Just installed B&B Catback and Injen CAI

[Merlin]

I just wanted to give an update on the install of my first mods. I have only had the Titan about a month now but decided to add exhaust and intake. I wanted good quality stuff and after a lot of research I went with the B&B catback and the Injen CAI.

Exhaust - The B&B system is very good quality - welds are nice and the flanges are nice and thick. The selling point for me on this exhaust was the fact that there are no clamps - all joints are flanged so there is no need to take it to the exhaust shop for welding when the buzzing starts with the clamps (past experiences) and when I want to remove it I won't need to cut because the pipes have been deformed together by the clamps, etc. The fit was also very good on the B&B as it has to be since there is not much room for twisting and adjusting when the joints are flanged. The sound of the exhaust is really good - no popping and has a very deep tone to it. Under normal acceleration there are times when it gets quite loud (for my taste) but while cruising at any speed it remains very quiet with no harsh drone. At WOT the sound is awesome, i.e. it doesn't sound like a Chevy with glass-packs and echo-tips, which I hate - more like a sports car. The dual tips out the side of the truck looks great. A very good catback, overall.

I do have a few complaints about the exhaust, just to be objective. First, the system is only partially polished, which doesn't make much sense to me. The entire muffler and the dual pipes going to the cats are polished but the section of pipe you add to go to the driver's side cat is not polished - just bare stainless. The exhaust tip and a little back from there is also polished but the majority of the tailpipe is not polished. I just think if they went to the trouble to polish the muffler and all of the piping up to the driver's side of the y-pipe, why not polish it all - just seems a bit odd. I would prefer all or none to tell you the truth. I would bet that the Vette and Porsche systems are fully polished. The other thing that irked me about the exhaust was that they did not send any mounting hardware - no bolts and no gaskets. No big deal I guess but I had to make a trip to the store for bolts, nuts and gasket material since no one seems to make a 2-bolt flange exhaust gasket. Anyway, this added a couple of hours to the install which would have been an absolute breeze if they had just included hardware. Maybe I was supposed to get it and just didn't, I don't know but not good customer service on an $850 catback, IMO.

CAI - Injen makes a very nice piece and install was pretty straightforward. I got the wrinkle-black color and it looks really nice under the hood. I haven't noticed any vibration so far and it is a pretty quiet CAI. The main reason I went with the Injen was all the posts I saw about it being good quality and quiet - so far, so good.

To be fair, though, I do have a complaint about the Injen kit, too. The fact that I had to notch my engine cover to get it all to fit (which it tells you to do in the install sheet) kind of chaps my butt. It appears you have to do this on any of the Nissan 5.6L vehicles that you install the Injen on. Now this, to me, is poor design. I could see a hundred ways to avoid it - one is just to move the mass air mount further towards the air-box like the factory setup and then you would be able to move the CCV box further down as well, thereby eliminating the need to cut the cover. I am sure there is a reason that they didn't do this I just can't see why right now. I know it is a minor thing, but I just don't like cutting on a new truck.

The truck kind of ran like a turd after all the installs but I am assuming that is because I reset the ECU and it is in the learn process. I am sure it will run a lot better soon. Overall, I am happy with the mods but the complaints I listed put a bit of a damper on my usual giddiness with performance mods. I would certainly recommend the B&B to anyone as one of the best systems out there, although, no hardware?? Come on, B&B!! I would probably recommend the Injen as well, although if I had researched a little more and found out that I was going to have to cut the cover I probably would have gone with the Volant (maybe you have to cut with it, too, I don't know).

Later

[Ourbaby]

congrats on the upgrades and get us some pics.