RS5: What exhaust to get?

[sepangrs5]

Hi Guys,

I've recently purchased a 2015 Audi RS5 in beautiful Sepang Blue and am very excited to start getting my mods list going. One thing on my list that id like to get in the spring is an exhaust for the car. I love the way it sounds stock, but i want to open it up a bit.

After doing some research, It seems that a Capristo exhaust would be one of the top options. HOWEVER- I've recently been told by someone that the valves break on these exhausts, and I should just go with an AWE track extreme, which have no valves at all. I've heard they drone too, and it seems a lot of people don't like that.

This all being said- has anyone had any bad experiences with Capristo? What about with AWE? I daily drive the car to work on the highway and some backroads.

Would love to get some input. Thanks!

[ICU2]

Another option might be to consider JHM, sponsor on this forum & a LONG TIME supporter of the V8 in/on our Audi’s. IIRC, the also have “valves” for the exhaust for the RS5 & I’d imagine just a matter of time before the offer a tune (possibly headers & they have also been working on a SC as well, although for some time now) for the engine & possibly the TCU? Just a thought, some members have already purchased it & R very satisfied. YMMV, but worth a look, NO affiliation on my part.

[Ape Factory]

How loud do you want it? I daily drive mine and I had the AWE track extreme and now have the AWE Touring. The AWE Track Extreme which is the same as the touring except the downpipes do not have resonators. With the resonated downpipes, there's no drone and for me at least, it's PLENTY loud at wide open throttle. It's on a different level from stock, not even close. With that said, the "Track" version uses the OEM RS5 resonated downpipes which are actually louder than the AWE resonated downpipes. But they're not mandrel bent and you'll probably loose a few hp compared to the AWE downpipes.

In summary..
AWE Touring=AWE resonated downpipes=quietest of the three but still easily twice as loud as the OEM sport exhaust on dynamic.
AWE Track=OEM resonated downpipes=slightly louder than Touring with a small hint of drone occasionally
AWE Track Extreme=AWE NON-resonated downpipes=Epic. Very loud at WOT, drone on the highway and a lot of noise which sounds like it's coming from directly below your seat. But at WOT, at redline, it's just sublime.

With all that said, I'd probably take a hard look at the JHM as ICU2 has suggested. It's valved like OEM and Capristo. It's also substantially less than the Capristo and considering you never really see it, I'd rather spend the extra $1500 you'll save towards an intake. Or a tune.

The Akrapovic is the lightest system but it's also $6K.

[Ape Factory]

Wear headphones and watch these.

AWE Touring



AWE Track Extreme

[xlionheartx]

I'm picking up an RS5 tomorrow with Capristo on it if you want to check it out. I work over in White Plains.

[Dlau]

I'm picking up an RS5 tomorrow with Capristo on it if you want to check it out. I work over in White Plains.

about timeee

[sepangrs5]

Another option might be to consider JHM, sponsor on this forum & a LONG TIME supporter of the V8 in/on our Audi’s. IIRC, the also have “valves” for the exhaust for the RS5 & I’d imagine just a matter of time before the offer a tune (possibly headers & they have also been working on a SC as well, although for some time now) for the engine & possibly the TCU? Just a thought, some members have already purchased it & R very satisfied. YMMV, but worth a look, NO affiliation on my part.

Thanks! I’ll have to check them out. Any idea on the reliability of their valves? What exhaust do you have?


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[sepangrs5]

How loud do you want it? I daily drive mine and I had the AWE track extreme and now have the AWE Touring. The AWE Track Extreme which is the same as the touring except the downpipes do not have resonators. With the resonated downpipes, there's no drone and for me at least, it's PLENTY loud at wide open throttle. It's on a different level from stock, not even close. With that said, the "Track" version uses the OEM RS5 resonated downpipes which are actually louder than the AWE resonated downpipes. But they're not mandrel bent and you'll probably loose a few hp compared to the AWE downpipes.

In summary..
AWE Touring=AWE resonated downpipes=quietest of the three but still easily twice as loud as the OEM sport exhaust on dynamic.
AWE Track=OEM resonated downpipes=slightly louder than Touring with a small hint of drone occasionally
AWE Track Extreme=AWE NON-resonated downpipes=Epic. Very loud at WOT, drone on the highway and a lot of noise which sounds like it's coming from directly below your seat. But at WOT, at redline, it's just sublime.

With all that said, I'd probably take a hard look at the JHM as ICU2 has suggested. It's valved like OEM and Capristo. It's also substantially less than the Capristo and considering you never really see it, I'd rather spend the extra $1500 you'll save towards an intake. Or a tune.

