Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post - How loud is your aftermarket exhaust? A call for decibels

spearfish25 · 09-15-2009, 09:01 PM

Hey everyone,

In my recent quest to find a more aggressive sounding exhaust, I tried a muffler delete. While it sounds MEAN, it's very loud. Having watched endless different aftermarket CBE videos on this site, I can safely say that watching a video alone doesn't really do justice for evaluating how loud a setup truly is. So, for myself and anyone else considering an aftermarket CBE I make a plea.

Let's make a list of different exhaust combinations and how loud they are both in and out of the car. Please use a SOUND METER to record the decibels produced (say, both in and out of car at idle and under hard acceleration...feel free to list more situations if you like). If you can add details that can make or break someone's decision to purchase a particular exhaust, please include them. Helpful info would include things such as drone severity and where in the RPM band you notice it, particularly good sounding areas in the RPM range, if you've had any complications with your setup (eg melted fuel lines or something like that). Feel free to add other pertinent info as well.

If your sound meter gives options, please use the following choices for accurate measurements:
A-Weighted
Slow Response

I'm particularly interested in FI and Berk setups, but do post anything you have for the benefit of the community.

I'll kick it off.

Stock Muffler Delete, replaced with custom bent aluminum tubes to tips.
~75-80db idle in car while warm
~80-85db in car while in 6th gear on highway (around 70-80mph)
~96db out of car under heavy acceleration
~104db inside car under heavy acceleration in 4k-5k rpm range (drone zone)
Pros: Very loud, unbelievably aggressive sound. Great off-throttle 'burble', screams during acceleration, sounds like an F1 car above 5k RPM, you will turn heads as people will mistake it for something very exotic. Saves some weight (~25lbs)
Cons: relatively crude sound with many different harmonics (raw sounding), drone under load: mild at <2k RPM and pretty severe between 3800-5k RPM. Probably little hp/torque gain.

09-15-2009, 09:01 PM	#1 (permalink)
spearfish25 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Naples, FL Posts: 4,117 Drives: to work Rep Power: 1856	How loud is your aftermarket exhaust? A call for decibels Hey everyone, In my recent quest to find a more aggressive sounding exhaust, I tried a muffler delete. While it sounds MEAN, it's very loud. Having watched endless different aftermarket CBE videos on this site, I can safely say that watching a video alone doesn't really do justice for evaluating how loud a setup truly is. So, for myself and anyone else considering an aftermarket CBE I make a plea. Let's make a list of different exhaust combinations and how loud they are both in and out of the car. Please use a SOUND METER to record the decibels produced (say, both in and out of car at idle and under hard acceleration...feel free to list more situations if you like). If you can add details that can make or break someone's decision to purchase a particular exhaust, please include them. Helpful info would include things such as drone severity and where in the RPM band you notice it, particularly good sounding areas in the RPM range, if you've had any complications with your setup (eg melted fuel lines or something like that). Feel free to add other pertinent info as well. If your sound meter gives options, please use the following choices for accurate measurements: A-Weighted Slow Response I'm particularly interested in FI and Berk setups, but do post anything you have for the benefit of the community. I'll kick it off. Stock Muffler Delete, replaced with custom bent aluminum tubes to tips. ~75-80db idle in car while warm ~80-85db in car while in 6th gear on highway (around 70-80mph) ~96db out of car under heavy acceleration ~104db inside car under heavy acceleration in 4k-5k rpm range (drone zone) Pros: Very loud, unbelievably aggressive sound. Great off-throttle 'burble', screams during acceleration, sounds like an F1 car above 5k RPM, you will turn heads as people will mistake it for something very exotic. Saves some weight (~25lbs) Cons: relatively crude sound with many different harmonics (raw sounding), drone under load: mild at <2k RPM and pretty severe between 3800-5k RPM. Probably little hp/torque gain. Last edited by spearfish25; 09-16-2009 at 07:14 PM.