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05-27-2005, 08:17 PM | #1 |
Scooby Specialist
Member Sales Rating: (1)
Member#: 51745
Join Date: Jan 2004
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Wenatchee...WA
Vehicle:LIKE A BOSS |
HKS Carbon Ti Cat-Back (long...but w/ pics and video!)
Car: 04 WRX Sedan, Java Black Pearl, 24,xxx miles
Mods: Vishnu catless uppipe, HKS catless downpipe, HKS Carbon Ti cat-back, Prodrive I/C hoses, Helix oil catch can, Cobb Stage 2 91 octane reflash. Intro: I have found I have a lot of time lately after having shoulder surgery a few days ago so I figured I ought to do something productive seeing as I've now had my HKS Carbon Ti long enough to make a final verdict on it. I took some pictures so you could see how it looks and also took some video so those of you thinking about buying this would get a better idea of how loud it is. If you are like I was and have held off a long time buying a cat-back because you wanted one that not only sounded good, but wasn't ear blisteringly loud than hopefully this will help you out. Just a note, my car is fully catless (as noted above) so for those of you thinking "yeah, but what if you're catless" this is for you too. And for those of you with cats, it won't even be this loud. Ok, on to the reveiw... Build Quality/Design: I bought the Caron Ti used from someone on Nabisco, so it obviously wasn't in perfect condition. In fact, there was a pretty nasty bump on the bottom of the canister which ruptured the carbon fiber, but didn't puncture the whole way through and didn't impede flow any. It also had some of the flex webbing rubbed off the flex part of the resonator pipe, but again, it didn't wear through. But hey, I got it for $175 and you can't see any of the damage, so what do I care?? My first thoughts on the build quality were this: "Wow!" The exhaust has very thick flanges that look to be very resistant to warping. The welds were perfect (they look too good to be welded by a person so my guess is a machine, but if not, whoever did it is an outstanding welder). And the design was almost completely straight through meaning virtually no impedence for exhaust flow. There is a flex joint about six inches from where the resonator pipe and midpipe connect relieving the user of worries from not being able to use the stock spring-bolt/donut gasket pieces. The exhaust hangers were beefy and welded in there good enough to survive a nuclear holocost. I also noted that the two hangers that are on the canister (the two closest to the end, that were originally part of the muffler on the stocker) were welded onto a large clamp-like piece (think hose clamp, but large enough to fit around the Carbon Ti canister and built sturdier). This clamp would enable the user to replace the actual muffler part in case it is damaged and you needed to put a new one on, without having to weld new exhaust hangers on. Big thumbs up on build quality and design. The exhaust looks to be of a much higher build quality than HKS's downpipe which is good, because the downpipe (although it works ok) looks cheap. Sound: I am one of those people who is very picky about the sound of my exhausts. When I had my Honda I wanted the quietest exhaust I could find because most of the Honda exhausts sound like huge fart pipes and signal a dumb-ass ricer coming from miles away. But wanting a quiet exhaust came at the price of having a more restrictive muffler and the cost of a couple of ponies. So, when it came time to source an exhaust for the WRX I wanted to be selective and take my time. I did not want to sacrafice any power this time, but I also didn't want to sound like a: the Blitz Nur Spec R which is stupid loud or b: a fart pipe Honda ricer. As far as most of the N1-style exhausts (you know, mellon-shooter type canisters) the HKS is rumored to be one of the quietest, and after putting it on I can say that it definitely is. At idol it has a nice, low growl not unlike an old Camaro or Stang. Driving around town its loud, but not too loud. It is loud enough that its definitely not stock, but it is also not a fart can or Blitz - I would say its a good middle ground between the quietest exhausts (Borla Hush, Greddy Evo) and the Blitz. On the freeway there is almost no drone. You will hear it with the windows open, however, it is not overpowering. Once you close the windows, you can't hear it unless you get on the gas, or you already know that its there. Finally, the best part I must say is romping on it: its freakin awesome. Its like someone unleashed a whole prison of convict bears who had just butt raped each other for their whole prison terms and are