Exhaust Cut out

[Steff]

Hi Guys,

has anybody installed an exhaust cutouts such as these ones https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-part...2~dk/?pdk=AwkC

If that's the case please provide some feedback and pictures of the installation

Thanks

[Silverweim7]

Hi Guys,

has anybody installed an exhaust cutouts such as these ones https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-part...2~dk/?pdk=AwkC

If that's the case please provide some feedback and pictures of the installation

Thanks

I'm having mine installed on Wednesday by a shop. Been turned down already by two shops who said they couldn't or wouldn't do it. Only thing I need to figure out is what vacuum line to have the shop connect it to and what adaptor I need to connect the ECS supplied hose to that vacuum source.

[Steff]

I'm having mine installed on Wednesday by a shop. Been turned down already by two shops who said they couldn't or wouldn't do it. Only thing I need to figure out is what vacuum line to have the shop connect it to and what adaptor I need to connect the ECS supplied hose to that vacuum source.

Why did the shops turned you down, I went through the install guide and it seems pretty straightforward

[Porschephd]

Mine had them on when I bought my car. The system was wireless remote. That said because of the placement they sit lower than the car. I got home and went to get gas and caught the edge of a plate and ripped one of them out. I wasn't too worried as I was doing downpipes and full exhaust. Can't say it sounded all the great either. Just be careful and have them tuck them as high as they can and don't lower the car lol.IMG_2251.jpg

[Steff]

Mine had them on when I bought my car. The system was wireless remote. That said because of the placement they sit lower than the car. I got home and went to get gas and caught the edge of a plate and ripped one of them out. I wasn't too worried as I was doing downpipes and full exhaust. Can't say it sounded all the great either. Just be careful and have them tuck them as high as they can and don't lower the car lol.IMG_2251.jpg

Any chance you have a soundclip?

[Porschephd]

Sorry I don’t. I ripped everything out in less than a week and replaced it all. Sound is subjective but I thought it sounded like shit. Now the downpipes and AWE exhaust is insane sounding!


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[MadMaxD]

I have cutouts mounted at the base of my downpipes. I used QTP electronic low-profile cutouts with a remote controller. I did it for the obnoxious effect, and it doesn't sound great when revving, but sounds good under load, though it's crazy loud. Mine are a little lower than the bottom of the car and I have rubbed them a couple of times, but knock on wood haven't damaged them.

[Kerber Inc.]

Hey steff, I recently installed the ECS Cutouts onto my C7 A6. A few things I learned in the process:
- Have an exhaust shop do the install for you properly. I tried to do it myself with a friend and I wasn't too happy with the results
- Placement is key to making it fit properly and sound good, I had my suitcase muffler deleted and the cutouts put in its place. That was the easiest way to make them fit and to install
- You will most likely have to have parts if not all of your exhaust custom bent to fit properly, I found a local shop to do just that to mine
- ECS had some issues with getting me a working control unit as mine was broken twice out of the box, they compensated me with a voucher for wine lol
- The best place for the vacuum source is the vacuum pump, on the C7 you can tap into the brake booster line that's running along the supercharger with a T adapter and a step down adapter
- You will quickly become very addicted to opening them up to make a well deserved pass on someone or when going under bridges

All said and done I'm extremely happy with the results and have no reason to not recommend the system. My estimated costs were around $1000 for the cutouts and the custom exhaust work. Ill post some photos below but they may be a bit large. If you have any questions PM me and I'll do what I can!

Kerber

[Dasquade]

Is it just me or will these things cause a (very) poor exhaust flow in the pipes...like blowing air in a closed pipe forcing it to go back the open pipe?

[Kerber Inc.]

Is it just me or will these things cause a (very) poor exhaust flow in the pipes...like blowing air in a closed pipe forcing it to go back the open pipe?

TBH I have no idea. This type of cutout has been used across multiple platforms for many of years and for daily driving it doesn't seem to have any effect. I would assume that it would build up pressure where it is closed and act kinda like a river where the pressure keeps anymore air from trying to go down the cutout pipe. Just my thought though. :)

[ichi d]

Any sound clips?

[Kerber Inc.]

Any sound clips?

