[cgfen]

I think the main problem with exhaust recommendations is that almost all owners will have never fitted anything else - so the benchmark is only vs stock as opposed to other exhausts.
1)Recommendations are pretty useless and highly subjective.

2)Almost all owners will tell you that their choice is great and that it makes the car sound like an F1 car.

3)YouTube videos are also useless - does not give any real idea of what the real sound is.

Spot on for all 3 points.
Only way to tell is to drive / ride in cars that have your target exhausts fitted.
Otherwise a crap shoot.

 

[torqueit]

I had Avior pipes on mine until very recently. Just swapped over to a valved Capristo. Will be listing the Avior shortly. It’s loud! And without any mufflers, it sounds like this engine was intended. And absolutely no drone!

Resonated or straight? I just received my resonated Avior for my V8 today. I think/hope it's what I'm anticipating, but like others have said, without hearing comparisons in person, it's a real crap shoot on what you are going to get and if you are going to like it. I've spent a lot of time around tracks and have run cars with minimal exhausts in the past, so I'm hoping my expectations will match reality.

 

[FoD]

Resonated or straight? I just received my resonated Avior for my V8 today. I think/hope it's what I'm anticipating, but like others have said, without hearing comparisons in person, it's a real crap shoot on what you are going to get and if you are going to like it. I've spent a lot of time around tracks and have run cars with minimal exhausts in the past, so I'm hoping my expectations will match reality.

Straight. Every shop/show I’ve been to thinks it’s amazing. I just had LMS headers installed and I think this combo would be WAY to aggressive. So I went with a valved just to tone it down on early drives.

 

[torqueit]

@FoD Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like I'm on the right track.

 

[Stärke]

One of the most common questions we receive on exhausts is "how does it sound?"

We have no truthful way of answering this. We could try to find poetic words - symphony, chorus, banshee, wail - but these mean nothing!
We can only relate customer experience and also provide info on the design features and build quality.
Or refer customers to youtube with a big proviso not to take these as being representative.........
...........Hope that this highly subjective info helps. I will add many * to my opinion

And that there is the whole truth. I had an experience a while ago with upgrading an exhaust. I won't say the brand because I'm not here to flame or promote, but after a bunch of research and recommendations, I selected it as being the best fit for what I was looking for. For the installation, I had an independent mechanic who knew me and knew my car. He did a pile of work removing the old exhaust and installing the new exhaust. I was pretty excited when he finally called me up.

Well, he said that he was going to have to uninstall and send it back. What?!? He said that he had already called the exhaust manufacturer to arrange to ship it back even though it had been run on the car. I asked what the problem was and he said it was too loud. I couldn't believe it, so while I was on the phone, he fired the car up. Even over the phone, it was utterly deafening.

Now here's where it gets down to the subjective part. Some people would think that this was the best exhaust ever. (Including the manufacturer, apparently.) My mechanic knew me and how I used the car and immediately knew that this was going to be unacceptable. I ultimately got a great exhaust installed from the same manufacturer. It really helped performance because of the better flow and it had a nice, but not overwhelming sound. And that was what I was looking for. Of course I realize that some people want to have a loud exhaust and that's why we have so many choices.

So I have to agree that this is a completely subjective call and also a bit of a crap shoot. I agree with those who have said the best way to compare is to hear the different exhausts on cars similar to yours. Not always easy, but certainly the most foolproof.

BTW, this wasn't on my R8, so I can't make a recommendation on best exhaust for an R8. I'm still stock and happy with it.

 

[Joet34712]

This is the same issue I ran into recently. See my other post for a video and what ended up happening.

 

[firtree]

I have a Rev9 on my 2008 V8 and it's really loud when starting up and if I hammer on the gas, but otherwise it's not extreme. You definately know that there is a sports car next to you, but it isn't obnoxious.

 

[vdpmjb]

Not very helpful but I find the OE sports exhaust the best sounding of the lot (from the ones I have heard). Noise versus appealing sound are different things.
Word of warning tho i find many people disagreeing with me on many things

 

[Napstar]

Valved exhaust system ftw no exceptions
Im running straight with x-pipe on my V10+ gen2 where the sound is crazy and no resonance at all with open valves and if I come home in the evening without waking the neighbors, it´s possible to get the car quieter than the neighbor's fiat but I NEVER drive the car with closed valves

 

[monkeybrain1234]

Anything to do with senses (taste, sight and sound) are all open to individual likes/dislikes.

