Solo Performance GT exhaust systems review - updated with photos/videos

[Todd15Fastback]

Todd, holy crap! Bad ass :hail:

Thanks man! It is really intoxicating when you open it up. The sound at redline is truly racecar like.

I wish I could get away with that here in CA.

It would be hard to live in California with their regulations.

Sponsored

 

[swat 79]

Interesting, I have ~600-700 ish on my exhaust and have what you are describing but chalking it up to the break in period.

No drone prior to the cold weather then?

I can't really remember, but I got the exhaust installed in september, so I only really had 6 weeks before the weather started to get chilly. I really only notice the drone when it's been below 30, but today it was non existent (on the same roads at the same speeds), but it was in the 50s.

I'll know for sure next week when it gets cold again

 

[swat 79]

what exactly is a drone? How does drone sounds like?

An annoying humming at a tone/load that is annoying af.

youtube cars droning and throw in some headphones to make sure there is bass. It's 10x worse in the car when you're driving.

 

[HWill]

Mine drones cruising at 80+. In the next few weeks I will try adjusting the exhaust.

Herb

 

[jabrax]

Does anyone else get drone around 1800-2k rpms? It's right around 65-70 for me, and it can get annoying. The interesting thing is that it's much worse in the cold, and I can't remember hearing it when it was warmer out.

Funny you mention that. I took mine out the other day and noticed the drone was back. Here is the funny coincidence. I bought my exhaust when it was first released late 2015 and I noticed drone. I didn't drive much over the winter, but I was adhering to the 1000 mile break-in period.

Last spring, out of the blue I noticed it was gone right around 1000 miles. I assumed it was break-in. Now I am starting to wonder if temperature effects drone

 

[Bartly]

Funny you mention that. I took mine out the other day and noticed the drone was back. Here is the funny coincidence. I bought my exhaust when it was first released late 2015 and I noticed drone. I didn't drive much over the winter, but I was adhering to the 1000 mile break-in period.

Last spring, out of the blue I noticed it was gone right around 1000 miles. I assumed it was break-in. Now I am starting to wonder if temperature effects drone

Mine has been on since last May or so and it had just a little drone that didn't bother me enough to crawl under it and adjust it. But man it's definately there now right around 2krpms. Was noticing it the other day enough to make me want to start looking for the adjustment instructions. Odd that it's colder out now, was wondering if FI might have had something to do with it, but heck it might be the cold air?

 

[jabrax]

Mine has been on since last May or so and it had just a little drone that didn't bother me enough to crawl under it and adjust it. But man it's definately there now right around 2krpms. Was noticing it the other day enough to make me want to start looking for the adjustment instructions. Odd that it's colder out now, was wondering if FI might have had something to do with it, but heck it might be the cold air?

FI was my first thought, but now others are having issues , im starting o wonder

 

[swat 79]

Sounds like it's droning as well for my Mach XV, but isn't this something inevitable considering it's a low, rumble setup? It's like a bass sound during cruising at around 70+ miles. It only has few miles, so will see.

Solo prides themselves on a great sound/tone with no drone, and the other day I had 0 drone, but this morning when it was a little colder, I did have some more.

I'd be interested to see what Solo says on the matter, I have only the axleback.

 

[Jakebiscamp]

I have the corsa xtreme catbcack and thinking about switching to solo performance. Also have LT no cats as mentioned in my SIG. HMMMMM getting very temting

 

[jabrax]

Do we have to adjust J-pipe to eliminate the drone then? To what degree should it be adjusted?

I'm going to wait until it warms up again to see what happens, only because i don't drive it much in the winter.

I would get Solo on the phone and let them talk you through it, after the break-in time.

 

[S550GTRed5]

Just installed the Mach-XV exhaust 2 days ago, everything went well from that perspective.

