What exhaust do you recommend?

[DP03]

I got to hear a Cobb and I was not all that impressed although I will say that my thought of who would buy it was 40 something + people. I am in my 20s and thought it was not much louder than stock for the price. It sounds a little deeper but honestly I rode in another car and in an enclosed spaced I couldn't hear the exhaust even though the car was in front of me. I could hear the blow off but not the exhaust. It is that quiet and in car is roughly the same. If you can I recommend trying to find someone with one even if you have to drive. It looks great and I am jealous of the tips for sure, but seems like a lot of money for a deeper toned stock exhaust. Also I don't know about the muffler but I took out my resonator and it is straight through so getting better flow by removing that will be difficult. I got pretty close to the same sound as the cobb for $40 by removing the resonator. I can confirm it is very quiet even with a catless dp. In car I can hardly hear anything at low speeds and once over about 40 mph tire and wind noise overwhelm the exhaust note so drone is not a problem.

From what I have seen and heard it seems like you can have one of 2 things with our cars. A exhaust that does not drone but also does not fill that want for a strong in car exhaust note. Or a great sounding exhaust that makes driving fun until you get on the interstate and have to deal with the drone. There seems to be no middle ground. I really like the CP-e but have seen where people complain about it being too quiet also. There may be no way to have it all with our cars. Although cut outs seem more and more appealing lol

Well, I would agree and disagree. Yes, the Cobb is not much louder than stock at cruise, and no drone is one of the benefits. But it is much more aggressive than stock at WOT. And that's exactly the reason that folks buy Cobb.

To the OP, note there are an increasing number of posts in various threads of people regretting their exhaust decision, or the decision to simply hack up the stock. They talk about their regrets due to drone and being too loud and reference "very expensive mistake". It's hard when choosing an exhaust, because the only real way to choose is to hear them in person. Listening to youtube clips is useless. I have made more exhaust mistakes than I care to admit, the worst of them being a small 4 banger turbo (Neon SRT4). The drone on that car was way worse than anything else I had done, mostly V8's.

And my best exhaust decisions have been high quality aftermarket products, the Corsa being my all time favorite. Corsa for the V8's is very similar to Cobb's approach. Pretty quiet at cruise with no drone, but a much better sound when you're in it.

Lastly, I wouldn't go with the age thing. If you've spent some time at the drag strip, most of the fast guys (not Fiesta fast, but say, 9's or better) are guys in their forties. And their cars make a straight pipe Fiesta sound like a pin dropping.

 

[BronxBomber]

I got to hear a Cobb and I was not all that impressed although I will say that my thought of who would buy it was 40 something + people. I am in my 20s and thought it was not much louder than stock for the price. It sounds a little deeper but honestly I rode in another car and in an enclosed spaced I couldn't hear the exhaust even though the car was in front of me. I could hear the blow off but not the exhaust. It is that quiet and in car is roughly the same. If you can I recommend trying to find someone with one even if you have to drive. It looks great and I am jealous of the tips for sure, but seems like a lot of money for a deeper toned stock exhaust. Also I don't know about the muffler but I took out my resonator and it is straight through so getting better flow by removing that will be difficult. I got pretty close to the same sound as the cobb for $40 by removing the resonator. I can confirm it is very quiet even with a catless dp. In car I can hardly hear anything at low speeds and once over about 40 mph tire and wind noise overwhelm the exhaust note so drone is not a problem.

