[Blue2]

Referencing the US spec here.

The stock exhaust has two secondary cats and a big resonator box in the midpipe before the muffler.

As far as I know, the AA midpipe deletes the secondary cats and resonator and replaces it with a single, 3.5" pipe, correct?

As an alternative, has anyone simply cut out the resonator and secondary cats to replace them with straight piping? If so, how does it sound?

[TrentMeister]

Originally Posted by Blue2

Referencing the US spec here.

The stock exhaust has two secondary cats and a big resonator box in the midpipe before the muffler.

As far as I know, the AA midpipe deletes the secondary cats and resonator and replaces it with a single, 3.5" pipe, correct?

As an alternative, has anyone simply cut out the resonator and secondary cats to replace them with straight piping? If so, how does it sound?

Just had the AA mid installed like 2 hours ago.

The mid section does quite a bit for silencing the car

It really takes virtually all of the sharp tone out of the exhaust's audio profile

It sounds like you're thinking of something other than the aa mid so I can't really speak on just cutting out the secondary's and the resonator.

But it's definitely worth every penny for the aa mid.

[MKParris]

Originally Posted by LBbluem2

Just had the AA mid installed like 2 hours ago.

The mid section does quite a bit for silencing the car

It really takes virtually all of the sharp tone out of the exhaust's audio profile

It sounds like you're thinking of something other than the aa mid so I can't really speak on just cutting out the secondary's and the resonator.

But it's definitely worth every penny for the aa mid.

did you have to get a tune to put the mid pipe in or is there no CEL?

[TrentMeister]

Originally Posted by MKParris

did you have to get a tune to put the mid pipe in or is there no CEL?

No CEL
No tune

[MKParris]

Originally Posted by LBbluem2

No CEL
No tune

sweet - I am close to AA I will drop by and have them install!

[TrentMeister]

Originally Posted by MKParris

sweet - I am close to AA I will drop by and have them install!

Have you heard the Equal length mid pipe they're developing?

[Bass_Masterson]

US spec model - I initially installed cat-less downpipes and had both secondary cats and the resonator removed - stock muffler left in place. I liked it because it sounded pretty good with the valves open but was still pretty quiet with them closed. However, with the valves closed, there was a slight metallic vibration at around 1700 RPM under moderate load. No big deal. Well, after around 1000 miles, the valves continued to loosen up. It started buzzing and rattling at nearly any RPM under load, even with the valves open. I just had the valves removed and the muffler gutted two weeks ago. It is the way to go. Much cheaper than buying and installing a built system, and I think it sounds better. It's quite loud, though, so if that's an issue, steer clear. I also just disabled active sound today. What a difference. So much quieter in the cabin under all conditions, sounds much more natural. Also no more fake burbles. It now naturally releases a short, snarly salvo of pops when I transition off the throttle between shifts, and it rumbles down on deceleration from about 1700 to 1000 RPM. I am also running BM3 Stage 2 (AGG) 93 octane tune. I never was fond of the S55's exhaust note, but I can say I love how mine sounds now. It's how it's meant to be. Aggressive, loud, and non-synthetic.

[Blue2]

Originally Posted by Bass_Masterson

US spec model - I initially installed cat-less downpipes and had both secondary cats and the resonator removed - stock muffler left in place. I liked it because it sounded pretty good with the valves open but was still pretty quiet with them closed. However, with the valves closed, there was a slight metallic vibration at around 1700 RPM under moderate load. No big deal. Well, after around 1000 miles, the valves continued to loosen up. It started buzzing and rattling at nearly any RPM under load, even with the valves open. I just had the valves removed and the muffler gutted two weeks ago. It is the way to go. Much cheaper than buying and installing a built system, and I think it sounds better. It's quite loud, though, so if that's an issue, steer clear. I also just disabled active sound today. What a difference. So much quieter in the cabin under all conditions, sounds much more natural. Also no more fake burbles. It now naturally releases a short, snarly salvo of pops when I transition off the throttle between shifts, and it rumbles down on deceleration from about 1700 to 1000 RPM. I am also running BM3 Stage 2 (AGG) 93 octane tune. I never was fond of the S55's exhaust note, but I can say I love how mine sounds now. It's how it's meant to be. Aggressive, loud, and non-synthetic.

Awesome. Do you have any videos?

Did you just replace the resonator with two independent straight pipes or did you build an x-pipe?

[Bass_Masterson]

Yes, the secondary cats and resonator were replaced with separate straight pipes. No x or h-pipe. A balance point may give better exhaust note, but it doesn't really have any performance benefit on a turbocharged engine, so I didn't do it.
I do have a few videos! The mods are in the description.

The buzzing is pretty obvious, but it got much worse over time. I need to make some new videos with the current setup (no valves, empty muffler, active sound disabled. Those burbles are ridiculous and serve no purpose).

[Blue2]

Originally Posted by Bass_Masterson

Yes, the secondary cats and resonator were replaced with separate straight pipes. No x or h-pipe. A balance point may give better exhaust note, but it doesn't really have any performance benefit on a turbocharged engine, so I didn't do it.
I do have a few videos! The mods are in the description.

The buzzing is pretty obvious, but it got much worse over time. I need to make some new videos with the current setup (no valves, empty muffler, active sound disabled. Those burbles are ridiculous and serve no purpose).

This sounds great. Thanks for the videos and the information.