Thermal RD
S Series exhaust

I'm not sure how this happened but my wife's SL2 needed a new resonator yet somehow my SL2 wound up with the new cat back exhaust system! Above is the stock SL2 exhaust system, mine had 160,000 kms on it and it was still in pretty good shape when it came off.









The stock muffler is stainless steel and should last forever. One weak link though is that bracket which I have replaced on both of our 1999 Saturns. My muffler was replaced under warranty around 20,000 km when it cracked.









Jim from Saturn Saab Isuzu of Thornhill removes the old exhaust system prior to installing my brand new Thermal system. Note the size of the box in the background!









An hour and a half later and here's what the new system looks like. Thermal recommends you keep your old system in the event that you have a warranty issue with your new system. Thermal requires you to send back their parts for warranty service! The system looks so solid that it's hard to imaging something going wrong.....









All the parts in the Thermal kit are very nicely polished.









Not sure if another adjustment is needed here but the pipe is a close fit over the rear suspension.









The business end of the installation. One thing of note, Thermal have changed from a double tip to a single tipped muffler recently, I didn't realize it until the system was installed that it had changed. I had actually wanted the double tip.









So what do I think so far? I was looking for a good solid but quiet system. This system is certainly solid but it isn't as quiet as I had hoped for. Yup I know, what do I expect from a free flow system with open muffler.....on the SL2 it has a nice deep throaty growl that is for sure but happens to be loudest at 75-80 mph range which is where I typically cruise on the highway. At those speeds it is quite loud, not painfully loud but bad enough for the wife to comment that she was getting a headache.....I'll let you know in a year what I think then.....









One final note, that big fat muffler hangs down quite a bit compared to the old stock exhaust. I haven't wacked anything yet but figure it's just a matter of time.....









My e-mail address is kevino@newsroom.net