UEL + Catback vs. UEL + OP/FP + Catback: How will the sound change?
 

I can't really tell by watching videos since everybody has a different mic, or a different setup.

I'm considering the following setup:

JDL Catless UEL
JDL OP + Ultra-quiet FP
Perrin 2.5 Resonated CBE

Would there be noticeable change in rasp or loudness with the OP/FP?

You will not have rasp, you will get bassy rumble beat

Heh.

OP/FP doesn't have nearly the bearing on sound that headers or cat-back do. It'll be very slightly louder, especially with that setup. Perrin won't rasp.

Thanks! Good to hear. I assume it changes the character of the engine/exhaust note though?

I went from Nameless header, Nameless fp/op with helmholz and Perrin 2.5 resonated CBE to Ace a350 + JDL UQFP and it's definitely got more drone than it did. It's not raspy, but it's about as loud as I would want it.

I have JDL UEL (HFC) + Perrin OP + Motiv uncatted FP + Perrin 2.5 resonated CBE.

I installed all of the components at separate times.

Catback first. This obviously makes the car louder than stock but still fairly quiet. Will sound close to stock on the freeway but definitely louder when you get on it. Has a nice deep tone.

Added the OP next. If there was a change in volume, it was undetectable by my ear.

Header came third. Because I went with a high flow cat, it seems the volume wasn't increased by as much as many people warn. Still noticeably louder and could only hear the UEL rumble below ~3500.

The FP created the most noticeable difference in volume. I have the test pipe so it is literally just a section of straight pipe - no resonators or cats. After installing this, the car is fairly loud when you are on it. Not quite N1 status, but mature racecar loud IMO. Cruising there is still no drone. I can now get some pops and burbles on rev-matched down shifts and if I have been driving spiritedly, occasionally I will get a pop on an upshift.

I still drive with my rear seats down so the volume of the exhaust is more pronounced. With the seats up, volume goes back to pretty much how it was with just OP + CBE with the seats down.

From your proposed setup, it sounds like you will be quieter than my setup. The JDL headers don't seem to provide a massive volume bump like the Tomei for instance, but will still add a bit of volume. The JDL OP+FP ultra quiet still will be a volume bump over stock setup, but from what I have heard it isn't very much.

I hope that helps provide you with the info you are looking for. I would recommend doing header and CBE first and determine how you like the sound. If you want louder, then look into changing out the FP. OP is more for people who have money to blow/want to know they have done the most to remove all restrictions from stock exhaust, but doesn't have much of an effect on exhaust note.

paging @Tcoat

Can't help much on this one.
Now if he wanted to know about TRD...

This is great, thanks for the detailed notes :bow:

Do you mean that the JDL catless UEL is quieter than that Tomei catless UEL? Interesting...

His JDL UEL is catted so it makes sense that it's quieter than the catless Tomei.

was hoping you'd have some inputs on the number of vrooms and braps :D

For perspective, the first (out of like six now) exhaust setup I had was Tomei catless headers, Tomei titanium catless FP, some random ass OP that looked like a ten year old welded it (I think Tanabe), and a Perrin 2.5" resonated CBE. The headers were installed last, then I went back to the stock FP/OP to see if I could mellow it out a bit, and all I could really say for it is the midrange was tamed a bit, and it was somewhat quieter, but for the most part it wasn't a huge change.

IMO these cars make sense to do things a bit weird since the headers have the most restrictive cat, and do Headers -> CBE -> FP/OP. I'd recommend purchasing one at a time if you're not looking at some kind of bundle deal so that you can see how each influences the system and adjust plans accordingly. Either way, it's all going to fall down to your own tastes in the long run. Go to some local meets and see what you like, or be like me and run through six different setups. :bonk:

In general, there is a very noticeable difference between the 2 headers even when they are both catless.