AWE Touring exhaust - 2 month review

[zygrene]

Hey all,

It's been a long time since I've posted but I wanted to get involved in the 2nd gen community. I've owned my '22 BRZ for 7 months and 9000 miles between daily driving and 6 track days. I've kept the mods to a minimum - just a ColorFittings oil cooler, camber bolts, cheap set of wheels and track tires, and the AWE Touring catback exhaust.

Since I've had the exhaust for almost 2 months now, I wanted to share my full impressions. You may already have seen my first impressions video[/URL] from weeks back, but there are some more points I'd like to clarify that might help you decide whether this exhaust is for you.

1) I mentioned in my initial review that the cold start-up is ridiculously loud. That hasn't changed. It's still absurdly loud. It quiets down after 20-30 seconds once the idle rpm drops. From talking to other 1st and 2nd gen owners, this has been an "issue" with aftermarket exhausts for a long time due to the stock tune, which keeps rpms high for 20-30 seconds when the engine is cold in order to warm up the cats for efficiency purposes. For anyone seeking an exhaust that's significantly louder than stock, this is going to be a problem until aftermarket tunes become available, which I hear is coming very soon!

2) The crackles and pops during downshifts are also related to the stock tune. They just aren't apparent until you have an aftermarket exhaust. This can be a pro or con depending on your taste, but for me, I enjoy being able to drive around town without drawing attention to myself. Until I can get this behavior tuned out, I've found that I can drive around it by being slower with my throttle blips during downshifts. Quick, hard jabs of the throttle at low rpm will produce the crackles and pops, but just take your time and ease into the throttle to avoid this.

3) On the track, I LOVE this exhaust. It allows me to hear the engine clearly even with my closed-face helmet on, which makes it easier for me to know where I am in the rev range and nail my shift points. Plus, when downshifting aggressively at higher rpm, there is no snap-crackle-pop behavior at all. I was able to drive 100% at a 95dB day at Thunderhill[/URL] without breaking sound, although I doubt I'd pass at a 90dB Laguna day. I have never disabled the fake engine sound, and now with the exhaust I don't even pay attention to it.

4) Build quality is excellent and I haven't notice any shifting of the exhaust tips since the day I installed.

Verdict: I love the overall sound, quality, and looks of the AWE Touring. All of the negatives are related to the stock tune, which hopefully will be fixed with aftermarket solutions soon. That being said, I wouldn't classify this as a "mild" exhaust. It definitely leans towards the aggressive side despite its name.

If you have any other questions about this exhaust please let me know.

Cheers!
Zygrene

[ROFL it's Waffle]

I just think the ability to swap out the axle-back with the muffled/deleted pipes is an absolute game changer (at least to have it mounted so far back on the chassis). Great review!

[e_lunatic]

does the new gen not have an OFT tune option?

[dragoontwo]

Originally Posted by e_lunatic

does the new gen not have an OFT tune option?

Not yet.

[Sara/AWE]

Thanks for taking the to do this write up zygrene!

Very helpful info for those looking to upgrade and street/track their cars.

[rawpoly]

Originally Posted by Sara/AWE

Thanks for taking the to do this write up zygrene!

Very helpful info for those looking to upgrade and street/track their cars.

Any discount for forum members?

[ROFL it's Waffle]

Originally Posted by rawpoly

Any discount for forum members?

While I love discounts myself, I think some things are worth paying full price. They need that money to continue to make quality stuff.

[ROFL it's Waffle]

Originally Posted by zygrene

2) The crackles and pops during downshifts are also related to the stock tune. They just aren't apparent until you have an aftermarket exhaust. This can be a pro or con depending on your taste, but for me, I enjoy being able to drive around town without drawing attention to myself. Until I can get this behavior tuned out, I've found that I can drive around it by being slower with my throttle blips during downshifts. Quick, hard jabs of the throttle at low rpm will produce the crackles and pops, but just take your time and ease into the throttle to avoid this.

When I had my S2k, I couldn't believe what a simple aftermarket catback did the the car. I'm glad that this much volume comes into the BRZ/GR86 cabin

[SlowTime]

Thanks for honest review. Saved me from ordering this exhaust. I just can't have that much noise at start up.