...GUILTY! Of being an amazing exhaust!
Ok...so as some of you may know, I started off my modification adventure by putting on an OEM Nismo Exhaust. I had read on here that the general consensus was that it just wasn't deep or aggressive enough for most tastes, and after a few weeks, I had come to agree. Keep in mind, that I'm 39 years old and a white collar professional, so despite the fact that I'm a little beyond the point of wanting a ridiculously loud and obnoxious sound, the Nismo just left me wanting a little bit more.
So my search began once again. The FI was out because it didn't even come close to resembling a stock look, which was very important to me. Berk was out because it looks like they won't be available until the summer of 2018. All the exhausts out there with burnt tips didn't do it for me either, so that pretty much left the Stillen. I was a little hesitant due to the fact that some of the pictures I've seen showed the tips sticking out quite a bit, however others showed them to be very flush. So I took a chance, crossed my fingers and put in the order. In short, I'm really glad I did. Here's my evaluation.
Appearance: It's a very good looking exhaust, very similar in appearance to the Nismo. The tips are pretty big at 4.5 inches (same size as the Nismo) but the way the tips are rolled, it gives the appearance that they're a bit smaller. The installer was able to align the tips flush with the cutouts and for that I was very pleased. The overall appearance MIGHT give the impression that it's an aftermarket exhaust, but only to someone that's a car enthusiast. To the untrained eye, the setup flows very naturally with the overall look of the car. As it stands today the tips are ever so slightly misaligned, and I think I'm going to have to take it back for one final adjustment, but for the most part I'm very happy with the look.
Sound: Wow. I've had so much fun in the last two days really giving my car a workout. Keep in mind that I also have the Stillen Intake. Previously, I really didn't have anything to look forward to sound wise until I hit at least 5500RPM when the amazing howl of the intake kicked in. Now that I've added the exhaust, the entire RPM band is now my personal pleasure dome. How do describe the sound? Well, unlike the Berk, which I've heard in person, it doesn't have that super rich and deep euro sound. Someone else on here described the Stillen as having an F1 racecar sound, and I would have to agree wholeheartedly. It is worlds apart from the Nismo. Louder, deeper and much more freeflowing. There is absolutely zero drone and with some forethought, you can definitely keep the sound down to stock levels while traveling down quiet streets. Mash the pedal to the floor and it's like an entirely different car has come alive. Downshifting and accelerating hard through overpasses is now absolutely mandatory. Every time you don't, it's a missed opportunity to fill your soul with the raucous sound this setup delivers. All these things said, for me...it's still qualifies as a tasteful and refined setup. I believe it comes very close to perfectly matching the personality of the car, and this driver.
Pics attached, vids to follow shortly. Hope this review was helpful. Oh...and chicks dig my dog.