There's one posted above if I'm correct but ill take one today with a cold start and just driving down the road.

*EDIT*
Sound clip is on another topic so I'll be sure to post one here

[97B518TQM]

Is it just me or will these things cause a (very) poor exhaust flow in the pipes...like blowing air in a closed pipe forcing it to go back the open pipe?

Nope, it's not just you :) The design of all of these cutout concepts is extremely flawed. I have done quite a bit research and analysis on a similar topic but for a different application. I lead the mechanical engineering team for a company that deals with a lot of Fluidics applications and it's really easy to see how the design of all of these exhaust cutouts is simply a disaster in so many aspects. The observation that the sound out of such a cutout sounds horrible is very true and a simple simulation with a half decent software will show you what happens to the gasses coming out of that pipe. It's one chaos of waves that come out with all possible velocities. To have a controlled and uniform sound coming out you need to have as uniform flow as possible. I can write a book on this subject but the bottom line is don't waste your time and money.
I have been thinking about designing a diverter-valve type system that produces zero obstruction to the gas flow in either state but whatever the geometry of the mechanism is one would still need to implement at least a small muffler on the output of the cutout to somewhat normalize some of the gasses coming out and making the sound somewhat decent. There is a reason all cars have a muffler all the way at the end of the exhaust system instead of packing all the mufflers in one section.

[Steff]

Thank you all for your feedback, I have now changed my mind and I have two options. Buy a full exhaust system or modify the OEM one with Xpipe or Hpipe. Couple of weeks ago I came across a picture of the OEM exhaust system with a Xpipe instead of the resonator (on the downpipes) and if I remember correctly two straight pipes instead of the suitcase muffler. For odd reasons I cannot find that picture anymore. If somebody has a copy of it I would be interested. Thanks

[Dasquade]

Nope, it's not just you :) The design of all of these cutout concepts is extremely flawed. I have done quite a bit research and analysis on a similar topic but for a different application. I lead the mechanical engineering team for a company that deals with a lot of Fluidics applications and it's really easy to see how the design of all of these exhaust cutouts is simply a disaster in so many aspects. The observation that the sound out of such a cutout sounds horrible is very true and a simple simulation with a half decent software will show you what happens to the gasses coming out of that pipe. It's one chaos of waves that come out with all possible velocities. To have a controlled and uniform sound coming out you need to have as uniform flow as possible. I can write a book on this subject but the bottom line is don't waste your time and money.
I have been thinking about designing a diverter-valve type system that produces zero obstruction to the gas flow in either state but whatever the geometry of the mechanism is one would still need to implement at least a small muffler on the output of the cutout to somewhat normalize some of the gasses coming out and making the sound somewhat decent. There is a reason all cars have a muffler all the way at the end of the exhaust system instead of packing all the mufflers in one section.

Thanks for confirming what i tought :). Made sense too me.

[Dasquade]

Thank you all for your feedback, I have now changed my mind and I have two options. Buy a full exhaust system or modify the OEM one with Xpipe or Hpipe. Couple of weeks ago I came across a picture of the OEM exhaust system with a Xpipe instead of the resonator (on the downpipes) and if I remember correctly two straight pipes instead of the suitcase muffler. For odd reasons I cannot find that picture anymore. If somebody has a copy of it I would be interested. Thanks

For what it is worth....H pipe will give you a louder sound (rough sound) over a X pipe (woushhh sound). What give you the best performance, i don't know at this point but it also makes a difference afaik.

[Kerber Inc.]

For those who care. I personally like/am satisfied with the sound that the cutouts make in my situation. You can of course spend more and get a proper exhaust and have an amazing sound at all RPMs but I was curious of what these would sound like. The sound isn't too far off a normal straight piped A6 and is enough to put a fart canon civic in its place. Like I said before all in all I'm satisfied with the project but sound is subjective and cars are cars. Do what you want with yours as honestly doing anything to the exhaust will make it sound "better" than stock (middle res delete helps a ton).

[OUTTIE_S6]

I was talking to Sean at Sill Rabbit about this and he has a kit that we're going to install probably in a couple weeks. I believe he installed a set on his RS7 or another customers car and said it sounds like an open header LS motor. While it may not everyone's taste, I just want them simply for the unexpected loudness factor. I will try and post sound clips when we're done.

