[maxcbrdriver]

My understanding is that AA merged their designs at some point and now the resonators are located just aft of mid pipe and fit both Single and EL variants.

[ESB]

I've had non-res EL with stock read end since march 2021. Overall I'm happy but I'm flirting with the idea of getting the AA rear.

But, it seems like the general consensus is the AA rear will pair better with either the single midpipe or the resonated EL. Anyone disagree with that being the general consensus and/or disagree with that opinion?

In general, how does AA rear compare to Remus Race? I know in past research I decided that Remus Race + EL Midpipe was too loud for what I was looking for, at least with non-res EL.

/shrug maybe I'll just keep the EL paired with the stock back box. There's no problem in particular that I'm trying to solve. Just flirting with making a change since its been 2 years now with the pairing I have.

[dead.pixel]

Originally Posted by ESB

I've had non-res EL with stock read end since march 2021. Overall I'm happy but I'm flirting with the idea of getting the AA rear.

But, it seems like the general consensus is the AA rear will pair better with either the single midpipe or the resonated EL. Anyone disagree with that being the general consensus and/or disagree with that opinion?

In general, how does AA rear compare to Remus Race? I know in past research I decided that Remus Race + EL Midpipe was too loud for what I was looking for, at least with non-res EL.

/shrug maybe I'll just keep the EL paired with the stock back box. There's no problem in particular that I'm trying to solve. Just flirting with making a change since its been 2 years now with the pairing I have.

The best pairing I’ve heard on YouTube was with resonators and a Remus Sport. The Sport has its own built in resonators. It seems like the more resonators the better lol.

https://youtu.be/fJsEdOFsEYg

[ESB]

Originally Posted by dead.pixel

The best pairing I’ve heard on YouTube was with resonators and a Remus Sport. The Sport has its own built in resonators. It seems like the more resonators the better lol.

https://youtu.be/fJsEdOFsEYg

Hmm interesting! Obviously videos can only represent true sound so much, but just based on videos I prefer mine over that one 🤷‍♂️

8s valves open. Sounds like a deeper throatier sound to me?

https://youtu.be/9IhqSrem3xc

[dead.pixel]

Originally Posted by ESB

Hmm interesting! Obviously videos can only represent true sound so much, but just based on videos I prefer mine over that one 🤷‍♂️

8s valves open. Sounds like a deeper throatier sound to me?

https://youtu.be/9IhqSrem3xc

Sounds really good! Nice to hear from a POV perspective. How loud is the “blat” sound from full throttle lift off in person?

On mine, it’s very pronounced and a little too loud for my taste. Sometimes it more of a “pop”. I’m running stock exhaust and an AA single mid pipe (resonated).

[ESB]

Originally Posted by dead.pixel

Sounds really good! Nice to hear from a POV perspective. How loud is the “blat” sound from full throttle lift off in person?

On mine, it’s very pronounced and a little too loud for my taste. Sometimes it more of a “pop”. I’m running stock exhaust and an AA single mid pipe (resonated).

Haha I know what you're asking about with the blat (I call it a braap) and the pop (I think I hear braap more than pop. I like pop more. I don't know if its random or how I can get more pops and less braap's ... I think its partly based on outside temp/weather?? idk)

Anyways I think they're a good volume. Definitely noticable but I don't think loud enough to scare anyone or be thought of as an asshole. The burbles on the other hand ... had to turn those off on day 1 of installing the midpipe.

You can sort of catch it at 6 seconds here in the 1-2 upshift and then at 13 seconds when lifting off the throttle without an upshift:

I don't know what it is about that clip but the sound carried reaalllly far. You might think that it must be loud as FUCK if you can hear it at 13 seconds once the car is so far away. But Idk ... I don't think thats really the case?

At 7:20 in this video you get a pov perspective on the lift off sound. I'd say its pretty representative of what it sounds like most often:

[DadVibes]

Bumping this thread to air out my experience with the AA valved axleback as I've pretty much given up on it, at this point. I've now concluded that I'm either a complete moron, or my unit is defective. Both, equally possible. In either case, my experience seems to be isolated, as I don't see others having nearly as much trouble trying to get this thing installed, issue free.

For reference, my setup:

• AA EL Midpipe
• AA Resonated connector pipes
• AA valved axleback

I've spent months in a futile effort to adjust the alignment of the axleback and connector pipes, to prevent the passenger side from hitting the black brace that's right next to it, while simultaneously getting the muffler aligned so the exhaust tips are even remotely evenly positioned (both vertically and horizontally) in their respective diffuser cutouts. In addition, no matter how I align things or how much I tighten the provided clamps that connect the axleback to the resonated pipes, they leak tremendous amounts of air.

Having gone back in and readjusting countless times, constantly running into the same issues, I finally threw my hands in the air and reinstalled the stock muffler with the shorter AA connector pipes. After wrestling with the AA axleback for so long, it was such a breath of fresh air to have proper alignment with essentially no effort, using the OEM unit. Sadly, the raspy higher tone of the stock muffler is an instant reminder of why I wanted to swap it out, in the first place.

