MKIV Exhaust

Uniifirex · Oct 27, 2011

Recently looking to put an exhaust or muffler on.
chipped a while ago, have nice rims, figured next step would be such.

Im looking for something THAT IS NOT LOUD, i don't want to look like a teen who butchers there car, i just want it to look nice and have a nice vibrant sound to it, because the stock muffler looks aweful and i can't put a tip on it because it goes downward.

Thoughts/ideas? was thinking about a dual magnaflow muffler but most are pretty loud.

PeterV · Oct 27, 2011

Cut out the stock muffler & weld in a cherry bomb. Been there done that also go to a GTG and there you will see an array of mods you can see and hear too.

DangerKart · Oct 27, 2011

*Wheels, not rims.....

Well you didn't post a budget but you gata pay to play.

Check out ECSTuning, they have a pretty cool 2.5'' cat-back
http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Golf_IV--TDI/Exhaust/Cat_Back/ES263992/

Kerma is offering a 3" Turbo-back for a similar price.
http://www.kermatdi.com/servlet/-strse-740/3%22-Stainless-Turbo-dsh-back-Exhaust/Detail

Please stay away from a cherry bomb muffler, they are a cheap and loud product.

coalminer16 · Oct 28, 2011

Techtonics from what I hear is quit on the TDI. That is what I plan on doing. I have it on my rabbit.

websaabn · Oct 28, 2011

A TDI will never be loud like a Honda... I run straight 3 inch turbo back with nothing but pipe and the car sounds good.

DangerKart · Oct 28, 2011

websaabn said:
A TDI will never be loud like a Honda... I run straight 3 inch turbo back with nothing but pipe and the car sounds good.

Straight pipes can be a lil loud and depending where the exhaust tips are pointed there could be some cabin drone, especially on the highway.
I ment to say products like the Cherry Bomb muffler tend to create a ricey sound. i.e. Honda's

Uniifirex · Oct 28, 2011

yeah looked up cherry bomb some were nice but im not diggin it...any other ideas or should i go with a simple magnaflow?

DangerKart · Oct 29, 2011

Well im guessing you don't plan on spending to much money since you failed to acknowledge the 3 tdi specific systems already recommended. ^
.
Clamping on a universal muffler (Cherry Bomb, Magnaflow, Flowmaster ect..) is a waste of time and money. The final product tends to have a poor sound and adds no real performance.

/Thread

FlyTDI Guy · Oct 29, 2011

Hmm, are you speaking from specific TDI experience or just general, overall experience there Mr. Danger? I've run sans muffler and found it a bit loud for me. Though I never did, I seriously considered adding in a glass pack just to bring the sound level down another notch. I never considered or worried about 'sounding like a Honda' because... between being a diesel and the turbo's efffect on exhaust tone, our TDI's will never sound like a Honda.

You may want to start w/a mufflerectomy/pipe combo then add a muffler/glass pack as needed. Choice of muffler is the key. I've heard and driven TDI's w/everything from cheap to uber-expensive (stainless) mufflers and loudness is independent of cost. The most expensive and elaborate system I drove was way too loud for me despite its cost and claims, IMO.

If you're looking for something quieter than a straight absorption type glass pack, you may want to consider one that utilizes multiple technologies like the Hooker Aero Chamber. It uses both reflective and absorption methods to further reduce the sound level without additional restriction.

Lastly, getting the cheapest glass pack w/simple louvered internal cuts will probably clog w/soot if installed in the correct polarity (in/out). Some say you need to reverse that for a diesel but that definitely works against it's sound dampening performance. At the least, get one that has full, non-polarized perforations (non-louvered) and that will take that problem out of the formula.

You may want to do some searching for sound bites here and on YouTube before you make any decisions. There are a lot of choices and if your buying criteria is primarily tone, there's no good way of predicting that without some comparative data. BTW, my current TDI exhaust is still stock because I'm still looking for the right combo as well.

Good luck...

DangerKart · Oct 29, 2011

Dangers my middle name

.
But seriously, I am giving advice based on both specific tdi and general automotive experience.

As he just mentioned you could take a sawzall to the muffler, (Mufflerectomy) just make sure you install a pipe that extends past your bumper or you will have to deal with annoying cabin drone. If you do take the route of an universal muffler, make sure they are diesel friendly. NJ inspection, black smoke, and soot could be a problem.

Unfortantly not to many people around me have a TDI, let alone one with mods. I too search alot and for this topic Youtube is your best friend.

My exhaust is stock as well, In my opinion it performs just fine with the vnt-15.

FlyTDI Guy · Oct 29, 2011

With my current mods, I really need to be running 2.5" all the way. For me, I'm looking at Whitebread's downpipe w/cat, then the rest of the piping done locally at my muffler shop. I do want to run a muffler and need to choose one I will be happy with. I do know I want low restriction and just a hint of tone, more than stock. less than straight. There are a lot of choices between the two...

