Fujitsubo Authorize R Catback Exhaust Sound

[Stang70Fastback]

This is long overdue, as I'd never gotten around to it, and several people had asked for it. As with any exhaust video, it'll sound like complete crap without headphones.

This is what the Fujitsubo Authorize R Catback sounds like on an otherwise stock engine/exhaust setup. This is one of the quietest catbacks you can buy for this car. Its purpose is to give you a deeper, more aggressive, and actually audible exhaust note, but without being too "LOOK AT ME!" about it. I liken it to more of a "what the car should have sounded like stock" kind of exhaust. There is no drone at any speed in the cabin, and it more-or-less disappears when you're cruising. Under throttle and engine braking, it makes enough noise to be enjoyable, but without being unreasonable considering the car it is attached to.

It's really hard to find a quiet, empty road in the Chicago area - this was a quiet, if short, stretch of road I finally found. Sorry for the cicadas, and also for the right-biased audio (hung the stereo microphone poorly.)

I'm sure this will interest all of 7 people, since 99% of Twin owners require their exhaust to be at LEAST as loud and obnoxious as the most riced-out Honda, lol.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42PUkQO6Tdw[/ame]

[RJasonKlein]

Nice - thanks for sharing!

[mav1178]

Same exhaust on my stock car on a Dynapak:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSip-iFdxas[/ame]

[NiteScar]

Me likey :0

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[Timmy_Jones]

I really dislike this exhaust ONLY for the price (this hovers around $1200, right??) that you still get an almost stock sound and no profound HP gains. I have gone through the spectrum of exhausts including catless/N1 horror show exhaust and have since dialed it back. I think there is a nice middle ground to spending some money, gaining a few HP and getting a really nice rumble without drone. Seems like you should have stayed with the stock catback and grabbed a UEL header.

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by Timmy_Jones

I think there is a nice middle ground to spending some money, gaining a few HP and getting a really nice rumble without drone. Seems like you should have stayed with the stock catback and grabbed a UEL header.

A fair point. It is on the pricier side, but that's what happens when you buy handmade parts. Also, I didn't spend $1200

A header requires a tune, so there is still more cost involved than just the header, and the header I'm eyeing isn't terribly inexpensive. Granted you will get more power, but I was offered a good deal on this exhaust at the time, so I went for it.

Lastly, I think it is worth noting the difference between what I said (it is what the car should have sounded like stock), and what you said (almost stock sound.) I guess this is personal opinion. I don't think the exhaust sounds close to stock. The stock exhaust sounds like a Corolla... in that it makes no noise at all. This exhaust has a very distinct deep note, and is much more audible. I think people often confuse "subtle" with "stock." An exhaust doesn't need to be loud to be different. I would liken this exhaust note to a more "sophisticated" sound, as opposed to just the typical noisy, burbly, raspy aftermarket exhaust.

Dezod is another handmade exhaust, made in America, that gets you a good exhaust note, and it too will cost you around $1000. People are jaded by the multitude of cheap exhausts available these days, and forget that quality parts are still expensive. It's the same thing with coilovers. I know plenty of people who would consider my KW V3s to be a waste of money when there are $500 coilovers that will "get you what you want."

It's all personal opinion, though. It does retail for $1200. I do enjoy having nice quality parts on the car, though, so sometimes paying a bit more is worth it for that peace of mind, and just the satisfaction of it.

[Timmy_Jones]

Originally Posted by Stang70Fastback

A fair point. It is on the pricier side, but that's what happens when you buy handmade parts. Also, I didn't spend $1200

Why does it matter, if it is handmade? What does that mean? I like the idea of a machine welding my exhaust parts; but I work in an industry where automation and robotics processing is the future…

Originally Posted by Stang70Fastback

A header requires a tune, so there is still more cost involved than just the header, and the header I'm eyeing isn't terribly inexpensive. Granted you will get more power, but I was offered a good deal on this exhaust at the time, so I went for it.

I run the OFT and Tomei Header/Overpipe. I think Im around the price of your catback right there alone...much more power and sounded similar to your video.