From what I have seen and heard it seems like you can have one of 2 things with our cars. A exhaust that does not drone but also does not fill that want for a strong in car exhaust note. Or a great sounding exhaust that makes driving fun until you get on the interstate and have to deal with the drone. There seems to be no middle ground. I really like the CP-e but have seen where people complain about it being too quiet also. There may be no way to have it all with our cars. Although cut outs seem more and more appealing lol

I agree. I don't know why it's so hard to have an aggressive exhaust that doesn't drone. I went from the Injen (drone machine) to the FSWerks, which drones slightly, but o found it hitting the heat shielding by the gas tank, which inching is the main reason. It is way quieter from a drone standpoint than the Injen. I am going to put Cobb exhaust hangers on to see if that helps. But overall even the FSWERKS is underwhelming in terms of sound. I am running Depo catless DP and it still sounds kind of blah. Why are there civics and even the Fiat Abarth with its puny 1.4 liter engine that sound way better than our cars with the exhaust? My Subaru had full 3" from the turbo back with no drone at all and sounded great when I got on it. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jhslIOKqSl0

 

[rschris]

I don't know why it's so hard to have an aggressive exhaust that doesn't drone. I went from the Injen (drone machine) to the FSWerks, which drones slightly, but o found it hitting the heat shielding by the gas tank, which inching is the main reason. It is way quieter from a drone standpoint than the Injen. I am going to put Cobb exhaust hangers on to see if that helps. But overall even the FSWERKS is underwhelming in terms of sound.

I'm still factory catted, and I have the FSWerks and I like it, and I think [IMO] its among the best sounds you can expect from this car. I have friends with miatas, that have gone through over 4 or 5 exhaust systems and they all sounded blah to me. My guess is that without altering headers, these fiestas are never going to sound 'exotic' or 'special'. As far as the Fiat's go I'm not sure if it has to do with firing order, or header tube lengths, but they are doing some sort of trickery in the Fiat abarths to make them sound so amazing.

Keep in mind on new WRX's and BRZ's they equaled out the header lengths, this increased power but got rid of the signature 'subaru rumble' so they sound just like boring hondas. I'm guessing on our cars they went down the similar route of performance header design and not 'sporty sound' headers.

 

[BronxBomber]

I'm still factory catted, and I have the FSWerks and I like it, and I think [IMO] its among the best sounds you can expect from this car. I have friends with miatas, that have gone through over 4 or 5 exhaust systems and they all sounded blah to me. My guess is that without altering headers, these fiestas are never going to sound 'exotic' or 'special'. As far as the Fiat's go I'm not sure if it has to do with firing order, or header tube lengths, but they are doing some sort of trickery in the Fiat abarths to make them sound so amazing.

Keep in mind on new WRX's and BRZ's they equaled out the header lengths, this increased power but got rid of the signature 'subaru rumble' so they sound just like boring hondas. I'm guessing on our cars they went down the similar route of performance header design and not 'sporty sound' headers.

Do you have any issues with the FSWerks hitting anything on the underside of the car? And so you have the stock exhaust hangers or Cobb units? Also, just my .02 a Sohc 1.6 liter Honda with the right exhaust sounds better than our cars. Again, this is just my opinion. All of my cars have had catback a at a minimum. Integras, 1st gen Exlipse turbo, Sentra SeR, 3 MiAtas, Infiniti G35, Subaru Legacy GT, Volswagen MKII Jetta. They all sound better than the FiST. Guess we'll see if the X37 Pumaspeed turbo helps.

 

[rschris]

Do you have any issues with the FSWerks hitting anything on the underside of the car? And so you have the stock exhaust hangers or Cobb units? Also, just my .02 a Sohc 1.6 liter Honda with the right exhaust sounds better than our cars. Again, this is just my opinion. All of my cars have had catback a at a minimum. Integras, 1st gen Exlipse turbo, Sentra SeR, 3 MiAtas, Infiniti G35, Subaru Legacy GT, Volswagen MKII Jetta. They all sound better than the FiST. Guess we'll see if the X37 Pumaspeed turbo helps.

I put a hitch on my car for my bike rack so hangers were a must. Without new hangers the exhaust was constantly banging against the hitch frame. I bought kartboy 12mm long and regular length hangers and played with adjusting the exhaust and got it where it doesn't hit anything. These hangers are super snug and kind of a pain to get right, but I'm glad I did it.