The Akrapovic is the lightest system but it's also $6K.

Wow both exhaust videos sound great. Thanks! What made you do track extreme first, and then switch to touring? And why’d you pick AWE at all?

I want something that can be loud and sound amazing but I don’t want drone and I want to be civil under normal driving / commuting too.


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[sepangrs5]

I'm picking up an RS5 tomorrow with Capristo on it if you want to check it out. I work over in White Plains.

That’d be awesome, can you keep me posted on your thoughts of the exhaust as your ownership progresses? would love to hear. Like I said, my concern is valves breaking and would love to hear if you have any problems at all with it.


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[Ape Factory]

Wow both exhaust videos sound great. Thanks! What made you do track extreme first, and then switch to touring? And why’d you pick AWE at all?

I want something that can be loud and sound amazing but I don’t want drone and I want to be civil under normal driving / commuting too.


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The AWE Extreme was on the car when I purchased it. As good as it sounded, I felt it was irresponsibly loud and attracted too much attention. It was really fun for a few weeks but it did get old (noise level).

If I had to do it again, I'm not sure I'd make a different choice only because even with a valved system, it's super loud at WOT with said valve open as it's basically becoming the Track Extreme. I just feel the Touring edition is perfect in terms of being authoritative, sounding great yet not drawing attention from a mile away. Plus it passes the wife/neighbor test. I no longer have to start the car in the morning with the garage door closed. It's pretty much silent at a 70mph cruise with a neutral throttle. As soon as you tip in the throttle though, you can hear it. And it sounds just as good at WOT in the cabin, just not deafening like the Extreme.

With the Extreme, it sounded like all the noise was coming from directly below your seat. With the Touring, it moved all the sound to the back, out the tailpipe.

If JHM actually does come up with headers and test pipes, I can see the Touring downpipes being a must have in terms of keeping noise under control.

[ICU2]

Thanks! I’ll have to check them out. Any idea on the reliability of their valves? What exhaust do you have?


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Paid the extra $ for CPO when I bought it so until it expires (2019) I don’t have any desire to “roll the dice” & have a possible warranty item “denied” (TD1) even though I’ve not had any significant issues. That =‘s bone stock for me@ this point, but I am definitely going to JHM after the CPO expires. IMHO, they R the best supporter of the NA V8 platform w/the most experience as well. If they follow a similar pattern for the RS5 as they did to the other Audi V8’s (S5 & RS4, LW crankpulley, headers, exhaust, Supercharger & even a Nitro)enhancements
seem to be their passion. Take a look @ their website sometime & watch some of their videos, great info. Again, NO affiliation but an admitted fan.

[JamesRS5]

After doing some research, It seems that a Capristo exhaust would be one of the top options. HOWEVER- I've recently been told by someone that the valves break on these exhausts, and I should just go with an AWE track extreme, which have no valves at all.

By any chance, were you informed about the valves from someone trying to sell you an AWE system? I’ve only been on here 5 years and owned an RS5 for 4 years, in that time I’ve never read of a valve failure on the Capristo and I’ve never experienced any issues with the Capristo installed on my car.

There’s several new systems available now, 4 years ago it was Capristo and Akrapovic if you wanted a top quality system and AWE if you wanted a more budget option. Now you have Velocity AP and JHM who both make a valved system at a good price.

Try and have a listen to all of them in person, Internet clips do not do exhausts any justice.

[Jake@JHM]

I would definitely recommend our exhaust


Check it out: https://jhmotorsports.com/exhaust-fu...-rs5-4-2l.html

Also, cool video of our exhaust in action on a customer car (JHM = Left Lane):

[sepangrs5]

I feel the same way about the extreme. It seems loud ALL the time non stop. Which obviously has pros and cons, and people can grow out of the drone and extreme loudness. Have you seen some people just put on AWE non-res down pipes on stock exhaust? still retains the valve functions and is a cheap option. Not sure if thats worth exploring too. I'm looking into the JHM setups as well now that you mentioned it.

[sepangrs5]

Funny enough, James, the person who told me to go AWE had a track exhaust on his B8 S5 4.2 and claimed he didnt get the capristo because the valves break. I cant seem to find anyone who has had broken valves on their capristo setup yet and ive spoken to about five people today who have capristo on their Rs5. Akra sounds great on videos too but is pricey compared to others. The JHM sounds good too and still retains valve functions like ICU2 and Ape said. I have yet to hear any of these in person, im trying to find locals who have any setups.

