SO, my tips finally showed yesterday and i got them on late last night. The tips themselves are pretty nice. They are the Akrapovic eBay finds with a stainless steel pipe in center and a carbon
overlay attached.
I was able to get a small sample taking my oldest to school this am. HUGE difference. So here's my opinion on sound now that the exhaust is complete.
With the valves closed, the car has a noticeably lower exhaust note, but don't mistake that for loud. Closed, the car is slightly above "stock with engine noise simulator turned up." It is really pleasant. No drone to speak of at all. just a nice slightly louder, but richer tone. My 5 year old and I were able to have a pleasant convo with the windows down on the way to school. If stock with noise sim was a 1/10, I'd put the valves closed at around a 3-3.5/10. You notice it when you punch it, but otherwise the car is just lower grumble overall.
With the valves open, the exhaust really shines. Again, remember this is a small sample size of no more than 60mph on rural roads taking my kid to school. In comfort mode, i got a VERY light sense of drone from the car shifting fairly prematurely for the mpg factor. We all know the car aggressively shifts up to meet EPA requirements. But back to the exhaust. The minimal drone when it gets to the higher gears with really low rpm is honestly not that bad and had i not had a stock car for the past 6 years, i wouldn't have noticed it. It was more i noticed because i was actively listening. In no way did it rattle my brains, or any piece of dash/console inside my car for that matter. I had the front windows down, thanks cool NC mornings, and metal music on at 9-10 volume and had no issue hearing my radio. The exhaust does punch when you hit the gas though. I didn't have enough road to really stretch it out, but i did not hear the ttv6 rasp below the 4500ish that i was able to hit. It is noticeably louder than with valves closed, but in a good way. Again a nice rich, deep tone with a few burbles as it decelerates and drops though the gears rolling to a stop sign. The valves are controlled by a fob that is provided by AFE and can be opened or closed at any moment. If stock with sound sim is a 1/10 level, i would give valves open around a 7/10, which for those counting, is 4 points above the valves closed. Right now, i would have no issue rolling with the valves open 24/7 and only closing them on long drives for comfort, or when my wife is grumpy.
TLDR: If you want an exhaust you can comfortably listen to on long drives without wearing you down or have a wife who is sensitive to loud noises, BUT also crave those zoom zoom moments, this exhaust is remarkable. It is priced lower than the JUN, and is one of the few valved exhausts for the 18-21 years. It isn't going to out-sound a gt mustang or hellcat, but then again it isn't meant to. The exhaust was simple to install, the parts looked very well assembled, and the welds were fair decent.
AFE really hit a nice sweet spot with this exhaust. My only caveat is order some tips because like every other
aftermarket exhaust, the post muffler pipes are not long enough. Tips should be the 63mm inlet, 75/105mm oval outlet. I would highly suggest the double layered ones as it adds a protective layer as to not melt your bumper, which has been stated on this forum before. I would also suggest getting some generic exhaust gaskets off amazon or your local auto store, 2 bolt pattern with 2.5" hole to replace the stock ones behind the downpipes. I will be doing some videos this weekend when i have the time as i don't during the weeks with school and work.
