review of test pipes with ECS valved exhaust

[KRp220]

I recently bought the ECS resonated/valved system to pair with my test pipes and wanted to do a brief review for those that may be interested in going this route

previously, i had the following:
JHM TP, stock downpipes, AWE Touring: sounded pretty badass, but it was loud and raspy
i then added the MF 11385. sounded great for a few weeks then i blew out the muffler.



Summit racing was great and replaced the part under warranty with no BS. tapping both the new and old 11385 it was clear one was more "hollow" than the other
i replaced that with a SOLO Performance STL 51. this was not an X pipe, but it sounded pretty damn good, but had a few rattles inside the muffler and was still too loud.



i live in a condo and had to put the garage door down when i started the car then open it after cold start in the mornings

with both the MF11385 and the Solo STL51, i dealt with significant vibration from the downpipes (or so i assume). i had 2 sets of mopar dampers on each downpipe and didn't do enough for it to go away



i then ordered the ECS resonated system in hopes of having a slightly-louder-than-stock tone with the valves closed, and something fairly aggressive with the valves open. well, it was certainly quiet with the valves closed, but it sounded terrible and tinny... a Camry sounds better (4cyl even). with the valves open it was loud AF. so loud, that when i first floored it leaving my friends place after install, i only made it to about 4500 rpms before letting off. needless to say i was really disappointed.

with that being said, i wasn't overly surprised at the volume and had already purchased an additional ECS resonator (the same one located towards the back) and the non res section purely for the piping. James at ECS alluded to the fact that they could be combined to fit the system in place of the x pipe (I bought a cat with an offset center to see if it would fit, but it’s too long)



so, after some cutting, i was able to get the resonator in (see last pic)



sound with the valves closed: much better than before in terms of tone, volume was stock like, but the drone is significant
valves open: barely less "racecar" than before. drones wicked bad. huge bummer
also, i'm not sure if i already blew out that muffler too, but my exhaust tips and rear end were covered in packing material



in 90% of my setups (catless) the car has a very significant vibration around 2500 to 3000 RPMS. yes, i have read the "vibration" thread and have checked the hangers and added the mopar dampers. i have even moved them around, but it is far too significant of a vibration to do much. also, i have read the "header wrap" thread and even bought a couple of rolls to try, but the drone, rasp and vibration is far, far too significant for that to work. i'm sure it helps a little but i simply don't believe it will do enough. plus, its too loud anyway

so, now what? i'm probably going back to stage 2 and installing cats again. i'm open to suggestions and thoughts on the vibrations/NVH (i do need to get my front DS wheel bearing/CV boot checked out, again..) but at this point i'm tired of the trial and error. plus, i'd like to be able to trade in my car if i find something else i'd like to buy and i'm sure being catless is a deal breaker, if they find out

i'd like to wrap up by saying that i don’t really have any complaints with the ECS system. the clamps aren't great and a few of the pipes needed some muscling to fit together, but i love the idea of a valved system and its a great price point. fitment is also great, and there is plenty of clearance in all areas to avoid rubbing/banging again the underbody.

]

customer service was great as well. i bought the system through S4_dad on IG (through Custom Auto Dreams i believe) and they were fantastic to deal with. one of the tips was marred when i opened up the box. they took care of it ASAP and overnighted a new one to be without issue. i damaged a rear hanger in another incident (don't ask) and they overnighted me one once i sent payment since i had a tight timeline

i have a few crappy videos i will post, but no flybys. maybe next week if enough people are interested.

[kaptacular]

Thanks KRP...this is discouraging to me to say the least

A video or two would really help me out if you could send one my way...can DM a phone # if you're comfortable with it.

[KRp220]

Thanks KRP...this is discouraging to me to say the least

A video or two would really help me out if you could send one my way...can DM a phone # if you're comfortable with it.

do that for now so i can text you. i gotta get back to work and will post the videos here later.

[Solarsuplex]

Interested to hear this with the test pipes. As we talked about in PM, my cats are on their way out and I have to make a decision as to what is next. Do you believe there would be enough room on the downpipes where they are parallel to install that magnaflow cat with the majority of it facing upward to avoid ground clearance issues? Once I find a good weekend i'll throw my header wrap on the downpipes.

