Welp, after a long wait and a lot of work, the exhaust is INSTALLED!! All I have to say is...
IT-SOUNDS-AMAZING.
It has the European sound that I was hoping would be accentuated a bit (but its accentuated a LOT
), sounds deeper and throatier, doesn't drone (Could be a placebo, but maybe just the tiniest of drone at 3K on the highway with them open - I'm taking maybe 5%. But when closed, there is no drone obviously), and it doesn't look too bad - looks very technical from the rear. When the valves are closed, its indistinguishable from stock.
The interesting part is that when the valves are open and you are just cruising, you can barely tell there is a change, especially if the windows are closed. I'm sure its a lot louder outside, but from the inside, the car is very well insulated. There is a nice slight burble/throatiness to the sound when just cruising - its the sound that should have been there from the start. But when you open it up, it comes alive. I cant get over the sound.. its like nothing I've heard before. Its not muscle car grunt, its not mechanical Porsche...its very hard to describe. The only way to describe it is by saying exotic European - somehow for me this descriptor makes sense. I'm hoping I'm able to catch the sound accurately on video.
This may also be placebo, but the car seems to rev easier - downshift blipping is addictive.
I dont notice any lag down low. It may feel a bit faster on the top end
I'll try post a write full write up later tonight.
I took some iPhone videos, but they don't do it justice.