For those who have questions on installing a performance exhaust

amirza786

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I have seen a lot of questions recently from people on this forum asking about what type of exhaust they should install, should they do a muffler/resonator delete, etc. I cannot answer the questions on the muffler/resonator delete, but since I am one of those who installed a performance exhaust, I can speak on this from my experience. Instead of asking what type of exhaust should I install, I think the question should be "should I install a performance exhaust". If you go thru the many blog posts, youtube videos, and look at all the companies that specialize in quieting down "loud exhausts", you will realize the following:

90 percent of those that install performance exhausts:
1. Install straight pipe or performance exhaust to make the car louder & throw away stock exhaust
2. Install mufflers, resonators etc. to make the car quiet again
3. Regret throwing away the stock exhaust

Before I go on, let me give the pros of performance exhaust systems:
They look much better than the stock exhaust
You get a slight performance boost over the OEM (this is explained by Engineering Explained)
The sound is much more aggressive over the OEM exhaust

Cons:
Performance Exhausts can cost between $800 and $1500
They can be loud under hard RPM's
They are very loud on cold start-up
They drone at certain rpms and at highway speeds
If they are not Cat-Back (Catless) they are not street legal in some states like mine
Your neighbors may hate you

After installing my aFe Takeda 3" Stainless Steel Performance exhaust, I was happy, although being $800 poorer. The sound was more aggressive, it looked better than the OEM HDMI exhaust tip, and it was only a little louder than the OEM exhaust. What more can I want? I didn't have a place to store the old exhaust as my wife did not want it the garage (she uses it for other storage), so I sold it for $300. Everything was great, and then I got on the freeway. After 60 mph, it began to drone. And the drone was very annoying. I took a trip from Northern Cal to Southern Cal (360 miles), and the drone for 7 hours at 80 mph was very annoying. Although I got used to the sound doing my everyday commute, my wife hated it. She no longer wanted for me to use my car when we went places because she said it was to loud and gave her a headache.

So like the 90 percent of people who wanted to go back to a quieter ride but got rid of the OEM exhaust, I began doing research on how to "quiet a loud exhaust". I was finally able to do it, but at the cost of adding a Glasspack and then resonator ($69 for the resonator and $50 for the install) to get it almost OEM quiet. Now it's quiet on the freeway when cruising and gives a low grumble when going hard, but at the cost of voiding the warranty from aFe.

So if you were to ask me is it worth getting a Performance exhaust? My answer to you is if you like it loud and don't mind the annoying droning sound when cruising on the highway and don't have a problem shelling out at least $800, than go for it. But there is going to be a point, and if you watch all the youtube videos on "dronning" even the most hardcore performance enthusiast gets tired of it and will look for ways to get rid of it. If you like things more quiet, than my advice is stay with the OEM exhaust which is well designed, and does not have the drone performance exhausts have and put your money in some other worthwhile mods such as Ktuner or perhaps a Performance Intercooler
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black18

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For what it's worth, the greddy sp I have on my si only droned a bit around 3k for the first 3-4k miles or so (100 mile/day commute all 70+ mph) but mostly went away after it broke in. I put some butyl sound deadening in the trunk as well when I installed dual 10" subs and the drone is now nonexistent. Sound deadening may be a worthwhile option for anyone possibly going that route as the exhaust sounds great and my ride is more refined when I have the windows up (not very often in the summer)
 
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amirza786

amirza786

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For what it's worth, the greddy sp I have on my si only droned a bit around 3k for the first 3-4k miles or so (100 mile/day commute all 70+ mph) but mostly went away after it broke in. I put some butyl sound deadening in the trunk as well when I installed dual 10" subs and the drone is now nonexistent. Sound deadening may be a worthwhile option for anyone possibly going that route as the exhaust sounds great and my ride is more refined when I have the windows up (not very often in the summer)
I'm not sure if exhausts "break in", but what may have happened is you got used to the drone, like I did with mine. Performance exhausts use 3" SS pipe with very few bends so as to not restrict flow, and except for a few of them they don't include a resonator which would increase costs, including engineering to get the sound right. It was more likely the butyl sound deadening material that eliminated a lot of the drone from the cabin (which actually a great idea), but outside the car would be just as loud. What I can tell you about my exhaust is that whenever I would get a passenger, they would comment that my car sounds like a sports car, which was code for its a bit loud. Now the issue is fixed, but if I could go back I would have just left the OEM and maybe changed the tips to better looking ones
 