[KRp220]

Interested to hear this with the test pipes. As we talked about in PM, my cats are on their way out and I have to make a decision as to what is next. Do you believe there would be enough room on the downpipes where they are parallel to install that magnaflow cat with the majority of it facing upward to avoid ground clearance issues? Once I find a good weekend i'll throw my header wrap on the downpipes.

the cat wouldn't fit due to length (with the resonator that is) so if you can't fit both, you might as well just get the JHM catted downpipes, at which point you will be loud as f%$&. you could certainly get a smaller cat and have it welded in the downpipes somewhere, but then you're hacking up brand new downpipes and getting into custom work.

we really need an option with both a resonator AND cats

[dimonblr]

This must be the most difficult platform to find and properly install a decent sounding and well fitting exhaust system on..

[KRp220]

This must be the most difficult platform to find and properly install a decent sounding and well fitting exhaust system on..

catless at least

it seems there is a far amount of people that are now catless looking for a reasonable solution. if JHM had made a resonated system, it think a lot of people would but it. i would love an off the shelf, catted, x piped test-pipe-back system to pair to my ECS system

[dimonblr]

catless at least

it seems there is a far amount of people that are now catless looking for a reasonable solution. if JHM had made a resonated system, it think a lot of people would but it. i would love an off the shelf, catted, x piped test-pipe-back system to pair to my ECS system

Even just a downpipe / cat-back.

All I keep seeing on these boards is vibrations here and flex pipes cracking there, exhaust whistling, too loud, too raspy, not loud enough, put some MOPAR things on this pipe and for the love of god don't forget to wrap the whole thing in 5 layers of exhaust wrap just to be able to cold start the damn car in a thickly settled neighborhood and avoid being crucified in the town center the next morning.

None of the kits are cheap either; for the investment put in wish it would be a straight forward and headache free modification.

[Morritse]

The 11385 really seems to make all the catless systems so much better. Weird how yours failed so quickly. I'd look for a higher quality but similar sort of piece to use.

Maybe I just have really low standards for exhaust, but my setup was super cheap easy and sounds great to me and my friends!

[evil35r]

My car sounds very good imo to other test pipes cars I’ve heard. Setup is simple testpipes>stock dps>mag non res xpipe>11385 res xpipe > straight through mag mufflers out the back. Dampeners on the dps and exhaust wrapped from as high as I could go on the dps back to the tunnel brace.

Hardly any rasp
Hardly any drone
Sounds perfect to me

[Morritse]

My car sounds very good imo to other test pipes cars I’ve heard. Setup is simple testpipes>stock dps>mag non res xpipe>11385 res xpipe > straight through mag mufflers out the back. Dampeners on the dps and exhaust wrapped from as high as I could go on the dps back to the tunnel brace.

Hardly any rasp
Hardly any drone
Sounds perfect to me

Yup, almost same setup here.

Here's a collection of the sound clips I have

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...S6QFu0dg5ha9Zf

[KRp220]

The 11385 really seems to make all the catless systems so much better. Weird how yours failed so quickly. I'd look for a higher quality but similar sort of piece to use.

Maybe I just have really low standards for exhaust, but my setup was super cheap easy and sounds great to me and my friends!

i have looked for other res x pipe options which is how i ended up with the Solo muffler, but couldnt find anything else. at this point, i'm done experimenting with exhausts and will go back to what i know works and sounds good. having cats will make it easier for me to trade it in too

[Morritse]

i have looked for other res x pipe options which is how i ended up with the Solo muffler, but couldnt find anything else. at this point, i'm done experimenting with exhausts and will go back to what i know works and sounds good. having cats will make it easier for me to trade it in too

If I had the funds I wanted to try a varex dual in out muffler in place of the 11385. I think someone should give that setup a shot.

[awwturbo]

I recently bought the ECS resonated/valved system to pair with my test pipes and wanted to do a brief review for those that may be interested in going this route

previously, i had the following:
JHM TP, stock downpipes, AWE Touring: sounded pretty badass, but it was loud and raspy
i then added the MF 11385. sounded great for a few weeks then i blew out the muffler.



