Deep exhaust/ ZERO hiss
 

Hey guys, just got my first Z so trying to learn as much as I can about this platform. Car cam with DNA Motoring catback, I know it’s a cheap eBay catback. I’m going to put test pipes on it to see if that helps, then switch the catback out if it doesn’t.

That being said, I like my cars LOUD. But I do not want to have the notorious hiss these cars make. What is the loudest exhaust setup I can get, WITHOUT the hiss problem?

most say motordyne I believe or tomei. straight pipes w/ no cats. just a guess from what I read. :tiphat:

You can’t get rid of the Hiss....u will always hear that on deceleration....no matter what exhaust u go with.....AAM Tails with Cats are loud so is Motordyne or u can go with GT Haus Meisterschaft

As of now I do not have the hiss, according to a few friends anyway. But the exhaust is not loud enough at all. If only they made the Tomei in a dual option, I’d be all over that.

As far as test pipes are concerned, so they all fit all cat backs for the most part? I came from a mustang and I was always told I had to mate up the mid pipe with the headers. Is this also true with the Z, or will most any test pip pair up with any catback and or long tube set up?

It's also true with the Z. The headers you have will determine the test pipes you run. For example: I have [350Z] Momentum headers (what the Z1 headers are based off of), and run test pipes from a DE-engine 350Z. However, if you run Stillen headers, you can run normal 370Z cats/test pipes. However if you run longtubes, then obviously you'll be skipping them altogether.

Ok. Thanks for the information. The car came with a eBay DNA Motorong catback, right now I want to add test pipes, and change the catback our during the summer. Would Berk Test Pipes work with different cutbacks? Or are there different type flanges between brands?

If I were you i would go with high flow cats instead of test pipes. Same airflow/power increase and wayyy better sound. High flow cats + a good catback sounds amazing. If you’re looking for something cheap TopSpeed motorsports offers three different 370z catback systems for under $550. They sound great and the same quality steel and welds as the expensive systems.

Only reason I am hesitant of highflow cats is that I feel it will not be loud enough. I am new to Z cars so I’m not familiar with how they sound. YouTube does not do a good comparison concerning volume, and nobody in my area has these cars.

I just got my first Z not long ago too, but always loved and owned VQ cars, my last car was an infiniti g35 and i had berk high flow cats with topspeed catback exhaust and it was extremely loud and sounded incredible. Im going to go with the same exhaust set up on my Z and since the engines are very similar just a little bigger in the Z I’m assuming the sound will be pretty similar. High flow cats are also very loud just make the sound a better quality sound than test pipes

Ok, I’ll check them out! Also, another dumb question, will all testpipes/high flow cats bolt up to any catback?

For the most part it will Bolt right up.... Motrdyne ART Pipes, Berk, F.I. are the most popular that are mixed and matched with different CBEs.. I personally went went with the Berk Resonated TPs....sounds way better than the HFCs IMHO....Non resonated TPs will give u Rasp and contribute to drone

That's what I am looking for, something that is going to make the most difference in sound, with as little drone as possible. Sounds like resonated test pipes are the way to go.

You won't get the hiss until you get HFCs/TPs/LTHs. That's when you're going to start hearing it.

I was looking for the similar - Deep throaty rumble with in town panache, but not window breaking loud - yet a good roar in WOT. After hearing a lot of various exhaust combos, I was tempted by ARK (for various reasons opted against) and wound up ordering FI RHFC and 18" R- TDX CBE w/ CF muffler. IM ever so Z newb HO, I felt it was damn near the perfect honoring of the VQ sound without being "ricey" ... to me! I'm 42. In my 20s when I had my 93 5.0 sedan I wanted to break windows and eardrum. Now, I just want a sound that she deserves and tuned performance to match. As frame of reference, Greddy and HKS were too loud and not refined enough... for me!

Now... that all said... Resonated cats or Resonated TP is the way to limit the hiss. you won't get rid of it per se, but it will be muted and not sound like an Autozone wannabe. (or leave stock cats on, but accept performance drawback)
Mid pipe will not only play a part in resonance and tone, but also in flow, which brings us to the next part...
You want LOUD you say, ok... loud all the time, or just on WOT? That will make a difference on what can you go with. Baffled cans will often give you more of that loud pop and putt, but all the time (often seen in large cans with multiple outs, letting the exhaust resonate against itself using sound wave pressure to create the tone and pop you want) Fiber/ported/muffle cans are more likely to give you nice tone on normal driving, and mid to loud on WOT.

my opinions. my experience, but hope it helps a bit

Sounds almost like you want something along the lines of:
Resonated test pipe (or Hemholtz style - think ARK test pipes with that "tank thing")
H-pipe mids (instead of Xpipe) - maybe AAM or ARK GRiP?
muffler delete large (read as over 12") resonator with short tail - think AAM style
Am I close? lots of youtube out there, varying sound quality but you can get a good idea

I would say you are pretty dang close to what I am looking for! I’m not really into loud all the time, so I like it louder in wot. And I agree, I hate the sound of HKS, sounds hollow and ricey to me. But yes, loud on WOT, while maintaining a nice deep tone is what I am going for.

From what I have heard out there in order of Rib-and-Skull-Fracture to Dear-God-My-Ears-Are-Bleeding-Still-But-Damn-What-A-Beaut-Of-A-Tone:
Cat/TP - Berk R-TP, ARK Hemholtz HFC, FI R-HFC <<<This is what will net you low rasp and nice tone
Mid Pipe of choice to mate, but H for pop and X for growl/rawr
Tail/Muff - GT Haus Meisterschaft, AAM short tail, ARK GRiP, AAM Res Short, FI TDX, FI 12" TDX, FI 18" Res TDX <<<This is what will net you LOUD WOT but reasonable under DD without drone

IF I am close to thinking what you are thinking, and I think you know what I am thinking you think, but think my thinking may be not what you think .... alright enough of that... I underlined my personal suggestions - certainly not end all tops - but maybe go hit some youtube and see what you can find and at least try to get an idea. Call some manufactures. Maybe download an app for sound measurement and get an idea (best done 6-8ft from source) what dB you want while visiting carshows - use same app to guage sound freq of exhaust you like. then call the manufacturer and talk with them detailing what you are looking for in what tonal ranges and see what they say.

I have Berk cats with a Fast Intentions CBE. The CBE is non resonated with carbon fiber mufflers. It's loud and mean. I get so many complements about the look and sound of it. I highly recommend!

PS: It does hiss though. Personally I don't mind it though.

When upgrading the OEM cats, VQ is notorious for its deceleration "hiss", no way of getting around it.

Overall loudness will depend on your manifold/cats/resonator/muffler selections.

Now for quality exhaust systems,....

-Fast Intentions is manufactured in house (HAND BUILT INDIVIDUALLY) right in Simi Valley, CA. All build from stainless, mantrel bent and tig welded.
-Motordyne now is manufactured by a 3rd party, no longer in house. The owners are focused on other job opportunities at this point. They've had non-stop quality and order issues this past 6+ months.
-ARK Performance, great sounding system, manufactured in Taiwan.
-Powerhouse Amuse manufactured in Japan, 100% hand built and 100% titanium. Put it this way... you pay for what you get...
-GT HAUS aka Meistershaft is 100% oem orientation, just upgraded tubing and resonator/muffler deletes. Its loud af.....
-ARMYTRIX is a quality setup with optional dual valve options to control sound on the go. Spendy, Loud, nice exotic sound.

Let us know if you have any questions regarding any exhaust part/setup/combination for the z, happy to assist