GR86 Exhausts

So I have finally installed the Remark axle-back and decided to keep it!

It was quite loud, boomy and drony after the initial install. I went for a proper drive to heat up the system and refitted my K&N intake and re-tightened the axle-back. What a difference it made! I would recommend everyone to re-tighten everything up after few heat cycles.

Interior sound: The intake is louder than the exhaust in the interior. There is slight drone at 2K RPM and 4 - 4.3K RPM coming from the rear of the car. Nothing obnoxious honestly with the rear seats up, the drone can be mistaken for tire hum at higher speeds. Normal cruising around 2.5K - 4K RPM sounds almost stock. Tunnel pulls are addicting honestly. The intake and the axle-back create the perfect symphony for me.

Exterior sound: Hard to say as I am always in the driver's seat lol. The sound is deep and bassy. It's not raspy or hight pitched. The sound gets mixed up with casual aerodynamic/tire noise during normal cruising. Nothing obnoxious but obviously not OEM either. From the flyby clips you can first hear the intake and once the car passes by, the exhaust noise takes over. Cold starts are way better than I expected.

However, I don't daily drive and I park in a public garage where noise is not an issue, so take that into account. Important is that you can easily control the noise level with your throttle input. I am picky about car noise and this setup is absolutely fine for my taste. The car sounds like proper Subaru now.

 
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Sounds like GPF in EU limits the sound as US cars are crazy loud with this exhaust.
Finally some sounds coming from this car :)
 
GRistopher said:
Using the full rev-range is where I'm not completely smitten with my current exhaust setup. Don't get me wrong, it still sounds good, and a huge improvement over stock, but there's definitely a sense that something has a stranglehold on the exhaust. I wonder if this is what some of the other guys have found when wishing their exhausts were a bit louder?
As the revs rise and I wait for a crescendo at the top end, it never quite comes.
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I took the car out for a blast on Sunday night and was really enjoying the sound all the way through the rev-range. I first thought the exhaust might have "bedded-in" slightly. I was a bit skeptical as I rarely think there is any change from this. When I got back i realised i still had the rear seat back down from the day before. I guess that's how it's staying now :ROFLMAO:
 
This is probably the hardest choice of all.
What videos show is completely different to how they are in real life and how you might like or dislike them.

Best way to choose - turn up to some of the meets on here and experience what people have done!

Milltek , Cobra Sport, Scorpion are some hot contenders as well as the Japanese brands.

Hardest thing to get right is the drone.

Want to look into the equal length vs unequal length scenario with a little more detail.
We have always preferred equal length and build headers for V10 BMWs as they give the best scavenging and torque especially under real world driving (partial load).
 
I've found a high flow GPF here. It's for a focus ST but has 3" entry and exit and looks fairly universal. I wonder if a front pipe could be made to incorporate a high flow cat and one of these, which would still get hot enough to work effectively.
I don't think this is worth it for a N/A car but it's nice to know there are options available for FI.
 
I'm looking at getting an exhaust in a month or two, but I'm concerned about drone. I've heard various HKS and the resonated Milltek, and they're too quiet. I presume the Milltek non-resonated has drone, which is making me look at the AWE Touring. Can anyone confirm?
 
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Phantom said:
I'm looking at getting an exhaust in a month or two, but I'm concerned about drone. I've heard various HKS and the resonated Milltek, and they're too quiet. I presume the Milltek non-resonated has drone, which is making me look at the AWE Touring. Can anyone confirm?
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It's amazing :love:

EDIT:

Thought i'd better edit with a bit more detail. you have to get it imported which costs a few quid and it may take a few months.

Beautifully engineered, really easy to fit, sounds great, no drone. lets you know its presence on the motorway but its by no means loud, just a nice background burble.

the cold start is VERY loud though. if you're commuting early in the morning. bear this in mind. you wont get a nice sounding exhaust without this though.

If you are anywhere near Kendal (which you probably aren't) you're welcome to come for a listen / ride out.
 
