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As one stares upon the many pipes, clamps, mufflers, instructions, and tool requirements for one of these supposed easy installations, at some point, one has to really ask themselves if this is really something the can and want to do.

Performance exhaust systems are really popular right now. They offer more horsepower, torque, better gas mileage, and they sound and look pretty darn cool too.

The problem with some of them, is that even though they claim they are easy to install and anyone can do it with basic hand tools… you really must decide if you are in fact part of this definition of “anyone”, and if you actually own some of these “basic tools”.

Let’s face it, if you buy a $300 to $800 exhaust kit and then have to turn around and buy $400 worth of tools… you could have practically had an exhaust formed out of molten steel for less than that!

Let’s first take a look at the short list of tools you may need to do this job right.

1. 1. (2) Floor Jacks ($30 and up), or one floor jack and your OEM jack (There are two on this list because both floor jacks and jack stands fail, so to protect yourself we recommend having two lift system at each lift-point of the car)
   2. (2) Jack Stands ($25 and up)
   3. Torque Socket Wrench ($25 and up)
   4. Full set of Metric and Standard Sockets ($50 and up)
   5. Pipe cutter ($30 and up), reciprocating saw ($60 and up), etc. (You could use a hacksaw, but at no less than an hour per pipe to cut all the way through, I’d highly not recommend it)
   6. Penetrating Oil, WD-40, etc. (to loosen those stubborn OEM pipes)
   7. Dremel ($60 and up) Sideways Cutter (to get off those tight OEM brackets)
   8. Mechanics Gloves (unless you like to bleed!)
   9. Mechanic’s Book (Chilton, etc.) about your model and year car. (Your OEM manual will not be sufficient for this- There are countless of folks each year who are seriously injured by placing a jack or jack stand under a “weak point” of their car. You can also seriously damage your car… such as shooting the jack up through your floorboard. Cars today, while built well, definitely have a lot of thin metals and aluminum that are not suited to hold the weight of your car. It is better to be safe than sorry!)
   10. A Creeper (unless you like dragging your carcass all over your cold garage floor… and if you do this, count on ruining your outfit)

While the directions say it will take you 2 to 4 hours, this is from the viewpoint of a professional mechanic who has at their side a full line of professional equipment (hydraulic lift, pneumatic tools, etc). For the garage do-it-yourselfer, double this amount of time, if not triple.

Now, for the “anyone” can do it. This job is not for the faint of heart. It takes guts to jack up 3,000-plus pounds automobile and toil around underneath for several hours while it is teetering on a couple of $30 and up lift equipment.

So before you jump on that “do-it-yourself” catback exhaust deal, decide if you are really saving yourself all that much from just going to a muffler shop and having them custom fabricate you something for a couple hundred dollars, because you just might not be!