I’ve only heard magnaflow in person, not FI. From the youtube videos and what people have described it’s deeper/smoother/retains the “euro” sound. I don’t think either system will be raspy you have a v8 not a 4 banger 
I’ve heard an s4 w/ magnaflow in person and it sounds great IMO. I think Axel has a magnaflow exhaust.
better question for you, what’s the price difference between the two?
I do indeed have the Magnaflow and I absolutely love it. Not too loud puttering around town and nice and loud going up to redline. Saki’s heard it best at redline when filming me from the side of the road lol
I think the Magnaflow is 55% of the price of an FI. Especially if the “audipipes” coupon code still works at Performance Peddlar.
Magnaflow owner here - FI all the way. Sounds way better IMO. Proven to perform better, too. Magnaflow costs about $620 before taxes and shipping, FI from JHM is $1095 new for the B6
Having said that I ran 13.3 @ 105 on a cold day with piggies, so not too far of the FI/piggies cars.
Not much out there beating the catless DP/FI combos that bora and saki had on their B7 S4’s. Yes, I’m even including the (stock) RS4 in that comparo. Not heard the 3" JHM RS4 exhaust in person though.
I don’t think we can really compare magna flow and FI performance wise just because no one has ran a good time with a magna flow exhaust.
Case in point would be V8RyanS4 running 12.83 with a 2.25" AWE catback.
Don’t get me wrong, the fit and finish of the FI system is superb, the sound is amazing, but it would be hard to argue a few hundred dollar performance advantage over the Magnaflow system.
magnaflow sounds awesome. It is resonated and sounds deep and great. Sound is not an issue. I just think I would hold out for a used fast intentions. Someone should throw up a side by side comparison of the two. The fast intentions is a fantastic exercise in how to design a catback for an na v8.
It’s like $700 more for fast intentions. If you are buying new that’s tough to justify. But you can get a used fi for around $800…and they are super high quality and look like new years later so I wouldn’t hesitate.
Yeah, I’ve been looking for a used setup. Seems like everyone is selling B7 catbacks these days though. There is a B6 one on AZ but its the oval RS mufflers, which IMHO looks kinds lame with the plain old B6 rear balance.
But if Magnaflow sounds good, then maybe I will go with that… At 4500 feet elevation, I just need to realize that my car will never be breaking any records. But on the flip side of that argument, maybe I need every last bit of power I can buy.
$650 vs $1100 is hard to argue though. Ugghh… Decisions decisions.
I actually didn’t like the FI sound. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t get it. Of all the exhausts I’ve heard in person, it’s my least favourite. To each their own I guess. The fact that the Magnaflow was cheaper made my decision that much easier.
Again, I’m sure this is hard to quantify but do you remember what you didn’t like about it?
It’s too high pitched and too loud for my personal taste. I like a lower/deeper/smoother/beefier and slightly quieter sound [than the FI] when driving normally around town and a mid-pitched scream above 5000rpms as opposed to a higher pitched one.
Personal preference. The FI is has excellent build quality and probably the best design but that design difference is so small that the audio aspect still trumped everything.
There’s one exhaust I like even more than the Magnaflow. A guy here as JHM Piggies + Stasis X-Pipe and although it’s a tad loud for me, it sounds so freaking nice to my ears. Don’t know what diameter it is though (whether it’s 2.25" or 2.5").
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The only fast intentions cars you heard were cat less 2.5" downpipe cars. They are far louder than a car with piggies or cats.
There is nothing ‘too high pitched’ about fast intentions in my opinion.
When I heard the jhm 13.03 and 12.9 videos I knew I wanted fast intentions, resonated. Best sound.
Tell me what part of this is too high pitched…
Hard to tell from video in general (and even more so when there’s blaring music playing) but I still find that video higher pitched and less smooth than this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSMPlllw5kM (my Magnaflow video).
And again, video can be quite misleading in itself. For comparison purposes with different cameras, it’s even worse.
Well, after spending way too much time at work looking at YouTube videos… I’be decided that I much prefer the sound of FI (in all scenarios too, stock, piggies, HFCs, catless or headers, it just sounds better IMHO).
It’s unfortunate, although the price makes a difference, the sound and extra performance makes up for it.
Now, does anyone know where I can get O2 sensor spacers so I can get through emissions? Was going to use the tune but I think I’m going to get the exhaust and delay that for a few months.
Thanks Jimmy.
Anyone ever use those with success? And am I the only one that thinks those may cause some clearance issues between the exhaust pipes?
I have used them on other people’s cars and they are hit or miss. Normally they work but occasionally they might get a code. The newer B8s would store codes for lack of activity/no activity but not turn on the light.
They also have these banjo style spacers too that should help with install since the rear O2s on these cars kind of point at each other.
So…
Tune is installed, catback will be ordered in the next few weeks. So now what?
Any ideas? Would still like some more power to offset the altitude here in Utah. The only big gain I can think of would be from JHM headers or intake manifold. Am I missing something?
Maybe the sum of small parts? Ie. LWCP, LW rotors, LW wheels?
If I didn’t mention already… I have the JHM stage IV + LWFW, piggies, k&n drop-in, JHM tune, and now FI catback and all the usual maintenance items.
Haha… I knew that was coming.
I think I’m going to wait on the SC and probably do a motor build and Stage II SC next year.
In the meantime, I will just work on the other supporting parts for the rest of this year. Need to start on brakes and suspension once I get a little more power.
Good plan.
LW parts really do help. So once you’ve tackled what you need to, I would suggest going LW parts next.