3.3TT Thermal R&D Catback

[Ozstung]

Lol...I felt like I was doing a project for school.

Thanks.

Wow you must be a young' un then

 

[Kamauxx]

Wow you must be a young' un then

36 year old procrastinating college student.

 

[Socalstinga]

@Kamauxx does thermal make any claims of increased hp w/ this “breather” mod?

 

[Kamauxx]

@Kamauxx does thermal make any claims of increased hp w/ this “breather” mod?

No they don't. They said they never got a chance to put it on a dyno.

My highly calibrated butt dyno feels quite a difference though.

The stock system is pretty restricted with it's oval pipes, crimps, and resonators. Any of the aftermarket systems that use actual round pipes with smooth bends and no crimps should see an increase in hp.

 

[Billy M]

Mine does have that same whoosh almost rattle sound after you let off. I can't hear it in the car but could in the recording. Yours is just more obvious.
This is my Ark now with Flowmaster DBX mufflers. Drove my parents (73 & 84 years old) for 5 hours and no exhaust complaints. I did go sport at times to keep it quiet.

View attachment 7210

Love it can we get more clips? Inside the car maybe?

 

[Daniel @ K8 Stinger Store]

Love it can we get more clips? Inside the car maybe?

I was going to ask, this seems to be the deal breaker for a lot of members. The exhausts sound good but whats the feel of it in the cabin. I know many customers including @Kamauxx said the drone is near to none with Thermal's exhaust

 

[Daniel @ K8 Stinger Store]

@Kamauxx we'll have to get together sometime and use my video equipment with an external mic to get some good sound clips if you're ever in the area one weekend!

Thanks again for your order with us on the Thermal R&D exhaust

 

[Kamauxx]

@Kamauxx we'll have to get together sometime and use my video equipment with an external mic to get some good sound clips if you're ever in the area one weekend!

Thanks again for your order with us on the Thermal R&D exhaust

I'll make sure to let you know if/when I go back that way.

 

[Kamauxx]

I was going to ask, this seems to be the deal breaker for a lot of members. The exhausts sound good but whats the feel of it in the cabin. I know many customers including @Kamauxx said the drone is near to none with Thermal's exhaust

I think some of the drone people may be experiencing could possibly be caused by the position of the catback's tips in relation to the stock tips. My unscientific belief is that the gases exiting could be causing some reverberations if they aren't perfectly fitted inside the stock tips.

 

[Daniel @ K8 Stinger Store]

I think some of the drone people may be experiencing could possibly be caused by the position of the catback's tips in relation to the stock tips. My unscientific belief is that the gases exiting could be causing some reverberations if they aren't perfectly fitted inside the stock tips.

Interesting, I never thought about that!

 

[RandallK]

I will measure mine tonight when I install my spoiler..

My personal theory is that we are hitting a resonant frequency of the car as it’s happening across multiple platforms..

 

[Kamauxx]

I will measure mine tonight when I install my spoiler..

My personal theory is that we are hitting a resonant frequency of the car as it’s happening across multiple platforms..

But how would that explain my lack of drone? I have absolutely zero drone in the car.

When I accelerate up to speed I get a nice deep exhaust note. As soon as I lift on the pedal or set cruise control the exhaust goes like 97% silent. The only noise I hear after settling down to a steady speed is from wind/tires. I typically only cruise in the 45-65 mph range with occasional 70 mph trips so I guess it's possible I'm completely avoiding it by not cruising at higher speeds/RPMs.

 

[Billy M]

But how would that explain my lack of drone? I have absolutely zero drone in the car.

When I accelerate up to speed I get a nice deep exhaust note. As soon as I lift on the pedal or set cruise control the exhaust goes like 97% silent. The only noise I hear after settling down to a steady speed is from wind/tires. I typically only cruise in the 45-65 mph range with occasional 70 mph trips so I guess it's possible I'm completely avoiding it by not cruising at higher speeds/RPMs.

My Sti with a magnaflow catback, sounded amazing..... unless you were on the HWY it had a horrible resonance at cruising RPM, I ended up having to add dynamat throughout the cabin, just to be able to have a conversation or hear the radio. It was bad enough that I ended up trading my “baby” for a nice SUV for the wife for baby duty once my son was born.
The thermal exhaust sounds amazing and your clips were great.

