AAM Short Tails or Muffler Delete on roadster?

sajibaba

Hey guys,

I've had my 2010 ZR for a week and I already can't stand how quiet the car is (I'm coming from an S2000 w/ stock exhaust which I think is perfect in terms of volume). I've been doing a ton of research but most of it is from people with the coupe which I think is quite a bit louder then our roadsters due to the lack of separation between trunk and cabin. The consensus from coupe owners is that the AAM short tails are very loud and the muffler delete option is unbearable with the drone.
Wondering if any roadster owners have tried either of these options and found them more tolerable, or do we just go with the CBE and maybe HFC option like everyone else?

Thanks,

OldGuyFla

Hi

I haven't seen too many roadster owners lately that have done anything to their exhausts. There were some that posted in this link
Vert mods (with pics)
If you haven't looked through it you will see some people that have done some mods to the exhausts. You might try P.M.ing them to see what they say about theirs.

I can't speak for anyone else but for me I'm not planning on doing anything to mine that might void any part of my warranty. Just in case my top craps out & I need to have it replaced. My feeling is the roadster is a touring machine & I really don't want it to sound real loud. I want to put the top down & go for a long ride.

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Chuck33079

That can't happen. Unless you mod the top, the top will still be covered regardless of any powertrain mods.

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2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

littlejuanito

OldGuyFla

I'm not taking any chances. The tops are too expensive.

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Chuck33079

Ok, but it's not taking a chance. It's how it works. They have to prove that your mod caused the problem and I'm not sure even the shadiest dealer can prove that a cat back broke the convertible top.

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2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

gonzales25

I put a nismo exhaust on mine and it sounds good plus the tips look awesome, I didn't want anything crazy loud.

sajibaba

Thanks for the feedback guys. At the risk of hijacking my own post, check out Johnny Lieberman's review of the Z roadster. He, and a number of other journalists, think the ZR is as every bit the sports car as the coupe with only 150 extra pounds but it's even more alive feeling because of the drop top.
Back to the topic at hand, I'm going to drop the muffler this weekend since it's pretty easy to do and test it out for myself. I'll see about doing a decibel test before and after from inside the cabin if I can find an app on my iPhone. I'll report back...

sajibaba

Thanks for the info guys. At the risk of derailing my own post, Johnny Leiberman had a great review of the ZR where he said it didn't have any problems hanging with the coupes in terms of performance and was actually more electric / engaging to drive because of the drop top.
Anyway, I did my own experiment and deleted my muffler since it was so easy to do. Couple of things to note: I'm in my 40's which is to say I don't love loud exhausts and I"m coming from an stock s2000 for comparison sake. With the roof down, there was no point at which I thought the car was droning or too much which was my big concern having read about so many coupe owners that couldn't stand the noise. I think the separation we have between trunk and cabin makes a huge difference. It was actually still slightly quieter then the stock Honda but screams nicely when above 4.5 or 5k. I could of course smell the exhaust because I just did the muffler delete and didn't add short tails or anything. It definitely adds a lot of enjoyment to the car and I'm pretty happy with the results.
This is essentially what the car will sound like if I install short tails or have a muffler shop put on some pipes and tips right?

Pagoda

I have my Roadster exhaust replaced with a GarageLine cat back. Its a little louder than stock, no drone, and very easy on the ears and constitution even with top down. I also have the Z1 Intake. Long rides are very enjoyable.

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2010 Touring Roadster - Z1 Intake and Oil Cooler, GarageLine exhaust

bvl

Stock: too quiet for most
NISMO: still too quiet for me, ran it 2 years with the H pipe
Short tails: great sound at idle light throttle, above 50% its not pleasing to my ears. At all.
AAM Muffler: still not quite loud enough IMHO but you can hear the 6 better, especially with the top down and what I have been running the past 2 years now.

Part of the challenge is finding someone with an exhaust on the car and really driving it yourself to see if its too much/not enough for your liking. If I was to do it again I may have gone the AAM cat back route or similar just didn't have the sample set.

- b

@lias

I have the GReddy SP Elite on mine and that is enough for me

Attached Images

DSC_2299.jpg (555.6 KB, 10 views)

gr8-wrx

I installed the AAM Short Tails and took them off after less than 100 miles as they were too loud for me. I think if I were still in my 20s, they would be fine, but now that I'm in my 40s...

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Aiolos

I have HKS catback with berks resonated test pipes.

Not loud until you get above 4k,