Engine characteristics that contribute to exhaust note...

[DavidinGA]

What are some of the engine platform characteristics that shape or make the end exhaust sound we hear? I'm curious because to me the Stinger's 3.3 exhaust sounds just awful no matter which system it has on it. I've stuck with the stock exhaust because everything I've heard from the aftermarket just sounds terrible.

There are lots of other v6 tt platforms that sound great; even my friends stock F150 ecoboost sounds waaaaay better than mine.

What's the deal? And is it even "fixable"?

Thx

 

[Snowwhite]

it has to do with firing order, bore and stroke, and exhaust header lengths. In other words, not much we can do there. I don't think anyone makes headers for the 3.3 since the turbo and cats are all mixed up in there too.

Jason Cammisa can explain it far better than I can.

 

[DavidinGA]

it has to do with firing order, bore and stroke, and exhaust header lengths. In other words, not much we can do there. I don't think anyone makes headers for the 3.3 since the turbo and cats are all mixed up in there too.

Jason Cammisa can explain it far better than I can.

That's actually SUPER helpful to understand things better!

He mentions unequal headers changing the note; would an unequal catback change the note too?

 

[bfglitch]

If I recall, the 3.3's exhaust manifold is built into the engine, so there aren't any replaceable headers.

 

[Thomby]

If I recall, the 3.3's exhaust manifold is built into the engine, so there aren't any replaceable headers.

The exhaust manifold and turbo housing are a single piece, with a restriction upstream of the turbo. So you could replace the manifolds/headers, you'd just have to cut the stock single piece and add a flange to the turbo housing, or weld it directly to your new headers:

 

[Snicklefritz]

to me the Stinger's 3.3 exhaust sounds just awful

are you complaining about 'quiet' or a quality in the sound? I've only heard a few stingers go by when Ima outside and there wasn't anything obnoxious about the sound. it wasn't loud either, which I prefer since my experience in the cabin is supposed to be quiet.

 

[G70LEbyAdoom]

The Megan Racing catback is the only exhaust that actually makes the stinger sound decent IMO

 

[DavidinGA]

are you complaining about 'quiet' or a quality in the sound? I've only heard a few stingers go by when Ima outside and there wasn't anything obnoxious about the sound. it wasn't loud either, which I prefer since my experience in the cabin is supposed to be quiet.

A louder exhaust with better tone.

 

[DavidinGA]

The Megan Racing catback is the only exhaust that actually makes the stinger sound decent IMO

I've only heard YouTube videos, but it didn't sound much different than the run of the mill mrbp cutback. Have you heard it in person?

 

[Thomby]

I'm not a fan of loud aftermarket exhausts, especially with any drone, but exhaust valves should give you the best of both worlds: nice and quiet for cruising around, Jag F-Type levels of mean when driving hard.

So why does going into sport mode make such a subtle change (and only 3hp)? Why not have the valve side bypass the muffler, use larger diameter piping, and really ramp up the aggressiveness?

 

[AdrianG]

In my opinion, mine sounds pretty good. It's the stock '22 exhaust, but with the Ultimate Performance downpipes. It is actually surprisingly good. The only other thing I've thought about doing is swapping in the Tork oval midpipe to see how I like it. If I don't like the oval midpipe, I'm probably not going to bother with anything else.

 

[5tinger]

Love the smooth quiet engine of my Stinger. 2019 Stock everything. Velvety smooth engine with massive power.

 

[Ozstung]

I've had the Borla type S catback on for a couple of years and to me it sounds great. Get a lot of crackle changing down the paddles and zero drone.

 

[LordKOTL]

I'm not a fan of loud aftermarket exhausts, especially with any drone, but exhaust valves should give you the best of both worlds: nice and quiet for cruising around, Jag F-Type levels of mean when driving hard.

So why does going into sport mode make such a subtle change (and only 3hp)? Why not have the valve side bypass the muffler, use larger diameter piping, and really ramp up the aggressiveness?