Question while on this topic, does anyone know how or if they'd be able to wired to the R8 steering wheel controls? Going to order them from Europrice and wanted to wire them up to the exhaust tip button for a clean install and no additional button or remote.

[Kerber Inc.]

I was talking to Sean at Sill Rabbit about this and he has a kit that we're going to install probably in a couple weeks. I believe he installed a set on his RS7 or another customers car and said it sounds like an open header LS motor. While it may not everyone's taste, I just want them simply for the unexpected loudness factor. I will try and post sound clips when we're done.

Question while on this topic, does anyone know how or if they'd be able to wired to the R8 steering wheel controls? Going to order them from Europrice and wanted to wire them up to the exhaust tip button for a clean install and no additional button or remote.

I see no reason why not. You'll just need to find the wiring harness/wire for that control and hook it up to the control box that will open the valves. And yes for some reason when I'm just driving around with them open it sounds like a much larger engine than it really is but like you said I really just wanted it for the loudness factor sometimes.

[[email protected]]

I was talking to Sean at Sill Rabbit about this and he has a kit that we're going to install probably in a couple weeks. I believe he installed a set on his RS7 or another customers car and said it sounds like an open header LS motor. While it may not everyone's taste, I just want them simply for the unexpected loudness factor. I will try and post sound clips when we're done.

Question while on this topic, does anyone know how or if they'd be able to wired to the R8 steering wheel controls? Going to order them from Europrice and wanted to wire them up to the exhaust tip button for a clean install and no additional button or remote.

The R8 controls can be setup before shipping for this exact application. The ECS cutouts have a vacuum valve that just gets power/ground on/off to open and close the exhaust cutouts. We can make the R8 exhaust control button work just like that for you.

Cheers,

[spdemon91]

For those who care. I personally like/am satisfied with the sound that the cutouts make in my situation. You can of course spend more and get a proper exhaust and have an amazing sound at all RPMs but I was curious of what these would sound like. The sound isn't too far off a normal straight piped A6 and is enough to put a fart canon civic in its place. Like I said before all in all I'm satisfied with the project but sound is subjective and cars are cars. Do what you want with yours as honestly doing anything to the exhaust will make it sound "better" than stock (middle res delete helps a ton).

Thanks for taking the time to post this. It will definitely help others decide which direction they want to go. Like you said, it is subjective and the most important thing is that you like it.

Check out this S8 with just APR downpipes... Somewhat goes against the character of the car but it does sound badass. I was thinking of doing the APR downpipes and setting the exhaust valves to always open and going from there.

[OUTTIE_S6]

The R8 controls can be setup before shipping for this exact application. The ECS cutouts have a vacuum valve that just gets power/ground on/off to open and close the exhaust cutouts. We can make the R8 exhaust control button work just like that for you.

Cheers,

Alex thank you for the info! I will email when I place the order.

[jacobyb]

I was talking to Sean at Sill Rabbit about this and he has a kit that we're going to install probably in a couple weeks. I believe he installed a set on his RS7 or another customers car and said it sounds like an open header LS motor. While it may not everyone's taste, I just want them simply for the unexpected loudness factor. I will try and post sound clips when we're done.

Question while on this topic, does anyone know how or if they'd be able to wired to the R8 steering wheel controls? Going to order them from Europrice and wanted to wire them up to the exhaust tip button for a clean install and no additional button or remote.

I don’t know if you have had a chance to hear it yet but it is installed on his RS7 and in normal driving conditions it just sounds like a standard RS7 with an aftermarket exhaust. Nothing special. When you start building boost it starts opening the cut-outs and by the time your foot hits the floor it sounds like nuclear bomb going off. It’s awesome and makes the car feel very Jekyl/Hyde-ish.

[Steff]

I was talking to Sean at Sill Rabbit about this and he has a kit that we're going to install probably in a couple weeks. I believe he installed a set on his RS7 or another customers car and said it sounds like an open header LS motor. While it may not everyone's taste, I just want them simply for the unexpected loudness factor. I will try and post sound clips when we're done.

