CP-E Nexus 3" vs Thermal 3" CBE

[spdkills83]

Looking at these 2 as they seem to be the most legitimate 3" CBE systems available at the time and curious as to what individual owners of each have to say.

Judging by the videos the CP-E appears to be a bit louder, but not by much and to me they sound fairly close to each other. On the CP-E it appears to go full 3" it just take the change of the DP gasket, whereas on the Thermal you have to buy the adapter. As for quality of parts both seem to be top quality so it is a wash there.

Any information or opinions some owners of each could provide would be helpful. Current exhaust setup is res and muffler delete so I don't think it can get too much louder than that at this time haha.

Thanks for looking.

 

[ranger024x4]

I have a thermal and love it. If you were closer I'd say you're more than welcome to take a listen

 

[M-Sport fan]

I love the sound of my Nexus through the whole rev range (AND the; fit, looks, etc.).

The ONLY thing that bothers me about this system is that the actual material of the hangers themselves is not stainless (or at least not 304 stainless), since a magnet WILL stick to them.

I am almost positive that the WHOLE/TOTAL Thermal system (including the hangers) is 304 austenitic stainless.

 

[spdkills83]

Thank you for the replies, either you have any drone with either system?

 

[FiSTerTheGrouch]

CP-E here and I get some drone around 3.5-4kish. Usually cruising in 4th around town. I also upgraded to poly hangers and CP-E said I should try the stockers to see if that helps. Just haven't gotten my hands on any yet. Cruising on the highway is not a prob. The exhaust sounds effing great! Mean AF and it turns some heads when it rumbles on decel.

 

[DangerMouse]

I have had both. Unfortunately for me the drone on the cpe was too much, I do lots of highway to and from work. I am very pleased with the thermal system. I just bought a mountune dp to go with it. Hopefully it doesn't change the sound too much. I am not concerned with going full 3", I just wanted a well made system.

 

[M-Sport fan]

It's hard to call what I hear from the Nexus system 'drone', as it is more of a 'boominess' factor at WOT from lower revs (but this might be what some call drone ).

I may be a bad reference on this anyway since my whole hatch is gutted from the front seats back (except for the rear door panels and hatch SIDE panels), with NO aftermarket sound deadening at all installed in place of the missing factory parts.

 

[spdkills83]

Thank you for the replies guys. The opinions are appreciated.

 

[TURBO BLACK]

i have owned both the cp-e and presently have the thermal on the car.the cp-e with a big turbo is way louder then the thermal.my wife told me change the cp-e or the car goes lol.you will loose a few horse power with the thermal.datalog it and you will see.i think mine was 5hp.m-spot fan you are right about the hangers.had one of theirs on my focus and it broke.

 

[coneklr]

i have owned both the cp-e and presently have the thermal on the car.the cp-e with a big turbo is way louder then the thermal.my wife told me change the cp-e or the car goes lol.you will loose a few horse power with the thermal.datalog it and you will see.i think mine was 5hp.m-spot fan you are right about the hangers.had one of theirs on my focus and it broke.

Thats interesting to hear. Maybe the design of their muffler with the hemholz inside?

I had the thermal on my car with the stock downpipe and it was VERY quiet IMO, at least for a 3" exhaust. I now have it paired with the whoosh catted DP and the MRX turbo and its definitely louder especially when the car is cold but once warmed up its the perfect sound to not pissing off the neighbors ratio IMO.

 

[spdkills83]

Basically what it boils down to is my wife rode in the car with me the other day with the factory res and muffler delete and wasn't a fan. I myself don't mind it even though on decel the drone inside is pretty buzzy, but everything else about it is good with me.

I do plan to upgrade to a larger turbo in the future so 3" is what I am looking at. I have wanted the CP-E since I have saw it, but the thermal seems to be a great offering as well.

Would you all say that the CP-E is close to a muffler delete in terms of sound as it does not in theory have an actual "muffler", but only a stealth pipe res?

The Thermal vids I have saw sound great with the addition of a DP. On the stock DP it sounds sporty not too loud, but not quiet either.

Thanks again for your replies and opinions.