Summit racing was great and replaced the part under warranty with no BS. tapping both the new and old 11385 it was clear one was more "hollow" than the other
i replaced that with a SOLO Performance STL 51. this was not an X pipe, but it sounded pretty damn good, but had a few rattles inside the muffler and was still too loud.



i live in a condo and had to put the garage door down when i started the car then open it after cold start in the mornings

with both the MF11385 and the Solo STL51, i dealt with significant vibration from the downpipes (or so i assume). i had 2 sets of mopar dampers on each downpipe and didn't do enough for it to go away



i then ordered the ECS resonated system in hopes of having a slightly-louder-than-stock tone with the valves closed, and something fairly aggressive with the valves open. well, it was certainly quiet with the valves closed, but it sounded terrible and tinny... a Camry sounds better (4cyl even). with the valves open it was loud AF. so loud, that when i first floored it leaving my friends place after install, i only made it to about 4500 rpms before letting off. needless to say i was really disappointed.

with that being said, i wasn't overly surprised at the volume and had already purchased an additional ECS resonator (the same one located towards the back) and the non res section purely for the piping. James at ECS alluded to the fact that they could be combined to fit the system in place of the x pipe (I bought a cat with an offset center to see if it would fit, but it’s too long)



so, after some cutting, i was able to get the resonator in (see last pic)



sound with the valves closed: much better than before in terms of tone, volume was stock like, but the drone is significant
valves open: barely less "racecar" than before. drones wicked bad. huge bummer
also, i'm not sure if i already blew out that muffler too, but my exhaust tips and rear end were covered in packing material



in 90% of my setups (catless) the car has a very significant vibration around 2500 to 3000 RPMS. yes, i have read the "vibration" thread and have checked the hangers and added the mopar dampers. i have even moved them around, but it is far too significant of a vibration to do much. also, i have read the "header wrap" thread and even bought a couple of rolls to try, but the drone, rasp and vibration is far, far too significant for that to work. i'm sure it helps a little but i simply don't believe it will do enough. plus, its too loud anyway

so, now what? i'm probably going back to stage 2 and installing cats again. i'm open to suggestions and thoughts on the vibrations/NVH (i do need to get my front DS wheel bearing/CV boot checked out, again..) but at this point i'm tired of the trial and error. plus, i'd like to be able to trade in my car if i find something else i'd like to buy and i'm sure being catless is a deal breaker, if they find out

i'd like to wrap up by saying that i don’t really have any complaints with the ECS system. the clamps aren't great and a few of the pipes needed some muscling to fit together, but i love the idea of a valved system and its a great price point. fitment is also great, and there is plenty of clearance in all areas to avoid rubbing/banging again the underbody.

]

customer service was great as well. i bought the system through S4_dad on IG (through Custom Auto Dreams i believe) and they were fantastic to deal with. one of the tips was marred when i opened up the box. they took care of it ASAP and overnighted a new one to be without issue. i damaged a rear hanger in another incident (don't ask) and they overnighted me one once i sent payment since i had a tight timeline

i have a few crappy videos i will post, but no flybys. maybe next week if enough people are interested.

That sucks that you've spent all this time and money into the exhaust and it's still not good... Bite the bullet and just get the JHM catted down pipes. Still some rasp in my setup that I do not like, but I'll put up with it since I am done messing around with this (also, issues with the tranny tune is starting to bug me as well). We should meet up with Rich soon and you can get an idea of how mine sounds.

[kaptacular]

Yup, almost same setup here.

Here's a collection of the sound clips I have

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...S6QFu0dg5ha9Zf

What kind of test pipes did you go with?

[Morritse]

What kind of test pipes did you go with?

Gutted stock cats

[kelseysautobody]

Great write up, sorry it didn’t get the results you wanted.

I think any kind of resonated pipe in place of the baby resonators with test pipes is going to “fail” rather quickly. My front 11385 100% sounds like a empty tin can but even like that, with the 2nd 11385 and stock mufflers it’s stock like quiet while cruising, barely rasps under acceleration and no drone. Does it sound as good as a catted car with an AWE touring or Polo exhaust? Nope. But it’s livable and I haven’t heard a better option.