Question while on this topic, does anyone know how or if they'd be able to wired to the R8 steering wheel controls? Going to order them from Europrice and wanted to wire them up to the exhaust tip button for a clean install and no additional button or remote.

Did you install the cut outs?

[OUTTIE_S6]

Did you install the cut outs?

Not yet unfortunately. I'm shooting for this weekend since wife and I are expecting our daughter this next week. Otherwise I'll probably have to put it on hold for a few.

[Frank123]

Just a follow up, did you install the cutouts? I was thinking of getting them and would love a Sound clip.

[camkelly]

Can exhaust cutouts cause the turbos to over-spool by relieving too much exhaust pressure?

[Frank123]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but from my research with Audi and Pfaff tuning, any exhaust mods after the catalytic converter will not have any effect in the turbos. Some people put the cut out right at the downpipe which is where I believe you would be eliminating some back pressure. I'm contemplating putting cutouts right before the mufflers but I haven't heard any I like. Still sounds like a lawnmower. So far the only sound I like is when you take off the mufflers and put a 4" tip.

[15 Phantom S6]

Any stock cat-back will produce some back-pressure, so adding an aftermarket cat-back with bigger piping and higher flowing mufflers will help spool even if only a little.. The bigger the restriction from the factory, the bigger the gain.. Alot of times the measurable hp increase isn't that much, but the car will be quicker due to better spool up characteristics..

[SIQ5]

Interested in reviving this thread. I am thinking about a cutout but I would want it in the downpipes. That being said, I plan on altering my AWE touring system a bit with JHM test pipes and catted x-pipe. If the cutout is before the cat, will that throw O2 codes? Does the cutout always have to be after the cat?

[Riker]

Buy an exhaust system, one that bolts on and off and if you go the X-Pipe route just remember you won't have a "stock" option if you decide to sell your car.

[SIQ5]

Buy an exhaust system, one that bolts on and off and if you go the X-Pipe route just remember you won't have a "stock" option if you decide to sell your car.

Maybe I am dense but I don't really get your answer. I currently am running AWE touring from cat back. I will be taking out the down and X-pipe to swap in JHM test pipes and x-pipe. Interested to know where I can put a cutout without throwing any codes. After some research it seems like I will have to run the test pipe ECU file and then it will not even matter.

[lituoklis88]

i had cutouts installed on several of my cars, and frankly its sounded like shit, and possibly lost performance. I actuallly had some proof laying around from my mazdaspeed6 days, when i ran the car on the strip multiple times. Times were consistently worse with cutouts open. , the only thing that was positive was that it was obnoxiously loud. The way i approach this now is, run straight pipe with and "x". Load as fuck, and sound good

What i do miss is the EXTERNAL WASTEGATE sound. Hopefully someday it will be available on our cars. That is the sickest thing by far i have ever hear from a car. love it.

[Riker]

Maybe I am dense but I don't really get your answer. I currently am running AWE touring from cat back. I will be taking out the down and X-pipe to swap in JHM test pipes and x-pipe. Interested to know where I can put a cutout without throwing any codes. After some research it seems like I will have to run the test pipe ECU file and then it will not even matter.

You're correct (my post doesn't make sense), I was replying to some of the older replies without quoting and didn't realize you had revived the thread. Apologies and disregard lol.

I don't have any experience with these cutouts so I won't be of much help.

[nvygw171]

i had cutouts installed on several of my cars, and frankly its sounded like shit, and possibly lost performance. I actuallly had some proof laying around from my mazdaspeed6 days, when i ran the car on the strip multiple times. Times were consistently worse with cutouts open. , the only thing that was positive was that it was obnoxiously loud. The way i approach this now is, run straight pipe with and "x". Load as fuck, and sound good

What i do miss is the EXTERNAL WASTEGATE sound. Hopefully someday it will be available on our cars. That is the sickest thing by far i have ever hear from a car. love it.

I went ahead and made some turn downs off the downpipe for a drag setup. Saves some weight, sounds like a dump truck and smells like shit if sitting still for a while but serves it’s purpose.


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[lituoklis88]

Turn downs will work better imo, since they are the last part of the exhaust, instead of somekind of split.