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KoupCoupe · 01-12-2011, 07:58 PM

Got my Solo Performance Exhaust in last night and couldn't wait for the weekend so I installed it after I got off work this afternoon. I backed the Koup up on to some ramps and changed out the exhaust by myself. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the hardest I give the install a 3. The Solo Peformance exhaust kit made it in about a week and all parts were in the kit sans install instructions -- since I've installed aftermarket exhausts on small cars before I didn't have a problem but for anyone that hasn't installed an exhaust before, instructions would be a benefit. All the Kias I've owned had exhausts that unbolt so you don't have to cut them to get them off the car -- another benefit is you only have to replace a section of the exhaust -- not the entire exhaust if part of it needs replacement.

The Solo Performance exhaust kit comes with nuts and bolts -- I'm assuming that you are supposed to remove the studs from the cat - but, I found the Solo performance fits on the OE Cat and I would rather Solo Performance provide a gasket that fits on the OE parts and provide new OE 19MM nuts in place of the nuts and bolts in the kit.

Pictures below:
1 + 2 Where the OE exhaust unbolts -- you can save the OE exhaust and reinstall it later if you want. 19 MM locknuts.

3 OE Vs Solo Performance kit

4 Shows the 2" OE pipe Vs Solo Performances pipe

5 OE exhaust reduces to 1 3/4 inch at the muffler inlet and outlet

6 Solo Performance muffler - you can see straight through it -- the exhaust can go straight through too...LoL

7 Solo Performance resonator attaches to factory Cat studs

8 Solo performance "band" clamps -- look at how they conform to the different pipe sizes - never seen that before! It is flat when you start.

9 The Solo Performance Koup version dual outlet tip They have a single outlet tip for sedan SXs too.

10 A shot from behind

Kenny C · 01-12-2011, 10:42 PM

Great pics! How's the sound? Any noticeable gains?

Hell of a job with the install and not much clearance up front from the looks of pics!

KoupCoupe · (This post was last modified: 01-12-2011 11:10 PM by KoupCoupe.)

Has a very deep sound at idle, Performance sound while accelerating - but not raspy nor does it sound like mad bumblebees, and it quiets down at cruise speeds. I got the quietest combo - large resonator and large muffler. It really surprsed me how low the sound is considering the exhaust flows straight through the muffle and the resonator does an excellent job of smoothing out the noise! It has a nice roar when accelerating. My wife drove my Koup around while I listened -- sounds good from within and without the car!

I certainly feel the car has more response -- but I have no way of proving it. It feels peppy...but then I've always liked the performance it has for a 2.4 L4...:-)

I don't know how to load sound or video clips.

Kenny C · 01-14-2011, 12:29 AM

(01-12-2011 11:09 PM)KoupCoupe Wrote: Has a very deep sound at idle, Performance sound while accelerating - but not raspy nor does it sound like mad bumblebees, and it quiets down at cruise speeds. I got the quietest combo - large resonator and large muffler. It really surprsed me how low the sound is considering the exhaust flows straight through the muffle and the resonator does an excellent job of smoothing out the noise! It has a nice roar when accelerating. My wife drove my Koup around while I listened -- sounds good from within and without the car!

I certainly feel the car has more response -- but I have no way of proving it. It feels peppy...but then I've always liked the performance it has for a 2.4 L4...:-)

I don't know how to load sound or video clips.

Thanks for the info! Will be upgrading several parts soon, exhaust being one of them.

Any mileage gains with normal driving?

KoupCoupe · 01-14-2011, 08:54 PM

I've only had it on for three days now...other than the nice sound I haven't been able to gauge the mileage yet. Truthfully, I expect a little loss of MPG because I'm enjoying the growl when accelerating so I use a little more throttle than normal...LoL!

Make sure to consider Solo Performance -- I think it's a nice set-up.

Kenny C · 01-14-2011, 11:33 PM

Sorry for all of the questions, but what setup did you go with and how much (if you don't mind me asking)?

KoupCoupe · 01-15-2011, 12:29 AM

I went with the larger-of-the-two resonators and the larger-of-the-two mufflers for the quietest version. I believe all their combos are 2 1/4" piping (for sedan and Koup) and are $499.00 (what I paid...and that included shipping). If you want LOUD go with the smaller resonator and muffler.
The factory pipe is 2", however, it is only 1 3/4" at the muffler outlets -- why Kia did that is beyond me (see picture 5 in my first post).

Kenny C · 01-19-2011, 10:05 PM

(01-15-2011 12:29 AM)KoupCoupe Wrote: I went with the larger-of-the-two resonators and the larger-of-the-two mufflers for the quietest version. I believe all their combos are 2 1/4" piping (for sedan and Koup) and are $499.00 (what I paid...and that included shipping). If you want LOUD go with the smaller resonator and muffler.
The factory pipe is 2", however, it is only 1 3/4" at the muffler outlets -- why Kia did that is beyond me (see picture 5 in my first post).

Thanks for the info. Yeah, putting a bottle neck in the system is dumb. I'm sure they had some reason for it though. Maybe some weird CAFE law and that helped...just guessing here.