Since they were discussing exhaust notes on the FP...

"Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
07/20/2015 at 15:17 • Filed to: FR-S

How’s oppo feel about Subaru rumble? I’ve hated it for a long time because it sounds like a misfire (and as Clarkson says, it usually heralds the imminent arrival of a moron) , but I finally relented and added a UEL header to my FR-S. Can’t explain why, but on the FA20 the unequal length offerings just perform better. Gotta say, after driving her around for a few weeks I kind of like it now...

DISCUSSION (31)

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 15:18

PEOPLE WHO DO NOT LIKE THE BOXER RUMBLE ARE WRONG.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 15:18

I wish my BRZ had UEL headers. I’m thinking about going in that direction since I’m not selling it anymore.

RallyWrench > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 15:22

I like it, having owned 2. But I could have done without the one that was hooning near my house for an hour last night, doing repeated 1st-3rd pulls for some reason.

Decay buys too many beaters > RallyWrench
07/20/2015 at 15:29

They were either a ricer, or street tuning, I have been guilty of the latter on several occasions

Decay buys too many beaters > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
07/20/2015 at 15:32

Well, the tomei is good stuff. I’ve helped out about a dozen friends install headers, the tomei fits like factory.

RallyWrench > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 15:33

I used to too, but I’m a crotchety old dad now, and those damn kids, lawns, etc... This one was loud though, like straight piped. No mistaking it.

Justin Hughes > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 15:35

I love the Subaru burble. I don’t care that some people say it sounds like a tractor. UEL headers are on my future to-do list, just to get that sound into my BRZ where it belongs.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 15:38

So far I’ve not been a fan of any of the exhaust note from any of the Toyobarus I’ve heard with UEL headers. To me it sounds like they’re trying to imitate the exhaust note of a WRX, but not quite getting it right. When I get a header, I’ll likely go with the Nameless Performance EL.

What header and exhaust are you running?

Decay buys too many beaters > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
07/20/2015 at 15:47

I had the nameless, sadly the tomei uel makes more power (and doesn’t heat the intake as much).

I’m now running the tomei UEL, motive overpipe, tomei titanium front pipe, and a nameless muffled track pipe.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 15:52

How loud is yours? A guy in my club who tracks a lot has a JDL UEL header, with a really nice coating, and the Tomei 60s exhaust (I believe Tomei front/over pipes as well) and his exhaust is ungodly loud. I think it’s mainly the 60s exhaust though.

BTW, I do actually enjoy the sound of yours. It actually hits that boxer rumble note, that everyone is seeking, pretty well.

Apex Assassin > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 16:11

Every time I hear the joke of a F1 engine that Honda have made I think of the local Scooby cars with their mexican fart pipes. They all sound terrible. I just don’t get it. Porsche boxer engines sound great. Scoobies sound worse than awful. They sound like imminent failure.

Decay buys too many beaters > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
07/20/2015 at 16:16

It’s not quiet! Probably a bit much for a daily driver (better now since I tuned out the cold start ignition retard) but I’m still under noise limits for most tracks.

Decay buys too many beaters > Apex Assassin
07/20/2015 at 16:17

My girlfriends kia popped off a spark plug wire once while I was driving it. Sounded just like a Subaru lol.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 16:23

Yeah. It seems like it’s impossible to do a full exhaust on our cars without them becoming insanely loud.

Decay buys too many beaters > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
07/20/2015 at 16:38

Yeah such is life with a high comp NA 4 cylinder...

It’ll quiet down a bit with a turbocharger lol

uofime-2 > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 17:01

Does it actually preform better, or does it just sound better?

Decay buys too many beaters > uofime-2
07/20/2015 at 17:04

I lost power and torque between 4000 and 5000 rpm vs my Nameless long tube equal length header, gains everywhere else (including top end)

uofime-2 > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 17:08

sounds like a win then, as long as it doesn’t roast your valve seats very quickly.

Decay buys too many beaters > uofime-2
07/20/2015 at 17:21

The engine seems to like it a lot more and responds to proper cam phasing with a perfectly flat torque curve from 1500 rpm, my theory here is that the different length runners allow slightly less efficient scavenging than a a comparable equal length set up, but over a much wider frequency range.

Don’t know for sure, still playing with some CFD models to figure it out.

DoYouEvenShift > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 17:24

Ive ways thought it sounds like a V6 with every other cylinder misfiring.

uofime-2 > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 17:29

Was the stock header a tri-Y or 4 into 1 design?

Best of luck with the transient flow CFD.

I can’t remember is that what you do for a living?

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 17:33

I love it, just ask Zipppy. He knows how I feel about the sound of the last generation WRX sound.

Decay buys too many beaters > uofime-2
07/20/2015 at 17:59

Stock was an equal runner length tri-y with a cat just aft the the collector :(

I’m a mechanical engineer by trade and, while I don’t do CFD regularly, I do have some experience and all the tools I need to run a halfway decent analysis.

Decay buys too many beaters > DoYouEvenShift
07/20/2015 at 18:04

Yeah, one of the things I detest about the FA-20 is how noisy it is. My father taught me the art of troubleshooting engine maladies via sound, but with how noisy these little boxers are there is no way that’s viable. Between the direct injector clicking, fuel pump chirp, cold start knocking, I honestly feel like the engine is turning it’s last every time I pop the hood and listen. I figure adding a false misfire sound on top of all that isn’t so bad...

Decay buys too many beaters > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
07/20/2015 at 18:08

I didn’t want to like it. But I can’t stop myself from grinning every time I push the “loud” pedal

uofime-2 > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 21:52

what software package are you using?

bryan40oop > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 22:18

“FA20 the unequal length offerings just perform better.”

wat

Just no market for el?

Decay buys too many beaters > bryan40oop
07/20/2015 at 22:23

Lots of market and offerings, area under the curve is nearly always greater for the unequal length headers. Equal length gives a couple extra horsepower up top, but loses out in torque

Decay buys too many beaters > uofime-2
07/20/2015 at 22:26

Was hoping to use Comsol, but I have a few other programs available that I’m not as well versed in.

uofime-2 > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 22:36

Never heard of that one, when I was on my universities FSAE team we used star ccm, but we could never get transient flow problems to solve properly.

TheOnelectronic > Decay buys too many beaters
07/20/2015 at 22:54

Considering that every other kind of 4-cylinder engine I’ve heard can only sound ricey, it’s nice that you an actually get a decent sound of a subaru.

I keep looking at exhausts for the FoST, but all of them just sound like some kid tarted up a Honda.