Installed Perrin CBE, RIP subie rumble :(
 

Warning: rant

Today I installed a Perrin catback and now I just murdered the remaining rumble the car had. No more guda-guda-guda-guda. It's just a boring, flat, muffled ggmmmmmmmmm. I guess at least I can drive in 4-5K rpms without people think I'm being an asshole, but still.

I'm sad. My very first two exhaust mods on this car were perfect and did not need any more tweaks. Unfortunately, I had to change it to fix an exhaust leak. And the more I changed, the more I disliked the exhaust note. There's something magical about JDL UEL with the stock frontpipe. My car used to sound like a helicopter, like a purring tiger cub.

Maybe if I chop the catt or resonator from the front pipe it will sound less muffled and flat? If I take the catback off and have the exhaust flow out of the JDL frontpipe it sounds damn amazing! Obviously I can't keep it that way, but I wonder what it would take to keep that same note throughout a catback. Unresonated catback? Maybe cut the resonator off the catback? I feel like the resonators are the culprit. Maybe 1 cat in the front pipe, and 1 resonator in the catback would yield more rumble.

I'm not sure what the science behind exhaust pipes truly is. The exhaust mods do not add in my head and is becoming increasingly frustrating to deal with not only not getting a desired exhaust note, but also parts not fitting other after market parts and needing to be taken to a shop to fit. The more I add, the more awful it sounds. Maybe less is best when it comes to exhaust systems.

The best rumble sound was with the stock front pipe, catless headers. The simple days. I miss the sound so much. Feel like I'm just throwing money into a black hole trying to get the note back that I nailed the first time around, but only changed because of an exhaust leak I couldn't figure out how to seal.

My car used to sound like this:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgKXGlQHPgA[/ame]

But now it sounds more muffled and lifeless than stock.

maybe you just love the sound of a leaking exhaust! haha. well you could always just go back to stock with jdl uel right? thats what you liked best right?

Yeah... Just all that wasted money trying to get back to something I already achieved. I don't understand the magic behind that damn stock front pipe. I just don't get how it can sound so amazing with a UEL, but also be so cheaply designed and rusted to all hell. Is there no way to replicate it with a better, thicker, stainless steel aftermarket pipe?

what was your setup when u feel it was the most uel rumble? bc honestly i could care less about plus or minus horsepower, id rather have a good driver experience and tuner presence.

Totally agree with that. I'm all about driving fun and experience by maximizing a stock car's performance and efficiency. Been my main objective with my build and so far my hard work and cash has paid off.

If I had to list all of my 2.5" exhaust experiences on my car from fav to least fav, this is how I would number them:

#1 JDL UEL HD / JDL Ultra Quiet FP / No Catback - just for testing. super loud, but also super deep rumble. GUDA GUDA GUDA! Would LOVE to keep this exhaust note, just lower in volume, but I don't know if its even possible.

#2 JDL UEL HD / Stock FP / FT86 Res Catback - same as above, but just not as loud. this was the sweet spot and it only took 2 tries. kinda sounds like a helicopter. rumble so potent it rattled things in the cabin like a subwoofer. my favorite practical setup (#1 isn't practical). Neat phaser sound effect when revving up a ramp on the highway next to the traffic barricades

#3 JDL UEL HD / JDL Catted FP / FT86 Res Catback - kinda of rumbly in the low rpm, but raspy/fartish at 4K rpms and up. overall a bit louder than setup #2. still has the awesome phaser effect on the exhaust while driving beside traffic barricades or semi trucks

#4 JDL UEL HD / JDL Ultra Quiet FP / FT86 Res Catback - take #3 and suck the excitement/life out of it. even less rumbly, but still raspy/fartish 4K rpms and up and quieter

#5 JDL UEL HD / JDL Ultra Quiet FP / Perrin Res Catback - deep, but no rumble. lifeless and flat. quieter than #4 <- current setup :cry:

#6 Stock HD / Stock FP / FT86 Res Catback - basically just a louder stock with some added gurgles and popping, which were nice

#7 Stock HD / Stock FP / Stock Catback - well, stock. non-existent exhaust note

#8. JDL UEL HD / No FP / No Catback - just testing, HELLA loud but not very deep. could not hear people speaking. definitely not practical

You can just see the degradation of my happiness with my exhaust "upgrades" even more clearly in the listed format above lol.

Why don't you run a track pipe or muffler delete?

Still sounds good to me. Perrin has always been one of the more quieter catbacks, especially the resonated ones. They're expensive though and wide sought after so you wouldn't have a problem trading it with someone from your local ft86 group for their deeper exhaust and money on top.

Sounds good to me man. Nice and rorty.