The second centre section of the exhaust – which begins about halfway down the car and ends just before the muffler – is very prone to rotting from the inside, with the bends around the subframe especially prone to rusting through. I found this out not only when my first centre section disintegrated there but also when a second-hand pipe fell apart in the same position before it was even on the car. Cutting the rot out of the second pipe and bridging the gap with flexible exhaust pipe made for a temporary fix, but eventually a combination of rust and flexing destroyed both ends of the flexi-pipe and it was time to deal with the exhaust once again.
With genuine SuzukiSport front and centre sections alone costing around £400 (to complete the system with a SuzukiSport Type Sp-X Street muffler would take that figure to around £1000!) I thought it would be decidedly cheaper to look at getting a custom built system made up instead. A bit of research and a few emails later saw me booking in with MIJ Performance of Walsall, a very professional independent outfit who’s “Mid-Sport” system seemed to be exactly what I was looking for – something I was able to confirm thanks to their very useful YouTube channel of exhaust notes!
Our most popular choice is a Mid-Sport, giving you the best of both worlds – not intrusive but achieves the sporty sound you want from your car upon applying the throttle.
I dropped the car off at MIJ in the morning, hanging around in their reception area for a while (noseying at the RB26DETTs and K20As on display) while they removed what was left of the old system before popping into the workshop and under the car to discuss the system and choose the tailpipe. Once those decisions were made I left them to it and a couple of hours later I got a call to say the car was ready. I was really impressed by the workmanship (it was the first time since I’d bought the car that the system didn’t wobble around!) and at £265 for a new centre section & muffler – all in stainless steel and with a lifetime warranty – I felt it represented good value for money as well. The system sounded great on the first turn of the key and by the time the system had sooted up a little from the journey home the exhaust note sounded spot on, with a nice growl on hard throttle but quiet and restrained when cruising – just as MIJ had said.
