In the performance ocean of various types, sizes and shapes of aftermarket exhaust systems few stand out at the top of the food chain. Their position is determined not only by their popularity or horsepower gain, but also their pedigree. There are only few domestic brand name exhaust systems that I can classify as those. Since the beginning of the Subaru enthusiasts’ boom, few companies decided to make complete exhaust systems for these amazing cars. Among those companies is DC Sports. Recently acquired by an aftermarket dominator, Advanced Engine Management (AEM), DC Sports expanded their product line to include Subaru exhaust systems, uppipes, downpipes and turbo manifolds.

i-Club parts review department (or simply put me) was fortunate enough to get our hands on these fresh parts. Unfortunately, the downpipes are still in the final stages of the development and production, so we’ll review it later on.

EXHAUST SYSTEM:

When UPS dropped off the exhaust box, I though it was a mistake since the packaging was way too small to be your average exhaust box. I decided to open it prior to signing for it to make sure it was the right part. Sure enough it was. Upon inspection, I noticed that the DC Sports exhaust system is 3-piece design: muffler and 2-piece midpipe. It is definitely unusual, but very useful I think. Looking closer, you can see that the front ½ of the midpipe has a nice tubular resonator and a flex joint. Yes, a flex joint. To some it may seem unimportant, but with dozens of various up and downpipes, fitment could become an issue and having a flex joint really helps. The system is made from T-304 stainless steel and is 3” inches in diameter with very nice minimum mandrel bends. The muffler is a nice robotically welded T-304 stainless steel piece with a stylish straight-cut four-inch tip proudly wearing DC Sports logo. Note that the muffler sits straight and not tilted to one side like most big muffler systems. It states the true nature of the Impreza that it “hangs” on but yet does not scream it in your face, very good feature for a muffler of this size. Everything you need to install the DC Sports system was in the box so you won’t have to run around looking for bolts and gaskets. Retail price on this system is $852.09 and it is available for both WRX and WRX STi through many DC Sports authorized dealers. To find a dealer near you, please go here: http://www.dcsports.com/dealer_finder.asp.

Installation of the system went very smooth, as expected. The system bolted nicely to the stock downpipe without any issues. The flex joint surely helped bolting it to the stock USDM downpipe that sits at a slightly different angle than regular WRX downpipes. Comparing to the stock STi exhaust system, DC Sports system is not only larger diameter, higher flowing and better looking, but it is also lighter by nearly 10lbs.

Upon staring the car, the car burbled nicely, inviting me to take it for a spin. After waiting for a few minutes to let the gaskets heat up to insure that there are no leaks, I went for a spin. DC Sports exhaust system is surprisingly quiet considering the pipe diameter and less restrictive muffler and the resonator. Turbo spool up was improved as well as the top end performance. Even at wide open throttle, the muffler did not emit the raspy “N1-ish” sounds that some other systems tend to make. Slight smell of “muffler breaking in” was noticeable, but that is typical of all new systems. It went away after a day of driving. DC Sports packaged each piece of the exhaust system in a plastic bag, so no peanuts were hurt/burn during this test. The exhaust sound did become more apparent after few hundred miles, but I would still qualify it as being reasonably quiet. On a scale of 1 though 5 of loudness, I would give it a solid 3, 1 being stock and 5 being Apex N1. Having driven close to 100 Subaru’s both stock and modified, I can safely estimate the power increase of about 15-20 horsepower. Solid dyno numbers will be available after I get my hands on the DC Sports downpipe in the near future and test everything on the Dynamic Dyno.

All in all, I was impressed with DC Sports exhaust system. It is a good addition to the list of available exhaust systems for USDM Impreza WRXs and STi’s. I am sure this system would be popular among those whore are looking for maximum performance with less aggressive style. Thank you for a great product, DC Sports. Thank you LIC Motorsports (www.licmotorsports.com) for helping us with the install and thank you, Kevin for providing us with a brand new STi.

Please stay tuned for part 2 of this review in which we will report on the DC Sports turbo manifold and uppipe.

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By Alex "Imprezer"