What is loud to one is quiet to another. Same with wine/food/etc.

Feel for you if you don’t like it although would say perhaps keep it on for a while, you may grow to enjoy it. (My rev9 took some getting used to, although it was more cold startup for me, the sound was on point). Either way new things always take some adaptation time.

Hope you get what you want soon.

 

[drgmt]

Not very helpful but I find the OE sports exhaust the best sounding of the lot (from the ones I have heard). Noise versus appealing sound are different things.
Word of warning tho i find many people disagreeing with me on many things

I agree with this after listening to a few

 

[nicocaps]

I think the main problem with exhaust recommendations is that almost all owners will have never fitted anything else - so the benchmark is only vs stock as opposed to other exhausts. Recommendations are pretty useless and highly subjective.

Almost all owners will tell you that their choice is great and that it makes the car sound like an F1 car.

YouTube videos are also useless - does not give any real idea of what the real sound is.

Choosing an exhaust is difficult - very little objective info to go on to make your decision. But when you have super slim silencers and the cost is so low (most likely minimal design work has gone into the internal baffles) you can pretty much expect something that will be loud and somewhat raw.

Exactly. I’m one of the few who fitted 2 aftermarket exhausts. First I went with FI (Frequency Intelligent). Exhaust was gorgeous, beautiful welds, sounded high pitched bc of the tubing bends like a French horn (yes the way the tubing bends is important for sound. Just like musical instruments. I loved it. But was just a tad too loud for me inside the cabin with flaps open throughout the entire rpm range. It did come w remotes so you can open close flaps w the car off too. And when cruising on the highway w flaps open, in sport shift mode, and dynamic the drone was annoying.

My second exhaust I had installed was Akrapovic. Sounds less loud than the FI. But absolutely NO drone inside the cabin. The pitch sounds even more unique than the FI (bc of titanium material). Is lighter than the FI. And it really opens up and screams past 4k rpm. But under 4k the tone is nice. Not obnoxious and not deep like cheaper exhausts. A V10 shouldn’t sound like a V8 muscle car imo. The only thing I wish the Akra had more of are the pops and crackles when downshifting. It does have them but when downshifting at higher rpm. The FI had pronounced crackles even when downshifting at low rpm.

if you look at both exhaust company websites. And see the other cars the build exhausts for. You will be impressed. Literally all the top super cars both manufacturers make exhausts for. And you can see their quality. FI is less well known than Capristo etc. But Ferrari, lambo, McLaren owners know FI well.

and everyone knows Akrapovic. In fact, some RS line Audi’s use Akra for their exhausts. (Not sure if they still do).

I’ve had Capristo on my other cars and the tone is deeper than others. But it has a unique like helicopter chopping sound at low rpm which I loved. But it is actually louder than the FI exhaust.

if I were to do it all over again, I prob would choose Kline Innovation Iconel Steel Exhaust. It’s almost as light as titanium. Sound is very unique. Quality is amazing. And only reason I’m thinking about it is bc I want a tad more agressive sound. In between the Akra and the FI. If I could blend those two exhausts sounds together (refinement and loudness) then I think the iconel Kline would do the trick.

In order of cost: Akra, Capristo, Kline (iconel), FI.
I also like Tubi bc I had it in my Ferrari and price is well worth it and it’s made in Italy so very high quality.

Ryft (valved) is also an interesting choice. Non-valved is too loud. But the valved one has a center muffler/resonator. And it’s shape is similar to the FI exhaust. So the tubing bends around which improves the tone. And it’s made out of titanium. They’re hand made to order so ofc quality is excellent. But pricey.

Dont even think about quicksilver if you’re concerned about loud exhausts lol. It’s prob the second loudest exhaust other than Soul or voodoo center exit valved.

