When I first installed my turboback exhaust (3" downpipe mated to a apexi N1 cat back) the exhaust note was pretty loud and the boxer sound was clearly audible.. great. However after about 2 weeks I noticed one day that the car was a lot quieter, I went around and checked for leaks but couldn't find any so I thought I was just getting used to the sound and it was all in my head.

Fast forward to the day I installed my PDE up pipe, Exhaust was now louder than the day I had installed the tbe and everything was fine... about a week down the road from then I put on the silencer on for a day (older folk would be riding in the car... probably wouldn't like the noise) but upon taking the silencer out the next day, my exhaust suddenly sounded quiet again!! Any ideas as to what's going on? or am I just going crazy...

 

I can tell you its not an exhaust leak. If it was you would hear it more not less.

 

i think its all in your head.. i used to think that all the time.. and i would ask many questions like this.. then i started driving around with other subies with turbobacks/uppipes.. and i heard all the same noises that i have experienced... try hookin up with some other subies in your area and let them take a look... because what i have come to learn is that people on this board wont kno the exact noise.. we are going to need to hear it for ourselves before we can give some exact feedback!!!

 

when i first got my cat back i thought it was loud as hell. after about a month i thought i had "silenced" itself. for some reason it sounds louder some times than others. i have come to the conclusion that getting used to it and perspective have more to do with it than anything else.

 

i recently got a full aps exaust,it sounded loud as hell,it seemed like it grew quieter also,i was concerned for a bit but then i realized people were turning there heads as much as when i first bolted it up.the contrast between my stock setup and now was what made it seem so loud at first.now i'm just use to it.

 

Its an easy fix really, it happened to me and you just need to keep up on it. Take a Q-tip, and clean your ears out. . . . it really helps in the sound quality of your car

All kidding aside, everyone always tells me my car is loud, deep and boxer like, and I get in and some days it sounds awesome, somedays it feels. . . something is missing.

Cheers
Austin

 

Brand new exhaust systems usually mellow out soundwise as they "break in" on your car (the materials in the muffler and resonator, if you have one, break in). As for the uppipe, it makes sense that it made the exhaust louder. But having gotten quieter again, well, I dunno how to explain that since the uppipe is just a pipe with no resonators or cats or whatnot