hey

Im looking at buying a Subaru because i just love the sound that comes out from the exhaust. I've just got one question to ask.
Is there a sound difference between the RS and WRX in terms of the cat back exhaust. Do you get the same sound/noise level (low grunt sound) with the full exhaust system from a WRX or a RS, or does this have to to with the turbo.


thnx

 

Yes you will get a similar sound, less the spooling sound. The boxer rumble comes from the unequal length exhaust manifold pipes if I'm not mistaken.

 

The sound emitted by the normally aspirated Subaru engines is very similar to the turbocharged versions. Part of the unique sound is generated by the unequal length exhaust manifold but some is attributed to the boxer engine layout and its firing sequence. That's why old school VW air-cooled flat fours (they have exhaust manifolds closer to equal length) still sound distinctively 'boxer'.

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0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

 

I also have a question about exhaust. what kind of exhaust system do you recomend for getting the maximum boxer rumble out of an sti/wrx?

 

To get the maximum boxer rumble, you must get a full TBE with uppipe. One the loudest and deepest sounding exhausts is Blitz Nur Spec R. I have a Blitz Nur Spec axle-back a Helix up and downpipes and it ROARS! I still have the stock midpipe.

 

^^^I have same setup except I have TurboXS RFL Ti exhaust...it is teh louder I think and it rumbles

 

Get the Blitz Nur Spec R, my friend has one and I'll get getting one soon. It's very loud and very throaty, just the kind of sound you're looking for. And it does sound the same on an Impreza RS and an STi. You can just hear more power behind the STi though.

 

If I'm not mistaken the turbocharger actually mutes the loudness of the exhaust to a certain extent compared with a NA motor because the exhaust gases must pass through the turbo, although I do not know if the human ear can really detect the sound or depth difference between the WRX and RS because it is so minute. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

A turbo is supposed to kill some of the noise level from the exhaust. The comparison is more applicable if the engine power output is roughly the same between the NA and turbo cars. This is because an engine with greater output also moves more exhaust gasses at the same RPM. I discovered this with an old car after I performed an engine swap from a stock spec 427 cubic inches to modified (professionally ported heads, bigger cam, etc.) 481 cubic inches while retaining the same headers and exhaust system. 'Shocked' more adequately describes my reaction on hearing the difference the first time I drove around the block with it. I never want a daily driver to be that loud ever again.

Comparing the same catback on an RS and a WRX it probably sounds similar under idle and cruise conditions but will likely be louder on the WRX at WOT (wide-open throttle).

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0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush