Hello all!
I recently purchased the JHM Tune & Exhaust last month and was finally able to get everything installed and rocking this past week so I thought I’d throw up a review.
I’ve got a 2007 S6 that only had the JHM intake spacer installed, other than that, the car was stock. I do the carbon cleaning myself every 10k miles or so (probably more frequent than needed, but it makes the cleaning quick) and it was just done prior to the tune & exhaust being installed so the car is in pretty much top form.
I did the tune first following their online directions and videos. Everything was pretty straight forward, easy to follow, and I had no issues doing the tune myself (do need their cable though). I didn’t have time to install the exhaust so I figured I’d give the car a few runs with just the tune and the stock exhaust.
I took the car out for maybe an hour in a mix of city and highway driving. Right off the bat the throttle response is pretty much instant. Even though the stock tune is pretty responsive, the JHM tune dials that up even further! I almost exclusively drive my car in manual shift mode and I did not try the car in D or S modes. The first few miles I had to get used to how it responded to throttle input but wasn’t bad once I was used to it.
As for performance, I didn’t do any dynos or 1/4 mile runs or anything like that so it’s just based on my personal opinion as it applies to my car. I will say I was a bit let down initially, although the throttle input is incredibly responsive the overall WOT acceleration didn’t feel a whole lot different to me although it did feel faster. I know it’s a N/A engine so I wasn’t expecting miracles here but I thought it would be a bit more noticeable. That being said, I have zero regrets about buying the tune and was happy with the gains.
Now for the exhaust! I also installed this myself and would highly recommend cutting the stock exhaust into some pieces prior to removal if you can. Might be different with a lift and power tools, but doing it alone in your garage was a bit of a pain. The reason being is the stock exhaust is all one piece, awkwardly shaped, and heavy! Once it was out however, the JHM exhaust was a breeze to install since it’s comes in three sections.
Once installed, the initial start-up probably brought the biggest shit eating grin to my face! I had heard some videos of the exhaust but they do not do it justice by any means. The exhaust note is absolutely beautiful! Rich, deep, exotic sounding, and much more suited to a Lambo inspired V10 engine. I got the resonated version and the volume at idle was only a tiny bit louder than my stock one (although my stock did have the secondary resonators removed). After putting around my neighborhood a bit and letting the car warm up, I would say the exhaust is very tame and refined at low revs or when just cruising, not obnoxious at all.
Merging onto the highway and putting my foot into it caught me by surprise! The response and the thrust going from 25 to 65(ish :D) was way more than I was expecting! It felt the way I thought it would respond with the tune, however it seems the tune+exhaust is the way to go! The exhaust note at high revs is intoxicating too, had to watch myself, lol!
I know the exhaust is expensive but the sound alone is worth the price tag! I would have to say that for anyone considering the exhaust or tune that you need to get them both! It truly performs and sounds the way the car should have off the factory floor (or at least been an option!). Once the weather gets nicer here I plan to do some 1/4 runs at my local track so I can post up some time-slips.
Hopefully this info is useful to folks out there in the market!