stock exhaust - it's unbelievably quiet! Why?
 

So I bought a 2019 with resonant short tails on. Sounded absolutely great....but I'm generally a quiet car guy, and it was a bit loud with warm exhaust and heavy throttle - sounded wonderful at idling, puttering about, or even at highway speeds as long as not going up a hill.

The biggest problem was that there was an annoying buzz at 2900-3400 rpm coming from somewhere - maybe inside exhaust or inside cabin. (sounded like the crossbar was buzzing)

So I drove 7 hours to pick up a barely used muffler from a 2017 owner, and after cops, a son being being taken away on request of the parents, a guy running away with black market cigarettes, long talk with fellow Z owner, I got home at 2:30 am. Road trips are funny things. Today it was put on.

I can't BELIEVE it. I thought these were supposed to be louder cars anyways (compared to regular cars), and the videos I watched had definite cabin noise, and even a bit of gurgle and pop. I HEAR NOTHING. NOTHING! LOL. Almost entirely road noise, no exhaust purr whatsoever, unless I hammer it, and get above 4000rpm.....then I hear mostly the engine droning. On the one hand I'm impressed on the other hand I expected SOMETHING. My stock 3.5 Altima Coupe has more exhaust noise when opened up.

I've read single posts from a few people saying Nissan improved the sound proofing (though rocks still sound like they're inside the cabin!) after 2015. Is this true? Is this why mine is so quiet?

Your car is quiet because the stock Nissan exhaust for our cars is a joke. It is by far, the biggest let down with the 370Z. It is even quieter on the Nismo model. My '17 Maxima has a louder stock exhaust. Nissan completely dropped the ball on the stock exhaust sound.

Having said that, you need to avoid the "short tail" type axle back exhausts. They are horrible in my opinion and you usually end up with unacceptable amounts of drone, buzzing and resonance inside the cabin. If you want a slightly louder and better sounding exhaust without significant drone, you need to go with a complete axle back that is properly designed to include proper x or h-pipe, mid pipe resonators and true mufflers after the axle. You can also read reviews regarding drone to ensure you pick the right one.

Please be careful choosing because what is quiet for one person can be unbearable for another. Choose wisely and remember, drone does not normally show up on Youtube exhaust reviews.

I am amazed, I don't even see how the "stock exhaust" videos from the interior apply - mine seems much much quieter than even that. I don't think I could pick up any exhaust noise on a video from the interior. That's why I wondered if Nissan really did improve the sound proofing a bit.

I think I have watched just about every video and read every post I could find on drone. etc.

I will say that the resonant short tails really were not bad. I wouldn't have chosen them, but they did sound good, in fact, I got a couple strangers walking up and asking me what was on there.....the first was a few days after i bought the car, and I PUTTED into a convenience store parking lot with no real throttle. A Q60 coupe owner came up and asked. In fact, for the guys who really like LOUD - it probably isn't enough. For anyone else, IF they don't get that one buzz I did, it would probably be satisfying. I think they probably sound much more refined that the short tails with no resonator.

For sure, next year I may look back into it, but I'll see how budget goes. I had thought nismo exhaust might be right for me, but that's before I realized this is basically totally silent! I thought from all I read Nismo was very slightly louder - now you say it's QUIETER (!?)

I might think about cheap ebay (which the guy I bought the muffler from raved about - he's a car guy, but he thinks it's fine, and doesn't buy into the: it's cheap and not well made narrative), otherwise, sounds to me like Gemini, or HKS hi-power, etc may be the most quiet options. I read that s-line muffler was just a bit louder than stock.....but....in some videos it doesn't sound too great to me without the s-line pipes as well.

Of course the problem is you can't really pick up drone well in video - as you say, and even moreso, I can't really tell volume well from video. I think trying to pick out how loud it is compared to engine noise, is about the only indicator I get as to how loud it really is.

I have test pipes with the nismo stock exhaust and you can hear it and it sounds like a sports car

I had axle backs with the test pipes and it roared but man it droned and sounded awful on start ups

On acceleration 3000k rpm sounded like I was redlining it

Maybe go with test pipes to bring out the sound more

It's artificial sound added in. I forgot which M.Y. exactly, but around the later half of production they added that in. Some reviewers don't even realize it.

That's exactly my new line of inquiry as of today! Not sure any axle or catback quite fits what I'd like - which I think is essentially as quiet as possible, but with a nice audible sound. I know lots of people want it to roar on wide open....I'd just like an audible but mellow to moderate sound all the time! So now wondering if other changes with stock muffler can get me there. Like resonated test pipes with the stock muffler...

K, I wondered that....because I've seen a few saying that, but most not mentioning it! So maybe nismo is actually as quiet or quieter, but has the augmented sound....

I recommend test pipes. Fast Intentions, to be specific :twocents:

FI test pipes with stock exhaust?

