All good things come to an end… and then get replaced with other good things. Following the same mindset in regards to switching the Rega Masters out in favor of the Advans, I decided the exhaust could benefit from added zest. While the FEED Sonic was supremely light and sounded perfect, I felt that it was overall too sedate. The 3.5″ tip blended in well and did not grab attention. The exhaust which I initially obtained via desperate and effortful coercion has grown to be boring for me.
If I’m going to do all this work to modify the RX-7, I may as well embrace it outwardly. Fear not, I will never stray away from or bastardize the stock lines and body of the car… but there are a few choice areas that could be made more interesting.
A catalyst emerged when I heard news that the Buddy Club Spec-II cat-back was finally being shipped Stateside. I’ve always had my eye on this particular exhaust, but it is hard to come by for the FD platform. After patiently waiting for 1 year and 1 month, a phone call with Buddy Club USA finally gave me word that a shipment was inbound. I called to check every couple of months, primarily out of curiosity, so it was quite exciting to hear solid confirmation.
However… the wait was not a fruitful one. After receiving the exhaust, I immediately noticed that all the welds were sloppily done with a Mig welder and the Buddy Club plaque on the tip was omitted. The resonator wasn’t even welded on straight. This was a far cry from the high quality construction and robotic Tig welds standard of Buddy Club exhausts (apparently not anymore). It’s a shame the company was willing to pass such a product into the market.
After returning the Buddy Club, I began searching for other avenues. Since I avoid fart-can exhausts like the plague, the choices available for the RX-7 become rather limited. I eventually opted to go with a Rein Hard Dual #02 cat-back in Semi-Titanium. This had to be ordered with them in Japan and the exhausts are made to order.
Rein Hards are not cheap, but at least the quality is ensured. The Dual #02 is similar to the Spec-II, except it has slash-cut, staggered dual tips. This exhaust is also void of any resonator for the FD… we’ll have to see how that goes. The tips come with a baffles and silencers, right and left respectively in the picture below.
I took the silencers out but left the baffles in. Here is the cat-back mounted onto the car, the piping fitment was spot on.
The Rein Hard should give the car more “presence” from the rear, I think. It will be interesting to hear how they sound.
Quality is the way to go though man. I need to hear this in person.
Looks awesome man! You should really put up a video of that thing in action. I’ve looked all over and can’t find anyone else with this exhaust