 

[Ford ST]

Honest question what is it with you guys and caring what your wife thinks?? I'm married to a wonderful woman who would never tell me what I can and can't do with my car. If my wife told me to take my exhaust off I would get a divorce in a heartbeat. Be your own man, and stand up for yourself.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

 

[EnthusiaST]

Basically what it boils down to is my wife rode in the car with me the other day with the factory res and muffler delete and wasn't a fan. I myself don't mind it even though on decel the drone inside is pretty buzzy, but everything else about it is good with me.

I do plan to upgrade to a larger turbo in the future so 3" is what I am looking at. I have wanted the CP-E since I have saw it, but the thermal seems to be a great offering as well.

Would you all say that the CP-E is close to a muffler delete in terms of sound as it does not in theory have an actual "muffler", but only a stealth pipe res?

The Thermal vids I have saw sound great with the addition of a DP. On the stock DP it sounds sporty not too loud, but not quiet either.

Thanks again for your replies and opinions.

If you can't find owners nearby with both setups, I would just go with the one you originally wanted or choose based on if you want a louder/quieter exhaust. Why not buy the CP-E system since you've wanted it. The worst case scenario is that it's too loud/droney and you sell it used to buy a thermal system.

 

[spdkills83]

Truth be told the ol' lady has been with me through straight piped Subarus and the like and her old Durango R/T had muffler deletes on it so she likes it decently loud in most respects haha. Guess the inside sound of a "normal" 4cyl instead of flat 4 kind of caught her off guard haha.

I more than likely will end up going with my gut on the CP-E truthfully, but will keep watching vids and comparing before settling completely. I just did the deletes to hold me over since they quick, cheap, and easy and stock is well, stock .

Thanks again for the replies and opinions it is appreciated.

 

[spdkills83]

I wish there were more owners around here. I think I have the only one within probably 100 or so miles in all directions sadly. Not many people around here into the small cars it seems.

 

[ron@whoosh]

the cp-e system sounds exactly like a 3" exhaust with no muffler would sound
very aggressive and has some drone. I don't see this as a negative at all if you are looking for 3" and loud aggressive tones
The Thermal is at the opposite end of the spectrum, you get the flow advantages of 3" but with much less volume and with a stock downpipe, no drone.
Difference designs for different needs.....

 

[M-Sport fan]

the cp-e system sounds exactly like a 3" exhaust with no muffler would sound
very aggressive and has some drone. I don't see this as a negative at all if you are looking for 3" and loud aggressive tones
The Thermal is at the opposite end of the spectrum, you get the flow advantages of 3" but with much less volume and with a stock downpipe, no drone.
Difference designs for different needs.....

Pretty much THIS!^^^

IF your wife will not ride in/drive the car with a fair amount of noise, then get the Thermal, and change out, or Cerakote the tips if you don't like their style.

IF I could do it all over again, and also IF I knew about the Thermal, and it was available to purchase when I bought the Nexus, I would have gone with that option, and installed a Cerakoted, big Ultimate Racing turn down tip on it instead of their twin tip, as I am in the process of doing with the CP-E. (SORRY Mitch/CP-E )

 

[M-Sport fan]

i have owned both the cp-e and presently have the thermal on the car.the cp-e with a big turbo is way louder then the thermal.my wife told me change the cp-e or the car goes lol.you will loose a few horse power with the thermal.datalog it and you will see.i think mine was 5hp.m-spot fan you are right about the hangers.had one of theirs on my focus and it broke.

I am REALLY surprised to hear of ANY power losses at all, even with a big turbo setup for the Thermal system.

Is their muffler setup more restrictive than just the front resonator and branched Helmholtz setup of the Nexus (that's taking for granted you HAD the front resonator, and NOT just their straight through 'delete' pipe on the CP-E??)?

 

[KnockOff]

I went from a muffler delete to a catless dp and the cp-e. My buddy at work said after I tore out of there so he could hear it said it was quieter than the old set up. Idk about that but I really do love the way it sounds. Very aggressive and big pops on deccel make me lol in the car. I started a thread a while ago with this exact same topic. I also posted a vid in the exhaust thread.

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[TURBO BLACK]

M-SPORT FAN there has to be some back pressure in the thermal design not sure why but there was a slight loss of power.the cp-e design is like a straight pipe.bigger turbo=more air being pushed=more noise.as ron at whoosh said take your pick but my old ears can't hear the music with the cp-e lol.