Buzzken Downpipe and Mid - to straight pipe or leave oem muffler.

tanner

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2013
Location
Alabama
TDI
2005.5 BRM 5-Speed, 2013 Golf TDI 6-Speed, 2011 Golf TDI 6-Speed
As the title says.

Should I keep it running into the oem muffler, straight pipe it and see how I like it, and if I decide it's to loud get a lighter muffler installed in oem's place.

Are there any benefits of doing this, how much weight could I save, I'm not expecting a power increase, but maybe a mpg increase.

Advice?
Thanks.
 

A5INKY

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Sep 4, 2007
Location
Louisville, KY
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI, 2002 Eurovan Westphalia VR6
I've done it both ways, w/ and w/o the OE muffler. W/o the muffler, straight piped is LOUD! Unless you are in the .01% that is planning a much bigger (>CR170) turbo, I'd stick with the OE rear exhaust section including muffler. That configuration sounds good and is not a whole lot more than OE except for the good sounds like turbo whistle which is nice at lower RPMs.

Frankly, I can conceive of next to no benefit for replacing the back section/muffler. Sounds too much like a CRX with a fart can when straight-piped.
 

radoroc

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Location
BC, Canada
TDI
2012 Golf
As the title says.

Should I keep it running into the oem muffler, straight pipe it and see how I like it, and if I decide it's to loud get a lighter muffler installed in oem's place.

Are there any benefits of doing this, how much weight could I save, I'm not expecting a power increase, but maybe a mpg increase.

Advice?
Thanks.
There should be a healthy power and mpg increase. I'm planning the same with stock rear exhaust.
 

Nuje

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Location
Island near Vancouver
TDI
2002 Golf 6MT; 2015 Sportwagen 6MT; 2016 A3 e-tron 6DSG
I hate-hate-hated the drone I got right around 2000rpm with BuzzKen's full-length turbo-back setup (2.5" with a couple resonators and token "muffler"). I put the stock muffler back on, and it's soooo much better.

The only thing I've noticed, in addition to what might be a 2-3% fuel economy increase (or might be that it wasn't as windy - who knows), was that the revs stay up longer when I'm shifting gears. Like, I accelerate up to 3000rpm, shift, and by the time I let the clutch out again (not at all trying to shift AQAP), the revs are still up right close to 3000rpm.

Not sure if that's related, but like I said - it is noticeable.
 

skyking1

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2013
Location
Washington
TDI
2003 beetle 2002 beetle
I like the buzzken with a single resonator. No way to tell if it adds power since I have not finished with the car and have no before/after dynos, but it sounds good to me. It is also tucked up out of sight.
 

Spike_africa

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2012
Location
Sarasota,FL
TDI
2013 Passat TDI/w DSG
Put on a magnaflow or Aero turbine muffler at the end. It will make it sounds a lot cleaner and no so ricer.
 

Savageman69

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2007
Location
ontario
TDI
2012 Highline Touareg TDI
exactly, even a pd sounds nothing like a cr....loved my straight piped alh....HATED my straight pipe cr, it was way to loud for every day driving and being respectful, i like loud but it was way to raspy
 

Jesse_Boyer

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Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Location
Sioux Falls, SD
TDI
I'm all out...
3" Kerma here and the best thing I did to remove some of the drone was to remove the included turndown pipe entirely and build a little extension pipe to run it straight ou the back. Prior to removal I tried three different positions with the turndown; straight down, 45° to either side, and nothing made as much difference as going straight out the back. I cleanly trimmed the rear valance to keep the pipe as high as possible and its quieter now.
 

Votblindub

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Joined
Dec 22, 2010
Location
NY
TDI
MK4 Jetta Wagon
Jesse_Boyer, is it past the bumper, flush or slightly recessed?
Could you post a shot of it, please?
 

Jesse_Boyer

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Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Location
Sioux Falls, SD
TDI
I'm all out...
It's not completely past the bumper, but within about 1/2-1" of the end of the bumper. I don't have a good picture and the car is in a different state (relocating.) It's slash cut at about 30°.

only picture I have and with the pipe painted black, its nearly impossible to see any details.
http://i.imgur.com/vXSwk8o.jpg
 

Votblindub

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Joined
Dec 22, 2010
Location
NY
TDI
MK4 Jetta Wagon
Ah, I see it. My piping is black as well. I want to extend the very end a little further, I think. You cant see my piping as well as yours since its tucked away. This is what it looks like though.
 

Jesse_Boyer

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Location
Sioux Falls, SD
TDI
I'm all out...
Ah, I see it. My piping is black as well. I want to extend the very end a little further, I think. You cant see my piping as well as yours since its tucked away. This is what it looks like though.
I only painted the extension tip as it's regular 3" exhaust pipe, the majority of the system is stainless via Kerma.
 

engineered2win

Veteran Member
Joined
May 24, 2011
Location
Dublin, OH
TDI
MkVI Golf TDI
I have a Rawtek downpipe and midpipe with cat connected to the stock muffler. Initially it was ok, but within a couple hundred miles it started droning pretty bad around 2100rpm. I don't understand why it didn't drone from the start. I checked all the connections and there are no leaks or clearance issues. There is no packing material inside the OE TDI muffler. If you tap on it, it echos. It's just there for regulation purposes or is tuned for some strange engine speed. Rawtek says they've seen a few TDI's that drone with the stock muffler. It is especially bad on the highway with the cruise at 75mph and with the seats down it becomes very annoying under load.

I found a GTI exhaust that I'm going to install and see if it makes an improvement. I can't install a large resonator on their midpipe with my Unibrace underbrace, so if the GTI exhaust doesn't solve the drone I will need to fab a new catback. One thing I may try in the midpipe location is a 1/4 wave resonator or Helmholtz resonator. I've calculated the frequency to be roughly 70Hz. Unfortunately the low frequency means I need a very large resonator, roughly 1.3m (52"). I am going to take an audio recording of the drone and see if it's actually at 70Hz. The 70Hz is just a calculation of the frequency of an i4 engine at 2100rpm, so it could be exciting some part of the chassis to resonate at a different frequency.
 
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Ghastly

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2008
Location
mom's basement
TDI
2004 Jetta Sedan, 2009 Jetta Wagon
I don't understand the obsession with the sound of the exhaust. As long as it's not obnoxious, who cares?

I've got a 2.5" DP with a hi-flow cat, but I still have the OE muffler. It does sound cool. :D

I'd be willing to get an upgraded cat-back with Aero 2525XL is it helped the turbo spool a little sooner. Even 100 RPM would be nice. Anybody qualified to comment on that?
 

engineered2win

Veteran Member
Joined
May 24, 2011
Location
Dublin, OH
TDI
MkVI Golf TDI
Update:
I installed the MK6 GTI exhaust onto my TDI and it completely eliminated the drone at highway speeds. It's pretty much silent, but I'll gladly take silence over brain rattling drone for hours on the highway. I couldn't find an appropriate 55mm to 60mm reducer, so I had to fab one. The DIY on myturbodiesel said to reuse the stock 55mm band clamp, but I couldn't get it to seal with the 5mm difference is pipe diameters.
 

Darkhrse99

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2007
Location
ABQ,NM
TDI
2000 Jetta
I plan to cut the downpipe as close as possible to the front of the car, than transition to 3" straight pipe and run it all the to the bumper.
 
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