Appalachian Exhaust Test (sound clip after the jump)

by "Noah - Now with more boost." (antriebverliebt)
Published 12/14/2017 at 13:34

Tags: Subaru ; Wrx
STARS: 1

I wanted to go for one last mountain drive before the snow hit over the weekend. This was the first proper test of the new exhaust, a Nameless axle back setup with 5” mufflers. I also drove a new road I had been eyeing on Google Maps – 17 miles through a meandering river valley – which was incredible.

You need to drive two hours from Boston to reach Western Massachusetts, but the trip is always worth it. The Appalachians have the kind of roads that keep me up late at night scouring Google Maps with the topographic view turned on. This route was especially tantalizing because I couldn’t check the street view to look at the road like I normally do. The only info I had was the fact that remarkably, unlike most of the roads surrounding it, the entire thing was paved. But is there traffic? How’s the road surface? The visibility? There’s only one way to find out...

The route was incredibly scenic, well maintained, and extremely exciting. Some spots are so narrow that despite the surprisingly nice pavement, they didn’t bother to paint lines or install a guard rail. The latter is especially alarming when it suddenly disappears as you go around a corner, leaving absolutely nothing between the road and the rushing water in some spots.

There were a couple good places to stop and check out the river. I’ll have to come back when its warm again, this area of the state is extra scenic in the Spring. I kept imagining what everything would look like with the sun shining on bright green foliage.

The open roads gave me a chance to enjoy the new exhaust steup. It’s perfect: definitely audible, but not loud enough to be obnoxious. I certainly wouldn’t want a muffler delete based on volume level of this setup. Before, the car sounded very pedestrian. There was no audible difference between this car and the 2001 Outback I learned to drive on (I still have the shift knob, its on the WRX now). That was amusing in and of itself but definitely not exciting. Now it makes those classic turbo Subaru sounds people have been enjoying since the early nineties.

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When I posted about the exhaust install, people said they were disappointed that I didn’t shoot a little clip so... I filmed the car warming up for around ten minutes after a cold start, cut a 7 second slice out of every minute, and edited them all together. Its a cool way to experience the different notes the engine runs through. Revs at the end, of course.

Replies (8)

"DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back" (karsonkinja)
12/14/2017 at 14:22, STARS: 1

Looks like a beautiful drive. Don’t take it for granted.

The thing I love about the old EJ motors is how good they sounded. The rumble is very unique.

"Noah - Now with more boost." (antriebverliebt)
12/14/2017 at 15:12, STARS: 1

Yeah I’m really grateful to live in an area where these kind of roads are a couple hours away, they’re always exciting. I couldn’t imagine living in the Midwest. And yep the rumble is a huge part of the character.

"thejustache" (thejustache)
12/14/2017 at 15:13, STARS: 1

Nice sound clip, sounds good! When I posted on your article about getting the exhaust I didn’t realize you were in the northeast. I live probably 1.5 hours northwest of the top of that road you drove. Not sure if I’ve driven that exact road as I’d driven quite a bit of the area around there in my cars and motorcycles over the years, but I’m going to have to go back and make sure I do that one now! It looks like a great piece of road

"Noah - Now with more boost." (antriebverliebt)
12/14/2017 at 15:26, STARS: 0

Thanks! You must be around some great roads too. And yes absolutely, the road is worth checking out! 8A is another fantastic one you may have tried, it runs north/south through Charlemont, MA on route 2. Also 17 miles amusingly.

It could be fun to get Northeast Oppo together for a day of driving out there in the spring. IDK if you caught wind of the Connecticut rally Dusty Ventures organized but around 20 cars showed up IIRC and some people drove for a surprising number of hours to get there. It was wild!

"thejustache" (thejustache)
12/14/2017 at 15:45, STARS: 1

Yeah a meetup/drive in the spring would be a lot of fun! I was aware of the Oppo rally, but heard about it a little too late to join (also I happened to be in PA playing at a bluegrass festival that weekend) but I’d definitely consider something like that if it happened again.

Lots of great driving roads around the MA/VT border. One of my favorites is the mountain pass on Rt. 2 between NY and MA, although it can be busier sometimes and getting stuck behind someone going slow on it is no fun!

Another thing I’ve never fully done but think could be cool would be to see whats the biggest mostly all gravel road loop I could do. There’s a fair amount of gravel near me in NY, but once you get into VT things get into a whole other league. Look at National Forest 71/Kelly Stand Rd/Stratton Arlington Rd and tell me those don’t look fun (although not nearly as fun as being in a stage rally and able to drive at speed)

"Noah - Now with more boost." (antriebverliebt)
12/14/2017 at 16:38, STARS: 1

the mountain pass on Rt. 2 between NY and MA,

I’ve been looking at that! I’ll have to check it out. There is a little box from Cobb arriving tomorrow that will bump the WRX up to 300 horsepower so I’m going to go back to the Battleboro - Bennington VT 9, where 260 HP wasn’t quite enough for fun on those 3rd gear sweepers. That pass is really close so I’ll definitely hit it on the way back.

I’m definitely into the gravel idea too, that would be epic. Especially as a loop. National forest 71 has some insane looking sections. I bet driving those after a fresh snow is just incredible.

"thejustache" (thejustache)
12/14/2017 at 16:43, STARS: 1

Nice! With the state 2 tune on my XT I think I’m right around 300 (at the crank) as well and it’s a lot of fun. I can only imagine how much fun that would be in something lighter and more nimble than a lifted wagon!

"Noah - Now with more boost." (antriebverliebt)
12/14/2017 at 16:53, STARS: 0

Yeah I’m really excited, this is gonna be wild!