I am liking the sound of some of test pipe + stock videos I've seeing....though I'm not sure I want the CEL codes and all that, especially while still under warranty for a little while longer.

I think the AAM S-line muffler is exactly what you’re looking for.

https://www.aamcompetition.com/shop/...tegory=3#attr=

I have this exact axleback and I can tell you that it’s only slightly louder than stock with zero drone, but a lot better sounding. I only removed it when I upgraded to ARK DTS full cat back because I wanted my car louder. I’m still not sure if I may go back to the AAM next summer.

Let me know if you need more details.

Just get yourself a quality cat-back and be done with it. F.I. or ARK are my recommendations based on what I've heard in person. Motordyne if you want something a little more aggressive. If after doing the cat-back you want more, then you can add HFCs or test pipes.

I can attest to the fact that ARK DTS sounds absolutely incredible driving slow or fast. Best I've ever heard and not obnoxiously loud with stock cats.

The only thing you need to remember is that there are two types. ARK Grip and DTS. The Grip version will not fit a Nismo model without some modification. The DTS fits all versions of 370Z. As to which type is louder or sounds better, no one really knows since they both sound very similar even though they are significantly different in design after the axle. Some say the Grip is slightly louder while others say it's the opposite. Sooo.......it's really subjective. Good luck.

+-I read in another thread that you thought it was great and just a bit louder than stock. I was definitely thinking of it based on that. Not to many videos on it - and usually they have other mods....when I saw this video, it scared me off a bit. It doesn't sound good (to me) in this one....dare I say a bit more unpleasant than stock :-( but there's a lot of engine noise and rasp in this vid.....and of course that's the problem with videos...they vary so much depending on location, what they were captured with etc. https://youtu.be/ldPmuCn0pW0


I went out late last night to an industrial park on the outskirts. Car sounded louder (but not pleasant)....I got a MAX of 82 decibels doing 0-60 wide open inside!

Maybe take a look at the Remark V2 axle back

There is a video on youtube showcasing the sound

Wow, I was just listening to Remark videos the other night.... and especially trying to find V2....I also saw a thread here about it...

http://www.the370z.com/intake-exhaus...axle-back.html

....and the price is palatable! Definitely near the front of my list. I'm scared of that buzz.....the muffler shop here was convinced it was coming from the resonators on the short tails that were on there....but I still suspect it was coming from the interior.... maybe near the strut brace.

In any case, I LOVE the Remark sound in the video. I wonder which is quieter - ARK grip or Remark V2?

Be careful about what you hear on YouTube. The sound is always misleading because you can never gauge the drone and loudness levels by watching videos. Believe me, I have gotten burned several times before learning my lesson. The only real way to know how an exhaust sounds and whether it is too loud for you, is by hearing it in person. Of course this is not easy so you need to trust your instincts and do a little bit of engineering analysis. Any exhaust with straight pipes, no mid pipe resonators, and tiny mufflers will be loud and most likely have drone. Systems with Helmholtz chambers tend to have lower drone levels but can still be extremely loud at WOT. Systems that resemble the stock setup having proper crossover, resonators and mufflers close to the stock locations will most likely be acceptable. Again, it’s still a crap shoot as to finding the Goldilocks sound we all look for. Good luck.

Not familiar with the ARK exhaust systems but usually anything buzzing comes from our interior being vibrated by the louder exhaust

Going back to my nismo muffler with test pipes I don't hear any buzzing or rattling any more

The rear hatch locking mechanism is a source of rattle. There is a youtube video somewhere of some guy who searches for ages and ends up finding it and filling it up with lube.

I had this issue once my exhaust got loud enough and I just stuck a chunk of sound deadener over the metal where it's screwed in. That fixed it!

HKS Hi-Power

/thread

There is a post on here by a fussy bastard who's almost as particular as me and he said the HKS Hi-Power has zero drone at any load or RPM point. He's right. HKS have done some brilliant engineering on this one.

This exhaust is perfect for me - I want something quiet when just cruising (and at light throttle below 3000 RPM it sounds almost as quiet as stock) but if you stomp on it then it gets a really nice sound (which is also what I want). A friend drove mine on the weekend and said he was "changing gears just for the sake of it" so he could listen to the exhaust.

And this is why everyone gets worse gas mileage after a new exhaust install despite the fact that a freer flowing exhaust should get better gas mileage all other variables being equal.

Isn't that the truth!

Only true at light throttle / load.

At full throttle you have more airflow, which means more fuel gets injected, and your economy will be worse. Often, because you're flowing more air than a stock car, you hit new map cells that are tuned very conservatively because the stock engine doesn't normally go there. Those cells are usually richer and more retarded than normal, which also hurt economy.

Unlikely to happen in an NA car where bolt-ons are only worth a few percent but turning up the boost in a 90's turbo Nissan absolutely does this "Rich & Retard" effect on the stock ECU.

No one cares about gas mileage at full throttle though :icon17: