Help - I need a dummies guide to exhaust options!

[zappy-chops]

Clearly lots of you folks know this but I don't so can you help. I've never put an exhaust on a car before so all this talk of valved/non-valved; res/non-res; decat; cat back;.... is confusing. Can someone kindly explain it for me (and others who are not sure). What do all these things mean?

My starting position is:

* The sound from the standard sports exhaust on my '17 RS6 C7 PE is pants 99% of the time.
* I want more drama. A lot more drama.
* I want drama on upshifts and downshifts.
* I want drama on startup.
* I don't want it to sound like I have been to halfrauds or drilled a hole in the exhaust myself.
* I don't want it to look crap from the rear / ruin the look of the rear of the car.
* I am a big fan of Akrapovic having fitted their end pipes to a number of my bikes over the years (never a full system).
* But the price of the RS6 Akrapovic is a joke, so Milltek seems to be the way forward.
* But which system.
* I know the whole Audi warranty is a grey area but I want the least chance of falling foul of that (so I need to keep the cats I presume).
* I don't want to have to swap systems to go for a service / repair / MOT.

Given the above, what are my options? And if more than one, what are the pros/cons of each in your view? People talk about not wanting motorway drone. Will I get that with any of the options?

Questions. Questions. Questions. Coould someone be a hero and explain all of this please. You da man!

[rtd]

How many times are people going to keep asking the same question over and over again. I’m sure you’ve asked these same questions before also. Why don’t you search the forum and put all the replies together in one thread thus helping yourself and future new owners .


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[bn8959]

Do you care about it being quiet ever? Ie ‘small children in the back’ mode, it dosent appear so in your list.

I went from sports exhaust to a Milltek Road-Plus catback with their exhaust control module.

I wanted plenty of amazing noise (had a B7 with non-res milltek before), but also have family, so needed it to still be sensible and wanted to significantly reduce the drone I used to get.

I’m very happy with my setup. Normally I have engine sound in dynamic, and the valve control module keeps the valves open all the time. The road-plus version has minimal drone (although CoD is more pronounced now). And when in comfort it all quietens down a load. (Including cold start, which is handy for early starts).

If you don’t care about it being quiet ever, don’t bother with the valve control module and just do valve delete instead.

Then just choose full non-res or road-plus (depending on how mental+drone you want).

[zappy-chops]

How many times are people going to keep asking the same question over and over again. I’m sure you’ve asked these same questions before also. Why don’t you search the forum and put all the replies together in one thread thus helping yourself and future new owners .


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Ha - I knew that would be the first response. A big sigh from someone.

I have asked some questions on exhausts and there are clearly lots of threads on exhausts, but I have never asked for (nor could I find) clear definitions of what all the terms mean and what the different exhaust options are and are not etc. Apologies if I just didn't look hard enough.

When you understand all of this (and I assume you do) this sort of post is a pain in the arse. But not everyone does, and I certainly don't - hence my ask. I know it's a pain mate, but you can always skip reading this post.

[zappy-chops]

Do you care about it being quiet ever? Ie ‘small children in the back’ mode, it dosent appear so in your list.

I went from sports exhaust to a Milltek Road-Plus catback with their exhaust control module.

I wanted plenty of amazing noise (had a B7 with non-res milltek before), but also have family, so needed it to still be sensible and wanted to significantly reduce the drone I used to get.

I’m very happy with my setup. Normally I have engine sound in dynamic, and the valve control module keeps the valves open all the time. The road-plus version has minimal drone (although CoD is more pronounced now). And when in comfort it all quietens down a load. (Including cold start, which is handy for early starts).

If you don’t care about it being quiet ever, don’t bother with the valve control module and just do valve delete instead.

Then just choose full non-res or road-plus (depending on how mental+drone you want).

Herein lies the quandry though as I don't know if I want it loud all the time as I don't know how loud it actually is or whether folks who don't opt for the control module later wish they had. My kids are in their early teens now so now issues with sleeping babies or the likes. Can you get a non-resonated system (which means louder right?!?) with the valve control (so it's as loud as possible when you want it to be)? I have absolutely no problem with loud as long as it's a good loud! Does it sound like it should be on the car, as opposed to sounding like the car is owned by some chav who fiddled with the exhaust himself and it sounds stupid for the car?

