaty sound similar to the Charger/300 series. And, of course no high speed drone in the passenger compartment.

 

ditto that - I would like to see the hp gain numbers as well.

 

it'd be more realistic to wish for the 3.5L VQ exhaust note. there's no way to make a 3.2L V6 sound like a V8 --

keep us updated juddz.

 

Good feedback so far. Keep the comments coming.

 

yeah g35 sound is where its at.

 

A full true dual 3" deep sounding performance exhaust would likely interest everybody.

I like mine loud and obnoxious if you may be able to build that separately.

 

those cars do sound great. i love hearing one pass by. best sounding exhaust out there for a 6 cyl car imo too.

 

I too am on board with a full system. headers, downpipe, and cat back. Sound should be a deep, throaty sound (with a hint of subtlety). A more aggressive G35 IMHO. tips should look VERY close to stock if not the same as stock.

For reference the best sounding exhaust for a V6 was the Bassani Quiet Thunder I had on my SVT Contour.

 

Great comments. Seems we are a conservative crowd, appearance-wise. Less so in the sound department.

 

Any more comments, or are we done with this topic?

 

Juddz: I'll run the car by their shop if you want...

 

I do like the sound of the Nissan 3.5 V-6 in the G35/350Z, but I am surprised that nobody mentioned the Volkswagen R32. If anyone out there can make our V-6, which, ironically, is the same size as the Volkswagen's, sound like the R32, I would be the first on the list to buy the system! My vote for the best sounding exhaust system, stock, is the R32.

 

HDDP, it would be great if you would run the car by (but don't feel like you have to). On the chance that you are able to find a spare afternoon to head to their facility, would you please share specifics on the visit with us? I guess I am interested to hear a little more about their interest level in our sports car, and determine what the possibility of them pursuing the business would be.

On a side note, I noticed that the Borla/ Mopar cat back can be purchased for about $594 at Monicatti Chrysler in Michigan. That's a LOT cheaper than the $699 MSRP, but still quite expensive when compared with the going prices in the sport compact community.

 

JUDDZ: No problem, I wouldn't mind talking to them about their ideas on exhaust flow and what they can come-up with...