Well im no dummy but my mach exhaust + hiflow cat is installed, and man does it ever sound good. The higher the rpm the better it sounds, i seem to be shifting a lot higher now
Its quiet when you want it and loud when you floor it, just like i hoped. The guys at solo performance did a remarkable job, thanks a lot!
Thank you for the replies and the pictures, it looks awesome! I’d love to hear some sound clips. Have you encountered any ill side effects or check engine codes with the new cat?
I’d also like to see pictures of the exhaust tips from the rear at a slight angle. I really like the stock GXP tips, they look great and I like how the cut is angled slightly down and to the side. (If that makes sense)
__________________
"Mac Daddy" DELIVERED! Sly/Ebony with the works...
Dont have any sound clips with the cat on, but it sounds similar like in the vid in the first post. Cruising at 80mph and its pretty quiet.
Check engine light came on, p0420 cat efficiency below threshold. Basically the cat flows too much
There seem to be some fixes for this though, we'll try them out eventually.
Here's a pic of the tip, i know what you mean about the angled stock tips. But when looking from above this is barely noticable, or maybe you can ask Jeff from solo to turn them a bit for you.
Cat Update. I believe we will have a fix as early as next week for the engine light. A very good electrical mechanic friend says he will be able to splice a small circuit board next to the computer and this signal will "fake out" the computer and turn off the engine light. The information that I have now for this fix is that any qualified mechanic can do it in under 1 hour ( it's not that hard ) also the price for the parts will be under $100.00 We are also pursuing a "true" fix but with the sensitive nature of GM's O2's this may take some time.
I'm on holidays till the 17th of March. My partner Dave will answer any PM's, questions, orders, etc. For anyone with install questions please call Zoro-Mississauga at 905-897-6833.
Thanks Jeff.
Hi. Just thought I'd share some Mach pics. For those of you waiting for the Mach kit and Cat I think we are still a few weeks out on the cat. Quick cat update - We were able to get the engine light off by moving the O2 bung closer to the cat and also using an extender. This was tested for over 300 miles and no light!! During this time we had a rash of these cats coming back to our shop ( installed on non GXP cars 6 months to a year ago ) with the whole stainless coil moving up and down. Upon looking into this further we decided to go with another cat manufacturer. This manufacturer cans the coil differently and will not come loose. The cat is longer and therefore we are starting the process over to try and get the O2 sensor closer to its original position. With the different length cat all the positioning we did before will change. Many of you are waiting for the cat to be fixed before you want the Mach kit. Since it may be a while just PM me if you want the catback and we will ship the cat separately when its ready. As a side note when I went to the cat plant to talk to them about how they construct the cat etc. I noticed a lot of Solstice and GXP posters up. Turns out that this company makes the metal housing for the Sol and GXP motor mounts. We are currently testing a new cat and hope to conclude this process soon. Thanks.
The start and end point of the new cat is exactly the same but the body is about 2" longer. It's very tight to fit it into the small area but can be done. Glad you like your kit MeanSol. Thanks.
Hi to all. Thought I would give you a cat update. We have the cat we want to use and the fix for the engine light all worked out. The new cat has been on Shabby's car now for about 2 weeks with no problems. In talking to the manufacturer of the cat bodies we have been discussing that they construct the funnels after the stainless coil a bit differently. This will make for a much nicer fit and be a lot more ascetically pleasing. Another benefit is that they will be easier to construct and have more tolerance room where they fit. The last few weeks have been a little frustrating. The manufacturer has agreed that the changed funnel design is the way to go. Thats the good news. The bad news is that manufacturing processes don't change for them overnight. Tooling, jigs, drawings,etc. have to be made so that they can have the production process down pat when they start to build. For those of you that either have or have seen our cat's these new ones will be far superior. This cat project has been a struggle from the beginning. The end is very near and the product will finally perform, look and fit fantastic. Thanks for your patience to those of you that are waiting. At the risk of inserting my foot in my mouth our best guess at when our first batch will be ready is around May 18... Thanks.
Okay, please forgive me if this is an elementary or otherwise silly question, but can the cat be installed later? I adore the sound of the exhaust, but I'm not quite ready to make the leap to switching out the stock cat... can that be done at a later date with the exhaust already installed, or does it become more difficult at that point?
Also, I have a Sky R/L... I'm assuming this exhaust will work on the car, but better to ask and possibly look stupid than have a beautiful exhaust I can't use, right?
Hi PB. The cat can be done later without any problems whatsoever. Our cat is a direct fit replacement so there is no issues with doing it after the exhaust install. Our kit does fit the RL but IMHO the round tips don't suit the square openings. We have done a few RL's at our store and we reused the stock tips. We have tried a lot of different tips and some are acceptable but we haven't found any that match the car as well as the originals. It would be possible to sell the kit without any tips, then you could get a shop to weld your's on. Another possibility would be to cut off and ship us your tips and then we could use them for your kit... Hope this helps and thanks for your interest.
Thanks for the reply, and for suppressing any amusement at my n00bness.
You also answered my unasked second question about keeping the stock tips - I'll double-check with the shop that'll be doing the install to make sure the welding isn't an issue, but I'm sure I'll be ordering from you shortly.
Hi PB. The cat can be done later without any problems whatsoever. Our cat is a direct fit replacement so there is no issues with doing it after the exhaust install. Our kit does fit the RL but IMHO the round tips don't suit the square openings. We have done a few RL's at our store and we reused the stock tips. We have tried a lot of different tips and some are acceptable but we haven't found any that match the car as well as the originals. It would be possible to sell the kit without any tips, then you could get a shop to weld your's on. Another possibility would be to cut off and ship us your tips and then we could use them for your kit... Hope this helps and thanks for your interest.
Just in case you want an unsolicited opinion on your tips on the Solo Street Race kit, they are a big improvement over the OEMs and seem to be of better quality as well. The tip angle on the Solo looks way better than the original.-bird
Well I'm very sad to report that Shabby's engine light came back on. Well over 500 miles and two weeks later... Very disappointing. A forum member recently forwarded me some information on drive cycles and other OBDII nuances. THANKS. This info should certainly speed up our testing time. For those of you waiting for the Mach kit and Cat to be shipped together, the offer still stands to ship them separately. ( We'll take care of the Cat shipping costs. ) Thanks for your patience - mine is a bit thin right now.
P.M. price and shipping charge of the racing exhaust and high flow cat to the 91706. Just wondering if you guys also make a resinated test pipe in place of the high flow cat. Oh and how would that combo sound. Thanks
Last edited by reyes5937 : 05-29-2007 at 01:04 AM.
Location: Murrells Inlet, SC "A quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem"
I just had the street race for my GXP changed to a Mach system. I really like both of them, good quality work by Solo. The street race was just a bit loud for the retirement community where I live. The Mach should keep me in good standing with my neighbors while still making the Solstice sound as a sports car should.
By the way, if anyone wants to purchase the rear portion of the street race let me know. All that would be required is the front pipe,
__________________ "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity."
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems but it will annoy enough people to make it worthwhile.
Savannah Coastal Run April 2007
2nd Annual NA Meet June 2007
Skyline Drive October 2007
Key West Run De
