This may be a really dumb question, but is it possible to have a tuned exhaust that's quiet as stock? Don't get me wrong, I've had some some really cool exhausts on big V8s, but I'm getting a bit older, and don't want to sound like the local kid trying to sound cool in my A4 (1998 1.8T Quattro). I'm looking for as much performance as I can get without announcing I'm coming down the road.

I would think that someone could do something with harmonic resonances to quiet it down to stock.

 

problem is, alot of the poeple that are looking for the performance, want the good sound too, maybe not loud, but quality of sound...

and if a company is selling exhausts to enough people that dont mind the extra noise, why bother trying to change something that works?

there may be, i dont know...

 

I think your going to have some problems finding a performance exhaust that sounds stock.

 

mkunert, I had the same question. I use my car for work, and a loud exhaust would not go over well at all. I am not aware of any exhaust system that performs as well as a relativiely open system without at least some noise. What I did was to reduce as much of the restriction as I could while still keeping it reasonably quiet. The good news is, the 1.8t with straight exhaust and the factory cat isn't that loud. It was louder than I was comfortable with though. So, I had the midstream muffler cut out all together. Then I had a high flow muffler put on in place of the rear muffler. It's a little louder than stock, but no where near the Neon's with schoolbus exhaust. Normal driving is not noticeably louder than stock (I don't think) but when my foot gets heavy, you can tell a difference. Hope this helps.

 

how about something like a downpipe?

youd get a little better flow, and not much more noise..

youd still want a little something, maybe a bigger pipe with a stock style muffler...?

just thinking about how to make better flow, but still keep the factory sound dampening (cat/muffler)

 

I'm with Doose on this; many times it's the difference between a light or heavy foot. Or you could have a custom "queit" exhaust built - usually for less than the aftermarket kits out there.

If you want to go with one of the well known aftermarket exhausts, then the Neuspeed is probably the quietest right now.

 

I thought that APR has one of the quietest ones out there. Dont know the price difference though. I know that the APR one is about $900.

 

The only problem Shon, is that you can have as big a downpipe as you want, but it will only upgrade the system to the point that the exhaust can handle because of the restricted airflow. All it is, is physics.

Here, imagine this: You have a four lane highway with a crash up ahead that is bottlenecking everything down to one lane. This causes traffic because the four lanes can only operate at a rate/volume that the one lane detour will allow with all the merging cars. This is the same idea with the downpipes and exhaust. Since the downpipes obviously come first, if you were to get a four inch downpipe that funnels into a one inch exhaust, it will be the same as having a one inch downpipe. Catch my drift?

So if you want big upgrades in power due to increased airflow, you have to increase the size of both the downpipes AND the exhaust.

 

To answer your question, mkunert, you may be able to find something like a silencer for the exhaust. I know there is one for the VW R32 that can be installed with a switch to turn on and off when driving under different conditions. But that may only be because of the way the R32's exhaust is set up.

I the same principle holds true though because my dad just bought a new boat as a retirement gift to himself, and it has a function exactly like that. The result is a dramatic difference. Wide open the boat sounds like a beast and is quite loud (kinda like an American muscle car), but when you flip the switch it sounds like a slightly powerful Honda!! Pretty much all it does is restrict the exhaust, so I wouldn't recommend it for driving everywhere, but if you want a quick sound reduction for neigborhood driving, you could definitely look into that.

 

Milltek, APR and supersprint makes a near stock sounding exhaust.