pissed off!! It is truely a magnificent sounding exhaust. Click here to download/listen to the AVI I made of the sound of the Carbon Ti, be warned, its 29 megs!! Teh Butt-Dyno: Ok, so I ran the Cobb AP Stage 2 for about 3-4 weeks being catless, but still having the stock cat back on and it was pretty nice. It made a good power jump, and I was satisfied. But after installing the Carbon Ti, I noticed something that I know I really shouldn't have: my butt dyno said my car ran like a scalded ape instead of just a mad one! Now as far as power mods go, the cat back in our cars is pretty much the lowest gainer in regards to the exhaust system and is said to gain pretty much nil as far as power goes....but I can't fight the feeling that it runs better, pushes harder and seems to have better throttle response now, go figure?? Anyway this paticular exhaust (in what I've read on Nabisco) is rumored to be one of the best power gainers for the WRX and I would have to agree. I am getting the car tuned in July and will report back then (if I remember). Conclusion: I am very, very impressed with this exhaust. I had some reservations about buying another piece of HKS gear after buying the downpipe because it looked like it was not up to HKS's calibur of parts. But, I must say I was pleasently surprised after looking at all the care and time taken into the design and overall quality of the Carbon Ti. I also had reservations about buying an exhaust with an N1-style design muffler, but those reservations have now been silenced. The exhaust is neither too loud nor too soft; neither too high pitched nor too low pitched. In short the exhaust has the perfect amplitude and frequency for our cars and brings out that boxer rumble quite unlike any other exhaust system I've heard. No rice here, just pure muscle and money well spent. Feel free to PM/Email me for any more questions you may have regarding the exhaust or for more/different videos or pictures. Aaron
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05-28-2005, 09:19 AM | #4 |
Scooby Specialist
Member Sales Rating: (3)
Member#: 12340
Join Date: Nov 2001
Chapter/Region:
MWSOC
Location: Lincoln, NE
Vehicle:2002 WRX 2.5L Hybrid WRB |
Silencer
Well guys if you do feel that it is too loud for you sometimes, you can modify the silencer for the regular exhausts that are the same size tip, very slightly in order to get it to fit in our exhausts. The problem lies with the rivets that are holding the Ti tip in place, they get in the way of the silencer. You can simply cut small notches out of the inner piece of the silencer to get past that. It does make a huge difference, and it does make long trips more pleasureable sometimes. Although in town, of course I never have the silencer in, it just sounds too sweet! I hope somebody will find this to be useful information.
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06-16-2005, 01:12 PM | #8 |
Scooby Specialist
Member Sales Rating: (1)
Member#: 51745
Join Date: Jan 2004
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Wenatchee...WA
Vehicle:LIKE A BOSS |
yeah, the longer i keep it on my car, the more i love the sound too. its really an excellent piece of gear for the car. and the design is so thought out. i'm really happy i bought it.
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06-24-2005, 02:14 AM | #13 |
Scooby Specialist
Member Sales Rating: (7)
Member#: 88529
Join Date: Jun 2005
Chapter/Region:
BAIC
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Here is a short clip of my HKS Exahust I just installed. I <3 it!!
http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=WRX_HKS |
06-27-2005, 11:49 AM | #17 |
Scooby Specialist
Member Sales Rating: (1)
Member#: 51745
Join Date: Jan 2004
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Wenatchee...WA
Vehicle:LIKE A BOSS |
No, a cat-back will not give a check engine light. Only removing or changing your catylitic converter configuration will do that (sometimes).
Aaron |
06-29-2005, 06:19 PM | #20 |
Scooby Specialist
Member Sales Rating: (1)
Member#: 51745
Join Date: Jan 2004
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Wenatchee...WA
Vehicle:LIKE A BOSS |
Sorry about all this. I guess so many people have checked it out that it has totally exceded my b.w. on my webserver!!! Sorry!!! I didn't think I had that little b.w.!!
I'll try to get it fixed as soon as possible! Aaron |
06-30-2005, 02:24 PM | #21 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member Sales Rating: (2)
Member#: 89252
Join Date: Jun 2005
Chapter/Region:
MWSOC
Location: NW Indiana
Vehicle:2005 STi PSM |
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