 

[Billy M]

I was going to ask, this seems to be the deal breaker for a lot of members. The exhausts sound good but whats the feel of it in the cabin. I know many customers including @Kamauxx said the drone is near to none with Thermal's exhaust

Sort that was to Tonkabob

 

[RandallK]

No idea homie.. WOT is perfect.. anything about 2500 rpm and above is perfect... 0 drone..

Mine measures 3.5-3.75 from tip to tip..

But how would that explain my lack of drone? I have absolutely zero drone in the car.

When I accelerate up to speed I get a nice deep exhaust note. As soon as I lift on the pedal or set cruise control the exhaust goes like 97% silent. The only noise I hear after settling down to a steady speed is from wind/tires. I typically only cruise in the 45-65 mph range with occasional 70 mph trips so I guess it's possible I'm completely avoiding it by not cruising at higher speeds/RPMs.

 

[RandallK]

 

[Kamauxx]

View attachment 7273 View attachment 7274

I'll measure mine this afternoon and report back.

 

[Tonkabob]

I'm 99% sure the tip location isn't causing the drone. I've had mine in 3 locations with the stock Ark, Ark with Flowmaster and then also had them adjust the tip after the initial install as it was rubbing on the bottom of the tip. Plus the engine is making the sound energy and the exhaust is absorbing and canceling the energy. The tip wouldn't make more sound or amplify it. I think the difference is the idea of what drone is. The Ark never buzzes or vibrates or sounds like Civic. It's just loudest under load at 1500-1900 RPM (Cruise 65 in 8th gear up a slight incline). And if you are cruising at a constant speed with the same unchanging sound it can be a little annoying especially when on the loud side. Driving in sport mode keeps you mostly out of this range and "drone" free. Switching to the flowmaster muffler the characteristics are the same (I still have 4 anti-drone tubes) but everything is 30% quieter across the board. I haven't ridden in a Thermal car yet but I could certainly see two different ARK owners saying it doesn't drone at all and another saying that it does.

 

[Kamauxx]

So for me drone is a constant loud stagnant note that lingers when the car is at crusing speeds.

From past experience with a Camaro with the exhaust dumped before the rear axle it remains whether the car is under load, going down hill without any pedal imput, cruise control, etc.

It's a sound that is very similar to cruising on the highway with 35" MTs on a truck/suv.

Now, with that in mind I can't even compare my current exhaust to what my idea of drone is, mainly because I can't hear anything but wind/tire/road noise when my car is at cruising speed. The only time I hear my exhaust is when the car is accelerating.

I actually made a 10 minute video of my drive from the parking lot at work, through stop and go traffic, and then accelerating to and cruising at 60-70 mph. My intentions were to give a very boring, unedited impression of the exhaust throughout different speed/RPM ranges. Unfortunately the video failed to upload to YouTube after about 30 minutes and I didn't feel like retrying.

@RandallK for clarity sake, you can actually hear your exhaust when you aren't accelerating? Say when the cruise control is activated and you aren't going up hill?

 

[RandallK]

This is exactly what I am dealing with currently.. but mine is all the way to almost 2500 RPM..

When I do WOT, let off or above/below that range.. the exhaust is almost factory sounding from inside..

This is why I keep bringing up the vehicles resonant frequency.. It's just like a speaker cabinet.. A driver when placed in a box will excite the “Q” or resonance magnification.

I'm 99% sure the tip location isn't causing the drone. I've had mine in 3 locations with the stock Ark, Ark with Flowmaster and then also had them adjust the tip after the initial install as it was rubbing on the bottom of the tip. Plus the engine is making the sound energy and the exhaust is absorbing and canceling the energy. The tip wouldn't make more sound or amplify it. I think the difference is the idea of what drone is. The Ark never buzzes or vibrates or sounds like Civic. It's just loudest under load at 1500-1900 RPM (Cruise 65 in 8th gear up a slight incline). And if you are cruising at a constant speed with the same unchanging sound it can be a little annoying especially when on the loud side. Driving in sport mode keeps you mostly out of this range and "drone" free. Switching to the flowmaster muffler the characteristics are the same (I still have 4 anti-drone tubes) but everything is 30% quieter across the board. I haven't ridden in a Thermal car yet but I could certainly see two different ARK owners saying it doesn't drone at all and another saying that it does.