[Jake@JHM]

So what are your thoughts on us offering an Drone Eliminator Kit specifically targeting the 3.0T?

[evil35r]

Do it! But needs to be for rasp too not just drone

[Jake@JHM]

Do it! But needs to be for rasp too not just drone

One step at a time. We are in early stages of R&D on a universal device that will fit 2.5" exhaust systems.

[evil35r]

Gotcha but most everyone has 2.25” systems unless that won’t matter or this will connect to them somehow easily. Gl

[Jake@JHM]

Gotcha but most everyone has 2.25” systems unless that won’t matter or this will connect to them somehow easily. Gl

2.5" exhaust is ideal for performance. However 2.25" is not an issue as it can step up and back down again.

[kelseysautobody]

So what are your thoughts on us offering an Drone Eliminator Kit specifically targeting the 3.0T?

A rasp eliminator kit would sell better I think

[raudiace4]

So what are your thoughts on us offering an Drone Eliminator Kit specifically targeting the 3.0T?

Make a drone eliminating exhaust solution for test pipe DSG cars and you’ll corner the market. The struggles OP explained is the reason I won’t go beyond stage 1 headaches on this platform for the 3rd time.

Fuck test pipes.

[KRp220]

So what are your thoughts on us offering an Drone Eliminator Kit specifically targeting the 3.0T?

I’m about to reinstall cats so I would love to hear more about this, or the timeline at least. PM if needed. I love the idea of your catted downpipes but the volume is just too much.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KRp220]

Gutted stock cats

From what I have gathered from videos and other peoples posts, it seems that the gutted cats help with volume and tone, acting as a resonator of sorts. Wish I had tried that but it wasn’t an feasible option for me at the time


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KRp220]

Great write up, sorry it didn’t get the results you wanted.

I think any kind of resonated pipe in place of the baby resonators with test pipes is going to “fail” rather quickly. My front 11385 100% sounds like a empty tin can but even like that, with the 2nd 11385 and stock mufflers it’s stock like quiet while cruising, barely rasps under acceleration and no drone. Does it sound as good as a catted car with an AWE touring or Polo exhaust? Nope. But it’s livable and I haven’t heard a better option.

Glad I’m not the only one who blew out a 11385. Headers seem to make a difference in tone too. I feel like there are more people that are happy with their milltek res or awe touring with res downpipes paired with headers than the same setup with test pipes


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[Callandor]

From what I have gathered from videos and other peoples posts, it seems that the gutted cats help with volume and tone, acting as a resonator of sorts. Wish I had tried that but it wasn’t an feasible option for me at the time


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Like Morritese, I have gutted stock cats. I think that might be the ticket. May the larger internal volume and weight is helping. I only have 1000 miles on mine but 11385 seems OK so far and it sounds decent. No dampeners or wraps needed yet.

I still want to add some sort of bottle cats downstream. The gas and smells is a little too much for a "newer, nice" Audi IMO.

[audia4luv]

Interested to hear this with the test pipes. As we talked about in PM, my cats are on their way out and I have to make a decision as to what is next. Do you believe there would be enough room on the downpipes where they are parallel to install that magnaflow cat with the majority of it facing upward to avoid ground clearance issues? Once I find a good weekend i'll throw my header wrap on the downpipes.

Just get some test pipes from aliexpress man! will save you a lot of cash!

[KRp220]

Just get some test pipes from aliexpress man! will save you a lot of cash!

keep that $hit in the other thread please. thanks

[brs2c]

Krp220, thank you for sharing you arduous mod path, so that we can all benefit.

I have a question, and really this is to all the test pipe people. Are we seeing any connection between the raspiness and the thickness of the test pipes? What I mean is that I believe Evan's use the thickest gauge, and have the most welds. Then, there are the still solid middle of the road thickness/welds, like JHM. Then, you have the Chinese and Russian ones (like Becker), that seem to be the thinnest.

It just seems like thicker metal will vibrate less and possibly move slightly less (I have seen that the Becker can flex and eventually break). Is anyone running Tampa's, with extra exhaust hangars? If so, I am curious if it is any better. On the other end, are we at all seeing that the Chinese/Rusky ones are extra raspy.