Lastly is the tip. My preference would be twin outlet, stainless, rolled-edge, euro-style (whatever that means). Finding a proper one for a reasonable cost has been a challenge. They are available but not cheap. As this is 'window dressing' so-to-speak, I have a hard time swallowing the prices I'm seeing.

Overall, the cost vs performance gain is not great with this mod, IMO. Most do it for EGT's, turbo health and tone. It doesn't unleash a lot of HP in our diesels. All others aside, a lot rides on tone. Right now, I'm in stand-by mode until I find the right combo at affordable prices. Wish I had a solid recommend for the OP but we're in the same boat. Sorry for the distract...

Pat Dolan · Oct 29, 2011

Uni:

Don't know your budget or noise target, but I put a TT 2.5" SS system turbo back on my wife's ALH years ago - with a single Borla muffler - and it sounds not bad outside of the car and only barely audible inside at lower speeds. If it was the least bit offensive, she would have had my backside.

Uniifirex · Oct 29, 2011

FlyTDI Guy said:
Hmm, are you speaking from specific TDI experience or just general, overall experience there Mr. Danger? I've run sans muffler and found it a bit loud for me. Though I never did, I seriously considered adding in a glass pack just to bring the sound level down another notch. I never considered or worried about 'sounding like a Honda' because... between being a diesel and the turbo's efffect on exhaust tone, our TDI's will never sound like a Honda.

You may want to start w/a mufflerectomy/pipe combo then add a muffler/glass pack as needed. Choice of muffler is the key. I've heard and driven TDI's w/everything from cheap to uber-expensive (stainless) mufflers and loudness is independent of cost. The most expensive and elaborate system I drove was way too loud for me despite its cost and claims, IMO.

If you're looking for something quieter than a straight absorption type glass pack, you may want to consider one that utilizes multiple technologies like the Hooker Aero Chamber. It uses both reflective and absorption methods to further reduce the sound level without additional restriction.

Lastly, getting the cheapest glass pack w/simple louvered internal cuts will probably clog w/soot if installed in the correct polarity (in/out). Some say you need to reverse that for a diesel but that definitely works against it's sound dampening performance. At the least, get one that has full, non-polarized perforations (non-louvered) and that will take that problem out of the formula.

You may want to do some searching for sound bites here and on YouTube before you make any decisions. There are a lot of choices and if your buying criteria is primarily tone, there's no good way of predicting that without some comparative data. BTW, my current TDI exhaust is still stock because I'm still looking for the right combo as well.

Good luck...

looking into everything you mentioned, and no, not looking for performance, not the typical teen who butchers her.

interested in hooker aerochamber

yes budget is low i have other things money needs to be spent on :/

Laserface · Oct 29, 2011

Uniifirex said:
looking into everything you mentioned, and no, not looking for performance, not the typical teen who butchers her.

interested in hooker aerochamber

yes budget is low i have other things money needs to be spent on :/

You seem really hung up on this "teen who butchers there car" idea. This pins you out to be a teenager that really worries about his image. Kind of a self-fulfilling stereotype.

But anyways... You want a new muffler anyways, so just man up and cut the stock one off. Temporarily leave the exhaust just beyond the rear axle. Drive it a few days like that. It will drone and be louder at certain engine speeds, but don't let that turn you off. The drone will disappear when you run the exhaust out the back.

If it is way too loud, then buy a muffler. If you like the sound, just run a straight pipe out the back.

FirstOrbit84 · Oct 30, 2011

The first thing you need to do is get a GTI rear lip that has an exhaust cut out. Then you can run a tip in the proper place... I ran with no muffler, just a straight pipe for a while, but it ended up being a bit too loud for me in the long run. So, I got a 2.5" Moroso Spiral Flow muffler/resonator... They're like a resonator, but without the glasspack that usually degrades over time, so these will last forever... you wouldn't want to run it on a gas engined car but on the TDI I think it sounds pretty good.

Also, an important thing is to ask around and find a good local welder/muffler shop. 95% of the expensive cat-back kits by brand-name tuners can be assembled with off the shelf parts and put on at your local welder/muffler shop for a fraction of the price with similar results and performance... Hooker Aerochamber looks like it should be fine for your purposes.

Plus the cat-back part of the TDI stock exhaust system (except for the stock muffler) is not the really restrictive part anyway. The biggest performance gains will be had from an aftermarket downpipe... Those are worth paying extra for.

Curious Chris · Nov 5, 2011

Whitbread makes a very nice down pipe that fits like a very tight glove at the turbo outlet. And it meets the existing rear exhaust pipe right on.

Ryuyasha5004 · Feb 12, 2016

Nasty thread revival here. But does anyone have any pictures of their setip? From cat basically to tip?

Votblindub · Feb 13, 2016

Ryuyasha5004 said:
Nasty thread revival here. But does anyone have any pictures of their setip? From cat basically to tip?

I have my Kerma 3" pipe laid out on the floor. I have some shots of my BuzzKen exhaust on the floor as well. Is that what you mean?
I have no shots of it being on the car viewed from underneath on a lift.

