why is it a prototype?
the exhaust hardware wise isnt really a prototype. its much like the rs4 valved system from the b7(for now) as far as the valves go. its the ecu that they are developing to work with the valved exhaust thats so special. i have an early prototype where the valves are vac operated. since running vac lines up to the front is a PIA, they are switching to electric valves which not only will cut back on instal time to no more than a standard CB, it will allow for more function from the exhaust ecu. its not just an on off switch, its a fully active dynamic valve setup
Thank you sir.
Yeah I currently run the FI exhaust with the large resonators on it and there is a TON of drone. I didn’t pay much for it, though, and still prefer it to stock. It’s awesome running wide open with the windows down and sunroof open. It does seem to provide a noticeable power increase measured by my butt dyno over stock.
At some point I’ll swap it out for something else (likely APR as I don’t think I’ll ever get headers), but I don’t feel like dropping $2500. APR and FI actually have a really similar design. The big problem with FI apparently is the 1-in-2-out rear mufflers on the FI. Move to a 1-in-1-out and split with a y-pipe for the exhaust tips and you significantly reduce drone.
^^^have you done that to yours?
i can confirm a MASSIVE difference sound wise going from 1 in 1 out vs 1 in 2 out but nothing for drone, purely an amplifier. thats how the valved setup works. i think the bigger issue with the FI is that the fast moving exhaust gases hit the furthest back wall of the mufflers thus creating a huge droney resonance in the cabin. there needs to be some exhaust packing material in the mufflers(danny hates doing that) but then that gets into the sound vs performance issue
No, I had a few PMs on AZ with another FI owner who did, though, and said it helped tremendously. Two reasons I havent are A) I don’t want to hack the FI exhaust up as I’d like to sell it later if I can find a used APR exhaust in my price range and B) I don’t really want to dump anymore money into it.
well it could have only been one of two people, either krunko who ditched his cus it wouldnt get better no matter what resonator combo he went with. and the other is S-fore who bought my old system and he ended up cutting the mufflers off entirely. i wasnt aware anyone else had them. come to think of it, did you buy krunkos? lol
I bought Hal_TT::CBP from AW’s exhaust. The other guy I was PMing with was indeed S-Fore, and yeah he chopped the rear mufflers and went to dual 1-1 14" Sebring mufflers from Labree rather than the dual 1-2 12" Sebring setup from FI. I think he was adding in a 14" center muffler also. He said just the rear muffler change eliminated 60-70% of the drone, though.
yea i went back and forth with diff setups on the FI with Danny for a few months until i just said fuck it and moved on, its a shame because its the best looking and sounding from the outside out of any exhausts ive heard for this car
Then I kindly took it off of his hands. I changed the rear mufflers; went 14" 1 in 1 out and it mellowed it out a bit. It did still have drone @ 2800rpm, although not as bad. The biggest issue was the design of the system, how the dp’s bolted right at the x-pipe so you could only run FI dp’s AND there was no room for him to even incorporate a resonator in the dp’s or even the straight run to the other set of resonators. I saw the car this morning and when he pulled away, it sounded awesome.
the other thing i REALLY didn’t like was that with his exhaust it becomes one rigid structure so if ur hangers fail for whatever reason, theres a lot that would get fucked up. there was no flex pipe what so ever on the FI exhaust
Drone on my 13 S4 Stronic is terrible at highway cruising 2,000 rpm’s & 120 km/h I have the AWE with supposedly resonated downpipes. Will at AWE is looking into for me. He hasn’t been able to help yet. I’ve tried making videos with both my Canon HD and GoPro but it doesn’t pick up the sound. Going up a bridge like the Skyway in Burlington is deafening. I didn’t have this issue in my 10 S4 as the DSG gearing is different on the 13-14 S4’s. Having said that it sounds great in town.
Yeah drone isn’t sound. It is vibration.
Resonators may in fact make drone worse. It’s all to do with bottling up the exhaust and causing the vibration. If you stand outside your car as someone goes by in the drone rpm range and out of it, you won’t notice any volume difference really. It’s weird because in the car you think all hell is breaking loose volume wise. Outside though…nothing.
You can check your exhaust hangers. Tighter equals more drone transfered to the car. Torque to 20 ft lbs.
Ya she’s tight, very tight. I’ve taken some pictures and will be forwarding them to Will at AWE. There are two sets sf down pipes available for this car. I suspect I may not have the correct ones. We shall see.
does AWE use a flex pipe? im too lazy to google
No idea, I didn’t install it. I can email you some pics I took yesterday showing the underside of the car.
they do on their non-res.
the lack of flex pipe will create massive vibration inside the cabin, the only place that vibration has to transmit that energy is to the hangers and from the hangers to the chassis… no bueno
The b8 will always have issues with drone due to the sharp bends throughout stock and aftermarket systems. Its just the way the car is designed…it will always be an uphill battle