Looking for some experience or advice here....

I met up with another A3 owner on Saturday as we were going to swap exhausts, my APR for his stock.The APR that I have is not overly loud, but I wanted to retain more of a stock sound, and not really attract any attention my way. When we got under the car we also noticed that thereI hadan APR downpipe as well. We agreed we could not switch unless I get a reducer, and he is going to pick up his own DP.

After driving his (which is stock) vs. mine w/ the DP & exhaust, I noticed a BIG difference in acceleration. There is enough of a difference that I would not want to sacrifice the power difference. My questions is, will I retain the same or similar power increase just using the DP only, with the stock exhaust? Will this create any other "issues" as the DP is a 3" pipe and I think the stock pipe is 2.5" (I may be wrong on the stock size).

Let me know your thoughts or advice - my ultimate goal is to chip it, which once I finalize the suspension upgradesI will do, however I do not want to get rid of this exhaust if I will be negating the power increases or creating problems due to poor back end airflow.

Thanks in advance. Jon

 

Yes, there is a huge power difference with the APR DP, even with the stock CAT back exhaust. Most of the restriction in our exhaust will be eliminated with the DP. You are also correct that the APR DP is 3" and the stock is 2.5". They have a collar that will fit between the two just fine. My APR DP butts up to my GReddy 2.5" CAT back and it works great.

I am surprised that you haven't thrown any codes with an APR exhaust and no stage II chip. Are you sure that the car isn't chipped?

 

chef,

why did u get greddy for cat back instead of the APR, since your DP is APR? is it because the greddy's better in terms of performance or maybe it is not as loud as the APR's.

my next mod is the exhaust, still deciding whether to get the whole thing or just the DP, i am looking into the militek's. I like its sound, it's not loud, just perfect deep sound.

 

Chef thanks for the confirmation. Ok, so the bottom line is that there is really no difference except for the sound and I will not have mechanical issues due to the larger DP w/ only stock exhaust.

In regards to the chipping question, I am not totally sure. I bought my car w/ 7k miles on it. Someone had already put the full DP/CAT on it. I did have some check engine light issues initially, was not sure what it was so I took it to the dealer. The guy who did the diagnostic said it may have been due to the added exhaust but was not sure if it was chipped. The car has a lot more pick up than the stock one I drove, but I cannot see it being 50-60hp morelikeyou would get w/ a chip. It feels like there may be 20hp or so over what I felt in the stock A3.

So then I think you answered my other question, which was when I decide to chip it, I will still be fine with the DP & stock cat?

Thanks again for your help.

 

I was the prototype used by GReddy for their CAT back exhaust system so I got one for free. It made choosing a lot more simple. Unfortunately they don't have a DP, so I went with APR.

Cheers!

 

Your such a ginniepig for these companies it just irks me, you pay nothing for your mods, and i have to beg for sponsorship. ENVY lol
Very smart Chef if one plays his or her cards right, they to can benifit from a nice sponsorship.

 

Hey Chef, how does the greddy sound? I like the stock sound...I just want it louder.

 

The GReddy roars like a true sports car, at least with the 3" DP. It was a little more quiet before the APR DP.

I like it!!!

The wife says it sounds like a real race car now too. It doesn't drone either, but sits right on the edge.

 

it doesn't have a 'ricey' sound to it does it? Will you be at the 28th meet? I'm going to try(again) to make it this time I swear!!!

 

No, not ricey. More like the older F1 cars, without all of the scream. It's not deep like a Rousch Mustang, but not tinny and hollow sounding like the ricers. I like it! Besides, the power is awesome!