Originally Posted by Stang70Fastback

Lastly, I think it is worth noting the difference between what I said (it is what the car should have sounded like stock), and what you said (almost stock sound.) I guess this is personal opinion. I don't think the exhaust sounds close to stock. The stock exhaust sounds like a Corolla... in that it makes no noise at all. This exhaust has a very distinct deep note, and is much more audible. I think people often confuse "subtle" with "stock." An exhaust doesn't need to be loud to be different. I would liken this exhaust note to a more "sophisticated" sound, as opposed to just the typical noisy, burbly, raspy aftermarket exhaust.

Why does an almost silent exhaust need to be regarded as sophisticated? If anything, I would see your car drive by and wonder 'wonder if he has a header or maybe deleted a resonator'? Are you saying a Laferrari is not sophisticated? Those are pretty damn loud, completely stock...strange relation to make.

Originally Posted by Stang70Fastback

Dezod is another handmade exhaust, made in America, that gets you a good exhaust note, and it too will cost you around $1000. People are jaded by the multitude of cheap exhausts available these days, and forget that quality parts are still expensive. It's the same thing with coilovers. I know plenty of people who would consider my KW V3s to be a waste of money when there are $500 coilovers that will "get you what you want."

It's all personal opinion, though. It does retail for $1200. I do enjoy having nice quality parts on the car, though, so sometimes paying a bit more is worth it for that peace of mind, and just the satisfaction of it.

And your last point about price; just paying more does NOT always mean better quality. It’s another incorrect conclusion to draw. Dezod has a little character to it, IMO. I hope you enjoy your exhaust, but would really caution folks to buying this system.

[NiteScar]

Manual labor comes with a premium regardless of 'quality' = $$$$


Theres so many mix-n-match builds that change the sound; no one seems to do a video from bone stock or with sufficient mic quality to truly know what you're buying. Same point can be argued here but at least we have multiple baselines.

If I'm not mistaken, OPs use of sophistication leans to the side of character rather than complicated.



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[Timmy_Jones]

Originally Posted by NiteScar

Manual labor comes with a premium regardless of 'quality' = $$$$

Precisely! Exactly my point.

Originally Posted by NiteScar

If I'm not mistaken, OPs use of sophistication leans to the side of character rather than complicated.

Character, eh? I think the stock exhaust lacks any character, making it a bit deeper and boomy isnt much. The character of this car, from an exhaust note perspective, comes from the distinct rumble. That is the character, which this exhaust seems to hide in the videos.

[Vital]

Originally Posted by Timmy_Jones

Character, eh? I think the stock exhaust lacks any character, making it a bit deeper and boomy isnt much. The character of this car, from an exhaust note perspective, comes from the distinct rumble. That is the character, which this exhaust seems to hide in the videos.

Yea well not everyone wants loud exhausts like you. Not everyone wants to be center of attention anytime you drive somewhere. OP simply wanted a mature sounding with a little more volume over stock which he achieved. I'm not sure why it bothers you so much if people want quieter exhausts...

[NiteScar]

Originally Posted by Timmy_Jones

Character, eh? I think the stock exhaust lacks any character, making it a bit deeper and boomy isnt much. The character of this car, from an exhaust note perspective, comes from the distinct rumble. That is the character, which this exhaust seems to hide in the videos.

I agree that the stock exhaust is.. well pretty much just there.

I do enjoy the deeper and throaty note from the exhaust in question though. Some of the other exhausts with similar qualities wind up going full "racecar" or spit and fart when drawing in redline and that would be fine if I personally was tracking the car.

But poking around town sounding like a straight pipe honda is just ridiculous haha.

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[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by Timmy_Jones

Why does it matter, if it is handmade? What does that mean? I like the idea of a machine welding my exhaust parts; but I work in an industry where automation and robotics processing is the future…

You're twisting my words. I never said handmade was necessarily better. I simply said that this exhaust IS handmade, and handmade parts are more expensive by their very nature - mainly the added cost of the skill and labor required to manufacture it. Whether you value a handmade part or not is something entirely different, but it is handmade, and therefore it costs more.

Originally Posted by Timmy_Jones

I run the OFT and Tomei Header/Overpipe. I think Im around the price of your catback right there alone...much more power and sounded similar to your video.

Congratulations. As I stated, I wasn't necessarily even looking for a catback exhaust at the time of purchase. I simply happened to be offered a great discount on a very nice exhaust, and decided that I would be very happy with that exhaust at that price. I was also still under warranty at the time, and wasn't particularly interested in messing with tuning until I crossed the 60,000 mile threshold.

