After owning the eisenmann race exhaust for a month, i finally decided to get rid of it and get a new system. I personally love the tone and volume of the eisenmann race and it is definitely aggressive sounding. However, the drone inside is pretty bad and gets annoying overtime as you can't really listen to any music during cruising speed. However, i do have to say that Eisenmann probably has one of the best looking tips and i am really pleased with how it looked like from the rear but it could have been better if the tips stick out more.
So my search for a new exhaust starts and this time i am looking for something a little bit quieter than the eisenmann race, but not being too quiet and most importantly minimal drone. Some exhaust that i was considering is Eisenmann Sport, Akrapovic and Vanguard. I ended up getting the vanguard exhaust because i figured i want a different tone from the eisenmann race so getting the sport isn't ideal and i am afraid it is too soft, wanted the Akra but it is slightly too pricey although i think it has the best looking tips.
I contacted Eric@PYSpeed requesting more info and pricing on the vanguard and he definitely provided excellent customer service. Highly recommended vendor and will try to work with his customer. Definitely one of the better vendor in this forum. Exhaust was shipped out immediately the next day after payment was sent and arrived fairly quickly at my door step.
The first thing you would notice when the box arrive is that it is very very LIGHT. Coming from an eisenmann race which was extremely heavy, the vanguard exhaust provides a very nice weight saving. You can literaly easily hold the exhaust with 1 hand, whereas the eisenmann is still pretty heavy even with 2 hands.
The exhaust is definitely well packaged and everything comes in perfect condition. Here are some wrapped pictures:
Box
Muffler
Connecting pipes
Tips
Entire system
So after taking the pictures above, i brought the exhaust to a local exhaust shop to have it installed. The guy who installed the system told me that this is probably his easiest installation ever since everything just bolt right on perfectly and the quality of the exhaust is superb. And since the exhaust is very light, it makes the installation a lot easier.
The first thing i noticed after the exhaust is installed is that the exhaust makes a decent subtle noise during start up and is definitely not that much louder than the stock exhaust during idle.
As expected, my first drive around the block with the vanguard exhaust does have some drone during cruising speed, and I guess this is the case for most exhaust when it is just installed before it quiets down after a few days as i experienced the same thing with my eisenmann race when i first installed it. As for the vanguard, the drone during cruising is gone after a couple days.
However, i think the vanguard exhaust does drone a little bit as you are approaching the 2000 rpm, and it is immediately gone when you gets above it. The drone is extremely minimal and it is definitely not something that will bother me like the eisenmann since it is soft and will only last for a short while since you can only hear it near the 2000 rpm mark.
A pleasant surprise for me was that this exhaust is definitely not too soft which i first feared it would be. If i were to rate my eisenmann race as being 8 in terms of loudness, i would rate the vanguard at 6. The most awesome thing about the vanguard is that, just like what other members have been saying, the exhaust stays pretty quiet at cruising speed and gets loud when you mash the throttle. I absolutely love the sound it makes when you mash the throttle at 3k rpm or higher. The tone the vanguard make is not as deep as the eisenmann race and it is so sweet.
When it comes to power gain, i guess it is difficult to notice it without doing any dyno, and i ended up ordering a Fabspeed X-pipe to pair with the vanguard and will try to post clips since i know there isn't one yet. I am hoping to get a noticeable power gain with the combo and hopefully the x-pipe will only make the exhaust tone more aggressive and reduce some of the drone at the 2k rpm which what most members notice after they had installed the fabspeed x-pipe to match any aftermarket muffler.
Probably the only downside of the vanguard exhaust and this is definitely a personal preference and will differs between individual is that the tips of the vanguard is too thin for my liking. For me the eisenmann race tips was near perfect. However,the sweet thing about the vanguard tips are that, they are adjustable and it fits perfectly with the vorsteiner type 2 style rear diffuser. It is kinda tight due to the large tips, but it looks great. Something to take note also is that exhaust tips will stick out about half an inch more when it is warmed up, so that is something to consider when you want to adjust the tips. The pictures below shows the tips when it is warm, and it does not stick out that much when it is cold. Some of you may feel it sticks out too much but that is exactly the way i want it to be and am very happy with it.
Overall, i would recommend the system to any1 who are looking for an exhaust with great tone, with very minimal drone and yet not too soft nor too loud. It is quiet when you want it to be, and can be loud when you want it to be too.
Something to take note with the position of the tips is that when the system is cold, the inner tips will approximately be where the outer tips are when it is warm, and you can use your imagination where the outer tips are when it is cold.
Here is a picture of the tips when it is cold:
Hopefully this review will be helpful to those considering getting the vanguard ti exhaust