Best exhaust systems in the market??

[Jmanlevan]

AWE Unresonated touring with stock DP
AWE Unresonated Touring with catted DP or if you want a bit more higher pitched, catless
AWE Touring Resonated for catless or anything really.

I personally think the best setup is AA Catted DP and Unresonated Touring

I’m having the AWE track edition exhaust installed with an AA catted DP this Wednesday! I’ll post updates.

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[CafeRacerQueen]

It’s wild how many people will buy the active Autowerke downpipe, but not their 3.5” catback

 

[Timmy_Jones]

I’m having the AWE track edition exhaust installed with an AA catted DP this Wednesday! I’ll post updates.

Well it will sound good, but the drone is going to be awful. Sorry mate. Hope it’s just a weekend cruiser or something! I highly recommend doing the downpipe and stock exhaust first!

 

[Loco38SUP]

The single only when valve is open is ass-backwards. Definitely not worth $4K.

-RJM

 

[swrdply400mrelay]

Pulling the trigger on the full system from Active Autowerke for myself. It seems like the best bet for something fully engineered together as a single complete system built with that intent.

in normal mode, how much louder than stock?

 

[CafeRacerQueen]

in normal mode, how much louder than stock?

Quite a bit, but extremely smooth. I’m 41 and like my cars barky and childish, but my wife is mature and would probably just leave it as it currently is and be happy forever. I’ll very likely decat when I tune to serve my childish whims. Basically it’s a great volume to be an adult or open up and make some noise. Present, but not a nuisance.

 

[Timmy_Jones]

It’s wild how many people will buy the active Autowerke downpipe, but not their 3.5” catback

I prefer a shell gas station for their gas, but not so much their food offerings.

I actually called them directly to order the whole setup and the guy couldn’t say much about the exhaust. Seemed like it sounded good on the clip or two I could find. But I had AWE on previous vehicles and I can’t tell you how good it sounded. Even on my focus RS.

AWE is so deep and smooth and doesn’t drone. It’s loud, but it isn’t. And for a little more than the AA setup it’s worth it IMO. I also helped install one and that mid pipe is big! Makes it tough to not rub anything. AWE is a big oval pipe. Much easier. AWE tips are massive and I dare say, look better than the AA. So yeah, many reasons why I’d choose AWE!

 

[CrimsonSupra]

The single only when valve is open is ass-backwards. Definitely not worth $4K.

-RJM

Agreed. I became uninterested after I saw that. In practice it seems to operate like two different single exit systems merged together as opposed to a valved dual exit if that makes sense. Definitely looking more at the SHS or the Ark Performance systems now.

 

[Jmanlevan]

Well it will sound good, but the drone is going to be awful. Sorry mate. Hope it’s just a weekend cruiser or something! I highly recommend doing the downpipe and stock exhaust first!

It is just a weekend/good weather car! I intentionally started with the track but if it’s too annoying I can do the AWE conversion so I’m not too worried!

 

[BrettS]

Anyone have these exhausts installed and have sound clips?

 

[Thraxbert]

biggest concern with these I have seen is the cracking along the welds, sound good tho!

It does not surprise me to hear this. Titanium is extremely difficult to weld. Joints need multiple stages of grinding and acetone cleaning to remove surface impurities. After tacking the joint, you need a very long argon back purge time to flush out atmospheric impurities that could compromise the joint--time is money, and so is the argon. You can only weld in roughly 1" segments at a time, and the cooling bead must also be shielded with a trailing argon shield.

Just as an example, the titanium welds in the SR71 Blackbird project were cracking because one of the technicians had a screwdriver with cadmium in it. Welds also cracked because municipal water had increased chlorine content to control summer algal blooms, and the tools being cleaned with tap water had enough chlorine left to compromise the welds.

Any time the weld seam has any amount of color that was not added artificially through anodizing, there's an impurity in the weld and it will eventually crack. But it gets worse: the material impurities of anodized titanium can also cause welds to crack. So these beautiful rainbow titanium exhausts (not Boost Logic) are pretty much destined to crack at the welds eventually, starting first with brittle anodized layer and then with the metal itself as the titanium dioxide anodization layer made the underlying piping less flexible.

