I got a Scorpion SS cat back with cat replacement pipe from http://www.topgear.co.uk/ for 265 inc delivery (I think) a couple of months ago. This was the cheapest place at the time. They had the wrong price on the website so they said, but looking at http://www.topgear.co.uk/scorpion_price_a-h.htm it's still the same price!

I got it fitted by a local garage for 25. Ring round or get recommended. Can't recommend it enough. 3" polished tail pipe, with a really good ROAR when it has warmed up. Not too loud when roof up, and sounds great when it's down - another reason to get the roof down! Makes the car sound much more like a sports car. Only problem is when it is cold, it sounds a bit raspy. (1/00)

Stainless Steel:
Magnex; about 260-270. Nice finish. Some say it works well, others complain about poor fit and slightly wimpy exhaust note, but thats a matter of personal preference. Cat pipe extra.

Scorpion: 240-260 incl a cat replacement pipe. Nicely finished, 3" tip. A bit loud.

Mongoose: Finished fairly well. Nothing really on it to advertise its a Mongoose. 3.5" tip can give some fitment problems, but easily fixed. Not as loud as Scorpion, but I like it (quite deep, tendancy to "pop" when hot on the over run). About 250-280. No cat pipe.

Rotechniks: Anyone have this. Pricey at around 400. Full system is "race only", by which I assume the mid section replaces the old piping and catalyst, so not really road legal on MX5's after 93 (Roadsters are a different story). See: http://www.rotechniks.co.uk/

Borla: more difficult to get hold of in the UK after the demise of Hot n Bovvered. Generally has big thumbs up in the US. Warranty may not apply in UK, which is a bit worrying as there have been some manufacturing glitches, and packing problems. Loud. About 300-350?

Thermal Research (M- Roadster). Very nicely finished (I would say approaching jap standards). Nice sound thats quite deep. Again question mark over warranty. 350-400 by the time you get it over?

Peco: apparently do a stainless steel system. Unknown price, but probably a little cheaper than the competition.

Power Flow: Bespoke fitments, using generic South African components on site. Tips etc fully customisable. Odd construction to back boxes which might not last, but lifetime warranty. How good they are I guess depends on the franchise fitting them.

Europa Specialist Spares (Cobra bits); list a stainless steel system, apparently modelled on the stock pattern. A ridiculous 400 plus vat. Don't have their number, but they're Burton way.

BBR can also apparently do (implied on their website:http://www.bbrgti.com/mazda.php)

Speedlab quote about $200 shipping for systems. ie. their cheapest would work out about $900-1000 shipped. Yikes. Very nice centred twin exhausts for the deep-of-pockets. (I've seen these on a Roadster going around town; twin upswept pipes TR6 style.) See http://www.speedlab.com/ to drool. (lots of stuff for the Roadster, and its all in english with dollar prices)

TDI do HKS systems for £380-485 http://www.tdi-plc.com/MazdaMX5.html

Moss: is this made by some well known company like Sebring? If you want one, get it now while stocks last, I guess. Plus Mild steel/aluminised systems

Remus: discussed recently. Black painted steel boxes with stainless innards? Only one to have square tailpipe (besides Power Flow, on which you can have anything you like...)

Timax: cheapy steel system. 80-90. Actually quite well finished with a chromed exhaust tip.

Bosal (sold by MX5parts). 109.

Peco: 150ish, 2 year warranty Janspeed also do an aluminized steel version of their S1 (2/00)

Try these sources:
www.needforspeed.co.uk (discounted Mongoose SS systems)
http://guest.btinternet.com/~collinsperf/ (Mongoose homepage)
www.tdi-plc.com (Japanese HKS, Mazdaspeed sellers)
www.rotechniks.co.uk (do a "race only" system)
www.blitz-uk.co.uk (Blitz...Japanese exhausts, filters and other stuff)

Plus these guys will quote you a UK shipping price of most Japanese kit available (but be prepared for a shock):
http://www.speedlab.com/

Manufacturers listing sports systems for the MX5 (and easily available in the UK): Mongoose, Janspeed (mild and stainless steel), Scorpion, Magnex, Remus, Peco (Stainless and Mild steel), Powerflow (bespoke stainless systems built to your specs), Sebring, er, and a French system I can't quite remember the name of. (3/00)

You should really replace the whole exhaust system (apart from the cat which isn't going to do much for you anyway), unless you already have a good cat-back system. You can get a good system from the UK (eg. Scorpion) which is slightly cheaper than ordering from the States, but I prefer buying from the States as the gear is well reviewed and tested (http://www.miata.net/products/intex/). Never had any problems.

I bought a really good "Thermal R&D" cat-back from M-Roadster in the States (mailto:dan@mroadster.com) - these guys are really great and will give you great advice. The Thermal unit is top-quality and I haven't heard anything sound better or deeper - gives more power too.

I've also got a Jackson Racing ceramic 4-2-1 header (probably the best header for the '5 - http://www.crosswinds.net/dublin/~franksm/mx5/7.jpg), which I bought from Crazy Red Italian in the States (mailto:crazyred@miata.net)

I've also topped off this setup with a JR CAI (Cold Air Induction - http://www.crosswinds.net/dublin/~franksm/mx5/8.jpg) system which you should also investigate.

