My Nismo w/ AAM Short-tail exhaust
 

There has been much said and written about AAM’s Short-tailed exhaust, but I have not heard or seen them on a Nismo. After watching and listening to countless videos and reading comments on The 370.com I decided to give AAM short-tails a try, and they did not disappoint. Let me start by saying if you are looking for a mild or tame sounding exhaust you need not apply. It’s loud.....but not obnoxious.

First the look of the new Titanium Tips are simply elegant and has fast written all over them.http://www.the370z.com/images/smilies/driving.gif

The install was breeze...well let me quantify that. It was a breeze after we got the nuts off of the exhaust...What a PITA. We were able to complete the project in 20 minutes, after the removal of abstinent parts. The fitment is perfect.

The look is very clean and unobstructed, which I really like. :icon17:The blue flame tips looks awesome and compliment the color of the car. The only feedback I have on this is the tip diameter could be larger (4.5 or 5.0 inches) and the tail pipes extended a couple of inches, as the ti-tips are somewhat hidden or tucked in under the diffuser.

I put 1K miles on them since I purchased them from AAM (Khoi is the man ) a little over a week ago. The miles were put on traveling to SoCA to spend time with my brother. This gave me a chance to break them in, feel and hear the good, the bad and the ugly.

The good: The sound during acceleration is exhilarating...raw wide open power. People stop what they are doing to find the sound. My brother was following me onto an on ramp in Montclair, CA and he said he saw a woman almost run off the road while trying to keep me in her sight plane as I made my way around the clover leaf.:icon18: It is just as impressive when down shifting. Wow...the sound of the engine revving and then the aggressive decrescendo of a series of small backfires and the growling burbling of the exhaust will make you want to do it all over again, and again, and again. Yep, some people like to hear the sound of their own voice...well I can’t get enough of my engine.:happydance:

The bad: I have read that some do not like the rasp which is associated with this and other exhaust. I think it is a matter of preference. I don’t mind the rasp, I think it is what sets this engine apart from others. I guess for me it would be like listening to my favorite blues singer and then telling him/her their singing would be better if they could just get that rasp out of their voice.

The ugly: Well there is no getting around it....the drone is unforgiving. My wife is a singer and has perfect pitch (all that means is that she hears tones or notes way better than most people) and she has to plug her ears during hard acceleration or when the engine is under load for fears of her ears exploding and getting blood all over my Z. :inoutroflpuke:However, the drone can be mitigated as some have already written by finding the sweet spot in the right rpm zone and up shifting at about 3k rpms. It also helps to keep the windows down....which makes is easier to hear your engine too!

Over all these bad boys are worth considering as a upgrade to your Nismo, if you are not wanting to spend a lot of money on a new exhaust or change the stock set up much. The bottom line is the sound and look is outstanding...I grantee it will definitely make you sticker peck out:happydance:

I agree the tips need to be at least 4.5" on the nismo. Is the rest of your exhaust oem nismo? Any video clips?

Yes it is for now, I have not had the time to install my AEM CAI. I will post a video when I get a chance. I'm a neophyte when comes to social media...

Good writeup--

I love my short tails as well!

Very nice & congrats. I think we would love to hear a clip of some sounds . . .

For those who want an absolutely raw, almost pure race car sound...

I installed unresonated test pipes, the ebay y pipe, and the short tails. The result is an almost unfathomably loud but beautifully pure and raw sound of the VQ motor. Link follows in the spoiler.

It's pretty much nothing but pipe now. Watch in HD, as it preserves a bit more quality of the sound.

Ear plugs anyone!!...very cool. I will try and get video posted this week.

HAHAH Holy Crap! Thats intense

Haha that thing sounds so mean! Congrats guys, I almost went with short tails but Tony at Fast intentions won me over :)


Sent from my iPizzle using magic and new-fangled science stuff

Bob,

Thanks so much for the write up! shipping out an AAM tshirt for you as soon as you let me know what size you wear! LOL


Large or X-Large?

I'm 5'10" @180lbs and a Large fits me a little big after a wash. Just to give you an idea

Sweet...large please & thanks!

a little wrinkly, but sent!

I figured you guys and some others might be a bit curious about how it is to drive. I compiled a lot of videos in another thread to prevent myself from hijacking all the threads I was going to post in.

http://www.the370z.com/intake-exhaus...-think-so.html

No worries, it's all about spreading the word...short-tails rock
:worship:

better late than never

ENJOY!

