Ark Grip V2 review

imwazn

So I got a used Ark Grip V2 from chris410 and installed it about a week ago. Thanks again for it! I just wanted to write up a review real quick about my thoughts.

Sound
I haven't been able to hear any other 370 exhausts, but I had a Greddy Ti-C on my last car (a mitsubishi lancer, not an evo), and I've gotten to compare my new Ark exhaust to a 135i with Magnalflow's and a Mustang Bullitt with Corsa's and HFC. I can honestly say that this exhaust sounds the best out of all of those. I've read some places that this is one of the quieter exhausts, but I think it's just right. It's louder than my lancer and the 135i, but quiter than the Mustang. The Mustang does have a full exhaust though. The Ark has a great deep sound and it roars when you push it. It's great. Also, there is essentially no drone at all with this system. I didn't believe anyone when they said that it wouldn't drone, but it doesn't at all. It sounds stock when you're cruising. This is one of they best sounding systems I've even heard.

Looks
This exhaust looks really good. The 4 1/2 inch tips fit perfect in the back. I have the prototype version, so I have purplish/bluish tips that you don't usually get. It looks really good with my PG. I'm sure the blue tips look equally as good though. When people take pictures of their exhausts though you can always see the mufflers and resonators, but you honestly can't see those unless you get down lower. When you do though, this exhaust looks awesome.

Build Quality
I polished the whole system up quickly before I put it on and it looked like an almost new exhaust. even before I polished it though, the exhaust looked much better than my Greddy did when I took it off. There was no bad rust or anything on it. The welds looked really from what I could tell. They did a great job with the quality. My friend with the 135i even commented on how good the quality was. The uneven logos on the exhaust is a bit annoying though, that is probably the only complaint I have of this exhaust.

Performance
I don't know how everyone has these magical butt dynos, but I can't tell much of a difference. When I push it, I'm not paying attention to how hard it pulls anymore, just how nice it sounds. I have some HPS post-mafs with this and these are my only two performance mods (if you call post-mafs that). The weight you save though is quite significant. I didn't weigh the exhausts, but you could feel the difference when installing it.

The Install
This exhaust is one of the easiest installs. If you have a jack and jack stands, you can easily do this in your garage. We only had one little problem during the install. We ended up stripping a bolt on the stock exhaust (between the midpipe and ypipe). Other than that, it was incredibly easy. One tip I have for exhaust installs that I've learned over a few installs is to just take the whole hanger off instead of just the rubber thing. Pulling an exhaust off of the hanger is pretty hard, but unbolting the hangers doesn't take more than a couple of minutes. Adjusting the tips to fit nice took no more than 10 minutes to do. I'd imagine adjusting the tips without someone else would be a pain though.

Overall
I haven't been more happy with an aftermarket part than this one, except for maybe plasti-dip . I'll try to get some pics of it soon, but all I have is my phone right now. Anyways thanks again Chris for the great deal and now I'm gonna go drive and enjoy my Z

chris410

I am happy you like it! It really is one of the best sounding exhausts out there. Make sure you reset your ecu, I did notice a difference when I put my stock exhaust back on. The materials and welds are top quality, I did my homework on the exhaust since I only use top components on my cars. I hope to see you at one of the Saturday meets sometime.

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Chris
Current: 2014 WRX Stage I + SPT / 2013 Hayabusa 202HP
Former:09 370Z 7-AT PW/Ark Type 2 exhaust/Evo R lip/TSW Nurburgring carbon

TonyBPD

The ARK exhaust does sound great, but DO NOT mate it with Motordyne ART pipes. That is all

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Fast Intentions-Stillen-Avant Garde-UpRev-319hp/265tq- Gone but will never be forgotten

Tribalpinoy91

Hey man do you mind posting a rear photo? Im planning on getting the ARK and lowering on swifts, worried about scrapping..

imwazn

I'll try to take some tomorrow and post them up for you.

chris410

One thing to note is that ARK's newer exhaust has been altered so it does not hang as low as the prototypes did. The one saving grace is that the lowest point is directly in line with the rear axle so that keeps the exhaust from scrapping for the most part.

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Chris
Current: 2014 WRX Stage I + SPT / 2013 Hayabusa 202HP
Former:09 370Z 7-AT PW/Ark Type 2 exhaust/Evo R lip/TSW Nurburgring carbon

kynseon

Im sorry to bring this 3 year old post. But why did you say dont mate it with art pipes.. asking because i have the art and i am about to buy the ark pipes