Full Stock Exhaust - Anyone content with full stock & NEVER planning for aftermarket?
 

I was curious if anyone else had the same views as me and/or is fully content with the stock exhaust system and never ever planning to get an aftermarket exhaust?

I like aftermarket exhausts (especialy the Tomei and Amuse); but the noise is a big concern.. the only reason I would get and want an exhaust is for weight savings (since catback exhausts honestly only give negligible power increases for NA cars); and headers, for some extra power...but the big cons and result from a full aftermarket exhaust system is being noisy and a cop magnet and kinda outweigh the pros much more (lighter and only a little more power...not to mention thousands of dollars and even more for a custom ecu + tuning).

My plan would be: Light pulley, light flywheel, light driveshaft and a 4.88 final drive gear, which would be the only engine/drivetrain mods I want to do..while leaving the header, exhaust and intake completely stock (only a drop in filter) - Sleeper/ninja style for DD and to help avoid law enforcement significantly.

I feel these drivetrain mods would be much more significant and felt in terms of performance improvements than exhaust.

I had a hybrid EG in the '90s that has been through many diff exhausts; but in the end I returned to stock for low-pro'ness. Also had an SR'ed S13 in the late '90s/early'00s; but of course it had to have a 80mm exhaust to take full advantage of the turbo (otherwise, if it was NA, I would've left it stock).

Your opinion? ...what is your take on leaving the header and full exhaust system of the FR-S/BRZ completely stock?

I think it's nice to see(and hear) and have an incog and understated car.

If you pay to get all that install you'd be better off getting a supercharger.

Supercharger is mad expensive and I'm not interested in forced induction. Goal is to have a fun, agile, understated, super reliable (less extra parts) and stock-quiet NA car, for DD and occasional track.

Pulley = $100ish (install myself)
Flywheel = $400ish (install myself)
Driveshaft = $500ish (install myself)
4.88 FD = $350 + $400ish for install = $750
Total = much less than $2k ....much much cheaper than any supercharger/turbo kit

I can say that I am content with the stock exhaust - getting a $1,000+ exhaust system doesn't seem worth it to me for the type of driving I do, which is 80% daily drive and 20% backroad/spirited driving.

I kept the stock header, overpipe, frontpipe and midpipe and recently got the berk single exit muffler delete and love the sound. In fact, I only paid $140 to get a mean sounding exhaust note for a fraction of the price that others pay to get a similar sound. I plan on getting an aftermarket header, but other than that I think I am going to keep the overpipe, frontpipe and midpipe stock. If someone were an avid AutoX or Track go-er then I could see how getting a new exhaust set-up, while reducing overall excess weight, could be worth it.

In your case, if you plan on tuning the car, to hopefully gain +20whp, I would suggest at least getting a catted high-flow or catless header. I think it would compliment your upgrades i.e. pulley, flywheel, driveshaft, & FD

I see. You had CRANK shaft in the post. That gets expensive for installation. Drive shaft takes 25 mins.

Open Flash header + tune = 1k.... Throw some in some e85 and you don't need to do those other mods that may or may not increase whp... that's my route.

oops..typo lol

True...but not interested in modding/upgrading header/exhaust at all (and definitely not interested in ecu and tuning an NA mildly-modded car ....rather spend my money on things you can actually feel; and not just "see" on a dynograph/numbers (ie: a few negligible extra NA hp/tq you only see on a graph lol)). Just wanted to keep the exh fully stock and seeing if others are keeping it stock too.

Everything you want to do will only help make rotating the drivetrain slightly faster. You are actually not making anything faster except the final drive gear which just makes your gears shorter for feel more of the power. You should skip the drive shaft , clutch, flywheel and tune the car. Then you actually get more power and aren't buying unnessesary parts. The only reason to buy the flywheel to the driveshaft is if you need to because you have to much power.

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I can feel the gain. Car's definitely a lot more fun to drive. But it is loud, little too loud. Things you can do to this car without having to either tune or FI is very limited.

You got the right idea, however, you're only gonna really feel the final drive. I have the crank pulley, drive shaft and flywheel. Not a big difference in the butt dyno. I'm planning on doing final drive as well, but not 4.88 perhaps 4.44

I'm fine with the stock performance.. But just ordered a muffler to make it sound like a sports car..

look at dynos, see the torque dip

the drivetrain weight reduction mods you want aren't going to resolve the torque dip

I've always been a fan of ditching restrictive exhausts. Sound, and letting the engine breathe better is always a plus.

Unless you're in it for sound only, an aftermarket exhaust really comes alive with a tune. I held onto the stock catback to sell to someone if they want it. I threw away the header, overpipe, and front pipe because they are restrictive. The catback is not.


I'm sure there are plenty that like the stock exhaust system. They are what I would call not enthusiasts.

I have been thinking about changing the header and front pipe but leaving the rest stock. Mostly just to get rid of the torque dip with headers and a tune.