HKS Exhaust Choices - Which one do I go with?

[MrDinkleman]

Torry-


Resurrecting this thread because I have an itch to spend money on my FRS...


I have been studying the HKS website's graphs and I am a little confused. How can the Legamax Sport have less back pressure AND be able to support 350ps and still be quieter than the Legamax Premium? Also, on the website, the quad tip Sport is for the BRZ only. Will it fit the FRS? I just happen to like quad tip exhausts and would prefer that on my FRS.

TIA!


p.s. It sounds like the Legamax Sport is similar to the L-Tuned muffler (made by HKS) on my IS300. The L-tuned muffler is as quiet as stock but has a nice burble at idle, has a nice slightly louder, deeper tone when accelerating, and supposedly makes an extra 6hp.

[Ashikabi]

Originally Posted by MrDinkleman

Torry-


Resurrecting this thread because I have an itch to spend money on my FRS...


I have been studying the HKS website's graphs and I am a little confused. How can the Legamax Sport have less back pressure AND be able to support 350ps and still be quieter than the Legamax Premium? Also, on the website, the quad tip Sport is for the BRZ only. Will it fit the FRS? I just happen to like quad tip exhausts and would prefer that on my FRS.

TIA!


p.s. It sounds like the Legamax Sport is similar to the L-Tuned muffler (made by HKS) on my IS300. The L-tuned muffler is as quiet as stock but has a nice burble at idle, has a nice slightly louder, deeper tone when accelerating, and supposedly makes an extra 6hp.

Catbacks don't make any extra power unless you're boosted on the FRS, all pipes that fit the BRZ also fit the FRS(I think someone asked this earlier in the thread), and I don't see how the sport could be quieter than the premium since it(iirc) has can mufflers instead of barrel/suitcase style. Not that it couldn't be quiet, I just don't see how it could be quieter. Also, I have the Premium and it is very quiet. IMO if you aren't putting headers on its not worth getting a quiet exhaust. My GReddy cans were great before I had headers but were stupid loud when I took off my cats(hence my switching to HKS)

[Torry@HKSUSA]

Originally Posted by MrDinkleman

Torry-


Resurrecting this thread because I have an itch to spend money on my FRS...


I have been studying the HKS website's graphs and I am a little confused. How can the Legamax Sport have less back pressure AND be able to support 350ps and still be quieter than the Legamax Premium? Also, on the website, the quad tip Sport is for the BRZ only. Will it fit the FRS? I just happen to like quad tip exhausts and would prefer that on my FRS.

TIA!


p.s. It sounds like the Legamax Sport is similar to the L-Tuned muffler (made by HKS) on my IS300. The L-tuned muffler is as quiet as stock but has a nice burble at idle, has a nice slightly louder, deeper tone when accelerating, and supposedly makes an extra 6hp.

Backpressure and sound aren't necessarily related. The Sports Exhaust is designed to be quiet and have reduced backpressure. Some people want a little bit louder exhaust note, or want the Premium exhaust because of the way it looks. The sound note can change from a variety of different reasons. Things like exhaust piping material, muffler design, piping thickness or diameter, can all change the exhaust note. Also, the Premium exhaust is significantly lighter than the Sports exhaust.

As for the fitment, all the exhausts fit both the FR-S and BRZ.

[MrDinkleman]

Originally Posted by Ashikabi

Catbacks don't make any extra power unless you're boosted on the FRS, all pipes that fit the BRZ also fit the FRS(I think someone asked this earlier in the thread), and I don't see how the sport could be quieter than the premium since it(iirc) has can mufflers instead of barrel/suitcase style. Not that it couldn't be quiet, I just don't see how it could be quieter. Also, I have the Premium and it is very quiet. IMO if you aren't putting headers on its not worth getting a quiet exhaust. My GReddy cans were great before I had headers but were stupid loud when I took off my cats(hence my switching to HKS)

I am thinking of this because like the quad tips not so much for power or sound...

Originally Posted by Torry@HKSUSA

As for the fitment, all the exhausts fit both the FR-S and BRZ.

Including the rear bumper garnishes (sorry for kicking this dead horse over and over. I just want to be sure)?


Thanks.

[Torry@HKSUSA]

Originally Posted by MrDinkleman

I am thinking of this because like the quad tips not so much for power or sound...


Including the rear bumper garnishes (sorry for kicking this dead horse over and over. I just want to be sure)?


Thanks.

Yeah, everything on all the exhausts fits both vehicles.

[Lumbajackmeh]

Originally Posted by nickmerronesucks

I have the hi power single and it is LOUD! lol I like it with my turbo brz. Was going to check out to see if you guys had a 3 inch front pipe to match it. But anyhow What is that crazy looking resonator called that comes off the side of the Hi power single exits mid pipe?

I realize this is old but how's the highway drone with the single exit? I'm interested in it but don't want to feel like blowing my brains out after an hour long highway drive.

[Lumbajackmeh]

Torry maybe you'd be able to shed some light on it. How well does the resonator do at reducing highway drone? Does HKS have any videos available?

