HELP!! exhaust for 97 LX civic 4dr

[rebos123]

Hi everyone,
I am trying to figure out what aftermarket exhaust system will fit my 97 civic LX 4 door. It has the d16y7 engine with the catalytic converter in the manifol. All the aftermarket catback exhausts I see online that allegedly fit my car finish off in a 3 bolt flange and they look like they are too short to reach the exhaust manifold. Is there an additional pipe that I need to buy to make them work or am I missing something? Any help would really be appreciated. I did search on the boards here for about an hour and really couldn't find an answer. HELP!

[dkid15]

They reach for all models from 96-00 or the ek line have the same exhaust except for hatches. SO in terms of catbacks any 2dr or 4dr will fit. IN terms of headers the y7 blows because the cat is located high along with the 02 sensor so when you change to aftermarket it will bolt right up but you need to extend the wires. DC-sports and dynatech have a o2 extender included in case you are not mechanicaqlly incline.

[rebos123]

thanks for the reply but I am still confused. My 1997 civic LX has the cat high up in the manifold like you said. I have the factory service manual for my car and it shows, in order, the exhaust manifold/cat, exhaust section A, exhaust section B then the muffler/tailpipe assembly. Exhaust section A has a 3 bolt flange to the exhaust manifold on one end, then a 2 bolt flange on the other end to exhaust section B. The aftermarket catback exhausts I have been looking at all have a 3 bolt flange at the end of the pipe, yet the piping is not long enough to reach the stock exhaust manifold! It looks like I might need to buy an extra length of pipe to make the catback fit to the 2 bolt flange at exhaust section A.
Since my car does not have the catalytic converter further back do I need to buy a "test pipe" to make everything fit together? The test pipe has a 2 bolt flange on one end and a 3 bolt flange on the other.


Cliff notes: Do I need a cat test pipe to make an aftermarket exhaust work on my 1997 civic LX?

[rebos123]

figured it out - if your car has the cat in the exhaust manifold and it doesn't have a cat underneath of it then you need to buy a test pipe to make 99.99% of the "catback" exhaust systems fit......I guess this is common knowledge to most people:done: