JBA Exhaust Install 2005 Armada

[S30TRBO]

So the wife bought her Armada in December 2011 used with 60K miles on it. She bought it from the original owner who at some point put this bolt-on tip on it.


It lived up in northern Maryland where they love to salt the roads during the winter months even when there is a chance of snow. Due to poor exhaust
material the OEM systems days were numbered and short lived.


Arrived perfect purchased through Autoanything.com for $335 shipped!! Great deal at the time. Part number: 40-1405.


Before

I purchased new mounting brackets and hardware from Nissan.


Rear section off


Muffler Compare


Y-Pipe compare


I ran into a problem on the rear b-pipe studs and nuts. I purchased new ones from Nissan in anticipation of them stripping.

My propane torch did not get hot enough to get these suckers out so I had to take it to a shop with an acetylene torch.

After:

[primoV8]

Looks good. The same thing happened to me years ago, ended up with the JBA and its been great since. I did add a vibrant ultra quiet resonator sometime last year and it completely eliminated the notorious exhaust drone (55-60mph) and cabin resonance.

[Invanity]

nice write up man! Excellent

How does it sound?

[Carlo12377]

thats awesome! how do these compare to the Gibsons? i am thinking of doing this mod next year

[S30TRBO]

Originally Posted by primoV8

Looks good. The same thing happened to me years ago, ended up with the JBA and its been great since. I did add a vibrant ultra quiet resonator sometime last year and it completely eliminated the notorious exhaust drone (55-60mph) and cabin resonance.

Thanks! The drone really doesn't bother us as much as others stated.

Originally Posted by Invanity

nice write up man! Excellent

How does it sound?

Thanks, it sounds great! I love the engine/exhaust brake when you let off in OD its really noticeable now. Also when you first start it up in the morning the initial crank wakes the neighbors too which is nice then calms down until you step on it later.

Originally Posted by Carlo12377

thats awesome! how do these compare to the Gibsons? i am thinking of doing this mod next year

Thanks. I'm not really sure what the difference performance wise is. If its cost over function I would make sure and get stainless steel over aluminized as it will last longer.

I am happy with JBA we will be doing the LT headers and b-pipes later. I need to do the 2* timing next..

[spta97]

Joe,

I have this exact problem and ordered this exact exhaust. Unfortunately it has been delayed and is supposed to ship on 12/14. I'm amazed at how often the same exact flange on the Armada exhaust has failed on so many vehicles. Since it has been delayed I have muffler tape holding it in place.

I was actually going to cut off the flange and use a slip pipe with clamps but I'll leave that as a last resort as the tape seems to be holding up (although slightly leaking).

There were some good tips here - I didn't think to look at the hanger but I'm pretty nervous about the bolts on the b-pipes snapping. I got new nuts for them but on Titan Talk most people said that the bolts would be resusable. Do you think you could have saved the bolts? I'm not sure how I would deal with it without having to go to a shop.

What are your longer term impressions of the sound? I didn't want anything too loud and most people on TT said this was the most tame.

My plan is to clamp it on and live with it for a few weeks. If I'm ok I'll get it welded as is, if not I'll get the Ultra Quiet resonator and have them weld that on along with the connections on the rest of the exhaust.

[spta97]

Originally Posted by primoV8

Looks good. The same thing happened to me years ago, ended up with the JBA and its been great since. I did add a vibrant ultra quiet resonator sometime last year and it completely eliminated the notorious exhaust drone (55-60mph) and cabin resonance.

Primo - where did you have the UQ resonator mounted? On the OEM exhaust there is a resonator after the muffler but I have been reading that most people install the UQ before the muffler on the JBA.

[primoV8]

Originally Posted by spta97

Primo - where did you have the UQ resonator mounted? On the OEM exhaust there is a resonator after the muffler but I have been reading that most people install the UQ before the muffler on the JBA.

Here you go:



I had PRT B-pipes installed a couple months ago and glad to say, only at WOT, the exhaust tone picks up but the Volant cai is much more audible.

[spta97]

Primo - Thanks for the pic. What made you install it there? Was it upon recommendation or was that just the best location for fitment?

I am wondering how much of an impact it has before / after the muffler and what difference it makes on where it is installed on the pipe.

How would you describe the loudness of this exhaust before the b-pipe install? I'm a little worried I'm gonna hate this as I don't want to be listening to the exhaust while cruising at normal speeds.

[primoV8]

Similar to Magnaflow's catback, they also have a resonator installed inline, via the tail pipe section.
I also did some reading about the Zoomers resonated tip, but I felt those were overpriced/overrated.

Since the muffler is placed mid-chassis, the length of the tail pipe and exhaust tip helps produce a more audible exhaust tone. Even more so when an aftermarket catback system with larger diameter piping is installed.

When the shop was done installing the vibrant ultra quiet resonator, I didn't even realize they had started the truck up. The difference was night and day and at WOT, the sound coming from the Volant cai demanded all the attention. Gone was the aggressive exhaust tone which I missed but at the same time, the cabin resonance/drone was eliminated.

Even with the current addition of the PRT b-pipes, there is still no cabin resonance/drone and would recommend this to anyone looking to upgrade their exhaust system.