As far as sound goes... -le sigh- I agree. I've heard a couple other exhaust systems for this car, and I don't think any of them make a good sound, but rather just a better sound. My other cars were a Subaru GC8 2.5rs, acura integra, porsche cayman. They all sounded better than this car. Honestly I think that is one of the biggest drawbacks to this car is the sound.

It would be cool if a company would do something like other exhaust companies did with the BRZ/FRS/GT86 where they reverted them back to an unequal length header design without losing power. If they could make a header for our cars that didn't lose any power but made the car sound a lot better I would be in for that.

 

[BronxBomber]

I put a hitch on my car for my bike rack so hangers were a must. Without new hangers the exhaust was constantly banging against the hitch frame. I bought kartboy 12mm long and regular length hangers and played with adjusting the exhaust and got it where it doesn't hit anything. These hangers are super snug and kind of a pain to get right, but I'm glad I did it.

As far as sound goes... -le sigh- I agree. I've heard a couple other exhaust systems for this car, and I don't think any of them make a good sound, but rather just a better sound. My other cars were a Subaru GC8 2.5rs, acura integra, porsche cayman. They all sounded better than this car. Honestly I think that is one of the biggest drawbacks to this car is the sound.

It would be cool if a company would do something like other exhaust companies did with the BRZ/FRS/GT86 where they reverted them back to an unequal length header design without losing power. If they could make a header for our cars that didn't lose any power but made the car sound a lot better I would be in for that.

Ditto. And thanks for the heads up with the hangers.

 

[polyol]

I'm guessing you meant to say no need to go bigger than 2 1/2" unless you're going big turbo. I don't know of any exhaust out for the FiST that's bigger than 3".

Exactly, guys make 500+whp on freeflowing 3" exhausts on all kinds of vehicles.

 

[FreshST]

I have the Mountune with Cobb hangers. I love it. Zero drone, awesome note, subtle gurgle and pop every now and again. Grown up exhaust. Fitment/quality is outstanding and took me less than an hour to put on.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DP03]

Well most of the Civics I see are raspy fart sounding with coffee can tips. I know they're all not like that, but damn do I see a lot.

Most of my previous car exhausts have sounded much better than the Fist, but that's mostly because they've been V8's, along with a few V6's. But I have learned to avoid drone at all costs, because I've changed/replaced too many in the past as a result. Some of the aggressive exhausts I've done on 4 bangers sounded great.....for about a week.

For me, the Cobb fits the bill. I think most folks here know that getting good sound out of a 1.6 is challenging, to say the least. And an aggressive exhaust will always have compromises, especially with a 4 cyl.

 

[BronxBomber]

Well most of the Civics I see are raspy fart sounding with coffee can tips. I know they're all not like that, but damn do I see a lot.

Most of my previous car exhausts have sounded much better than the Fist, but that's mostly because they've been V8's, along with a few V6's. But I have learned to avoid drone at all costs, because I've changed/replaced too many in the past as a result. Some of the aggressive exhausts I've done on 4 bangers sounded great.....for about a week.

For me, the Cobb fits the bill. I think most folks here know that getting good sound out of a 1.6 is challenging, to say the least. And an aggressive exhaust will always have compromises, especially with a 4 cyl.

Not on my Subaru or Sentra Se-R or MK II Jetta. They all sounded great and were 4 bangers. It's all about the exhaust and headers. You can make a 4 banger sound great if you want to. I guess that's one of the reasons the Cobb costs so much. They took the time to make a good sounding and well constructed system. You shouldn't have to pay so much in my opinion though. I paid $1,000 for my Autospeed 3" chatted turbo back with dual exhaust on my Legacy GT and it sounded amazing. No drone and bad ass when I got on it. It can be done and you don't have to spend a fortune. Unfortunately, for the FiST l, this is not the case. The FSWerks is growing on me. Just have to get another set of Cobb hangers to get rid of the little bit of resonance there is.

