Hi all, I've got a 09 JCW thats stock except an Alta catback and DP. I love the exhaust sound when tooling around town but when I'm at sustained speeds, like on the highway, it sounds like I'm in an airplane with the doors open. Just way too loud to be comfortable. I'm considering going back stock but I don't want to give up the performance gains. What can I do to keep or increase my gains and soften the tone on the highway. Your opinions and feedback are greatly appreciated.

 

Is it really that loud? Also does this make the Check Engine light come on?

 

Loud: It's not loud until I hold a constant speed. Then the deap tone is almost deafening. Using the cell phone or listening to radio just can't happen.

CEL: it does trigger a check engine light every so often. It's not a constant thing. My best guess is that it has something to do with the weather. Seems like the light goes away when it's cool outside.

 

Well this probably isnt much help but I have a Borla cat-back "touring version" exhaust and it is fine...throaty but not obnoxious even with the back seats down including on the highway. The "performance version" according to Borla is much louder and has that sound you are talking about which is why I switched from buying the performance to touring version. Other than replacing your system I have no ideas other than extending the exhaust outlet past the "bumper" if it isnt already.

 

hmm, I want to do the exhaust, I have stock right now, which is why I was wondering how loud it really is. To answer your original question, I'm not sure how to tone it down without going back to stock. If you go back to stock you can always add the Cold Air Intake, and buy the Alta AccessPort. You can get some decent power for a Stage 1.

 

richieboy: if you can handle the noise the Alta exhaust really performs well. I haven't dyno'ed it but my right foot is convinced I got substantial gains from the system. I feel bad for going back stock because zipping around town is a lot of fun, but I think that's what I'm gonna have to do.

Mickdayank: do you know or could you guess what the performance difference is between stock and your touring system? SWAG is just fine.

 

To each their own, but I think the stock JCW exhaust system has just the right balance of throaty sound without being too loud. And I don't want to argue with your butt dyno, but I suspect that aftermarket exhaust and DP adds much less power than you think. Biggest gains are going to be with an ECU flash a la AccessPort or other aftermarket tune.

 

I like that color combo man

and yes I agree, AP will give you the best gains. My friends have AP's for their STI's and EVO's. I need to get on their level.

 

Well guys it sounds like I'm going back to the stock exhaust and pickup an accessport.

Richieboy: your description says you've got a CAI and inlet pipe. How did that combo work for you? Sound? Performance?

Thanks for all your advise. Now I get to spend an afternoon under the mini. Oh darn.

 

The CAI and Inlet work great hand in hand. The sound is amazing, but I can only say this for Alta. I'm not sure how other brands sound. My friends say I shouldn't do the exhaust because the sound of the Bypass valve after i installed the CAI sounds so unique, like a loud whipping, "whoosh". I only did the inlet pipe because Alta was offering it at the time, and I had to remove an additional stock piece to fully install the CAI, so I figured if i was removing another stock piece, why not put in something different? It worked out well and I'm happy with it. I've honestly had 1 person pull up next to me as I was going to work and complimented the sound haha. Such a great feeling.