Aftermarket exhaust drone

[GranburyChuck]

I just put the afterhours automotive exhaust on my car. The unit is really slick and weighs a lot less than the stock system. The sounds coming out of it are great. Except for a drone at about 2200 to 2800 RPM. It is quite loud. I was wondering about any of the other aftermarket exhausts out there. Do they drone like that? I was led to believe there would be no droning by posts on other websites but it is definitely there. I sure don't recall this on the stock muffler. How about FisterDs modification of joining the inlet and outlet pipes? Anyone hear a drone with that? I am considering either having Darin perform this mod or even try it myself. I am not sure I want to leave these on the car so they may be up for sale in the future.

[wross996TT]

drone is such a personal thing...there are plenty of aftermarket exhausts that claim to not drone. Mine does not have a drone that bothers me ( I would say it doesn't drone at all, but it is subjective). I personally never heard of afterhours exhaust (I've heard of: eurosport, fabspeed, AWE, speedtech, switzer, FVD, RUF, milltek, tubi...)

[george996]

The dfister mod is great. no drone. It really sounds great above 3k rpm when accelerating.

[perucho]

+1 on the Fister mod. I have his stage 2 exhaust mod on my 03 C4S and it has no drone at all at cruising speeds. It's also not too loud but sounds great under acceleration. Definitely worth it.

Oscar

[GranburyChuck]

So George and Perucho there is no resonance coming in at 2000 to 3000 RPM? Stage 2 connects the inlet and outlet correct? I had e-mailed Darin before I bought this exhaust. He didn't have one for the tiptronic which is different than the six speed.

[LJPete]

I have a Fabspeed and it does make some very light droning at low RPMs (under load) but it's gone by 2600 RPM. By my standards it's one of the most livable exhausts. As the exhaust is braking in the drone is getting less and less but that could be me getting more used to it.

[george996]

So George and Perucho there is no resonance coming in at 2000 to 3000 RPM? Stage 2 connects the inlet and outlet correct? I had e-mailed Darin before I bought this exhaust. He didn't have one for the tiptronic which is different than the six speed.

No drone/resonance between 2000 to 3000 or anywhere. it is a little loud when you accelerate hard but sounds great. Another observation, you can feel when the variocam plus switches to large valve lift at about 3,200 rpm. You can't feel this with the stock exhaust. Also, when starting from a dead stop (i.e. low rpm) the exhaust sound gurgles a little and is not as pleasant as the sound at higher rpms. I am very happy with this mod and would recommend it.

[BruceP]

Just to beef up your sample, no drone here. '00 C2 with EVOMS exhaust.

I should add, though, that the drone you describe wouldn't bug me that much. I really try to avoid spending any time in that part of the rpm range, certainly not 2200 rpm. IMHO, these motors don't like it.

[perucho]

So George and Perucho there is no resonance coming in at 2000 to 3000 RPM? Stage 2 connects the inlet and outlet correct? I had e-mailed Darin before I bought this exhaust. He didn't have one for the tiptronic which is different than the six speed.

At steady 2k or 3k the exhaust sounds like a stock unit. It comes alive when you are giving it gas. Stage 2 connects the inlet and outlet with a 2.25" (approximately) stainless steel pipe. It does have a low gurgle right as you start from a stand still but disappears as soon as you are moving. You can also hear it when you back up. I think the deep gurgle sounds great though!

[GranburyChuck]

Thanks for the replys guys. Bruce I have been driving the car now in manual mode (mine is a tip). Mileage went from 22 mpg to 19 mpg. No big deal if the car isn't driven much but I put about 600 miles per week on the car.

I am considering sending my exhaust to Fister for the mod. I may also try to do it myself since I have a MIG welder. Easier than dealing with shipping and so forth.

[KevinMac]

Thanks for the replys guys. Bruce I have been driving the car now in manual mode (mine is a tip). Mileage went from 22 mpg to 19 mpg. No big deal if the car isn't driven much but I put about 600 miles per week on the car.

I am considering sending my exhaust to Fister for the mod. I may also try to do it myself since I have a MIG welder. Easier than dealing with shipping and so forth.

After going to the afterhours site, I can understand your complaint. You basically have straight thru pipes. They are pretty loud. Watching the video for internal noise, that would drive me crazy on a long drive.

If I am not mistaken Fister mod is for stock or sport can type mufflers, not the straight thru you have. They route the first chamber to the out pipe. So if you want the Fister mod send him your old mufflers.

Edited January 8, 2009 by KevinMac