Khoi, thanks for the Tee...very Cool!!!!

sounds great Bob! man those AZ roads are super flat! haha must be nice :D

Yep...it make for some fast, I mean fun driving. Got a great road up the mountain from my house. Starts at 3,500' and goes to 7,000'. Lots of twistees!

Sounds great-

Where is NW, AZ?!

What size are the tips?

Looks awesome btw!

They are 4 inches and thanks. I get a lot of compliments on them.

Wow! Ok thats it i know what exhaust I'm getting now. Lol, that sounds epicly awesome!

4 sets of polished tips coming hot off the line today!

Sounds great

Hey Nick, sorry I never responded to your inquiry about where I'm located. I'm in Kingman, about 1 1/2hrs south Las Vegas.

Seems to be a lot of discussion about AAM Short Tails and HFC or test pipes. While the short tails may be too loud for some and I get that, let's say I'm in the over 50 gang and I still can't get enough of that race car sound. To that end, I am getting my CAI (AEM) and a set of ART PIPES installed on this coming Friday.:happydance: I'm not looking to make the exhaust any louder, but a deeper tone would be awesome too go along with the horse power gains. I guess I will need to get a tune and Uprev next. As someone said..."When will the mods stop!":icon18: I will post a video and my assessment when its all said and done.

I have driven thru kingman!

I think the ART pipes are my best bet for the sound that I want. I need the power of the test pipes, but not really the extreme loudness of some of them.

Uprev will be neccessary with your next mods, excited to see videos and dyno.

Also, a tune is UpRev. So you wont need a tune & uprev.

10-4, on the tune and UpRev...thanks!

Bob, I think this is going to sound bad A** as there has been a few video clips with customs and regular test pipes and the short tails, although you get a very small range of rasp, it sounds wicked haha

can't wait for the sound clips!

I here ya man...can't wait!

I had an AEM CAI and ART Pipes installed this past Friday. What a difference in every way. The performance factor is very noticeable according to the seat of my pants gauge. Better throttle response and pull through all gears and the sound...well Khoi said it best, its BAD A$$. This is an in your face setup and should not be done if you want to fly under the radar or be politically correct or want go unnoticed (kind of an oxymoron in a Nismo:tup:). There is an increase in rasp and drone at the same RPM points so beware if you have sensitive ears. I'm going to have fun with it for now, but contemplating a new exhaust to get rid of the rasp and drone. Will get the car tuned when I make up my mind.:icon14:

I was under the impression that the ART pipes were quieter then most test pipes!

Maybe its the roar from those AEM's though... Idk.

I like the sound! I just couldn't have it for my DD.

Let us know if you tune it

awesome vid Bob!

Thanks guys! Nick, I had the same thought...but maybe it comes from the addition of the CAI as well. I only have a six mile commute to work and I'm seldom above 40 mph. so its not that bad as DD. I can milk it to keep most folks from thinking I'm another punk with a loud car. I'm fortunate to live in a town with a lot rods, mostly muscle cars, I get a lot of thumbs up from those guys.

"quieter" would be too subjective for them to really advertise but their biggest niche would be the ability to capture certain exhaust frequencies canceling out a lot of rasp/drone. So flow of test pipes without the additional hiss/rasp/drone :tup: I've gotta give it up to the guys at Motordyne

Great observation Khoi, I totally agree with you on the quality of Motordyne's ART pipes. The sound is phenomenal!! I am noticing the sound to be mellowing (very throaty) some, less rasp and drone from the first couple of days.

great review. Any noticeable/loss in hp/tq?

Nothing that is noticeable, but if you add a CAI and or HFC you will see noticeable gains. HFC or test pipes will be very loud....but awesome!

Your setup sounds awesome dude! I'm not quite there with you in your age bracket, but I am in the previous decade bracket and fully understand that type of passion for your NISMO.

Sidebar:

I lost a bolt and gasket in my TT-TDX while on the Dragon and it sounded horrible at idle and low (like < 2k) RPM, but sounded beast mode @ 5-6k RPM. I fixed the leak and it went back to normal. Time to make some mods........especially after hearing Hotrodz setup!

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Thanks guys for the props...going FI later this summer. I can't wait!