04-26-2006, 02:37 PM
I have installed the RS Barn Stage 2 exhaust/chip modification in four stages over the past several weeks, and am writing to report on my experiences.
I had previously installed a Speed 6 chip, and later cut in the famous airbox modification: the Speed 6 chip was eventually removed to make way for RS Barn's 'custom'-tuned replacement.
I first installed the catback system, which produced a nice beefy exhaust tone and placed a larger tip on the exhaust to replace my OEM chrome (SS?) rolled tip, but had a small effect on power at best. After a few weeks I called Pete up and he offered attractive discounts to add the header/cat/chip as a package, which I ordered.
It has been mentioned here that the RS catback puts the muffler in at an 'angle'. I took that to mean that the muffler was skewed horizontally, but it turns out the muffler is tilted counterclockwise along the axis of the pipes. A photo below illustrates this.
It took a while for the header/cat package to to ship. Pete sent out the chip in advance, and I installed it in place of my Speed 6 chip. I noticed little change except a strong tendency for the car to lag noticeably when flooring it in the 2K rev range in 2nd or third: the kind of driving you might do in traffic when trying to scoot out of someone's way or pull out quickly from a rolling stop. However, the chip is programmed for the presence of a full exhaust retrofit, so I waited to see what would happen when everything was in place.
Within a month of having installed the catback I had the full Stage 2 system installed. It's a real and total pleasure to drive, representing at least as dramatic a difference in performance as the (ahem, somewhat less pricey <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> ) airbox mod. Combine chip/airbox/exhaust to make up the Stage Two system and you have a major performance boost which reveals itself in generally more relaxed and exciting city driving as the torque curve smoothes out, overall much better power and tractability, at least in a seat-of-the-pants way. (I plan to dyno the car soon, but I have no pre-modification baseline to compare to.)
There are two issues worth noting. The first is that adding the header to the catback install made a big difference in the tone and loudness of the exhaust, and not in a good way. I had asked about this as I considered the header upgrade: would the car get louder? Pete replied that the difference in sound with the header/cat change was minor. This turned out not to be the case: the car took on a 'bratty' pulse which I found irritating from the minute the header/cat went in. There was also a slight rattly resonance which occurred under load and at speed: press on the accelerator at highway speed and the exhaust sings a bit as the engine picks up. This I could live with easily, but the 'brat' thing had to go: it was irritating, and made me feel like I was driving a goosed-up WRX around the neighborhood.
On the phone Pete acknowledged that as more systems went into the field this was being reported back: he says that cab owners note it more, but I think this may have been a function of the season: if you have your coupe's window open you can't avoid noting the intrusive sound your car is now making. He told me that a resonator had been developed for just this reason: it goes behind the cat and is said to have minimal effect on power. He sold me one for $90.00 with the old pipe to be returned to RS Barn.
Today that went in- my shop was kind enough to do the swap gratis. The car sounds much better now: just where I want it. The car is probably a bit quieter than it was when the catback system went in by itself, and that's fine with me: there's still a nice strong note there, but no buzz. I honestly forgot to listen for the power-on resonance I mentioned above, but the fact that I didn't notice it on the way home probably means that sound has been tamed as well.
I don't trust my judgment enough to state with any certainty what's happened to power with the resonator added. I sense a tiny diminution in power with the resonator installed, but if anything's happening it's very minor. I would recommend the resonator to anyone with even the slightest hint of a concern about noise: of course you could presumably install Stage 2 without, and then retrofit the resonator should you desire, but in my case that swap involved a little under $40.00 of extra shipping charges alone.
The sag-when-flooring-it issue remains however. Pete and I will be discussing this in the next few days and I'll probably have more to report. (ON EDIT: I think it's important to note in this first post of the thread that this problem was resolved easily with Pete's friendly assistance: the intake system was cleaned out and the problem is gone.)
In short: do it! The car is so much more fast, responsive and fun to drive with the exhaust system and custom chip in place. If you can afford to, put it in!!!
<img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />
Pictures:
Here's the back of the car, which needs washing. You can see the angled muffler, and also a faint bloom of soot: this freer-flowing system deposits more stuff on the back of my car. That the tailpipe seems off-center is an illusion caused by the angle of the photo.
It's hard to capture this in a photo, but it's really neat the way the four header pipes complement and complete the appearance of the four intake manifold runners.