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I got a Magnaflow Cat-back for $589 delivered and could not pass it up. There is no drone and is nice for my long work commute. It took my wife a while to notice I bad a new exhaust lol.

I actually like the factory OEM tip since its unique to the SI. But local muffler shop want $400 to install a magnaflow muffler where the renonsater is. I knew that would cause drone.
 
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amirza786

amirza786

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I got a Magnaflow Cat-back for $589 delivered and could not pass it up. There is no drone and is nice for my long work commute. It took my wife a while to notice I bad a new exhaust lol.

I actually like the factory OEM tip since its unique to the SI. But local muffler shop want $400 to install a magnaflow muffler where the renonsater is. I knew that would cause drone.
I hear a lot of good things about Magnaflow, glad it is working out for you! $400 is highway robbery, the muffler shop I use near my work the guy would have charged me $100, mainly because he would have pull the midpipe out, cut and weld it and put it back in. You don't want to remove your stock resonator, that was my mistake. I see your in Northern Cal, if you are in the San Jose area, use Leo's Muffler shop. It looks like it's located in the middle of the apocalypse, there are cars strewn everywhere and one of the partners looks like a caveman (and they only take cash), but they do a good job and you can negotiate with them
 


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amirza786

amirza786

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I may be in a different boat here. I'm a 45 year old, married, father of two elementary school age kids. I love how quiet the OEM exhaust is, but I DETEST the look of it (HDMI port).

What would you suggest?
Change your exhaust tips: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Stainless+steel+exhaust+tips&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

You can find a double-tip on Amazon, take them to a muffler shop to get them installed

BTW I am a 51 year father of a 15 year old boy and 18 year old daughter, so I out rank you!
 

Ron R

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I hear a lot of good things about Magnaflow, glad it is working out for you! $400 is highway robbery, the muffler shop I use near my work the guy would have charged me $100, mainly because he would have pull the midpipe out, cut and weld it and put it back in. You don't want to remove your stock resonator, that was my mistake. I see your in Northern Cal, if you are in the San Jose area, use Leo's Muffler shop. It looks like it's located in the middle of the apocalypse, there are cars strewn everywhere and one of the partners looks like a caveman (and they only take cash), but they do a good job and you can negotiate with them
I already got my Magnaflow cat-back installed. The same shop charged only $150, which was workable. I am one of the odd balls that likes the factory tip. And yes once the renonsator is removed that will cause drone.

If I ever decide to try a different exhaust, it would be the Invidia with triple tip or the Thermal R&D.
 

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amirza786

amirza786

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Thanks for the advice! Next question: what size should I be looking for?
Any size tip should work, a muffler shop should be able to use an adapter to fit it if its to big or small. I believe the stock piping is 2.5", so you should get a tip with a 2.5" adapter
 


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amirza786

amirza786

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My dual tip Vibrant 1040 sounds great, isn’t overly loud, has no drone, and cost about $350 or a little less with installation.
I can second this. The Vibrant 1040 and a resonator delete will give you NO drone and a quiet ride until about 50% throttle, then it just sounds GOOD! You will also save 30-40 pounds by deleting all of the piping and extra muffler.
 

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I can second this. The Vibrant 1040 and a resonator delete will give you NO drone and a quiet ride until about 50% throttle, then it just sounds GOOD! You will also save 30-40 pounds by deleting all of the piping and extra muffler.
Can you give us a link? I'm very interested on how it looks. Thanks!
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