I hope that makes sense. Just trying to determine any key factors against the rasp battle.

[KRp220]

Krp220, thank you for sharing you arduous mod path, so that we can all benefit.

I have a question, and really this is to all the test pipe people. Are we seeing any connection between the raspiness and the thickness of the test pipes? What I mean is that I believe Evan's use the thickest gauge, and have the most welds. Then, there are the still solid middle of the road thickness/welds, like JHM. Then, you have the Chinese and Russian ones (like Becker), that seem to be the thinnest.

It just seems like thicker metal will vibrate less and possibly move slightly less (I have seen that the Becker can flex and eventually break). Is anyone running Tampa's, with extra exhaust hangars? If so, I am curious if it is any better. On the other end, are we at all seeing that the Chinese/Rusky ones are extra raspy.

I hope that makes sense. Just trying to determine any key factors against the rasp battle.

i've thought about this as well. i actually stuck a go pro in my engine bay and rigged a flashlight point down at the test pipe, assuming that i would see the test pipe vibrate, but it did not. i've been under the car while a friend revs the engine and can see that again, the test pipe does NOT vibrate, but it does cause the downpipe to vibrate. ECS's downpipes are actually made with slightly thicker piping to help this. part of me wants to put a Mopar damper on the actual test pipe to see if that has any effect, but part of me also thinks there is something else, not exhaust related that is causing the vibration since it only seems to happen between2-3k RPMS. i just don't know (and i'm tired of trying to find it). all i know is that my vibration issue was a) not as bad and b) resolved with the mopar damper when i had cats

[kelseysautobody]

Glad I’m not the only one who blew out a 11385. Headers seem to make a difference in tone too. I feel like there are more people that are happy with their milltek res or awe touring with res downpipes paired with headers than the same setup with test pipes


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You may be right. Going by videos, headers vs. test pipes sound very similar but in person and in car it might be different. If I were to do my exhaust completely over I'd buy a CTS cat back and put an 11386 in place of the baby resonators on stock down pipes. Not sure if anyone has this set up but with all the trial and error I have done I could see this working and sounding nice. You'd have a resonated x-pipe to a non-res x-pipe to center muffler to rear mufflers.

Borla also makes dual in/out resonated x pipes (I think they're x's) that would work in place of the baby or center resonators.
https://www.borla.com/products/proxs...ndual_out.html

[brs2c]

i've thought about this as well. i actually stuck a go pro in my engine bay and rigged a flashlight point down at the test pipe, assuming that i would see the test pipe vibrate, but it did not. i've been under the car while a friend revs the engine and can see that again, the test pipe does NOT vibrate, but it does cause the downpipe to vibrate. ECS's downpipes are actually made with slightly thicker piping to help this. part of me wants to put a Mopar damper on the actual test pipe to see if that has any effect, but part of me also thinks there is something else, not exhaust related that is causing the vibration since it only seems to happen between2-3k RPMS. i just don't know (and i'm tired of trying to find it). all i know is that my vibration issue was a) not as bad and b) resolved with the mopar damper when i had cats

You have definitely been through the ringer, and the fact that you have been down there to check it out crosses off this off partly, in my mind. I still can't help but think that you would likely NOT be able to visually see the vibration. If you strike a crystal glass with a fork, you can't see it vibrating, but you sure can hear it. The fact that exhaust wrap has helped several folks, indicates to me that the problem is more of a metal harmonics issue, versus an engine sound issue.

To further support this, I suspect that the magic found in the Magnaflow 11385/11386 is related to the packing material they use. They run stainless packing immediately around pipe, but then the remainder/bulk with continuous acoustical fiber.
http://exhaustsystemsguide.com/wp-co...ay-400x400.jpg
Continuous acoustical fiber is pricier to work with, but helps eliminate the higher pitched frequencies (which is why many dirt bike guys run it).

So, we can either continue trying to tame the rasp with the magic muffler combo...or maybe we can stop/minimize origin of the vibration, and kill the rasp before it is born...One other thought is rear mufflers. These seem to help absorb some high pitched rasp, and make a deeper tone (again from the motorcycle world).