I have a question though although i like the sound of the exhaust in certain low revs perhaps somewhere around the ~1200-1500 RPM range there's an annoying drone or maybe its a resonance. I find it much worse on the inside with the window up instead of down. I wanted to get some thoughts, does it;

A) Does the sound get a little more mellow after a couple of thousand kilometers after the exhaust breaks in so to speak and

B) If i need to adjust the J-pipe should i be moving it in or out? The instructions mention a 1/2" inch adjustment. Its a low rev drone i suppose, the higher gears/speeds seem to be okay?

C) If i invested in say some exhaust wrap does this also act as a sound deadening as well as for heat purposes?

D) Does anyone know if putting some dynamat (lightweight) and then some closed cell foam and some stuff called MLV on top in the trunk would help the situation. Cant help think the void in the trunk with no spare wheel is acting like an amplifier inside the car?

The sound is almost perfect to my likening just feel some slight adjustments are needed.

Appreciate your thoughts

 

[Lexman]

Just installed the Mach-XV exhaust 2 days ago, everything went well from that perspective.

I have a question though although i like the sound of the exhaust in certain low revs perhaps somewhere around the ~1200-1500 RPM range there's an annoying drone or maybe its a resonance. I find it much worse on the inside with the window up instead of down. I wanted to get some thoughts, does it;

A) Does the sound get a little more mellow after a couple of thousand kilometers after the exhaust breaks in so to speak and

B) If i need to adjust the J-pipe should i be moving it in or out? The instructions mention a 1/2" inch adjustment. Its a low rev drone i suppose, the higher gears/speeds seem to be okay?

C) If i invested in say some exhaust wrap does this also act as a sound deadening as well as for heat purposes?

D) Does anyone know if putting some dynamat (lightweight) and then some closed cell foam and some stuff called MLV on top in the trunk would help the situation. Cant help think the void in the trunk with no spare wheel is acting like an amplifier inside the car?

The sound is almost perfect to my likening just feel some slight adjustments are needed.

Appreciate your thoughts

Hello,

I have about ~650 miles on my exhaust and have been waiting to hit 1k before posting a review.

I can say around 400 miles the drone all but was eliminated except for 6th gear 1800-2100k ish. Each 100 miles it seems to get less. It reminds me of the downpipe I had on my ecoboost. About 1k it magically went away.

After 1k or so if you still have drone, you can adjust the j pipes. I'd talk to Steve over at Solo at that point. From what I read is you mark where it's set to, then adjust it in 1/2 inch increments. Obviously if it gets louder, adjust in the other direction...

It's an incredible sounding exhaust though! Man do I love driving my car since I got it!

 

[cbass]

You never ELIMINATE drone, you simple relocate it. The longer the lead on the J pipe, the higher the drone is, but going too long will cause new drone to appear lower if you go too long.

 

[S550GTRed5]

Hello,

I have about ~650 miles on my exhaust and have been waiting to hit 1k before posting a review.

I can say around 400 miles the drone all but was eliminated except for 6th gear 1800-2100k ish. Each 100 miles it seems to get less. It reminds me of the downpipe I had on my ecoboost. About 1k it magically went away.

After 1k or so if you still have drone, you can adjust the j pipes. I'd talk to Steve over at Solo at that point. From what I read is you mark where it's set to, then adjust it in 1/2 inch increments. Obviously if it gets louder, adjust in the other direction...

It's an incredible sounding exhaust though! Man do I love driving my car since I got it!

Thanks for the info I'll see how it goes and let it bed in a bit before making any changes. What your saying seems to match what Ive read elsewhere. Thinking about it a little more it may just be resonance inside that could the cause of what I'm hearing. I may look at some sound deadening inside the trunk and see what happens as a test.

 

[S550GTRed5]

You never ELIMINATE drone, you simple relocate it. The longer the lead on the J pipe, the higher the drone is, but going too long will cause new drone to appear lower if you go too long.

Cheers for that I guess it's finding the sweet spot. ill give it a go someday once I've put more miles on it.

Sponsored