Anyhow, after reinstalling the stock muffler, I decided to spend some time tinkering with the AA axleback and connector pipes, off the car. It was very eye opening for me as it led me to finally discover what the issue seems to be. When the connection between axleback > connector pipes are properly aligned and secured, the midpipe > connector pipe joints end up WAY out of vertical and horizontal alignment (see pictures below). I tried rotating both connector pipes in all sorts of different directions. But all that does is push the exhaust hangers significantly out of horizontal alignment. I now see why I've had so many headaches with it. From what I can tell, there’s just no way to align everything properly on both ends.

For reference, the exhaust is perfectly level on the ground and exhaust hangers are positioned exactly as they would be, in reference to their respective locations on the car. I've also confirmed that the EL midpipe joints are vertically level and exactly 7" apart (outside edge to outside edge). As you can see in the pics below, when the axleback > connector pipes are aligned and secured, the midpipe > connector pipe joints are off level by about 8" and the distance from the outer edges of the joints are more than 10" separated. ie - it's not even remotely close.

At this point I’m convinced that something is certainly wrong here. This seems to be a QC issue and despite opening a warranty case weeks ago with Extreme Powerhouse (who supposedly contacted AA about it), I've yet to hear anything back.

*Please ignore the orange liquid gasket mess. That was from a previous failed attempt at sealing the leaks.*

[maxcbrdriver]

This may be a stupid question, but do you have the connecting pipes on the correct sides? The reason I ask is bc I know with my particular setup, it's the drivers side connecting pipes that have more twists while the passenger side is more straight, the opposite of what you've got now. Just a thought.

Edit. Oops, I now see you've got it upside down on the floor. Nevermind I guess.

[DadVibes]

Originally Posted by maxcbrdriver

This may be a stupid question, but do you have the connecting pipes on the correct sides? The reason I ask is bc I know with my particular setup, it's the drivers side connecting pipes that have more twists while the passenger side is more straight, the opposite of what you've got now. Just a thought.

Edit. Oops, I now see you've got it upside down on the floor. Nevermind I guess.

That's completely on me. My pics are confusing because I flipped the exhaust upside down to get proper ‘bottom up’ measurements that align with where they connect to the midpipe from underneath the car.

That said, I did just spend a bit more time tinkering. Using precise measurements, I aligned the tips of the ball joints exactly where they need to be, in order to properly mate with the midpipe. To achieve this, either the driver or passenger side axleback > connector pipe connection gets forced significantly off angle. And on the driver side, the distance from the axleback to resonator pipe connection needs to be extended beyond what appears to be allowed by the supplied clamp. Altogether, making a proper alignment and sealed connection impossible with the parts they’ve provided.

I think if they extended the length of the connector pipes by a couple inches and utilized an additional ball joint on the axleback side of the connector pipes, it would provide the flexibility to make this work. But, they didn't. And now I’m left with what seems to be an unusable product that certainly wasn’t cheap.

At this point, unless I’m missing something glaringly obvious, my only option seems to be paying an exhaust shop to do some custom piping to make this work. Which is pretty frustrating because one would think that an entire exhaust suite, built by a single brand, should mesh perfectly together without these issues. In any case, it really shouldn’t be this difficult and I'm at whitt's end with it.

[Cboy]

Anyone who’s running this axle back + EL Resonated care to comment about this setup?

Any strange ratttles? Rasp? Someone mentioned a resonance that rattles all the plastics in the car. Does that happen and is it really noticeable?

[usc335]

Originally Posted by Cboy

Anyone who’s running this axle back + EL Resonated care to comment about this setup?

Any strange ratttles? Rasp? Someone mentioned a resonance that rattles all the plastics in the car. Does that happen and is it really noticeable?

I am running the Active axle back and EL with a manual transmission and I do not have any strange rattles or rasp. The exhaust needs to heat up after a few minutes of driving to smooth out the sound. There is the annoying cold start, but that happens regardless of exhaust setup.

[Cboy]

Originally Posted by usc335

I am running the Active axle back and EL with a manual transmission and I do not have any strange rattles or rasp. The exhaust needs to heat up after a few minutes of driving to smooth out the sound. There is the annoying cold start, but that happens regardless of exhaust setup.

Thanks!

And no resonance that rattles the inside of the car?

I’m curious if doing the AA axle back lowers the tone in the low end ? 1-3k is a little high pitched with the oem axle back.

[dangaroo]

Originally Posted by DadVibes

That's completely on me. My pics are confusing because I flipped the exhaust upside down to get proper ‘bottom up’ measurements that align with where they connect to the midpipe from underneath the car.

That said, I did just spend a bit more time tinkering. Using precise measurements, I aligned the tips of the ball joints exactly where they need to be, in order to properly mate with the midpipe. To achieve this, either the driver or passenger side axleback > connector pipe connection gets forced significantly off angle. And on the driver side, the distance from the axleback to resonator pipe connection needs to be extended beyond what appears to be allowed by the supplied clamp. Altogether, making a proper alignment and sealed connection impossible with the parts they’ve provided.