 

[SwoodsR8]

Got my rev9 suffered exhaust installed don my V8. Drove the car for 60km and both hated and loved it. Sure, it sounds great when driving on the highway. But when driving through the city it got annoying. between 2-3k revs it drones a lot.
It also melted my bumper on the right side, maybe the exhaust was angled wrong. Will bring the bumper to the bodyshop and restore it.
I am most definitely sure that I annoyed people living by my favorite roads.

My questioned is- is it normal for a exhaust to drone a lot in the city and does the exhaust get quieter Shen it has been used for some time?

Thinking of installing the original exhaust back on...

Hi there, i am in the same boat, I bought a V8 R8 and it had a rev9 track exhaust fitted. The first day it was fine but now I don’t want to even drive the car, very droney loud and obnoxious. Looking for recommendations for a valved system

 

[skar829]

Hi there, i am in the same boat, I bought a V8 R8 and it had a rev9 track exhaust fitted. The first day it was fine but now I don’t want to even drive the car, very droney loud and obnoxious. Looking for recommendations for a valved system

Look into TopGear for a decently priced valved exhaust.

 

[ExpertRanch]

Hi there, i am in the same boat, I bought a V8 R8 and it had a rev9 track exhaust fitted. The first day it was fine but now I don’t want to even drive the car, very droney loud and obnoxious. Looking for recommendations for a valved system

I love my Armytrix Titanium Valved system:

 

[Phillyr8]

I have the Armytrix Valved exhaust and when I close the valves it gets very low rumbly... and when I open them, it is exceedingly loud but with the F1 type tone (but I like it)... I don't know about Rev 9 but if there is a valve you might close it. Or take it out of sport mode.

Armytrix owner as well , totally worth spending the extra $$$!

 

[ExpertRanch]

Armytrix owner as well , totally worth spending the extra $$$!

Microphones don't do it justice.. my son was out visiting last week from NY and he had seen some video and recordings...he was BLOWN AWAY by how good it sounds... he just kept commenting as we drove (in sport mode) and I down shifted and it sounds Soooooo good.. and over 5k it sounds like a race car.

One issue I have is I cannot get the phone app to work. It connects, but doesn't read the car at all. Have you had any issue with that.

 

[torqueit]

it had a rev9 track exhaust

Isn't the track version straight pipes? I'm not surprised it's too much for the street.

 

[Blade Gunner]

Valved Capristo (made in Germany) on a V10. Values closed it sounds stock. Open them up and it loud, slight drone on the freeway, but just close the valves. The only complaint is Audi’s cold start cycle is way to loud. Getting it tuned to remove that.

 

[TV88]

I agree with @R8-Stuff regarding the difficulty of properly designing an exhaust, but no less evaluating the differences from a consumer perspective. I would agree that very few people seem to have a frame of reference beyond (a) stock and (b) XYZ fitted afterwards. While I've HEARD a few different after-market exhausts, I'd fall into the same boat of never having spent any quality time driving and living with them, making it really difficult to evaluate.

When I purchased my R8, I was fortunate enough that Audi decided to offer a "sport exhaust" for the final production year (2015). I ticked that box, of course. It's significantly more aggressive than the stock exhaust, but my suspicion is that it's nowhere near as flamboyant as SOME of the after-market options - many of which seemingly go for volume as their priority but may not prioritize tone and all-around drivability.

If you're just looking for something more aggressive than stock, but you still want to maintain a driving experience that works in all conditions, I'd recommend looking at the OEM sport exhaust. It's valved, and in the closed position, without romping on it, it sounds no more aggressive than a nice sports sedan. With the valves open, and if you're pushing it no less, it's a responsible loudness - meaning, you're never going to miss its presence, and it'll echo off all the hard surfaces around you, etc... but it also has a beautiful tone to it. "Mature" might be one word I'd use to describe it - it sounds present and rich, full bodied, and howling in the upper register, with a bit of rasp beyond 5 or 6k. I'd say it suits the R8's character well - the "gentleman's Lamborghini" if you will. But if you're looking for the loudest experience, and drowning out anything around you is the goal, then this won't be your option.

From the little I've experienced, if I was going after-market, I might consider Capristo - certainly loud, but I feel they're well refined.

Is the OEM sport exhaust even an option for V8 models? I'd be interested for sure, but haven't been able to locate any info at all.