There are more considerations than just comparing raw performance to price for some people

Originally Posted by Timmy_Jones

Why does an almost silent exhaust need to be regarded as sophisticated? If anything, I would see your car drive by and wonder 'wonder if he has a header or maybe deleted a resonator'? Are you saying a Laferrari is not sophisticated? Those are pretty damn loud, completely stock...strange relation to make.

Well first off, the exhaust is not almost silent. If you think it is, then this discussion isn't going to go anywhere, because you simply have a wildly different opinion of what a "quiet" exhaust is than I do. Also, it sounds like you are again equating volume with quality. My use of the term "sophisticated" was simply my attempt at describing the sound from the car in a single word. A LaFerrari exhaust makes sense on a LaFerrari, which is, by nature, a ridiculous car. I wouldn't necessarily use the word "sophisticated" to describe the sound, but the sound is reasonable when compared against the vehicle it coming from. A LaFerrari-style exhaust on a BRZ would simply be ridiculous, and stupid, unless it had a Ferrari engine swap under the hood. My use of the word sophisticated was meant to describe the fact that the exhaust sounds good, isn't loud, doesn't write a check the rest of the car can't cash, doesn't make noise when the car isn't being driven aggressively, doesn't drone, etc...

It's clear that the engineers who designed the exhaust spent a lot of time tuning it to ensure that it did exactly what they, and the end user, wanted it to do all of the time. That implies some degree of sophistication. Unlike some of the less expensive, less "sophisticated" exhaust options for this car - many of which clearly haven't been tuned at all, and result in massive drone at various speeds, and an awful sounding exhaust note that seems to just be about creating noise - not "tuned noise."

Originally Posted by Timmy_Jones

And your last point about price; just paying more does NOT always mean better quality. It’s another incorrect conclusion to draw. Dezod has a little character to it, IMO.

Once again you are putting words in my mouth. I never said that expensive parts ARE better. What I said was that better parts ARE [as a general rule] more expensive. Dezod is arguably a quality part, and it costs a lot more than a cheap, $300 catback. Regardless of your personal feelings on the sound of the Fujitsubo exhaust, it is still a quality part, and it also costs more. My KW V3s are better than a lot of cheaper coilovers, and guess what, they cost more. Cost doesn't always mean quality, but quality usually costs more.

Originally Posted by Timmy_Jones

I hope you enjoy your exhaust, but would really caution folks to buying this system.

In your first post, you stated that you "really dislike this exhaust ONLY for the price." So why would you caution others against buying it? If you're talking just on a "performance per dollar" scale, then this clearly isn't the best option... but NO catback is going to get you the best bang for your buck in terms of performance. What if I'm someone who just REALLY wants a catback exhaust, and who doesn't want a tune? What if I have the money and can afford it? Would you still strongly caution me against purchasing it? What reason is there for you to caution against purchase if price isn't an issue? I can guarantee you anyone spending $1200+ on an exhaust for a BRZ has already put a lot of thought into the cost of the purchase.

[nikitopo]

Have you heard a fujitsubo exhaust back in the late 90's and the early '00s? Nowadays, they are just building exhausts to meet noise regulations and give a bit better look. In my perspective it is a dead business.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by Timmy_Jones

Why does it matter, if it is handmade? What does that mean? I like the idea of a machine welding my exhaust parts; but I work in an industry where automation and robotics processing is the future…

My tour of their factory last October:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122638

Made in a factory at the base of Mt. Fuji. Plus, they are OE manufacturer for most of the top brands in Japan that do not produce their own exhaust systems in house.

The 2018 R35 GT-R titanium factory exhaust is made by Fujitsubo, among other things.

Originally Posted by nikitopo

Have you heard a fujitsubo exhaust back in the late 90's and the early '00s? Nowadays, they are just building exhausts to meet noise regulations and give a bit better look. In my perspective it is a dead business.

Not a dead business when Fujitsubo is one of the active participants that write/rewrite the JASMA/JQR regulations. The sound regulations have changed but the exhausts they produce have also changed with it... and not because they just "go with the flow". It's more like, they helped shape the direction of exhaust sound regulations and everyone benefitted from it.

They've been doing this since day 1 because that's their core business. We enthusiasts tend to think there's a disconnect between what a manufacturer produces vs what we want, when in actuality this is only the case in markets where it is a free for all (i.e. US)

-alex