I think if they extended the length of the connector pipes by a couple inches and utilized an additional ball joint on the axleback side of the connector pipes, it would provide the flexibility to make this work. But, they didn't. And now I’m left with what seems to be an unusable product that certainly wasn’t cheap.

At this point, unless I’m missing something glaringly obvious, my only option seems to be paying an exhaust shop to do some custom piping to make this work. Which is pretty frustrating because one would think that an entire exhaust suite, built by a single brand, should mesh perfectly together without these issues. In any case, it really shouldn’t be this difficult and I'm at whitt's end with it.

I have the exact same set up as you. Both unresonated and now resonated. You’re right that the fitment isn’t 100% and it will hit the rear subframe. But I managed to get it to work by tightening down the axleback connection before the midpipe section as that has the compliance of the ball and socket clamp. I also rotated the passenger side connecting pipe to allow the bend to clear as much as possible. PM me if you want to chat in more detail.

[usc335]

Originally Posted by Cboy

Thanks!

And no resonance that rattles the inside of the car?

I’m curious if doing the AA axle back lowers the tone in the low end ? 1-3k is a little high pitched with the oem axle back.

No resonance that rattles inside the car. Here is a video of my exhaust set-up that should give you a good idea of how it sounds:

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by usc335

No resonance that rattles inside the car. Here is a video of my exhaust set-up that should give you a good idea of how it sounds:

[DadVibes]

Thanks to an exhaust shop, the alignment issue is finally resolved between my AA axleback & AA connector pipes. It required a custom welded connection on both the driver and passenger side. As you can see in the attached pic, he had to slightly angle the new connection, in order to properly mate the pipes together.

The shop owner told me the overall quality of the exhaust seemed fine. But he was “baffled” by the misalignment of the two pipes, which are supposed to join with clamps.

I’m happy it’s finally fixed but it should not have required this extra effort and $$. And based on the PMs I’ve received from others, it’s clear this is not an isolated issue. So just be warned before purchasing.

[Apexeater]

I have a AA EL (non res) midpipe mated to the factory box. I want to put their resonators on it but keep the factory box, If I buy resonators second hand or from them directly, will they be a direct fit or will there need to be some modifications? It appears there are short fill pipes installed from the AA to the box but i don't know the length of the resonators.

[Kattanah]

Originally Posted by Apexeater

I have a AA EL (non res) midpipe mated to the factory box. I want to put their resonators on it but keep the factory box, If I buy resonators second hand or from them directly, will they be a direct fit or will there need to be some modifications? It appears there are short fill pipes installed from the AA to the box but i don't know the length of the resonators.

I had a non resonated mid pipe installed, and then decided to add the resonators. It was a direct installation (swapping them with the short pipes). No modifications needed.
Good luck 👍🏽

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by Kattanah

I had a non resonated mid pipe installed, and then decided to add the resonators. It was a direct installation (swapping them with the short pipes). No modifications needed.
Good luck 👍🏽

Sound clip?

[MSH_]

Originally Posted by Apexeater

I have a AA EL (non res) midpipe mated to the factory box. I want to put their resonators on it but keep the factory box.....

Originally Posted by Kattanah

I had a non resonated mid pipe installed, and then decided to add the resonators....

Curious why you both ended up adding the resonators? I'm trying to decide on non-res vs res AA EL to use with stock DP and stock exhaust and having a tough time deciding which version is going to be best.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by MSH_

Curious why you both ended up adding the resonators? I'm trying to decide on non-res vs res AA EL to use with stock DP and stock exhaust and having a tough time deciding which version is going to be best.

it sounds cleaner with resonators, but it's louder without them of course.

It depends on which factor is more important to you, but if you are not sure I recommend you stay safe and get the resonated version.

[Silos]

Originally Posted by DadVibes

Thanks to an exhaust shop, the alignment issue is finally resolved between my AA axleback & AA connector pipes. It required a custom welded connection on both the driver and passenger side. As you can see in the attached pic, he had to slightly angle the new connection, in order to properly mate the pipes together.

The shop owner told me the overall quality of the exhaust seemed fine. But he was “baffled” by the misalignment of the two pipes, which are supposed to join with clamps.

I’m happy it’s finally fixed but it should not have required this extra effort and $$. And based on the PMs I’ve received from others, it’s clear this is not an isolated issue. So just be warned before purchasing.

Thank you --there is hope! I've been battling my AA system for some time now; for whatever reason I cannot get the passenger side to stop hitting the rear subframe - mine only seems to do it when the car is fully warmed -- it is both frustrating and infuriating as I cannot figure out how to compensate for heat expansion when adjusting despite numerous attempts. My next attempt will be either stiffer exhaust hangers or just having an exhaust shop take a stab at it.