[vgarcin]

For those interested
I have a HKS EL header, HKS front pipe (uncatted) and legamax sports single exit

at 5'000 RPM, i'm around 88db, which is relatively quiet. Much more loud when I floor it, but definitely quieter than many other exhausts i have heard around.

performance wise, i've reached +30% power vs. stock on flex fuel while still being N/A.

The HKS R'spec EL header is probably one of the best performance header existing in the market with the ACE header out there.

[Torry@HKSUSA]

Originally Posted by vgarcin

For those interested
I have a HKS EL header, HKS front pipe (uncatted) and legamax sports single exit

at 5'000 RPM, i'm around 88db, which is relatively quiet. Much more loud when I floor it, but definitely quieter than many other exhausts i have heard around.

performance wise, i've reached +30% power vs. stock on flex fuel while still being N/A.

The HKS R'spec EL header is probably one of the best performance header existing in the market with the ACE header out there.

I believe Lumbajack was referring to the single exit, not single tip. The racing exhaust is a single exit and is significantly louder than the single tip sports exhaust.

Lumbajack, to answer your question, the racing exhaust is pretty loud and does have some drone at highway speeds. This is because it is the straightest and least muffled exhaust HKS makes for the car. So it makes the most power, and is the lightest, but personally I don't know if I'd like it for a daily driver. It does sound good, but it could get old pretty quickly if you're on a road trip.

I drove our 2014 FR-S with the Spec L and carbon tips from here to Pure Tuning (HKS Pro Dealer) a couple months ago (about 2 hour drive). It sounded pretty good the whole way. On the way back, I drove the 2016 car we recently used for the Flash Editor tuning update. It had the racing single exit exhaust on it. I don't think I could have taken it much longer. I was definitely ready to get out after 2 hours of driving lol.

[Lumbajackmeh]

Thanks Torry. I was looking at a good deal for the single exit racing exhaust but wanted to make sure it wouldn't make me want to "pull the trigger" after a decent commute. I suppose save some pennies and buy a proper street exhaust.

[Veloist]

Originally Posted by Torry@HKSUSA

From quietest to loudest:

Legamax Sports Cat-Back Dual Tip - 86 db
Legamax Sports Cat-Back Single Tip - 88 db
Hi-Power Spec L Cat-Back Carbon Tips - 90 db
Legamax Premium Cat-Back or Axle-Back - 91 db
Hi-Power Spec L Cat-Back Titanium Tips - 93 db
Hi-Power Racing - 104 db

From lightest to heaviest:

Hi-Power Racing - 23 lbs
Hi-Power Spec L Cat-Back Titanium Tips - 27 lbs
Legamax Premium Axle-Back - 32 lbs
Hi-Power Spec L Cat-Back Carbon Tips - 34 lbs
Legamax Sports Cat-Back Single Tip - 50 lbs
Legamax Premium Cat-Back - 51 lbs
Legamax Sports Cat-Back Dual Tip - 58 lbs

What are the sound levels (db) based on? Average noise level or at a specific RPM?

I'm looking for a loud cat back exhaust with no plans to mod any other part of exhaust. I don't daily my car and I only drive it on 10-15 minute trips unless I'm on a spirited drive for about 1.5hours. I'm leaning toward the Hi-Power Spec L with Titanium tips. Is it louder during idle and at around 2000-4000 rpm compared to stock? Thanks.

[Torry@HKSUSA]

Originally Posted by Veloist

What are the sound levels (db) based on? Average noise level or at a specific RPM?

I'm looking for a loud cat back exhaust with no plans to mod any other part of exhaust. I don't daily my car and I only drive it on 10-15 minute trips unless I'm on a spirited drive for about 1.5hours. I'm leaning toward the Hi-Power Spec L with Titanium tips. Is it louder during idle and at around 2000-4000 rpm compared to stock? Thanks.

Those are close range peak measurements. So that would be nearby the vehicle, a quick rev through the RPM range under no load, and whatever the peak measurement was. Stock is 86 db.

[Pointmutation]

Originally Posted by Veloist

I'm leaning toward the Hi-Power Spec L with Titanium tips. Is it louder during idle and at around 2000-4000 rpm compared to stock? Thanks.

With just the CBE, mine was a little louder at warm idle. Cold starts were definitely much louder. And at 2k-4k rpms (well, 2.5-3.5k rpms anyway), drone was unbearably loud for me and overwhelmed most of the exhaust noise from inside.

My review of the Hi-power Spec-L w/ Ti tips... http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108645

Drone got much much better with the addition of their cat-less dual resonate front pipe though.

[Veloist]

Originally Posted by Pointmutation

With just the CBE, mine was a little louder at warm idle. Cold starts were definitely much louder. And at 2k-4k rpms (well, 2.5-3.5k rpms anyway), drone was unbearably loud for me and overwhelmed most of the exhaust noise from inside.

My review of the Hi-power Spec-L w/ Ti tips... http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108645

Drone got much much better with the addition of their cat-less dual resonate front pipe though.

I saw your review while I was "researching." It's crazy because a lot of people say it doesn't drone or that it's too quiet for them. And I can't get a proper sound demo in person because people mod the rest of the exhaust.