All of these will probably give you all the possible power you are going to get without going either for a super/turbo-charger, or by gasflowing the engine/head (lot of work).

For more info:
Thermal R&D catback: http://st2.yahoo.com/mroadster/x01.html http://www.miata.net/products/intex/mroadster_exh.html
JR Header: http://www.mossmotors.com/miata/catalog/jacksonracing/jackprods.html#903-120 http://www.miata.net/products/intex/jrhead.html (5/00)

I replaced my Catalytic converter last night with a Cat pipe from Janspeed (excellent looking bit of kit, very well made). Taking the Cat off was the hardest bit, one bolt sheared off and two others had been cross-threaded by Kwik-Fit when they put the Stainless Steel exhaust on for me. After much cursing, fumbling and knuckle scrapes it eventually came off. What d'ya know, either some kind soul had taken the liberty of hollowing out the cat for me or I had blown the entire honeycomb out the back box of the Coffee can exhaust I had (I was wondering what those lumps of black were bouncing into the distance in the rear view mirror!?!?!?). Then we discovered that the bolts on the replacement pipe were two sizes bigger than the original ones (it was 8:45pm, dark and REALLY cold). So quick spin down to a friend to "borrow" his nuts (phnar phnar). Put the pipe on in about 10 mins (after much pulling of the exhaust from the rear by Frank "Bones" Smyth).

Initial impressions :
Much Quieter!
Much deeper (less rasp!)
More seat of the pants oomph (verified by a couple of witnesses, heh heh)
All rattles, clanks gone
Car feels about 8 years younger (due to the above no doubt)

So..... don't bother hollowing out yer cat (I know a few thinking about it), I'd imagine the empty cat was probably causing more harm than good if the airflow was getting too much turbulance passing though the empty cat, it may cause back pressure problems. (10/00)

Here's the report on my excursion to Permazaust in Blackpool(St. Annes)this weekend for my custom made ss exhaust system:

Permazaust are a small outfit located within a Hi-Q exhausts outlet. When I first saw the place, I thought my God, I've driven all these miles (from Essex) and I could have had the system through my local Hi-Q garage. Fears were soon alleviated when I met Rick the mechanic, who explained there was no affiliation between Permazaust and Hi-Q, no plans to distribute through them and they were solely based in the Blackpool area.

So, had a quick walk around the Permazaust section of garage - shelves of every shaped and sized boxes, pipes and exit pipes - one tail pipe I saw wouldn't have looked out of place on a tank. There were two exit pipes that met my requirements - both marginally wider than the OEM pipe at about 60mm, but differing lengths. I went for the longer version for aesthetics, but insisted it didn't stick out beyond the bumper further than the current tail-pipe. Rick recommended I keep the bore the same as the OEM to avoid problems, but suggested a back box with a free-er flow design to add some edge to the performance. He made noises that he didn't want me around for the morning, garage insurance etc, and said the car would be ready in 3hrs. Systems offered are regular stainless finish with chrome exit pipe.

I spent the whole 3hrs walking around the area - I didn't realise what a great beach St Annes has, though it probably helps the weather was dry and it was out of season (very cold). Tide was out seemingly miles - walked to the waters edge, then along the shore to the Pleasure Beach and on to the tower. Not sure how many miles it was, but I was walking quick the whole time and was back to St. Annes for 1pm. Car was waiting outside, ready. Quick check showed the exhaust looked good.

Bill break-down was as follows:
1x SS2 Single tailpipe 63x160mm 46.09
1x SS Round Off 64.82
1x SS 3"x300mm Round Box 36.32
3x Stainless 409 Pipe 45mmx.5m 22.98
VAT 29.79
Total 200.0

So now for the test. Suddenly had a few worries the car was going to be really loud. Ignition on....sounded pretty much the same - just as I wanted. My conclusions on driving the car back and around some twisties nearby are: - Noise level is the same at normal speeds, but when pressing on, a little sportier sounding, but generally very civilised. - The engine is much smoother between gearchanges (it used to gag when I lifted off at any speed) - Overall, exhaust note is deeper and raspy noise has gone - System looks much better than the mild-steel it replaced - Felt the car was a little edgier - theres definately some flow improvement - Polished exit pipe looks great - box and main piping has taken on a bronze finish after the 300mi drive home

By the time I'd driven back to Essex, I noticed the exhaust had developed a severe rattle. I spent some time poking around and found the culprit was the chrome finishing sleeve. This slides over the regular pipe and is welded at the rear. However, there appears to be a small amount of movement between the pipe inside the sleeve and the cover itself. This causes an annoying rattle, but it's not a major problem and can be fixed. Once the pipe is warm, it's not too loud. I called Permazaust this morning and explained I wasn't interested in driving back up to Blackpool to have it resolved - they asked for my whereabouts in Essex, and sound like they're finding someone locally who can sort this for me. My guess is they take the sleeve off, pack it and re-weld, or ensure the sleeve is bedded firmly onto the exhaust tail to ensure there is no play. I'll let you know what they recommend.

All in all, I'm delighted with the system though and would recommend it to anyone. http://www.permazaust.co.uk (12/01)