APEXi N1-X Evolution Extreme Catback Review

[spcmafia]

Hey folks,
This is now my 3rd catback for the BRZ. I started with an Invida Q300, which was a good exhaust, just didn't fit the look I was aiming for. Then I switched to a HKS Hi-Power Spec L. Great exhaust, deep and sort of loud, but not at the levels of a Greddy, TOMEI, or even Invidia N1 equivalents.



After some time and a slight modification, such as thicker exhaust hangers to keep the drone down, the boss lady requested me getting something a little quieter if I wanted to take the BRZ out whenever we went out. Hence, my APEXi purchase.



From what I can tell, there are very few options of catback with a Helmholtz resonator. The cheapest, per-se was my recent purchase. I got from Enjuku and it took about two weeks to ship, one week to arrive.



Unpacking is simple, comes extremely well wrapped with required hardware. You will need to reuse the donut gasket from the Front Pipe.



Assembly of the two tips is fairly simple, and installation only requires some basic tools, removal of the two bolts on the front pipe, and some WD-40 to loosen the hangers.



First impressions and my setup;


Setup
JDL UEL Catted Headers,
OP and Double Resonated Front Pipe from HKS
APEXi Exhaust



The Good
1. Gorgeous exhaust. Its so shiny, I love shiny stuff.

2. Easy installation (Having a quick jack makes everything a breeze)
3. Quiet cold starts
4. Significant reduction of drone (This could be a combination of both the F.P and Catback)

5. Build quality appears top notch




The Bad
1. Almost too quiet for my taste, but that is the price I pay to keep a happy wife.

2. Exhaust tone could be better. Almost like a Q300 or TRD, it is only somewhat noticeable at higher revs, maybe past 4500RPM, and even then, is a mild growl.



Overall, it is, to my opinion, a "mature" catback system. Mild tone, zero drone, great looks. Your neighbors would probably thank you. Shipping didn't take long, but it is on the pricier side. Kevin Vo probably explained it best on his review.

For me, because it is a lot more tame than the HKS, I find myself pushing the car a little extra, which is beneficial in a way. I'm not afraid of attracting unnecessary attention.



Cold start and rev videos coming soon.

[RToyo86]

Have you played with dropping the rear seats?

Makes a big difference with in cabin sound with every exhaust I've had.

[spcmafia]

Originally Posted by RToyo86

Have you played with dropping the rear seats?

Makes a big difference with in cabin sound with every exhaust I've had.

Good point, I'll give that a try.

[Clipdat]

After it gets ~1k miles on it it should get a little louder.

[spcmafia]

Okay so, I've had this exhaust for about a month already.



All I gotta say is that I don't love it. Is just deep, but almost no personality. At times I feel like I hear the engine more than what I do the exhaust. But is wife-approved. So there's that. It is a gorgeous design, but that is about it. Maybe I'll go to a catless Front pipe to wake it up a little.


It is very comfortable on the highway, not going to lie. Would make for a better experience on a long drive.



I just parted ways with my HKS Spec-L as it is on its way to a new owner, and I am going to miss it dearly.


Would I recommend this exhaust? It depends on the needs really. Turbo Setups running catless headers would be benefited the most for users who want a quieter ride without losing to much back-pressure, and having a stylish exhaust at the same time. Or any owners with catless setups who don't want a lot of extra attention from cops.



If your intent is to have both a stylish exhaust, and give your engine sound more personality, IMHO, this is not the exhaust for you. I would rather recommend a Greddy, Fujitsubo, or HKS Spec-L.

[Clipdat]

How many miles on it now?

[spcmafia]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

How many miles on it now?

A little over 1K miles. I had 37K at install, now at 39K

[Clipdat]

Interesting. Probably not what you want to hear, but try to give it some more time. It's possible it could still have some audible changes.

My Fujitsubo muffler is just now starting to have some character and tonality after 1,200 miles. It's been mostly whisper quiet up until this point. I'm happy that I'm starting to hear it a little more now.

[Teseo]

Swap the wife, she is the culprit.

Or your last resort is JDL ultra quiet FP (Catted+ resonator) if you want to keep the apexi catback. The other option could be, using the midpipe + axleback (suitcase form like perrin)

[Clipdat]

I got a brand new never been installed Motiv catless frontpipe you can have, just pay for shipping. lol

[Liquidsnake]

Originally Posted by spcmafia

Okay so, I've had this exhaust for about a month already.



All I gotta say is that I don't love it. Is just deep, but almost no personality. At times I feel like I hear the engine more than what I do the exhaust. But is wife-approved. So there's that. It is a gorgeous design, but that is about it. Maybe I'll go to a catless Front pipe to wake it up a little.


It is very comfortable on the highway, not going to lie. Would make for a better experience on a long drive.



I just parted ways with my HKS Spec-L as it is on its way to a new owner, and I am going to miss it dearly.


Would I recommend this exhaust? It depends on the needs really. Turbo Setups running catless headers would be benefited the most for users who want a quieter ride without losing to much back-pressure, and having a stylish exhaust at the same time. Or any owners with catless setups who don't want a lot of extra attention from cops.



If your intent is to have both a stylish exhaust, and give your engine sound more personality, IMHO, this is not the exhaust for you. I would rather recommend a Greddy, Fujitsubo, or HKS Spec-L.

Did you have the old gen Spec L or the new one?

[RToyo86]

Originally Posted by Teseo

Swap the wife, she is the culprit.

Or your last resort is JDL ultra quiet FP (Catted+ resonator) if you want to keep the apexi catback. The other option could be, using the midpipe + axleback (suitcase form like perrin)

^
Catted/resonated will add add a bit of personality, if you just went Catted you may also get some additional tones back.

Catless is mostly all drawbacks on a daily IMO. The smell is pretty awful if/when it makes its way into the cabin.

[spcmafia]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

I got a brand new never been installed Motiv catless frontpipe you can have, just pay for shipping. lol

I’ll take you up on that!! If you still have it, of course.

[Clipdat]

Originally Posted by spcmafia

I’ll take you up on that!! If you still have it, of course.

Sure, it's yours!