My next upgrade is a muffler. Last year I did the GIAC chip for an amazing boost in power so now its time for the muffler. I have been seeing quite a few muffler cat back options for 2 and 3k. Wow what a lot of money that is to me. In the past whenever I bought a new truck I would always take it to a local muffler shop and they did a fine job changing the pipes and muffler to a nice sounding one for a reasonable price of around 300 maybe. So whats the scoop between these 3k mufflers and the 300 dollar ones I have gotten in the past. The trick is to get the gas out of the car right, so what gives with all the high tech crap that these 3k mufflers are supposed to offer? I call a local shop that is supposed to be a performance muffler shop and they quoted me 400 to 600 and that was with a magnaflow muffler and 2.5 inch pipes I believe. He said that the 3k cat back systems on the net were stainless steel and thats why the heavy price. Unless I wanted the muffler to last 15 years he said there was no reason to get them over their home brew systems. I was told mandrel bent is the way to go but apparently they want a lot extra for that. Is that a must have? I mean if I am upgrading the diameter of the pipes already why do the new ones have to be mandrel bent? The guy on the phone for the muffler shop said that they have a cheaper option which isnt mandrel bent but very close to it. He made it sound like the bends they used left very little in the way of kinks. For the money, is this something I should be looking at? I want some throat to my A6 when I goose it but since I am spending the money, I might as well get a few extra horses while I'm at it. So whats the cheapest way to go about that?

 

Cheapest is muffler shop with some magnaflow mufflers. You may want to get some piggies too/instead.

 

What are piggies? I have heard that around...but have no clue what it is.

What do magnaflows sound like on the Audi?

 

Piggies are stock downpipes that have been gutted. They drastically improve the flow from behind the turbo. On a chipped car, you reportedly gain about 20-30 horsepower at the crank (according to Vast)

You can either do them yourself if you're somewhat mechanically inclined, or you can buy them from Vast.

http://vastperformance.com/shop/prod...products_id=65

Magnaflows usually sound good. They generally aren't *too* loud, and don't sound raspy.

 

you own an audi now not a truck ... thats why its more expensive. Piggies are a must I am ordering them in a few weeks but have heard nothing but positive feedback on teh vast piggie downpipes ... my friend has magnaflows on his chevy cavalier ... you can get a nice miltek or remus exhaust for 1-2k ... thats the proper exhaust to put on your audi ... im sure you will get little to no WHP gain froma magnaflow system... just my advice

 

Yeah. Some people like to just replace the mufflers to get a more aggressive note, but most people decide to just go for the full catback/turboback.

There's basically no gain at all from just replacing the mufflers, and it's kind of "out of place" on Audis. Like I said in my previous post, it will sound fine with a set of good Magnaflows, but you won't see any horsepower gains. Also, going through the hassle of cutting off the old mufflers, and then welding the new ones in isn't generally worth it.

 

so a bolt on is much better is what you are saying as far as performence and sound