Loud vs. Sounds Good exhaust

[ghig302]

I am a firm believer that too many car enthusiasts think that louder is better when it comes to exhaust note. I think that some exhaust notes sound good, some sound just loud, and that louder is not always better. I think the sound of my Boss is really just about perfect. I liked the GT500 sound from a few years ago too. Some people seem to add pipes and equipment just to make their car louder, and loud to me does not always equate to better. :tsk:

So, louder is better or nice burbling sound over pure volume?

Dave

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[Mustang Tony]

I agree...for example, I think Ford dialed in the sound of the 2018 GT active exhaust. From all the clips I've heard, I think the factory active exhaust is perfect. Every other application I've heard has rasp. JMO...

 

[tranceporter]

Louder does not equal better but this also doesn't mean a loud exhaust can't sound good. I think the 2018s with active exhaust sound great but I absolutely love Corsa exhausts on V8s. Had a Corsa and catless long tubes set up on my GTO and running just a Corsa Extreme catback on the Mustang now. I just like my cars to sing soprano rather than baritone.

 

[Hornet]

Sound means nothing if it isn't improving power!

 

[Zelek]

Loud is a byproduct of also having long tube headers. One of the reasons I kept my cats is to tame it some and went with the Corsa Sport. Still can wake the dead when I want to but most of the time I can be pretty civil.

Stock headers with the Corsa Sport is a lovely balance.

 

[99Zeus99]

Sound means nothing if it isn't improving power!

I don't agree. If that was true, everyone would have an Ecoboost. The V8 is still around because there no other sounds like it. It's like playing music. The human ear likes a certain tempo and series of notes. It's science yo!

 

[Ebm]

.

Loud is a byproduct of also having long tube headers. One of the reasons I kept my cats is to tame it some and went with the Corsa Sports. Still can wake the dead when I want to, but most of the time I can be pretty civil.

Bingo. Two things are byproducts of an ICE. Heat and noise. LTHs amplify the exhaust quite a bit.

Unfortunately rasp is a byproduct of the Coyote as well. It's a naturally raspy motor.

 

[millhouse]

Sound means nothing if it isn't improving power!

Hogwash. Almost every single person in here would you have paid extra for their 5.0 to sound like a GT350 given the option (rhetorical).

Sound is part of the driving experience...and a major reason there are so many exhaust options for the 5.0 mustang. The MY15-17 sounded too tame.

An exhaust doesn't have to be overly loud to sound good. The reason I choose the Corsa Sports is because (for me) they hit the perfect balance of volume and sound. I can make them burble on command, can tame it down to stock and can make it load and raspy all with altering shift points and moving my right foot.

 

[ivantwilliams]

I like a 'grumble' / 'growl' in the exhaust; not just blaring silly noise.
To break it down a little. I had a 2017 Mustang GT Premium, and wanted a little more growl to it.

After countless reviews online and listening to sounds and such, I was close to buying a whole new exhaust system ($2.5k). The problem there, once purchased and installed, you're stuck with it (so to speak), like it or not.

All that to say, I just upgraded to a 2018 Mustang GT Premium Performance Pack. And the exhaust sound on Sport, for me, is PERFECT! Plus, when leaving home at 05:30 in the morning, the car is set to start on Quiet. Later in the day, I can switch to Normal or Sport+.

Yeah, that Active Exhausted is the thing...!

 

[NoVaGT]

I don't want to hear the exhaust. Not interested in it.

 

[QRK]

I'm perfectly happy with my current setup given my current situation. Sometimes I want my car to be louder, but then I let my dad borrow my car the other day and watched him pull away down the street. I realized my car was plenty loud enough while still sounding great/not being obnoxious. It's easy to get jaded when you're always the one driving it, not hearing it from the outside.

My car is a daily driver and I wouldn't want to be out meeting with clients or pulling up to the office splitting ear drums, as much as I would personally love for it to sound like it belonged on a drag strip.

 

[BmacIL]

Hogwash. Almost every single person in here would you have paid extra for their 5.0 to sound like a GT350 given the option (rhetorical).

Sound is part of the driving experience...and a major reason there are so many exhaust options for the 5.0 mustang. The MY15-17 sounded too tame.

An exhaust doesn't have to be overly loud to sound good. The reason I choose the Corsa Sports is because (for me) they hit the perfect balance of volume and sound. I can make them burble on command, can tame it down to stock and can make it load and raspy all with altering shift points and moving my right foot.

Agreed! I can say for myself and two friends who also installed it, the phrase after having some time with it was, "it's like driving a different car!"

 

[Vato]

Fox bodies in the 90's sounded good with some flowmasters. The better sounding ones in my opinion had shorty headers with flowmasters. They sounded great outside but the interior suffered at times.

I agree louder isn't better but the right tone with the right return of HP, I'm all in.

 

[nastang87xx]

Bingo. Two things are byproducts of an ICE. Heat and noise. LTHs amplify the exhaust quite a bit.

Unfortunately rasp is a byproduct of the Coyote as well. It's a naturally raspy motor.

It's the removal of the FACTORY CATS to low cell count/no cats that amplify the exhaust noise not specifically the headers. Long tube headers attenuate the sound but not specifically amplify it. One could nit pick about turbulence through the tubular manifolds vs long tubes to a collector but that is very minimal in intensity change.

 

[nastang87xx]

I had long tube headers, high flow cats, no resonators, and Borla ATAK mufflers on my 2011 GT. It sounded amazingly good despite the insane volume levels. But I don't think I could go back to that again. It. Was. So. Loud.

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