[Official] "Which Exhaust Should I Buy for My 370z?" Thread

[ColtronZ]

Originally Posted by buis370

So I've read through this whole thread and have listened to countless YouTube clips, but I'm hoping someone can give me some input here.

With tax season amidst us, I'm looking to upgrade my exhaust. I've narrowed my options down to:

1) Fast Intentions, Non-resonated CBE
2) Tomei Extreme Ti, single exit with Motordyne XYZ Y-pipe
3) ARK Grip CBE

I'm currently running AAM Resonated Short tails and plan on picking up some Motordyne ART pipes soon. I like the loudness of my current setup, but the drone from the short tails can be unbearable at times (I don't mind, but my passengers do). Out of the 3 options above, what setup do you guys think would fit best with the ART pipes? Feel free to suggest other options, my budget is around $1500.

FI or Tomei for sure.

[buis370]

Originally Posted by ColtronZ

FI or Tomei for sure.

Thanks man. Do you like the loudness of your set up? I like it loud, and I've heard FI CBE is a bit quieter than a muffler delete, but the sound is much better in my opinion.

I like it loud, so I'm hoping the ART pipes will make up for it
Obviously the Tomei is going to be LOUD, I guess I'll have to see what the ART pipes sound like with my current setup before deciding

[ColtronZ]

Originally Posted by buis370

Thanks man. Do you like the loudness of your set up? I like it loud, and I've heard FI CBE is a bit quieter than a muffler delete, but the sound is much better in my opinion.

I like it loud, so I'm hoping the ART pipes will make up for it
Obviously the Tomei is going to be LOUD, I guess I'll have to see what the ART pipes sound like with my current setup before deciding

I like my setup, very clean sound and decently loud comparatively. Test pipes and tune made a huge difference. I would like louder but at what cost? (style, rasp, etc). I daily mine so I guess it depends on how much noise you can handle.

Luckily, these two brands are extremely popular and you can either find a plethora of videos on them or roll up to a meet and the chances of each being there is favorable. Also FI have great customer service, you just have to wait a few months for your products.

[Base370]

HKS Hi Power VS Invidia Gemini


How would you rate these against each other in the following categories:

Cold Start Sound levels
Drone and Rasp
High RPM sound levels
Cruising RPM sound levels
Exhaust quality (welds etc)
Fitment

I am looking at these from as daily driving not too aggressive exhaust. I see these are often recommended. However I want something that is louder than stock for sure and obviously aftermarket but very much bearable.

I previously tried to cheap out by getting axle backs but ultimately, a full cat back is the solution.

[OptionZero]

For what you described, you want fast intentions

[Nixin]

Fast Intentions for sure!

[Ïon]

Looks like a pretty dead thread but its sticky'd so why not...been watching just about every sound clip I can find and am no closer to deciding on which exhaust to buy. The 3 choices I've narrowed it down to are as follows. I've never seen another modified Z around my area so it's hard to get a good reading as to how these exhausts compare. I am coming from a catless HKS true dual on a z33 I just sold and loved that sound...deep but loud with lots of backfires if that helps you help me at all

1-Motordyne shockwave
2-HKS Hi-Power
3-Greddy evolution GT

[geeteezee]

Gonna jump in here as well. I'm looking for higher performance than stock, but quiet.
I'm assuming it'll be louder than stock, but what's the next step? Invidia Gemini? Read here and there that they're not as performance oriented as others.

[JLarson]

Originally Posted by geeteezee

Gonna jump in here as well. I'm looking for higher performance than stock, but quiet.
I'm assuming it'll be louder than stock, but what's the next step? Invidia Gemini? Read here and there that they're not as performance oriented as others.

Are you keeping stock cats? That has a really big impact. I found my Fast Intentions non-res exhaust to be fairly quiet until I added long tube headers (at which point I migrated to 12" resonated mid pipes).

[JLarson]

Originally Posted by Ïon

Looks like a pretty dead thread but its sticky'd so why not...been watching just about every sound clip I can find and am no closer to deciding on which exhaust to buy. The 3 choices I've narrowed it down to are as follows. I've never seen another modified Z around my area so it's hard to get a good reading as to how these exhausts compare. I am coming from a catless HKS true dual on a z33 I just sold and loved that sound...deep but loud with lots of backfires if that helps you help me at all

1-Motordyne shockwave
2-HKS Hi-Power
3-Greddy evolution GT

If it's between these 3, my vote is for Motordyne. The HKS is very very quiet. Greddy I haven't heard. Motordyne is incredibly awesome (but be aware it's loudish).

[Ïon]

Originally Posted by JLarson

If it's between these 3, my vote is for Motordyne. The HKS is very very quiet. Greddy I haven't heard. Motordyne is incredibly awesome (but be aware it's loudish).

Cool thanks...still a bit more research to do I think...weird you say HKS is quite I was watching a clip on the audio thread it sounded relatively loud (quiet in comparison to the motordyne maybe?) Just having trouble justifying the extremely large price tag they have at motordyne for a catback(3700 by the time it lands here up north I was quoted ) ...anything else comparable you could recommend?

[JLarson]

Originally Posted by Ïon

Cool thanks...still a bit more research to do I think...weird you say HKS is quite I was watching a clip on the audio thread it sounded relatively loud (quiet in comparison to the motordyne maybe?) Just having trouble justifying the extremely large price tag they have at motordyne for a catback(3700 by the time it lands here up north I was quoted ) ...anything else comparable you could recommend?

My experience with the HKS was that while I was first looking for a 370, I test drove a car that had one. Now I'd say with 99% certainty that same car probably also had oem cats. So a good follow up question for you is are you planning on running OEM, hfcs, or test pipes?