 

[SoyFiesta]

Do a lot of people run the Borla exhaust? Not finding too much on it around the forums

 

[808FiST]

I suspect not many due to the fact that the piping is 2.25 rather than 2.5-3.0". Although the sound is rather unique based on that one video by Borla.

Do a lot of people run the Borla exhaust? Not finding too much on it around the forums

 

[SoyFiesta]

I suspect not many due to the fact that the piping is 2.25 rather than 2.5-3.0". Although the sound is rather unique based on that one video by Borla.

Would the 2.25 vs 2.5" piping make that much of a difference? And agreed on the sound that's what is driving me to Borla

 

[808FiST]

IIRC, and correct me if I am wrong, the stock FiST exhaust is 2.25" as well, thus the cost of the Borla is the same, if not somewhat expensive compared to the 2.5-3.0" systems that are out there. I guess if you're going to spend the money, why go with the piping diameter that is the same as OEM? Having said that, I still think the Borla has a unique and nice sounding system compared to others, IMO. While we're at it, why go to a 2.5-3.0" system when the OEM is good for 300 crank HP, IIRC? Unless the goal was to go beyond that.

Would the 2.25 vs 2.5" piping make that much of a difference? And agreed on the sound that's what is driving me to Borla

 

[SoyFiesta]

I was planning to keep my car with a Tune/Intake/FMIC/Exhaust and suspension work and call it a day for power and handling mods. Thus far it's tuned by Randy at Mountune and is being used as a tester for a '16 intake. I'm getting ready to likely get a Mountune FMIC so all I have left is the exhaust. I just don't want something that will limit the power upgrades I've done.

IIRC, and correct me if I am wrong, the stock FiST exhaust is 2.25" as well, thus the cost of the Borla is the same, if not somewhat expensive compared to the 2.5-3.0" systems that are out there. I guess if you're going to spend the money, why go with the piping diameter that is the same as OEM? Having said that, I still think the Borla has a unique and nice sounding system compared to others, IMO. While we're at it, why go to a 2.5-3.0" system when the OEM is good for 300 crank HP, IIRC? Unless the goal was to go beyond that.

 

[808FiST]

Agreed with you on your path. As others have mentioned here, the exhaust is mainly for sound and not power, as the stock piping can handle up to 300 crank HP. So, I don't believe you will go backward if you stayed with stock diameter at your current plan. I would choose the exhaust for sound at this point. If you are intending to go beyond the 300 HP mark, then I think a 2.5-3.0" system would be the way to go, based on others that have done this.

I was planning to keep my car with a Tune/Intake/FMIC/Exhaust and suspension work and call it a day for power and handling mods. Thus far it's tuned by Randy at Mountune and is being used as a tester for a '16 intake. I'm getting ready to likely get a Mountune FMIC so all I have left is the exhaust. I just don't want something that will limit the power upgrades I've done.

 

[SoyFiesta]

Thanks for the insight, Borla may be the way I go then

Agreed with you on your path. As others have mentioned here, the exhaust is mainly for sound and not power, as the stock piping can handle up to 300 crank HP. So, I don't believe you will go backward if you stayed with stock diameter at your current plan. I would choose the exhaust for sound at this point. If you are intending to go beyond the 300 HP mark, then I think a 2.5-3.0" system would be the way to go, based on others that have done this.

 

[boyracer]

hmm, I am sure that the stock exhaust is holding my tuned hybrid turbo car back some. however a catback is nearly the same dollars as a upgraded turbo. I will take the turbo improvement any day. bob

 

[AzNightmare]

There's some threads out there claiming the oem exhaust is only 55mm diameter, or 2.17".
Not sure if people are getting different numbers because:
-Euro version (don't think they should be different though)
-Measuring I.D. vs O.D.
-Measuring exhaust tips rather than the actual pipe

 

[AzNightmare]

Did you guys delete your symposer?
How much of a difference does it make for hearing the exhaust inside the cabin?