This all being said, if you've had no problems with your exhaust in the four years its been on your car, then im a little more assured about the quality. Many thanks for the input

[Ape Factory]

I would definitely recommend our exhaust


Check it out: https://jhmotorsports.com/exhaust-fu...-rs5-4-2l.html

Also, cool video of our exhaust in action on a customer car (JHM = Left Lane):

Jake do you have more info on that race? Are there possible issues with the red car? Didn't engage launch control on that run? I know it's not a JHM car but maybe there's more to the story that isn't obvious from watching the video? That's a pretty big difference for there not to have been some sort of issue. The 2015 got the jump right off the line and never looked back.

[BuyTheWarranty]

Heya! No launch control for either car, we both matted it. He definitely needed a carbon clean though!

[Ape Factory]

I'll say. Didn't realize that was you. You pulled him pretty hard for there not to be some big mismatched component like tires. Or carbon clean. How many miles did the red RS5 have?

[tma5091]

Hi Guys,

I've recently purchased a 2015 Audi RS5 in beautiful Sepang Blue and am very excited to start getting my mods list going. One thing on my list that id like to get in the spring is an exhaust for the car. I love the way it sounds stock, but i want to open it up a bit.

After doing some research, It seems that a Capristo exhaust would be one of the top options. HOWEVER- I've recently been told by someone that the valves break on these exhausts, and I should just go with an AWE track extreme, which have no valves at all. I've heard they drone too, and it seems a lot of people don't like that.

This all being said- has anyone had any bad experiences with Capristo? What about with AWE? I daily drive the car to work on the highway and some backroads.

Would love to get some input. Thanks!

Here's my 2 cents. I have the Armytrix cat back setup. Its valved. Quiet when you want ( up to 3000 RPM) and screaming when WOT. Its all in what you like in the sound. I haven't heard one that i like better. Akropovic is close


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[sepangrs5]

Here's my 2 cents. I have the Armytrix cat back setup. Its valved. Quiet when you want ( up to 3000 RPM) and screaming when WOT. Its all in what you like in the sound. I haven't heard one that i like better. Akropovic is close


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Hows the drone with the armytrix? thats one of my main concerns

[tma5091]

Hows the drone with the armytrix? thats one of my main concerns

Has one at 2000 RPM when cruising. That's about 60 mph. Who does that? Lol
I rarely hear it.
Its a very small rpm range. Almost nonexistent


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[altobeast]

Has one at 2000 RPM when cruising. That's about 60 mph. Who does that? Lol
I rarely hear it.
Its a very small rpm range. Almost nonexistent


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Even with valves closed?

[tma5091]

Even with valves closed?

I rarely run with them closed so I can't remember . I'm not able to drive my car for a few days. I will post answer after I do.


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[pickle.rs]

I just installed Capristo and it’s perfect. Everything Johansson said is spot on in his review.

[sepangrs5]

I rarely run with them closed so I can't remember . I'm not able to drive my car for a few days. I will post answer after I do.


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LOL with a sound like that, im sure you rarely do. Yes please keep me posted!

- - - Updated - - -

I just installed Capristo and it’s perfect. Everything Johansson said is spot on in his review.

Congrats, thats awesome to hear. Did you go resonated or non res?

[BuyTheWarranty]

IMO I think the GTHaus Meisterschaft exhaust sounds absolutely insane. It's the best sounding exhaust for the German V8's for both Audi and BMW. On valved mode it sounds a bit strange, but with valves open, ohhhh baby! It *may* be a little much for the RS5 given the sound to power ratio (nothing a SC can't fix!), but still, an amazing sound.

[pickle.rs]

I went resonated.

[Joshua_RS5]

I too have the Armytrix exhaust. It is the single best thing I have bought for my car. Go to my IG. I have plenty of clips. As for drone, at highway speed, it is non-existent. Around town, I always have the valves open cuz downshifts... <3 Below 2,000 RPM it drones weather the valves are open or not. But the sound this exhaust makes waaaaay out weighs that. Personal opinion.

Josh

[jhoward]

Resonated straight pipe!


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[Dlau]

Capristo gets my vote. The clips on youtube do not do it any justice. It purrs at the lower rpms (think micro burbles) and screams at WOT. Any of these exhausts will need to be experienced in person as every person has their own opinion on what sounds good and is for you to decide and live with ultimately.

