I have a Stebro on an Italian sports car of mine. Sounds like a Formula One of the 80's when I reach 8.5K rpm. I got a great deal of eBay on their "make an offer" but I waited like 5 or 6 weeks to get it.
Yeh, that's the only thing keeping me from buying their Stebro Austin Healey exhaust system for my VR6 VW is not knowing how loud it will actually be which is why I'd rather spend a day driving up there and seeing first hand what it would sound like. They even offered me a 20 percent discount and said they'd bend the pipe to how I'd need it, but the sound level is what scares me. It's still a lot of money to risk for a loud sound. I may just ditch the Stebro side exhaust idea and go with my plan B. I wish I could find some small exhausts that were quiet. I mean the extra 5-7 horsepower is nice, but I'd rather my vehicle sound like a 2009 M3 than a 1970 VW dunebuggy. Well somewhere in between would be nice (I'll be realistic, BMW has engineers that are devoted to the sound of the exhaust on their cars).
Hmmm, I sorta thought mine was a 2", I'll go measure it and report back. When you say internal tube, do you mean the tube inside the Magnaflow, i.e. would I know by measuring the pipe outside the magnaflow which version I have?
It's the internal perforated tube size. The inlet and outlet are 2". You wouldn't be able to see the difference unless you tear the system apart. If you go to magnaflows website, the 2" with 2" core is PN 10444, while the 2" with 2 1/2" core is PN 10424.
I'm a bit exhaust ignorant, so bear that in mind: Is there anyway to change the exhaust that will increase the HP but without increasing the DB level? Alternatively, is there a way to reduce the DB without reducing the HP?
I'm a bit exhaust ignorant, so bear that in mind: Is there anyway to change the exhaust that will increase the HP but without increasing the DB level? Alternatively, is there a way to reduce the DB without reducing the HP?
HP = Horse Power
DB = Noise Level (decibels)
To answer your question, yes..... but it's usually not easy or cheap. HP increase is usually obtained by reducing back pressure in the system. There are two easy ways to do this, make the passages larger, and/or reduce the number of restrictions in the system. Obviously #1 is done by using larger tubing, which allows higher gas flow, and as a consequence more noise. #2 can be accomplished two ways, either reduce the number of turns the gas has to make, or reduce the distance it has to travel. If you understand the basics of Fuid Dynamics, a tube has a given flow for a certain cross section, but as the tube gets longer for that cross section, flow is reduced by friction on the wall of the tube. The aftermarket manufacturers have chosen to use both in their designs. They use larger tubing, and the the overall flow path is shorter. When you do this, it becomes increasingly difficult to control the sound waves traveling through the system. That is why they are all louder than stock. I have not personally cut a stock muffler apart, but my guess is that the exhaust probably passes through the muffler 2-3 times before exiting the tailpipe. That's why the stock exhaust is much quieter than the aftermarket. Most of the current aftermarket exhaust flow straight through the muffler, thereby carrying most of the sound waves out the tip instead of being absorbed by the packing material in the muffler.
The fact is, in a compact package like the smart, there is very little room to create any kind of larger resonance chamber to reduce exhaust db's. Some mufflers are more efficient at reducing noise than others. Some of the quietest exhausts I've heard sound clips for are the Remus and Carllson, but you are going to pay $$$ to get them. Hope this answers your question.
Hey guys sorry to butt in, but if I may I would like to give me 2cents.
We have fitted and used Breathless, DTH, BRABUS, REMUS, Borla and SOLO exhausts on our and our customers cars.
The top of the line (fit, finish and sound) is REMUS. There is no comparison. Simply look at the exhaust in person and you will instantly agree. They sold for $699.99 and we sold out every set they had in the US. We asked REMUS for more units and the only way to get them (for now) was by air. This was more expensive and due to this the price went up (until more come in by sea). We are down to our last 2 exhausts (display included) and will probably sell out by next week again. In another month or two the ship cargo will come in and they will once again go down in price (hopefully). So, if you are thinking to go with a REMUS either do it now or wait a couple of months.
The next one we recommend is SOLO. This is a newer system that is made by a company that has been around for over 40 years. Their customer service is top notch! The exhausts are well made, lightweight and properly designed. The welds are nice, the angles are well made, the tips are good quality and it is the easiest to install out of all the units we have put on. Besides the REMUS they make the least amount of noise while still giving you a performance gain. The sound is similar to the Borla.
Next would be DTH. The folks at DTH have fantastic customer service and are also a pleasure to deal with. Their first design had some flaws that once in a while caused the joints to come apart. When we contacted them about it they promptly exchanged any older designs whether they were faulty or still new in a box with their new design at NO CHARGE. Any customer that had the first version was offered the new exhaust upgrade at no charge. This is a good exhaust, but it is much louder than the REMUS and the SOLO. Some love it and some have us take it off the car after driving with it for a week/month and then upgrade it for a REMUS or a SOLO because of noise. I loved the sound, but Rachel (my partner/fiance/smart car owner) did not.
DTH has had very good customer service and continues to be top notch whenever an issue comes up with someone that has had a bad weld come apart from their original design (that has been corrected long ago). They promptly take care of it and do not charge us or the customer any money. If you are in the area they will even do the labor free! If it is one of our customers we will do the labor free ourselves.
Some other manufacturers would not do this (as some of you know) and we still have product on our shelves that we know will eventually fail, but since it has not failed yet we cannot get any assistance with or be able to return or exchange it. Even when it does fail the exchange or upgrade to the proper design will cost additional money. Due to this we have stopped recommending this option.
The next one is Borla. It is a very nicely made unit with lots of time and effort that was put in testing prior to production. The unit is very nice, but pricey. I have only seen it installed on one smart and the customer was satisfied with it.
The last on my list in the Breathless. This unit produces about the same level of sound as the DTH. Some love it and some do not. The first two versions had issues with it coming apart and the last version should have fixed the earlier problems. We used to carry this line (still have a couple on the shelf), but due to a difference in opinions (us and the owner of Breathless) we no longer purchase new product and are simply selling what is left in our inventory. Some have had negative experiences with this unit and some love it and speak highly of it. At one time we have had the unit (version 1, version 2 and version 3) on our smart car. At this time we have replaced it with a prototype we are running on one smart and the other one has a Turbo which comes with its own exhaust.
I'll be taking my Breathless off my oh 8 Smart Passion. It's got about 200 miles on the exhaust. Any idea what a good used price would be for this exhaust? It's the latest version (version 3), meaning it has the flex tube.
Breathless advertises as being the only one on the market with a flex tube, but after reading SmartMadness post maybe other manufacturers have put the flextube since their first versions rattled apart...seems the flextube is necessary to keep the exhaust from rattling apart (since the stock exhaust has a flextube albeit a bigger flextube than the Breathless). The Breathless retails for $530.
From what I can tell there isn't an aftermarket center tip exhaust that:
A. Is quiet like the Brabus or Passion exhaust.
B. Properly fits a Brabus rear skirt.
Thus I'm taking it off completely. So private me if you are interested in the exhaust. Whenever I get it taken off, I'll post it up on ebay.
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