[zappy-chops]

Forgot to also ask, does the car remember the last setting on start up (so will start up loud with the valves open if that's how you last had it)?

[MikeFish]

There are loads of options but here are the most popular 3 in my opinion (only talking about cat back here):
Akra; a lot of people prefer the Akra noise but I prefer the Milltek noise. And I think the price is ridiculous.
Milltek; Comes in 3 flavours; non resonated (loudest), road + (new entry and inbetween the res and non res), Resonated (quietest). They are essentially all the same with the exception of the centre section so you can easily swap for a quiter one or louder one after fitting it if you find it is not to your liking without having to buy a whole new exhaust. The non resonated centre section is only about £220 but obviously the cheapest of the 3 as its just a straight set of pipes.
Modified OEM; This involves chopping out the front and / or centre resonators from the OEM exhaust and replacing them with straight pipes. Gives a similar volume to the Milltek non res but a little quieter and a little less aggressive but for a fraction of the cost (about £200-300).

Other alternatives are Larini (very deep noise), Supersprint I think make one. Or a custom job from someone like Fourie Fabrications or JC Weldfab. I'm sure there are others including maybe an APR one coming out soon.

Valves
The OEM exhaust comes with valves to control the noise. I think every aftermarket option I've seen also has valves. I've had mine disconnected since I got the car as it is never too loud for me. I have also fitted some valve delete modules to the wires which stops them filling with crap and stops the car reporting valve failure errors when plugged into a PC (no dash error).
One of the problems with using the OEM valve control is that to open the valves you need to go in to dynamic / sport and this means you get the popping noise that some find annoying. If you disconnet the valves or get an aftermarket controller you can have the valves open without having to be in dynamic/ sport and have the popping sound.

You can buy aftermarket valve controllers to independently control the valves (instead of using comfort / dynamic to control them). They can either be controlled using the comfort / dynamic modes and ESP button or you can get one with a separate remote key fob and / or wire into a spare dash button.

Sport cats / Decats
If you want to invalidate your warranty then get a set of Sports cat or decat pipes. These replace the downpipes which is where the OEM cats live. The cats give the biggest loss of the exhaust system so when replaced give the biggest gains. Sports cats should be MOT friendly but cost a lot and don't give as much gain as decats. Decats are cheaper and give bigger gains but will fail the MOT and defo require a remap otherwise the check engine light will come on. Sports cats may also require a remap.

All of them look the same from the rear as you don't normally see the tailpipes, only the metal surround trim bolted onto the bumper. The exception to this is the Akra that replaces the oval bumper trim with a fake quad pipe thing.

Go to 2:30 for a side by side comparison of the akra and milltek



Res delete:

[uplandsway]

There are loads of options but here are the most popular 3 in my opinion (only talking about cat back here):
Akra; a lot of people prefer the Akra noise but I prefer the Milltek noise. And I think the price is ridiculous.
Milltek; Comes in 3 flavours; non resonated (loudest), road + (new entry and inbetween the res and non res), Resonated (quietest). They are essentially all the same with the exception of the centre section so you can easily swap for a quiter one or louder one after fitting it if you find it is not to your liking without having to buy a whole new exhaust. The non resonated centre section is only about £220 but obviously the cheapest of the 3 as its just a straight set of pipes.
Modified OEM; This involves chopping out the front and / or centre resonators from the OEM exhaust and replacing them with straight pipes. Gives a similar volume to the Milltek non res but a little quieter and a little less aggressive but for a fraction of the cost (about £200-300).

Other alternatives are Larini (very deep noise), Supersprint I think make one. Or a custom job from someone like Fourie Fabrications or JC Weldfab. I'm sure there are others including maybe an APR one coming out soon.

Valves
The OEM exhaust comes with valves to control the noise. I think every aftermarket option I've seen also has valves. I've had mine disconnected since I got the car as it is never too loud for me. I have also fitted some valve delete modules to the wires which stops them filling with crap and stops the car reporting valve failure errors when plugged into a PC (no dash error).
One of the problems with using the OEM valve control is that to open the valves you need to go in to dynamic / sport and this means you get the popping noise that some find annoying. If you disconnet the valves or get an aftermarket controller you can have the valves open without having to be in dynamic/ sport and have the popping sound.

