UPDATES!!!
Good Evening Mentlegen!!
So I finished installing the exhaust today! I unfortunately was too busy today to be able to get video and sound clips so I will do that this weekend with help from my friend @
2forme. However here are my final thoughts and I will update the third post with sound clips and video this weekend.
We shall start with:
The Final Fitment!
The fitment of this exhaust when it was all clamped together and done was impeccable. Everything in the kit fit into place easily and properly the first time with barely ANY adjustment. Basically all I had to do was hang the muffler and adjust it left and right. I ended up adjusting the S-Pipe a tiny bit to make sure the tips were sticking out evenly but it was barely anything at all. The V-Band clamps are a little tricky to get on if you have never done them before but they were by no means difficult. Once they were on though they were super easy to cinch up and get a tight fit and they hold everything super tight, no wiggling, they are rock solid. This kit is very well designed and very well thought out it's wonderful. It's one of the easiest kits I have ever installed. The cheap Flowmaster kit on my truck was far more difficult to install than this. Once the old exhaust was out of the car the new exhaust took less than an hour to install and I was taking constant pics the entire time slowing myself down.
THE ONLY thing I can fault the exhaust on is I wish it had a little more clearance between the rear cross member and the S-Pipe, I am worried that the S-Pipe will hit the cross member over bumps or with excessive vibrations as there is only about half an inch of clearance. So far I haven't had any problems, but time will tell.
Next is:
The Sound!
The first time I hit that start button, I'm pretty sure I almost came immediately. Needless to say, I love it...no, that's an understatement, I F***ING LOVE IT!!! Idling upon startup the car has a wonderful deep idle growl, then once the first 30 seconds pass the car quiets down and it's just the regular quiet rumble, it's great. It's the kind of rumble that doesn't pound you in the chest, but you can still feel it, and it feels mean.
I then proceeded to drive to Kaizen Tuning which is a 40 minute long trip which consists of all types of driving from 70+MPH cruising down the highway to 45mph rural driving to stop and go traffic. I will say, this exhaust with the resonator is JUST loud enough for me. This is my own subjective taste but I don't like loud exhausts, I do not like calling every cop in the town to my location. @
2forme has an SRT Resonated exhaust on his BRZ and I've driven that car and it is FREAKIN LOUD. The Perrin is MUCH quieter by I would venture a guess of almost 15 to 20db quieter which is A LOT. It's not loud enough to be even remotely obnoxious, it was actually quieter then I expected. There is no raspiness even at WOT, it's a very good tone and the volume doesn't dramatically increase with RPM above 3,000rpm, in fact it stays pretty even all the way to redline.
In Stop and Go traffic, the car is barely audible when stopped, just a quiet rumble. When you get going and give it a bit of gas it rumbles your chest just like it should but it doesn't draw any unwanted attention or glares from onlookers for being too jarring. There are no pops or weird noises when shifting, overall a very smooth and consistent sound.
In Rural driving the exhaust is noticeable only when applying the gas but not overly loud under normal acceleration. It's definitely fun and sounds good during regular driving and doesn't have any drone or raspiness that can get on ones nerves. This definitely isn't a fart can off your average riced out civic.
On the highway this thing is exactly how I wanted it, merging onto the highway from the on-ramp, drop gear into 2nd or 3rd and punch that pedal to the floor while accelerating to highway speed and my god. This thing is awesome, still not even close to the deafening noise of the SRT but it sounds MEAN. It's not like an LFA with all the high pitched F1 car sounds, it's much deeper, VERY deep, hard to describe but there is very little high end noise in this exhaust, it's almost all low end. I'm sure everyone in a 100+ yard radius will notice you but it's not deafening, even at WOT you still feel like you can hear the radio. While cruising at 70mph the exhaust is nearly silent, the only time you really hear the exhaust is going uphill or accelerating. There is no drone, not even a hint, nothing, zero, zip, nada, this is definitely an exhaust you can take a long road trip with and not get annoyed.
And finally:
The Conclusion!
This is a great exhaust, I definitely plan on keeping it for a long time, and the great part it it's compatible with future mods since it bolts right up to the existing front/over pipe. Perrin definitely thought ahead with this one, providing bolts so you can bolt up this exhaust with their aftermarket front/over pipe even before it's been released, I definitely like this! Also if you ever decide you want to remove the resonator you can just purchase ONLY the un-resonated mid-pipe from Perrin and replace just the mid-pipe, no need to buy or replace the s-pipe or the muffler after you bought it the first time, definitely a much cheaper option for the future. The fitment and installation of this exhaust is wonderful and also super easy! The look is great as well, definitely looks WAY better than the stock exhaust.
The exhaust sounds great as well in my opinion, if you like loud exhausts, look elsewhere, this exhaust is NOT loud by any means...I doubt even at WOT@7000+rpm it surpasses even 85db. I am very happy about this, I hate loud obnoxious exhausts, and what it lacks in volume this exhaust makes up in smooth sound and tone. This exhausts tone is VERY deep, almost too deep in my opinion and that may be the only thing I could think to fault it on, it's so deep you lose a lot of the sound of the high strung boxer engine, there is very little high end, it can almost sound muted at times. I miss a bit of the high end but I don't mind all that much, again this is my subjective opinion as someone who does not enjoy laud raspy exhausts.
So if you like loud exhausts that sound like an F1 car or Ferrari/LFA, this exhaust is not for you.
If you like a deep tone with a great growl and boxer rumble without earsplitting volume. Buy this exhaust, you can't get a better fit and finish at this price with any other exhaust out right now in my opinion.
My .02 cents
-Trev A.K.A. Sony
P.S. sound clips and video will be up by Monday hopefully!