I had previously installed a Speed 6 chip, and later cut in the famous airbox modification: the Speed 6 chip was eventually removed to make way for RS Barn's 'custom'-tuned replacement.
I first installed the catback system, which produced a nice beefy exhaust tone and placed a larger tip on the exhaust to replace my OEM chrome (SS?) rolled tip, but had a small effect on power at best. After a few weeks I called Pete up and he offered attractive discounts to add the header/cat/chip as a package, which I ordered.
It has been mentioned here that the RS catback puts the muffler in at an 'angle'. I took that to mean that the muffler was skewed horizontally, but it turns out the muffler is tilted counterclockwise along the axis of the pipes. A photo below illustrates this.
It took a while for the header/cat package to to ship. Pete sent out the chip in advance, and I installed it in place of my Speed 6 chip. I noticed little change except a strong tendency for the car to lag noticeably when flooring it in the 2K rev range in 2nd or third: the kind of driving you might do in traffic when trying to scoot out of someone's way or pull out quickly from a rolling stop. However, the chip is programmed for the presence of a full exhaust retrofit, so I waited to see what would happen when everything was in place.
Within a month of having installed the catback I had the full Stage 2 system installed. It's a real and total pleasure to drive, representing at least as dramatic a difference in performance as the (ahem, somewhat less pricey <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> ) airbox mod. Combine chip/airbox/exhaust to make up the Stage Two system and you have a major performance boost which reveals itself in generally more relaxed and exciting city driving as the torque curve smoothes out, overall much better power and tractability, at least in a seat-of-the-pants way. (I plan to dyno the car soon, but I have no pre-modification baseline to compare to.)
There are two issues worth noting. The first is that adding the header to the catback install made a big difference in the tone and loudness of the exhaust, and not in a good way. I had asked about this as I considered the header upgrade: would the car get louder? Pete replied that the difference in sound with the header/cat change was minor. This turned out not to be the case: the car took on a 'bratty' pulse which I found irritating from the minute the header/cat went in. There was also a slight rattly resonance which occurred under load and at speed: press on the accelerator at highway speed and the exhaust sings a bit as the engine picks up. This I could live with easily, but the 'brat' thing had to go: it was irritating, and made me feel like I was driving a goosed-up WRX around the neighborhood.
On the phone Pete acknowledged that as more systems went into the field this was being reported back: he says that cab owners note it more, but I think this may have been a function of the season: if you have your coupe's window open you can't avoid noting the intrusive sound your car is now making. He told me that a resonator had been developed for just this reason: it goes behind the cat and is said to have minimal effect on power. He sold me one for $90.00 with the old pipe to be returned to RS Barn.
Today that went in- my shop was kind enough to do the swap gratis. The car sounds much better now: just where I want it. The car is probably a bit quieter than it was when the catback system went in by itself, and that's fine with me: there's still a nice strong note there, but no buzz. I honestly forgot to listen for the power-on resonance I mentioned above, but the fact that I didn't notice it on the way home probably means that sound has been tamed as well.
I don't trust my judgment enough to state with any certainty what's happened to power with the resonator added. I sense a tiny diminution in power with the resonator installed, but if anything's happening it's very minor. I would recommend the resonator to anyone with even the slightest hint of a concern about noise: of course you could presumably install Stage 2 without, and then retrofit the resonator should you desire, but in my case that swap involved a little under $40.00 of extra shipping charges alone.
The sag-when-flooring-it issue remains however. Pete and I will be discussing this in the next few days and I'll probably have more to report. (ON EDIT: I think it's important to note in this first post of the thread that this problem was resolved easily with Pete's friendly assistance: the intake system was cleaned out and the problem is gone.)
In short: do it! The car is so much more fast, responsive and fun to drive with the exhaust system and custom chip in place. If you can afford to, put it in!!!
<img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />
Pictures:
Here's the back of the car, which needs washing. You can see the angled muffler, and also a faint bloom of soot: this freer-flowing system deposits more stuff on the back of my car. That the tailpipe seems off-center is an illusion caused by the angle of the photo.
It's hard to capture this in a photo, but it's really neat the way the four header pipes complement and complete the appearance of the four intake manifold runners.
(This post was last modified: 05-17-2006, 04:26 PM by Etnier.)
