Sound Demo: Ace 350 Header/Overpipe, Fujitsubo Authorize R Catback

[Stang70Fastback]

Obligatory note about headphones being required to get a decent sense of the sound.

This is a long video, mainly because I'm not sure anyone else actually has this combination; if they do, there aren't videos of it that I've been able to find. I wanted to include lots of sound samples for folks considering something similar.

2015 Subaru BRZ. Only relevant mods to this video are:
- ACE 350 4-2-1 Catless EL Header and Overpipe
- Fujitsubo Authorize R Catback
- Delicious Tuning Tune

I'm not an expert in audio recording; I just used my cheap, little, stereo Olympus external microphone. Hooked up to the GoPro. GoPro placed where it was to hopefully allow you to see the tachometer at some points as a reference.

Video Timestamps, and microphone placement:

Microphone 10-12' away at camera level.
- 0:00 Cold start, then 1,000 RPM idle

Microphone on top of rear bumper, just behind trunk lid.
- 0:22 Casual driving, cruising, a few downshifts
- 1:27 Harder acceleration
- 1:42 Launch control @ 4,000 RPM

Microphone 20' away at camera level. Sorry about the wind noise!
- 1:54 Casual acceleration
- 2:07 Return cruise and downshift
- 2:18 Harder acceleration
- 2:30 Launch control @ 4,000 RPM

Microphone on top of rear bumper, just behind trunk lid.
- 2:41 General cruising, downshifts

Microphone on passenger seat just forward of headrest.
- 4:00 Interior noise

- 5:00 Blooper: Launch control downhill, lol.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW1AeeY4j_k[/ame]

[Timmy_Jones]

Yikes, must be the mic or something. Headphone listener here and this is just awful sounding. High pitched, no bass or burble. No character. Like a Honda without the nice Vtect sound at the top range. Is it loud in the car? Is there bass that im missing with the videos??

[PulsarBeeerz]

Originally Posted by Timmy_Jones

Yikes, must be the mic or something. Headphone listener here and this is just awful sounding. High pitched, no bass or burble. No character. Like a Honda without the nice Vtect sound at the top range. Is it loud in the car? Is there bass that im missing with the videos??

It may just be the quality of the headphones you are using. Playing through my little 2.1 desktop system it sounds fine. If anything a little more burbles than one would expected.

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by Timmy_Jones

Yikes, must be the mic or something. Headphone listener here and this is just awful sounding. High pitched, no bass or burble. No character. Like a Honda without the nice Vtect sound at the top range. Is it loud in the car? Is there bass that im missing with the videos??

Well, being an EL, it isn't going to have that deep, "boxer rumble." Personally I think it sounds okay up to around 4,000 RPM. After that, it's definitely tinnier than I'd like. I think the cheap, $30 microphone I was using also didn't do all that great a job of picking up the deeper notes. For example, in the car, there is a bit of deeper resonance/drone around the 3,000 mark, but you don't really hear that at all in the video. Having said that, it isn't low and burbly like an AMG exhaust, but I haven't really heard any exhaust for this car that can do that without also being way louder than what I'd want.

All that being said, I thought it sounded OK on my headphones. This setup is actually a bit rumblier down low than I had expected it to be.

[Stang70Fastback]

Thoughts from people on whether a dual-resonated front pipe (for example, the Fujitsubo one) would further improve exhaust sound? Or would it just make it loud as shit? This is a tempting final purchase just to be able to say I have a "full aftermarket exhaust," lol. #ScenePoints

[Tristor]

Sounds okay to me, better than a lot I've heard. But to be perfectly honest, nearly every exhaust on this car sounds ricey. I've yet to find one that I've just fallen in love with. Best I've heard so far is the Dezod Motorsports one, but yeah, seems you can't get away from that sound with an EL.

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by Tristor

Sounds okay to me, better than a lot I've heard. But to be perfectly honest, nearly every exhaust on this car sounds ricey. I've yet to find one that I've just fallen in love with. Best I've heard so far is the Dezod Motorsports one, but yeah, seems you can't get away from that sound with an EL.

Pretty much my feelings. Only so much you can do with this 2.0L flat four. Every single exhaust I've heard for this car has always had a "ricey" sound to it once you started adding aftermarket headers and front pipes and whatnot - especially at the top end. Just gotta make the best of it. I spend 97% of my time driving this car at or below 4,000 RPM, to be honest, so for most of my use case, it sounds good. I'm *really* not a fan of how these cars sound at the top end, though. Very buzzy.

Having said that, I do think this setup sounds better than most of the others I've heard. The Dezod is the only other exhaust I truly like on this platform.

[wparsons]

It might be the mic, or possibly what people are listening on. I know my videos don't have the full bass either. This is recorded with the mic about 10" from the left exhaust tip, stock header/over pipe, perrin catted 2.5" front pipe and 2.5" resonated exhaust, it's definitely bassier in person.


[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuoL2BDoeGE[/ame]

[Migit109]

Sounds good to me. I prefer pretty loud (tomei el -> tomei op -> hks dual resonated -> hks hi power single) but this would be my choice if I needed to be quieter and was starting from scratch.

[tomm.brz]

i bet on real life it sounds bettter anyway ACE put out a lot of mi-highmid range fequencies.. i like it actually

[Timmy_Jones]

I cant help but think that EL header just makes the exhaust sound so so bad. I think a UEL header (I know blah blah blah you give up 10HP) sounds so much better.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-mTbAsMtao[/ame]

[stlgrym3]

i have the ACE350 header with Perrin 2.5 resonated catback, which is on the quieter side just like the Fujisubo. i absolutely love the sound all over the rpm spectrum.