Best sounding exhaust? 1998 mk3 jetta

Joined
May 17, 2021
Location
VA
TDI
1998 VW Jetta TDI
Im thinking about getting an exhaust for my tdi but cant find any vids on youtube. I want something that sounds good with a little power.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
Welcome to the forums. you want to put on a thick skin when it comes to newb power and sound questions. we all have opinions and facts so buckle up for a great one of a kind topic no one has ever asked before....... LOL JK
unless you go with a bigger turbo, it's not much of a difference from a farm tractor
your basically wasting money. you will gain no power by just doing an exhaust and the sound will suck. the turbo does a good job of chopping up that sound that even a delete on the mufflers does NOT do much at all but make it annoying, unless you want to sound like a kubota backhoe!
spend it on a tune and go stage 1.5 or go do the clutch and then go big nozzles and turbo.
the exhaust should be on the lowest part of the list when you do the turbo or after for EGT reasons.
ditch any notions of fast and furious TV BS and pep boys K&N air filters.
you want to do a LOT of maintenance and making your car UP to snuff before performance comes along.
go do autocross if you want to go fast and learn to drive. $30 for the day and you will be hooked.
here is my 3" strait pipe on a gt2052
 
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scrambld

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2004
Location
Belchertown, MA
TDI
'06 Jetta...TDI/5spd :) >>>now a '15 Passat TDI/DSG
OK, not a complete newb, but I've often wondered "why" we can't get good sound from these cars? OK, I understand the turbo absorbs much of the sound....as does the rest of the exhaust system....but even straight piped they're quiet. Take for example a WRX...stock they sound pretty good, modded sometimes not so much (with huge fart cans etc). Do these cars not respond to sound improvements because of other factors such as DPF (if so equipped) or is there another reason I am overlooking? Is it a gas vs diesel thing? Diesels run more compression than gassers and are boosted similarly to gassers, so why so quiet?
Personally, I like the "sleeper" effect (let the "eyes" be on someone else) and being "old" I don't want to come across as the ricer type.... ;)
 

PakProtector

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
Location
AnnArbor, MI
TDI
Mk.4's and the Cummins
IDK, I had a 2.5" Profi system on my Golf and it was quite acceptable. wee bit louder, but not badly so. the silencer was at the back, and was a simple can around a perf tube. This is about as efficient a noise reducer you can build if backpressure is to be avoided. I suspect with a Jetta the can could be bigger. Bigger is always better.
cheers,
Douglas
 

My_name_is_Rob

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2012
Location
Mexico 🇲🇽
TDI
2013 A4 Quattro
I went with 2.5 straight from the downpipe on my mk3. It definitely sounded like a tractor, but because i had a 45° downturned tip exiting at the stock location, I didn't notice any additional noise on the highway. The only time i could hear it was if my windows were down, and i was driving righr beside a wall.

It must not have been obnoxious, or maybe its because i always drove it nicely around residential, but none of my neighbors ever complained about it.
 

MukGyver

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2020
Location
Sierra Ca
TDI
2004 Jetta PD
OK, . "why" we can't get good sound from these cars? OK, I understand the turbo absorbs much of the sound....
You answered your own question. The turbo chews up ALL the cylinder pop. well at least maybe 95%. Best you can get is a mean Thrruussh sound. Unless you remove the turbo, then you have no power and people will ask you if you plow fields with it. :ROFLMAO:
 

T-Roy

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2010
Location
Virginia
TDI
'92 ECOdiesel AHU
My opinion on this matter is I believe the real issue of "sounding good" comes down to the turbo.
I believe this applies to all diesels, not just VW's.

Open exhausts with VNT turbos do not sound as good compared to older, wastegate style turbos to my ears.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
The WRX is also turbocharged so I still ask......🙂
Because there is still a combustion happening in the turbo at higher egts than about 600. It's not an explosion, it's just the gasses are hot enough that there is still some oxidation happening. This does not happen in a gas engine. Well it kinda does but not in your typical ricerocket. The wrx sound you want will never happen on a tdi.
 
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