[pickle.rs]

Capristo gets my vote. The clips on youtube do not do it any justice. It purrs at the lower rpms (think micro burbles) and screams at WOT. Any of these exhausts will need to be experienced in person as every person has their own opinion on what sounds good and is for you to decide and live with ultimately.

Absolutely. YouTube videos have never captured the reAl sound of any of these. All these companies would be wise to hire some sound engineers to properly reflect their exhaust notes. But even then you can control for the speakers the videos will be played back on. Sounds different depending on what kind of headphones, speakers, phone....

[Joshua_RS5]

Yeah, nothing beats in person. To be honest, when I was first looking for my exhaust, they all sounded very similar. The Capristo, AWE Extreme and Armytrix were the outliers for me. AWE was out because of no valves. My car came from the factory with the sports exhaust, so a valved exhaust system would be plug and play. It all came down to the Capristo and Armytrix system. I chose to go Armytrix because it had just a hint of a more exotic note in my opinion where are the Capristo seemed to be all out noise. I was only basing this off videos I had watched as I live in Wisconsin where the coolest cars you usually see are mustangs... Some with pedestrians still stuck on the front from the last crowed they ran into.

[s vier]

Josh’s Armytrix is insane sounding. I’ve heard it in person, cold starting, around town and next to me going WOT at 130+ on the freeway. It’s got to be the loudest exhaust on the market hands down. Here’s my breakdown on a 1-10 scale of what I think I know: (feel free to adjust the scale)

Absolute volume at WOT (1) being mute, (10) being a Jet engine:

10=Armytrix
9=Akropovich Capristo
8=AWE track
7=JHM
6=AWE
5=Gilbert Godfrey (for scale)
4=Milltek
3=Stock Sport (Black, valves open)
2=Stock (Stock Sport valves closed)
1=Idle with ignition off

[s vier]

Ability to be sneaky aka “cop mode” or sleeping baby:

Same scale:

10=
9=
8=AWE track Armytrix
7=
6=Capristo
5=Gilbert Godfrey (for scale) JHM
4=Milltek Akropovich
3=Stock Sport (Black, valves open)
2=Stock (Stock Sport valves closed)
1=Idle with ignition off

[s vier]

All things considered:

Tone
Weight
Range of dB
Look
Value

I’d break down my picks for the general RS5 audience as follows:


#1.) Capristo. Bang for the buck the best all around champ. Clean look but comes short only in the boring non tips and average weight savings
#2.) Armytrix. You have to be crazy to buy this because of its sound but you’d be crazy not to buy it because of its sound. Cheaper than Capristo. Same small shortcomings.
3.) Akropovich. Exotic sound. CF pigsnout tips and pure Titanium. Light weight. Downfall is the price. You could buy a nice daily driver for the $.
4.) JHM. It seems to be an all around decent choice though it is new to the market
5.) AWE (Ape can chime in, he knows more about this one)
6.) Miltek. Quiet. I hear it might even reduce the exhaust diameter slightly. I believe Josh pulled one off of his to go with the Armytrix.

[s vier]

And finally, anyone with a stock RS5 with Sport Exhaust should simply bolt in the ECS x pipe and save your $ for other mods. It’s crazy how good it sounds with JUST that.

[Joshua_RS5]

That is correct. When I first got the car, I thought it had the stock exhaust on it. That is how quiet the Miltek was lol. I love my exhaust. Look at me loud when you want, docile when you see the police. Best of both worlds.

[Delasangre4231]

I'm personally saving up for a Kline Innovation exhaust. In my own opinion it's neck and neck with JHM who I also love. I just like that it's European and slightly more exotic and nobody knows who they are even though they do super nice high end Ferrari and Porsche stuff. They told me they will build it for me with or without a resonated center section, otherwise it only comes with non resonated down pipes and valved mufflers all in 2.75". You also have the option for it to be made from Inconel if you are just filthy rich haha!

https://youtu.be/T-z4uwlLG5M

[Shredder]

When I purchased my 2014 RS5 convertible it had the AWE Track Extreme on it. I loved it at first and then I started to hate it as driving on the highway was almost unbearable. The drone drove me nuts. So after much research I went with the Capristo and for the past year it’s been truly amazing. It sounds amazing WOT and quiet with no drone while cruising. Never heard of anyone having any issues with the valves on the exhaust so not sure who is telling you that and I did tons of research before purchasing the Capristo.


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[altobeast]

Has anyone else heard the GTHaus in person with and without downpipes? it's a rare one, but cheaper than Capristo, and if you can pair AWE downpipes with the GTHaus system, it's all in under 3500 brand new.