Ryuyasha5004 · Mar 10, 2016

Votblindub said:
I have my Kerma 3" pipe laid out on the floor. I have some shots of my BuzzKen exhaust on the floor as well. Is that what you mean?
I have no shots of it being on the car viewed from underneath on a lift.

Basically here is what I want to do. Best sound for as cheap as possible. I'm planning on doing a mufflerectomy come this summer. However. One of my buddies keeps getting harassed for not have a visible muffler on the back of his car with a simple mufflerectomy.

Are there any mufflers that don't distort the sound too Much. And won't sound crappy. I have the bew engine code in my o5 if that helps.

Thanks. And I would love some picture ideas.

Layerz · Mar 11, 2016

Ryuyasha5004 said:
Basically here is what I want to do. Best sound for as cheap as possible. I'm planning on doing a mufflerectomy come this summer. However. One of my buddies keeps getting harassed for not have a visible muffler on the back of his car with a simple mufflerectomy.
Are there any mufflers that don't distort the sound too Much. And won't sound crappy. I have the bew engine code in my o5 if that helps.
Thanks. And I would love some picture ideas.

I've gotten a spare exhaust with a backbox/muffler. I'm going to cut open my back box and weld in a pipe then close the box back up. It's a bit long winded but gives the stock appearance unless you get up close.

Votblindub · Mar 11, 2016

Ryuyasha5004 said:
Basically here is what I want to do. Best sound for as cheap as possible. I'm planning on doing a mufflerectomy come this summer. However. One of my buddies keeps getting harassed for not have a visible muffler on the back of his car with a simple mufflerectomy.
Are there any mufflers that don't distort the sound too Much. And won't sound crappy. I have the bew engine code in my o5 if that helps.
Thanks. And I would love some picture ideas.

Yeah, I actually had mufflers like that on my Audi. They're oval, but straight through "race" series design, so there was no muffling of anything happening there.
A lot of people just straight pipe their cars. They sound great that way. My white jetta has a BuzzKen exhaust that is 2.5" turboback and only has a resonator in it. I didn't want tremendous highway drone. An easy way is to basically cut out anything that's not just a piece of pipe from the cat and below, then replace it with oem sized pipe. That's the cheapest way of doing it. The exhaust size will be plenty, since you're not running a very large turbo and it will sound great.

deejaaa · Mar 11, 2016

this was a very interesting topic that went nowhere.

[486] · Mar 11, 2016

hood stack

bmali98 · Mar 12, 2016

[486] said:
hood stack

X2

With a rain cap.

Ryuyasha5004 · Mar 18, 2016

Votblindub said:
Yeah, I actually had mufflers like that on my Audi. They're oval, but straight through "race" series design, so there was no muffling of anything happening there.
A lot of people just straight pipe their cars. They sound great that way. My white jetta has a BuzzKen exhaust that is 2.5" turboback and only has a resonator in it. I didn't want tremendous highway drone. An easy way is to basically cut out anything that's not just a piece of pipe from the cat and below, then replace it with oem sized pipe. That's the cheapest way of doing it. The exhaust size will be plenty, since you're not running a very large turbo and it will sound great.

I love the sound of a mufflerectomy. However I have some douchebag officers that like to look underneath modified cars to look for Muffler's and cats. Ill probably just straight pipe it. Ecs has a 2.25 in od pipe for like $12.00. What is the stock exhaust size anyways

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

scrambld · Mar 19, 2016

Ryuyasha5004 said:
I love the sound of a mufflerectomy. However I have some douchebag officers that like to look underneath modified cars to look for Muffler's and cats. Ill probably just straight pipe it.
Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

I don't believe a "muffler" is a required piece of equipment (unless the sound is too loud w/out one)....cats on the other hand, are required.

So, I believe johnny law has nothing to enforce on someone who does a mufflerectomy, retains the cat, and the exhaust note is w/in reasonable limits.

And of course, all this talk is for "Off-Road use only" ...

deejaaa · Mar 19, 2016

when i removed my muffler, i used a of piece pipe, that i cut/welded to look like a muffler. it was a larger diameter than the piping and also made it with dual tips.
have heard the statement to argue with the cop that there is no rule saying you need a muffler but don't think that's a smart move.
now that i have the cat gutted, there is the sound of the turbo whistle, exhaust is no louder and zero drone, as many have reported to have had.

Ryuyasha5004 · Mar 21, 2016

That's good to know. I really do like the sound a mufflerectomy makes. Maybebi can get someone to fabricate a muffler like object to go around the pipe for aesthetic purposes

Sent from a hole using two wires a paperclip and a bird feather

Ryuyasha5004 · Mar 21, 2016

deejaaa said:
when i removed my muffler, i made a piece pipe that looked like a muffler that was a larger diameter, complete with dual tips. now that i have the cat gutted, there is the sound of the turbo and zero drone as many have reported they had.

That's great to know

Sent from a hole using two wires a paperclip and a bird feather

MKIV Exhaust

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