takes about 15 mins to remove, its not hard at all, just need to jack the left rear a bit and get ur tools out.. spray the hangers with a bit of wd40 so theyll com out...ull save about 20lbs by removing that and an additional 15 lbs if you take the mid pipe off too... as for loudness? i can tell you driving around with no mid pipe is pretty loud but its managable.. no muffler is definitely not asloud and much much more managable.. just try it. if you dont like it then waste anothr 15 mins of your life to put it back on

 

I am running the "STi Axle Back" on my 02, the one you can get from the dealer. No noticeable power increase but definately more throaty. Best part, it installs in 15 mins AND it may be available soon!

 

You don't have to literally remove the axleback. Just disconnect the midpipe from the axleback and boom, looks stock and sounds alot better. Or if you want a really unique sound, get one of those whistle tips.

 

Tha Whistle Goes Wooo Wooooo!

 

:rotfl:

 

you can buy my espelir exhaust. it's "throaty"

 

HAHAHA!!!

 

basically anything you do to alter your exhasut/ turboback will make the sound ALOT more throatier... but i think if your lookin to just replace the cat back, a good exhaust would be the Greddy EVO2.. its not to loud, yet not to settle.. and it makes it throaty as hell..

 

thats what i have, i like it a lot.

 

ive done that but in the end i just took it off.. and while i was down there i undid 2 bolts and 1 hanger and took the mid pipe off too lol... youll notice very negligible power gains if any at all with the axle back off.. but with the mid pipe off i was told on club wrx its good for about 20 whp... i dono if youll get that much but you should get a lil more than any cat back exhaust system, since there is absolutely no exhaust restriction when there is no exhaust in place
http://www.mattrandolph.com/wrx/cat-...omparisons.htm

 

How legal is it to take the midpipe off? Also how much louder is it?

 

u can have straight pipes as long as u can pass emissions I believe. so leave the stock on for emissions, then take them off and throw it in the garage.

 

How will removing the midpipe affect the rear O2 sensor? Will it just throw a CEL that I can clear with my OBD scanner? Also, is it easy to remove the midpipe without removing anything else? If I get pulled over will they even check for a missing midpipe and is it just a fixit ticket?

 

i cant guarantee u if its legal or not, ive had my mid pipe off for over 3 months now and havnt been pulled over for it and i live in elk grove, cop land... as for loudness compared to the mid pipe intact, its about 10 times louder, u can hear the turbo whistle and alot better IMO then with the mid pipe on.. try it, if you dont like it then put it back on..

 

no code is thrown, ive never gotten 1 anyway and if you do get caught most likely it will be a fix it ticket.. nothing major since the cats are till intact