Need an Opponion: Aftermarket Cat-back Edition

"K-Roll-PorscheTamer" (k-roll390) 02/22/2014 at 18:15 • Filed to: Opponion

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Edit: Not going with the Flowmaster! That leaves FRPP, MBRP and FSWerks.

Idea is simple: Choose you favorite sound!

With the ST getting even closer to my driveway, it's time to think about future mods! The only thing I have planned for the future or right away is replacing the "econobox-sounding" exhaust note with a more sporty, aggressive sound from a cat-back. I'm gonna put sound clips of each exhaust I'm deciding between and maybe you all can give me your opinions on each one?

This is the kind of sound I'm looking for:

1. Louder than stock, but not so obnoxiously loud. Just loud enough to turn heads

2. I like a metallic sound

3. One that gives off that old car sound(closest?)

4. The least Ricer or Ricey-like of them all

5. more Turbo whine and less blow-off(I think that's what it is?)

Which of these exhausts do you think matches or comes close to the sound I'm looking for best?

FSWERKS Stealth

FRPP(Ford Racing)

MBRP(Just the regular 3")

Flowmaster

Any opinions or thoughts would be appreciated.

davedave1111 > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 18:20

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You can save a lot of money by just drilling a small hole in your silencer.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > davedave1111 02/22/2014 at 18:20

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Silencer? Is that the resonator?

YSI-what can brown do for you > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 18:22

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Get a Cobb Downpipe!!

Then in a few months get a tune! It will both make the car louder and also make it noticeably faster

Dsscats > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 18:23

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I'd go for ford racing. It has a really great throaty sound and sounds deeper than the rest. It seems more maturish to me for some reason. The flow master is just kinda obnoxious.

Victorious Secret > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 18:23

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FSWerks for me.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > YSI-what can brown do for you 02/22/2014 at 18:28

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I like the numbers from the Ford Racing Tune. 300hp and 360ft/lbs sounds good enough for me. What does the downpipe exactly do? Would it keep the exhaust note the same and increase turbo noise? what kinda sound would it give it? I assume you've got an ST?

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 18:29

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I like this one

And this one

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > Dsscats 02/22/2014 at 18:33

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People have told me the Flowmaster sounds the "riceyest" of the lot. :P

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 18:33

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Either the Ford Racing, or (a very close second) Flowmaster would be my preferences.

Dsscats > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 18:36

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It really does.

YSI-what can brown do for you > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 18:38

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A downpipe is what connects to the turbocharger. It is much more important than a catback for producing power. Let me put it like this. For a thousand dollars you get a downpipe and a tune for a Subaru and you gain a nice hunk of power! Here is a dyno.

You can do the catback, but if you are going to change one part of your exhaust out do the downpipe! I don't own an ST but I did change the exhaust out on my FRS. I bought the catback first and did the headers last. Now I am planning on selling my catback because it doesn't do much!

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > Victorious Secret 02/22/2014 at 18:40

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Could you explain why do you like the FSWerks over the others? Curious

davedave1111 > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 18:42

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Yeah, I think the technical term is 'big boxy bit'.

If you don't have major visual mods, people will just think your exhaust has a hole in somewhere. And going with big exterior mods and a loud exhaust is... er... y'know... It's a Focus ST, so you sort of have to chav it up a bit, but not that much.

If you do replace the exhaust, can you sell the stock one? If not, or if it's only going to scrap, then you should take the opportunity to do some experimenting :)

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > YSI-what can brown do for you 02/22/2014 at 18:48

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Well I didn't really have my mind on boosting performance; only the sound. The downpipe sounds pretty neat no doubt.

The way I saw it, I figured, catback first, tune second, downpipe third. If you were going off of the exhaust sounds alone, which would you pick?

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > davedave1111 02/22/2014 at 18:50

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Not sure about selling it. I don't think I'd have a place to put it if I did this right away. I guess I'd consider it when and if I do this. mileage and condition would have to be considered in a sale like this one. It would be fun to experiment with! :P

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Dsscats 02/22/2014 at 18:54

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I'd agree with this statement.

YSI-what can brown do for you > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 18:55

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They all sounded pretty good, besides the flowmaster. Which one is the most reputable company. Buy one of theirs but used! Get a downpipe at some point though, you may not mind performance but a power jump is always good fun!

lonestranger > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 18:56

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Based purely on sound, I'm split between the Ford Racing and the MBRP. Pros & cons between the two:

FRPP:

+ It's technically a genuine Ford part

+ It's T304 stainless steel, superior to T409

- at $995, it's more expensive

MBRP

+ Made in Canada

+ available in either aluminized or two grades of stainless steel (T304 & T409)

+ Less expensive. Even the T304 at $898 is cheaper than FRPP

- Made in Canada

KnifeKnut > davedave1111 02/22/2014 at 18:56

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Keep in mind that doing so will mess with the tune slightly.

davedave1111 > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 18:57

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Yeah, I guess you can drill a few holes in different places and try covering/uncovering them and see how it affects the sound.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > YSI-what can brown do for you 02/22/2014 at 18:59

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Probably the most reputable ones being FSWerks and FRPP I reckon. I wouldn't mind a power jump; just want to get the econobox sound out of the way first then the power jumps will be all over the place! :P

davedave1111 > KnifeKnut 02/22/2014 at 18:59

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Not by enough to notice.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > KnifeKnut 02/22/2014 at 19:01

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Which will? dropping in a catback; drilling holes in the resonator? Or both? Actually dropping in a catback in an ST has been a pretty common thing to do but I bet there's some sort of minimal mess-up with it but not much I reckon.