The best way to weld titanium is with electron beam welding (EBW), which roboticizes the entire welding process in an atmospheric vacuum. Oxides cannot form to contaminate the weld and you can get the seams done very quickly. But these machines cost six digits. Laser beam welders behave similar, except the part is welded inside a box that has nothing but argon for atmosphere. These machines cost high five digits.

Many exhaust companies are not going to pay for the most foolproof titanium welding implements. Anytime you see a report of a titanium exhaust cracking at a weld, it typically means that that corners were cut.

All of this is to say you wouldn't catch me dead spending a single penny on a titanium exhaust. The right degree of trust is virtually unattainable for something so expensive.

 

[STV3]

Does any have experience with the HKS exhaust compared directly with Magnaflow? I currently have the Magnaflow and I love the way it sounds, but the drone/vibration around the 2k mark is really getting to me. It literally vibrates the entire cabin of my car and even causes my door to rattle. I'm not sure if the HKS is any better in that aspect and I know pretty much every exhaust for our cars have drone in that rpm range. Just curious if anyone has had both exhausts or been in a car with both exhaust systems and can chime in.

 

[Thraxbert]

Does any have experience with the HKS exhaust compared directly with Magnaflow? I currently have the Magnaflow and I love the way it sounds, but the drone/vibration around the 2k mark is really getting to me. It literally vibrates the entire cabin of my car and even causes my door to rattle. I'm not sure if the HKS is any better in that aspect and I know pretty much every exhaust for our cars have drone in that rpm range. Just curious if anyone has had both exhausts or been in a car with both exhaust systems and can chime in.

You could have this solved by an exhaust shop willing to build a helmholtz radiator and weld it on. You can get the annoying frequency from a number of smartphone apps; just run the app in the cabin and see what freq the mic picks up. From there, online calculators can easily spit out the correct piping+cannister length and diameter to cancel out that frequency.

Should only be a few hundred, rather than an entirely new exhaust (thousands).

 

[Timmy_Jones]

Does any have experience with the HKS exhaust compared directly with Magnaflow? I currently have the Magnaflow and I love the way it sounds, but the drone/vibration around the 2k mark is really getting to me. It literally vibrates the entire cabin of my car and even causes my door to rattle. I'm not sure if the HKS is any better in that aspect and I know pretty much every exhaust for our cars have drone in that rpm range. Just curious if anyone has had both exhausts or been in a car with both exhaust systems and can chime in.

Which downpipe? Regardless I would 100% get the AWE touring if you want loud, deep and zero drone / rattles inside. A few posts back I had mentioned this, but a high flow cat and the non resonated touring really is the best setup. It’s phenomenal. I wouldn’t bother with HKS unless you want really quiet.

 

[STV3]

You could have this solved by an exhaust shop willing to build a helmholtz radiator and weld it on. You can get the annoying frequency from a number of smartphone apps; just run the app in the cabin and see what freq the mic picks up. From there, online calculators can easily spit out the correct piping+cannister length and diameter to cancel out that frequency.

Should only be a few hundred, rather than an entirely new exhaust (thousands).

Funny thing is the Magnaflow exhaust already has one of these built in to the end of the valved (pass side) pipe. It seems like it does nothing. Not saying that it couldn't work with the proper testing. I'm not really educated on how it works, but thats seems like more work than I am willing to put in. Plus I cant say I have any reputable performance exhaust shops by me. Wouldn't want to risk hacking up the exhaust.

Which downpipe? Regardless I would 100% get the AWE touring if you want loud, deep and zero drone / rattles inside. A few posts back I had mentioned this, but a high flow cat and the non resonated touring really is the best setup. It’s phenomenal. I wouldn’t bother with HKS unless you want really quiet.

AA catted DP. Im honestly not that big of a fan of the way the AWE sounds. It gives off a deeper more bass-ey tone. I like a more throaty tone if that makes any sense.

Is the HKS really that quiet? I've never heard one in person. I am talking about the hi power, not the super turbo muffler one.

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