ARK GRiP Exhaust Review
 

I ordered the exhaust on 4/1 from FT86Speedfactory and received it a week later. Finally got around to installing it a week ago and now I have had the chance to enjoy it and post a review for those of you wondering about this exhaust.

A little about my search: I wanted an exhaust that complimented the looks of the car while being quiet enough to not wake the neighborhood when I leave for work and not attract any unwanted attention. However the most important thing was for no drone at highway speeds since I drive around 100 miles a day for work. After listening to the entire exhaust thread here, I was between the ARK GRiP and Lachute catback. I decided on the ARK from the few reviews here and more vendor support.

*Note* I have capped off the sound tube into the cabin so all I hear is exhaust.*
First off the sound is amazing, a deep rumble (if a bit loud) at cold start which quickly goes away. Under 2k RPMS and at idle, you cannot even tell you have an aftermarket exhaust. This may be a plus for some, but a negative for others. WOT is where this exhaust really shines. When you jump on the pedal, a deep rumble hits and sounds amazing. I often find myself waiting at lights for enough space to open up before I go just to hear the exhaust note. The biggest plus is the NO DRONE at highway speeds. You still hear the low rumble of an aftermarket exhaust, but no annoying high pitched noises which was a must for me.

Installation was extremely simple. Everything is included in the box, new gaskets and bolts. Thank you to @peteralfonso for helping me install this bad boy. The only problem we had was we did not align the tips before we bolted everything back up which resulted in the passenger side tip being slightly lower and not centered in the cutout. Thank you @Ironsquid for helping me get them aligned properly so it doesn't drive me crazy whenever I knew they were off.

After a week with this exhaust I cannot say enough about the quality of this exhaust. I love the sound and the look of the canisters. I have only received compliments on sound and appearance. I was skeptical about the burnt tips at first, but after seeing them with the Firestorm I have really grown to like the contrast. I highly recommend the ARK GRip exhaust to anyone looking for a cool looking and awesome sounding exhaust.

Glad it came out well!

Very nice man, i also plan on getting this exhaust when i finally get my car. Good to hear that it doesn't dissapoint. Keep us updated as to the condition of the exhaust as time goes on, such as, rust or whatnot.

Post up a video whenever you can. You should take a picture of the whole exhaust system, it is a catback correct?

Yes it is a catback. I can try and post up a video soon.

Looks great, my buddy in his MS3 (Mazdaspeed 3) is enjoying his Ark DT-S Catback.

The DT-S looks great as well, but I heard from reviews that it was a bit louder than the GRiP. ARK seems to make quality stuff.

I thought it came with the midpipe also??

Happy to see you enjoy your new exhaust system. I would also recommend the ARK test pipe. It is not loud and its performance is great. Aslo still no drone with test pipe

It does come with the midpipe. It has the midpipe and the axle back muffler. I looked into the test pipe, but ARK's site says "Manual Transmission Only". So I am SOL on that one.

Ok cool, and you might have to call and talk to them to see whats up.

Looking forward to hear this bad boy

Yeah that sucks and on Monday when I was at ARK they told me they had no interest in making a test pipe for the auto.

Nice review, this is the exhaust ill be getting!