YSI-what can brown do for you > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 19:02

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I can understand that! I got a catback for my car, still didn't sound great. Then I got headers now it sounds awesome!!!

FRSFTW-ActuallyboughtaFocusST > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 19:08

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I am installing a muffler delete from OCD on Tuesday check out his cat backs as well he does very good work for what you pay.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > FRSFTW-ActuallyboughtaFocusST 02/22/2014 at 19:11

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I'll take a look then! what will the muffler delete do? I thought muffler deletes were illegal from someone? But I don't know.

FRSFTW-ActuallyboughtaFocusST > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 19:19

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It depends on where you live. I am going to keep my stock muffler for when I eventually have to do emissions I will just swap it back on with a clamp. Some guys got away with telling the emissions folks the resonator was the muffler. The axle back should up noise a bit during acceleration but from the guys in the forums with them they quiet down nicely at cruising speed. The J pipe he welds on does a good job of preventing drone. Here is the link to the delete http://ocdspeed.com/product/focus-… . If you want to go the downpipe route like some suggested his are high quality and better priced than others. Finally is that your PBST up top?

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > FRSFTW-ActuallyboughtaFocusST 02/22/2014 at 19:32

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Will probably go down pipe at some point. No that's not my PBST, though mine will be PB because it is best color!

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > YSI-what can brown do for you 02/22/2014 at 19:34

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That sounds brilliant! Is it the headers that have it that muscle car like tone? How does that work?

FRSFTW-ActuallyboughtaFocusST > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 19:36

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Right on I love mine I will echo a lot of other peoples advice as well and say do a tune first. I just got an off the shelf SCT programmer and was shocked at the difference it made.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > FRSFTW-ActuallyboughtaFocusST 02/22/2014 at 19:45

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When the Ford tune comes out I'm certainly gonna do it without question. Wonder what fuel economy losses I'll expect with it. Hopefully nothing drastic.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > lonestranger 02/22/2014 at 19:46

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Good comparison. Anything on the FSWerks? I'm starting to think FRPP

FRSFTW-ActuallyboughtaFocusST > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 19:48

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Its out now I found out about it the day after I oredered my SCT and was pissed. I actually have picked up a few MPGs with my tune.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > FRSFTW-ActuallyboughtaFocusST 02/22/2014 at 19:52

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Might get it sooner rather than later then. But it being my first manual car, I think I'll take some time to get to know the car as is. Then after a couple months, tune it up.

FRSFTW-ActuallyboughtaFocusST > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 19:57

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Good call its a blast regardless.

YSI-what can brown do for you > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 22:06

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Yup, it is the headers. They are unequal in lenght, so the exhaust pulses are different kind of like a V8. Here is a picture, one side is a lot longer than the other.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > YSI-what can brown do for you 02/22/2014 at 22:11

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Looks simple enough. Sadly no one makes aftermarket headers for the ST yet from what I've just looked up. What about cams? I hear that those can be changed to be uneven or something like that.

wrblue11 > YSI-what can brown do for you 02/22/2014 at 22:33

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i wouldnt advise getting a downpipe without tuning the engine to support that mod.

YSI-what can brown do for you > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/22/2014 at 22:35

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Looking up quick pictures on google, it seems the Focus ST has a really short manifold before the turbo. So aftermarket companies doing a header for it might be very unlikely, which is sad, cause that would give the best gains and it changes the exhaust note up a lot! Usually, inline 4s have equal length headers, so they sound more like a race car rather than a muscle car like Subarus do. People like the UEL design for the sound, although it won't perform as well as EL, but not by much.

YSI-what can brown do for you > wrblue11 02/22/2014 at 22:37

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I am assuming it changes how the engine squirts the fuel? Making it run lean. I know on my car you can change headers out and not get a tune for a while cause the only thing that happens is that it runs rich.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > YSI-what can brown do for you 02/22/2014 at 22:43

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That's a shame really; it really is, as it sounds as it would truly benefit from this from the sounds of it. It seems that performance between the two options wouldn't be that significant either.

wrblue11 > YSI-what can brown do for you 02/22/2014 at 23:11

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a turbo car is a little different. a downpipe allows the turbo to spool faster. with out a tune, boost spike is an issue, which can result in things blowing up

YSI-what can brown do for you > wrblue11 02/22/2014 at 23:13

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See now that is a bad thing. Very bad actually.

lonestranger > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/23/2014 at 00:46

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FSWerks is also T304, and is less expensive than either the MBRP or FRPP. 5 year warranty vs. MBRP's lifetime warranty on their T304 & T409 exhausts.

Weighs 40 lbs. vs. 45 lbs. stock vs. 46 lbs. for FRPP.

cluelessk > YSI-what can brown do for you 02/23/2014 at 04:59

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It's all on the car though. I know a Subaru can't run catless without a tune but my turbo Cobalt is fine with my catless downpipe. No hp increase though cause of GM's learn down.

cluelessk > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 02/23/2014 at 05:06

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Go catless downpipe or high flow cat. You'll love it. Also way cheaper than a full exhaust.

Just dunno if the ST needs a tune. My Cobalt SS is fine.

Stock exhaust with a 3" catless downpipe. It's not obnoxious at all for normal driving. When I get on it it screams though. I can actually here the turbo spool and wastegate now. These are my videos.