I tend to agree on the sound. When my wife and I went on vacation in the middle of July, we got upgraded from an econocan to a Dodge Challenger R/T. Why not; it was no extra charge on our end. Anyhow, as much as I love the low purr of a V8, the loudness of it's exhaust got old fast.

As for the rest? I kinda wondered that myself. I probably won't do an exhaust mod, but with the active exhaust I did wonder if there was anyone trying to bypass the mufflers in Sport mode.

 

[vipeboy2000]

It's amusing to see different opinions on sound.... personally the ford ecoboost exhaust note is one of my least favorite sounds.... my favorite v6tt exhaust note is definitely the 3.0tt maserati ... Had a rental and wasn't impressed at all with the car itself.. except the exhaust note! glorious.

 

[oddball]

What are some of the engine platform characteristics that shape or make the end exhaust sound we hear? I'm curious because to me the Stinger's 3.3 exhaust sounds just awful no matter which system it has on it. I've stuck with the stock exhaust because everything I've heard from the aftermarket just sounds terrible.

There are lots of other v6 tt platforms that sound great; even my friends stock F150 ecoboost sounds waaaaay better than mine.

What's the deal? And is it even "fixable"?

Thx

Literally everything affects exhaust sound. But in a turbo car the exhaust has to run through the turbo, which will cut down on the pulses and smooth out the sound. The exhaust has less of an effect on the quality of the sound after that happens.

I'm not a fan of loud aftermarket exhausts, especially with any drone, but exhaust valves should give you the best of both worlds: nice and quiet for cruising around, Jag F-Type levels of mean when driving hard.

So why does going into sport mode make such a subtle change (and only 3hp)? Why not have the valve side bypass the muffler, use larger diameter piping, and really ramp up the aggressiveness?

Still has to pass regulatory requirements for all their target markets and noise regulations are extremely strict in many parts of the world (and California). It's uncommon for a typical car to have any power output differences between drive modes. Exotics will, but usually that means the higher output modes have higher boost with corresponding fuel requirements or just accepting it's harder on the engine. A typical consumer car isn't going to do that kind of stuff - think of the warranty implications if nothing else. Well, they could artificially limit output for most drive modes, but that doesn't sell real well.

 

[DavidinGA]

It's amusing to see different opinions on sound.... personally the ford ecoboost exhaust note is one of my least favorite sounds.... my favorite v6tt exhaust note is definitely the 3.0tt maserati ... Had a rental and wasn't impressed at all with the car itself.. except the exhaust note! glorious.

fwiw...I didn't say I "liked" my friends ecoboost F150, I just said even his stock exhaust sounds BETTER than our Stinger's exhaust which is a shame.

 

[vipeboy2000]

fwiw...I didn't say I "liked" my friends ecoboost F150, I just said even his stock exhaust sounds BETTER than our Stinger's exhaust which is a shame.

Gotcha. Yea. 99% of v6 tts don't sound good to me so I just deal lol. I miss my old v8 on our e39 540 lol.

 

[DavidinGA]

Gotcha. Yea. 99% of v6 tts don't sound good to me so I just deal lol. I miss my old v8 on our e39 540 lol.

Ya, it's probably my least favorite aspect of the Stinger.

Even a bone stock m340 sounds significantly better than our modded exhausts so it's not a v6 tt issue necessarily...

Stock BMW M340i exhaust clip

 

[Snowwhite]

Ya, it's probably my least favorite aspect of the Stinger.

Even a bone stock m340 sounds significantly better than our modded exhausts so it's not a v6 tt issue necessarily...

Stock BMW M340i exhaust clip

back then the 540 was a NA V8, not a TTV6. I had two of them. 6 speed manuals both. I miss them too, but the 545 6 speed that replaced the last 540 was even better. I had a wicked custom exhaust on the first 540 that people would pull up and ask me what brand it was because it sounded so good.