I must say with the rentals and borrowing of friends cars during this time my car has been in the body shop, I have gotten used to the quiet morning start-ups. It's nice not sounding off in my neighborhood every morning at 645. So I have been considering going back to stock type exhaust (with more aggressive tips) and putting in an exhaust cutout for when I want the noise. Coming to you as a semi-noob...what would I need to consider? How reliable are cutouts? How would the tune work? Which brands should I look at? Anything else you care to add? Thanks
Where to buy them: QTP: http://www.quicktimeperformance.com/QTEC/index.php BadlanzHPE: http://badlanzhpe.com/ StreetPro: http://www.streetpro.us/ McCord: http://www.mccordcg.com/mpp/order.htm ATP: http://www.atpturbo.com/root/releases/release091004.htm DMH: http://www.dmhperformance.com/ Good thread to read for info: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1037960&highlight=cutout SOME BASIC THINGS TO KNOW: 1. Cutouts are welded into the downpipe 2. Cutouts are insanely loud! Take the loudest Subaru exhaust you have heard and multiply it by 3. Cutouts make Harleys sound tame. It will make your ears ring. 3. Cutouts will spit flames out under the car 4. Cutouts are almost unbearable to use in stop and go traffic because of the fumes. 5. Cutouts will leave a lot of soot under and on the sides of your car. 6. Electric cutouts will all eventually leak from being over torqued over time. The leak sounds like a baseball card in bicycle spokes. If you already have a medium-loud catback, you won’t hear it. I have a STi axle back, thus I can hear my leak. 7. Electric cutouts MUST be sealed around the motor with silicon or something similar. My cutout failed to corrosion after only 6 months due to rust. Since sealing the motor assembly, I haven’t had a problem. 8. There is usually ground clearance issues associated with cutouts so make sure you have properly test fit where your cutout will sit once installed. Article by "D-Speed 2.5" from Nasioc.
Needless to say...I love cutouts. I think the only time I close them now is in the neighborhood though. It is the difference between f'in loud and stock sounding though. Be prepared to be the loudest thing on the street when they are open. I haven't seen an install on a Subaru before but welding them as close to the muffler box is the best bet for the sound coming out like it is from the exhaust. I wouldn't be able to handle it in the downpipe or farther up. It would be unbearable in the car. [youtube]kqDrr4Il0Zs[/youtube]
Doug@DMPMotorsports had boost activated cutouts on his 2008 STi. It was freaking awesome. His car sounded stock until he hit boost. I think his was activated around 8 psi. So around town driving it was bone stock sounding until he deliberately stomped the gas.
Isn't that actually essentially just an ewg that isn't plumbed back into the downpipe? Electronic cutouts would be different.
I wouldn't think so. The volume of air coming through the exhaust is most likely way more than what comes through the EWG if you consider the actual size of the piping.
I mean the electronic cutouts have an on/off switch. You could have your car sound normal under boost. Under that setup...you wouldn't be able to do that. So yes...a lot different.
Not if it was post downpipe/cats. Most cars these days (Subaru's included) neither lose or pickup anything from post downpipe/cat modifications. Exhausts are nothing but noise makers.
Really depends on what the end user wants. Do you want to only be loud when you are getting on it? Do you want exclusive control on when it's activated? If so then it's either on or its off. You have to flip it back off when you are done....kinda annoying to me if you have to manually flip it. Me personally I like the boost activated option.....it's all seamless and automated. You have to do nothing. Drive normal and easy, no one notices. Get on it and it opens up and really surprises folks. The manual cutout is just a hey I wanna show off option (just my opinion....I rode with a Blitz Nur Spec exhaust for a while and that got old). It's all cool but in my later years I've come to appreciate having to do less manually.
Also...you are not just subtracting the exhaust...you are creating an opening before the muffler. It isn't like taking the exhaust completely off and running straight out the downpipel
Mine is switch inside the car and it opens and closes fast. I don't like boost activated because there are times (like when I am driving in Mexico) that I want the car as quiet as possible at WOT. There are also tracks that have DB rules so you could keep it quiet then too.
Here is a DMH (the brand I have) 2004 STI install. Post downpipe. Terrible audio quality but you'll get the point. [youtube]ti0Ymm58sbI[/youtube] [youtube]FUczeMHkTSs[/youtube]
Thanks for the info and replies. So what course of action is it suggested I take if I already have a 3" magnaflow on the car? Keep all the piping and replace the mufflers with stock, then cut and fit the cutout to the 3" piping? Or replace the entire exhaust with stock 2.5" exhaust and fit the cutout to that piping?
Did you ever get it done? I'm thinking of doing it on my sti. I just need to find a shop that does this type of work........
Yup....he has done it on his 2008 STi and it worked flawless. May as well let the person that has actual working experience do it.
Give him a call....his new shop is the way all shops should be. He doesn't do the backlog of cars like his former shop where you have a ton of customer cars sitting around waiting. 3-4 cars in the shop and he will not take in another until one leaves the shop. Just the way it should be.
Which means that there is a waiting list, most likely. I sent him an email. I might give him a call as well.
Have you thought about exhaust tip silencers? They make a noticeable difference in "quietness" and there's no detrimental drawback to performance. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41l7mkbIkSL._SY300_.jpg of course you dont have to buy one if you know how to weld.
I'm kinda doing the total opposite.... I love the sound of my cobb exhaust, but it is too tamed, which I actually like. I just want the "ricey" option, too.
You sound like me when I had my R32 and I went the open wastegate route. Sounded awesome for 3 days and then I was like eff this.
Which is why I'm going with a cutout. I can keep it closed/open to my choosing. I had a straight pipe on my wrx, which is very close to the cutout I plan to run. Thing was LOUD!!
No DETRIMENTAL losses. 15hp Can be from dirty filters, old oil, ambient temperature, false readings changing your timing, the dyno itself, boost. Although you lost 15hp you shouldve gained some tq out of it.
How did you contact? This site probably isn't the best choice. http://dbwmotorsports.com/contact/ 6180 Parkway North Drive Cumming, GA 30040 Email: dbw.motorsports@gmail.com Phone: 678 688 9712
Sorry yesterday I was busy and then had to leave work early to pick up my kids so I wasn't able to call you right back then. But I did first thing this morning and left a message. Feel free to contact me at the shop as I do not frequent here as much as I should.