You can buy aftermarket valve controllers to independently control the valves (instead of using comfort / dynamic to control them). They can either be controlled using the comfort / dynamic modes and ESP button or you can get one with a separate remote key fob and / or wire into a spare dash button.

Sport cats / Decats
If you want to invalidate your warranty then get a set of Sports cat or decat pipes. These replace the downpipes which is where the OEM cats live. The cats give the biggest loss of the exhaust system so when replaced give the biggest gains. Sports cats should be MOT friendly but cost a lot and don't give as much gain as decats. Decats are cheaper and give bigger gains but will fail the MOT and defo require a remap otherwise the check engine light will come on. Sports cats may also require a remap.

All of them look the same from the rear as you don't normally see the tailpipes, only the metal surround trim bolted onto the bumper. The exception to this is the Akra that replaces the oval bumper trim with a fake quad pipe thing.

Go to 2:30 for a side by side comparison of the akra and milltek



Res delete:

Excellent explanation as usual Mike.

Also there’s a Capristo



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[ChrisYates10]

Thanks Mike for that great post and taking the time to explain - very much appreciated from my perspective.

[MikeFish]

I should add that although the akra is very expensive to buy new, you can pick one up for approx £3k second hand and probably then sell on again when you are finished for similar money so arguably making it the cheapest option of all!

[Surrey Sam]

Idiots guide:

Akrapovic = Fine dining
Capristo = Great pub grub
Milltek = McDonalds

One mans 'loud' is another person’s quiet and someone’s 'drama' is other peoples chav. Personally I hate McDonalds and Chavs but they seem to attract each other, so that’s fine by me. Fortunately we have choice and YouPorn YouTube.

[zappy-chops]

Great post Mike. Just what I was looking for. You da man! Now, of course, I have more questions:

With the OEM sports exhaust are the valves ALWAYS open if you drive in dynamic or sports? I pretty much drive 100% of the time in Individual where everything is dialled up except for suspension. What does that mean for the valves? I also mostly drive in sport so does that mean the valves are ALWAYS open when in sport? If it does then disconnecting the valves isn't going to cut it for me as I think the noise is pants, even in sport.

Having watched numerous YouTube videos (including the one you posted - you da man) I am definitely leaning towards the Akra sound. To my ears it sounds more deep and fitting to the car, and more like the car should have sounded from factory. Milltek definitely sounds more raw and whilst I like that too, for me it sounds aftermarket (if you get my drift). The idea of buying a used Akra and then selling it on afterwards could be the way to go. I presume fitting it is pretty simple and doesn't require specialist skills. It's just an exhaust after all so any mechanic should be able to handle that. Yes/no?

Also, does the Akra still use valves (their own valves or the OEM valves) and can you press a button and have them always open? Maybe you need to buy a separate control module for that?

You mention that the Akra uses a "fake quad pipe thing" - does that mean that only 1 of the 2 pipes on each side is actually used (the other is fake)? Does the Milltek use all 4? Heck, does the OEM system use all 4?

Apologies again for all the dummy questions but I don't know these answers and I am 100% sure plenty of other forum users with an interest in exhausts don't either. Consider this post a public service.

[Surrey Sam]

Mike is wrong.

OEM is quad exit, as there are 4 pipes exiting the back box, so Akra is certainly not fake. They're just bumper finishers anyway, you could leave the original fake ovals in there should you wish. Also finding one for £3k second hand is pipe (see what I did there) dream stuff, realistically budget £4k.

[ChrisYates10]

Zappy,

I pick mine up from Guildford Audi on Saturday - it has the Akrapovic full system. I'll experiment with the Drive Select and see if I can adjust the noise as I go. It's my first RS6, so I don't know the score yet.

I'm driving back to Devon, so if you're en-route I could call in and let you listen.

Let me know if that suits.

[zappy-chops]

Zappy,

I pick mine up from Guildford Audi on Saturday - it has the Akrapovic full system. I'll experiment with the Drive Select and see if I can adjust the noise as I go. It's my first RS6, so I don't know the score yet.

I'm driving back to Devon, so if you're en-route I could call in and let you listen.

Let me know if that suits.

Very kind offer Chris but I'm up in Scotland. Great driving roads up here so if you are ever on a tour, let me know. In the meantime, I'll look forward to the feedback once you have your car. Did it come with the Akrapovic or have you had them fit it? If you decide it's not for you I'll buy it.