ARK, Motordyne, and Fast Intentions all provide a nice deep sound. I ran a Motordyne with Art pipes on my 350z, and currently run catless Fast Intentions with 12" resonators on 370z (turbo acts as a muffler, impacting sound somewhat). I've also had non-resonated FI with cats, non-res FI with long tube headers, and 12" resonators with long tube headers. My wife runs a Motordyne on her g37 with oem cats.

So from personal experience, my reviews are as follows:
-FI is a decent exhaust, with a nice tone. If you're staying with stock cats, even unresonated, it's on the quiet side. It grumbles, providing crackling and popping on down shifts. It opens up under acceleration. Cabin drone (a big deal for a daily) is pretty minimal, but if drone is something you're worried about, start off with 12" resonators.
-Long Tube Headers vastly increase your sound. When I went with LTH, the sonic shockwave from my car shook my garage door on a cold start and vibrated the house (detached garage). The car droned from 2200 rpm to 2800 rpms. I did not enjoy this for a dd (although it was pretty awesome if I were using it as a weekend/track toy). Adding the 12" resonated section helped a lot, drone was pretty much reduced to just around 2200 rpms.
-Adding a turbo reduces the sound pretty dramatically. I still get the rumble, I still get the crackle and pop type sounds on down shifts, but the car is pretty quiet except under load.
-Motordyne, by comparison, has a louder and throatier sound even with cats. I still need to check dB levels, but externally my wife's car is a bit louder now than mine is, though her cabin is better sound proofed than mine. It has a lot more rumble, and a lot less pop and crackle to it.
-HKS, with cats, is substantially more quiet than FI with cats (probably 5 dB or so). It sounds nice, but it's barely louder than the OEM exhaust.

I hope that helps. If you've got any specific questions, let me know.

[Whjaxn17]

Originally Posted by JLarson

If it's between these 3, my vote is for Motordyne. The HKS is very very quiet. Greddy I haven't heard. Motordyne is incredibly awesome (but be aware it's loudish).

The Greddy is loud. It opens up from 2.5" to 3" in the mid pipe. I'm running it with Fast Intentions resonated test pipes and love it.

Originally Posted by Ïon

Cool thanks...still a bit more research to do I think...weird you say HKS is quite I was watching a clip on the audio thread it sounded relatively loud (quiet in comparison to the motordyne maybe?) Just having trouble justifying the extremely large price tag they have at motordyne for a catback(3700 by the time it lands here up north I was quoted ) ...anything else comparable you could recommend?

The HKS is a straight 2.5" all the way. It's a bit more restrictive, so it won't gain as much power and won't be as loud(also due to 4 muffler sections and 2 resonators). This only really matters if you're chasing every bit of power you can get. If you want something that sounds nice, it's a solid option. You can't go wrong with Fast Intentions, Greddy, HKS, or Motordyne.

[Ïon]

Originally Posted by Whjaxn17

The Greddy is loud. It opens up from 2.5" to 3" in the mid pipe. I'm running it with Fast Intentions resonated test pipes and love it.

is there any chance you have a sound clip of your setup? have not been able to find anything on yt with test pipes as well. Also was just suggested the ark grip by another forum member, and I have to say it sounds quite nice as well lol

[Ïon]

Originally Posted by JLarson

My experience with the HKS was that while I was first looking for a 370, I test drove a car that had one. Now I'd say with 99% certainty that same car probably also had oem cats. So a good follow up question for you is are you planning on running OEM, hfcs, or test pipes?

ARK, Motordyne, and Fast Intentions all provide a nice deep sound. I ran a Motordyne with Art pipes on my 350z, and currently run catless Fast Intentions with 12" resonators on 370z (turbo acts as a muffler, impacting sound somewhat). I've also had non-resonated FI with cats, non-res FI with long tube headers, and 12" resonators with long tube headers. My wife runs a Motordyne on her g37 with oem cats.

So from personal experience, my reviews are as follows:
-FI is a decent exhaust, with a nice tone. If you're staying with stock cats, even unresonated, it's on the quiet side. It grumbles, providing crackling and popping on down shifts. It opens up under acceleration. Cabin drone (a big deal for a daily) is pretty minimal, but if drone is something you're worried about, start off with 12" resonators.
-Long Tube Headers vastly increase your sound. When I went with LTH, the sonic shockwave from my car shook my garage door on a cold start and vibrated the house (detached garage). The car droned from 2200 rpm to 2800 rpms. I did not enjoy this for a dd (although it was pretty awesome if I were using it as a weekend/track toy). Adding the 12" resonated section helped a lot, drone was pretty much reduced to just around 2200 rpms.
-Adding a turbo reduces the sound pretty dramatically. I still get the rumble, I still get the crackle and pop type sounds on down shifts, but the car is pretty quiet except under load.
-Motordyne, by comparison, has a louder and throatier sound even with cats. I still need to check dB levels, but externally my wife's car is a bit louder now than mine is, though her cabin is better sound proofed than mine. It has a lot more rumble, and a lot less pop and crackle to it.
-HKS, with cats, is substantially more quiet than FI with cats (probably 5 dB or so). It sounds nice, but it's barely louder than the OEM exhaust.

I hope that helps. If you've got any specific questions, let me know.

not sure how to split up the quote to reply but for the time being it will just be oem cats for a while, but test pipes are the eventual plan. Thanks again for all the information.

So from what I'm taking away from your post and WhJ, it sounds like motordyne and greddy are the top two choices for me as I am looking for something on the louder side, as i mentioned in my response to him someone recently showed me the ark grip as well. Do you have any experience with that? or have had the chance to hear it in person? From the clips I can find it sounds like it's in a similar range to greddy but definitely quieter than the motordyne and louder than FI