[KRp220]

You may be right. Going by videos, headers vs. test pipes sound very similar but in person and in car it might be different. If I were to do my exhaust completely over I'd buy a CTS cat back and put an 11386 in place of the baby resonators on stock down pipes. Not sure if anyone has this set up but with all the trial and error I have done I could see this working and sounding nice. You'd have a resonated x-pipe to a non-res x-pipe to center muffler to rear mufflers.

Borla also makes dual in/out resonated x pipes (I think they're x's) that would work in place of the baby or center resonators.
https://www.borla.com/products/proxs...ndual_out.html

i just called Borla on that actually. it will fit on the ECS downpipes but the "cat back" or technically downpipe back portion is supposed to slip over a 2.5"OD pipe and the borla has a 2.5" ID. would need to figure that out...

[brs2c]

FWIW, Borla's mufflers are packed entirely with stainless wool, so it is much more resilient to "burning out", but does not mitigate higher frequencies as well as acoustical fiber. However, Borla's cases are typically (but not always) slightly larger, which allows for more packing material, plus the extra diameter adds a little extra bass to the tone.

[BDP]

I've grown accustomed to when my rasp occurs and try to mitigate most of it by driving in manual mode. My car sounds like absolutely dog shit when I initially lay into the throttle on anything below 2800 rpm. When I get past the rasp zone the car sounds flipping awesome all the way to redline until it has to shift and the car rasp farts into the next gear.

Driving in regular "D" mode in my car brings out the worst of everything....it's boomy...raspy and literally undriveable. S mode is o.k. 80% of the time. The only real way for me to get a sound I like is to drive in M and treat the car like it's a stick shift.

*I think* at least in my case a good set of rear mufflers would help the most but I don't have the time or really drive to mess around with hacking up my AWE set up.

[KRp220]

FWIW, Borla's mufflers are packed entirely with stainless wool, so it is much more resilient to "burning out", but does not mitigate higher frequencies as well as acoustical fiber. However, Borla's cases are typically (but not always) slightly larger, which allows for more packing material, plus the extra diameter adds a little extra bass to the tone.

good to hear. my wheels are turning on the borla... my only concern is finding a way to mate 2.5in ID to 2.5in ID... and getting rid of vibration

I've grown accustomed to when my rasp occurs and try to mitigate most of it by driving in manual mode. My car sounds like absolutely dog shit when I initially lay into the throttle on anything below 2800 rpm. When I get past the rasp zone the car sounds flipping awesome all the way to redline until it has to shift and the car rasp farts into the next gear.

Driving in regular "D" mode in my car brings out the worst of everything....it's boomy...raspy and literally undriveable. S mode is o.k. 80% of the time. The only real way for me to get a sound I like is to drive in M and treat the car like it's a stick shift.

*I think* at least in my case a good set of rear mufflers would help the most but I don't have the time or really drive to mess around with hacking up my AWE set up.

i'm 6 MT, and if i can't lay into the throttle at 3k RPMs, then i don't want it
i agree with you though, i can walk up the throttle past that poitn and it sounds OK but if i mash the gas sub 3000 RPMs, it sounds horrific

[kelseysautobody]

i just called Borla on that actually. it will fit on the ECS downpipes but the "cat back" or technically downpipe back portion is supposed to slip over a 2.5"OD pipe and the borla has a 2.5" ID. would need to figure that out...

Would just have to have one of the pipes expanded with a pipe stretcher. Do you have a pic of the entire set up right now? By adding in the front muffler right behind the DP's did that eliminate the non-resonated x-pipe on your system?

[KRp220]

Would just have to have one of the pipes expanded with a pipe stretcher. Do you have a pic of the entire set up right now? By adding in the front muffler right behind the DP's did that eliminate the non-resonated x-pipe on your system?

i have one of those, but if it doesn;t work, i'll ruin that portion of the exhaust if i decide to put the x pipe back in and run it with my cats. yes, the fromt muffler eliminates the x pipe
the last pic posted above is all i have of that portion of the setup. everything else is the same
so
jhm test pipes, ecs dp's, ecs reso, ecs "cat back" (resonated)