After being fed up with droning exhausts in my 718 Spyder I took the safe bet with the GR86 and got the AWE Touring since it has no drone. No regrets!
 
After hearing AWE Touring on various YouTube videos, as well as reading memorials, I decided to pull the trigger. Can't complain, pricey (shipping from US) but it's 9/10. It's straight piped from cat to muffler, but big cans on the axle back park, limits 95% of drone. There are very tight RPM ranges where you hear some drone, but nowhere near to wanting you leave the car after long drive.

Most of the buddies who sat in my car, were very surprised how "rally" the car sounds, while maintaining low level of volume when not pushing gas to the metal.

@hsb from Sweden was my inspiration.

There are only two options, medicore but cheap axle back or all in into good quality cat back (often 2-3x times pricer) up to you. If you daily the car, I wouldn't recommend chipping on exhaust. For weekend track toy, maybe worth saving.
 
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GRistopher said:
It's amazing :love:

EDIT:

Thought i'd better edit with a bit more detail. you have to get it imported which costs a few quid and it may take a few months.

Beautifully engineered, really easy to fit, sounds great, no drone. lets you know its presence on the motorway but its by no means loud, just a nice background burble.

the cold start is VERY loud though. if you're commuting early in the morning. bear this in mind. you wont get a nice sounding exhaust without this though.

If you are anywhere near Kendal (which you probably aren't) you're welcome to come for a listen / ride out.
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Oof, that's a 3-hour drive with the M6 toll. How much did it cost to import? It's £1600 on Torqen.
 
qajteq said:
After hearing AWE Touring on various YouTube videos, as well as reading memorials, I decided to pull the trigger. Can't complain, pricey (shipping from US) but it's 9/10. It's straight piped from cat to muffler, but big cans on the axle back park, limits 95% of drone. There are very tight RPM ranges where you hear some drone, but nowhere near to wanting you leave the car after long drive.

Most of the buddies who sat in my car, were very surprised how "rally" the car sounds, while maintaining low level of volume when not pushing gas to the metal.

@hsb from Sweden was my inspiration.

There are only two options, medicore but cheap axle back or all in into good quality cat back (often 2-3x times pricer) up to you. If you daily the car, I wouldn't recommend chipping on exhaust. For weekend track toy, maybe worth saving.
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The only axle-back I've heard wasn't great, and yes it's my daily.
 
Phantom said:
Oof, that's a 3-hour drive with the M6 toll. How much did it cost to import? It's £1600 on Torqen
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I got it imported via AWE Europe for the same price. you might be able to save a mark-up if you order it from the states yourself.

If you go this route, it's likely that you will be told that it wont fit or be suitable for a UK car because of the GPF. Don't worry about this. it fits perfectly.
 
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I have been very lucky to have picked this Cobra non-res up for £400, which is a steal really given it was only used for 750 miles by the previous owner.

Edit: apologies for the decor, it's another room yet to be refurbished 😞

1000031786.jpg
 
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Vistalite said:
I have been very lucky to have picked this Cobra non-res up for £400, which is a steal really given it was only used for 750 miles by the previous owner.
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Super deal, and with the CF tips too! You'll love it I'm sure, just the right side of OEM+.
 
Sonic said:
Super deal, and with the CF tips too! You'll love it I'm sure, just the right side of OEM+.
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Thank you Sonic. It was your review of the Cobra that made my mind up. Had I not spotted this then I would have bought new and most likely the chrome tips like yours.

I said to the chap, buying an aftermarket exhaust and putting go faster stripes on a car at my age seems bloody mad 😄 YOLO!
 
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Vistalite said:
He didn't have the replacement exhaust put on it straight away.
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? Someone added the Cobra exhaust but drove just 750 miles with it fitted before removing it and selling it at a huge loss, why? Too loud? too quiet? too much drone?

Anyways, lucky you, you got a bargain.
 
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