First I want to thank everyone who came for their patience and time, this wouldn't have worked without your participation! We ahve a turnout of FIVE 2010 B8 S4's and a nice Sprint Blue TTS. The 5th was someone who heard about this 3rd hand from the local Audi dealer and came to see with his brand new (dealer plates still on the car) Quartz Gray.
Second I want to apologize for not getting this posted up sooner, but life is what happens when you are planning what you want to do. The videos all came out very well, I have them all uploaded in full HD 1080P stereo sound to Youtube (watch them here embedded at 360p, but click the movie again to open a Youtube page and you can change it to 1080p HD). Not the same as being there, but since the same decive did the recording of them all you can at least get an accurate comparison.
Here is the first section, where a decibel meter was used centered between the exhausts in the center of the car, 3' from the bumper. Each car then did several revs in neutral to determine max decibel levels. You also get a nice feel for what each of these sound like at idle, and once again, the overall sound, which is something subjective
First up - mellow_sparky with his 100% stock Meteor Gray 6MT
The stock exhaust maxed out at 104 decibels
Second is the APR on my car, Quartz Gray, DSG with Stratmosphere intake.
The APR peaked at 106 decibels
Third comes Dr Volkl's Imola Yellow with the Milltek, non-res and Stratmosphere intake and 6MT.
The Milltek grabbed the loudest title at 114 Decibels and I think everyone was in agreement that it has the deepest growl and grumble, pulling the best V8-like sound out of such a small V6.
Finally, we have WAZZU_STU in his gorgeous Deep Sea Blue with the Stasis Challenge Edition exhaust mated ot a 6MT.
The Stasis came in at 109 decibels with a nice low bass note.
Now for part 2
We did 2 driveby's once in each direction through at least one gear change and at WOT, attempting to get shifts near the camera for best effect. Each car had a driver and passenger - the passenger held the decibel meter to record max noise inside during WOT accels with windows UP.
First again is our stock car (mellow_sparky) who came in at 92 decibels but with the caveat that his windows were down some.
Run 1
Run 2
Second is my APR, I had the car in Dynamic and ESP off, and somehow traction light came on at the shift to 2nd on the first run so there is not even a shift sound. The second run all went well, and you get a sense of the "fart" from the shift, though nothing comes close to how loud it really is when you are there - it's rather raw and loud. It peaked at 95 Decibels.
Run 1
Run 2
Next is DrVolkl's turn, coming in at an awesome 100 decibels!
Run 1
Run 2
Next we have WAZZU_STU with the Stasis Challenge Edition, which matched the stock sounds of 92 Decibels.
Run 1
Run 2
Finally we have BrandonB with the AWE Tuning, this came in at 84 decibels at idle, and 108 decibels revving like the others were done. Brandon was good enough to meet with me this morning (2/12/11) at the same location with the same recording equipment to allow as close to a recreation of the originals above.
Run 1
Run 2
Last edited by NWS4Guy; 02-12-2011 at 02:31 PM.
Reason: Added AWE exhaust
Like a surgeon with a scalpel, my S4 is a precision instrument, with which I carve and dissect my way through traffic.
Awesome work. Gives a nice compare between the different brands. I think my favorite is the Milltek however as I have stated before I am personally not a fan of the intake and I feel that the drive by videos are taken over by the increased s/c whine on the cars that have that mod.
But each to their own for sure on that modification.
The rear DB level videos give a better example of the true note and tone of each of the units.
Thanks for taking the time to do it right and share the tests results with us. Great job.
The exhaust REALLY makes the S/C a lot more obvious. Strange how the S4 with the Stasis exhaust had almost no S/C whine.
*Edited* I wasn't aware that a few of you had intakes and that was why the S/C whine was so obvious. It would have been nice to hear the exhausts without those.
2010 Audi S4 Prem+, Alcantara inserts, Brilliant Black, S-Tronic, B&O, Nav, CF trim
The exhaust REALLY makes the S/C a lot more obvious. Strange how the S4 with the Stasis exhaust had almost no S/C whine.
*Edited* I wasn't aware that a few of you had intakes and that was why the S/C whine was so obvious. It would have been nice to hear the exhausts without those.
What I have noticed is that you hear the intake when car is coming toward you and hear the exhaust when it is going away from you. You can also hear the intake and exhaust in the cabin. As I have stated before, I will run the Milltek non-resonated with downpipes and no intake. The intake S/C whine is a personal preference and I prefer not to hear it.
Bruce
"I think the car is too damn quiet and smooth. It doesn't seem like you're hauling ass until you look down at the speedometer."
Stock ECU, Sprint Blue 6MT 010 B8 S4, Premium +, B&O, sport diff, black Nappa, BBS CH, 255/40/18 Bridgestone RE960 AS
Milltek resonated cat-back & DPs
Awesome vids. I was hoping that "tinny" quality of the APR exhaust note was just the way they'd filmed it. I guess that's really how the system sounds.
Awesome vids. I was hoping that "tinny" quality of the APR exhaust note was just the way they'd filed it. I guess that's really how the system sounds.
NWS4Guy's exhaust was just installed a few days ago. He should repeat this same test in 1000 miles or so. In my experience, exhaust need some time to break in from a noise perspective. For example, my stock exhaust sounds better now than when I first got my car.
Bruce
"I think the car is too damn quiet and smooth. It doesn't seem like you're hauling ass until you look down at the speedometer."
Stock ECU, Sprint Blue 6MT 010 B8 S4, Premium +, B&O, sport diff, black Nappa, BBS CH, 255/40/18 Bridgestone RE960 AS
Milltek resonated cat-back & DPs
NWS4Guy's exhaust was just installed a few days ago. He should repeat this same test in 1000 miles or so. In my experience, exhaust need some time to break in from a noise perspective. For example, my stock exhaust sounds better now than when I first got my car.
Bruce
There isn't a whole lot to break in on the RSC exhaust
Awesome vids. I was hoping that "tinny" quality of the APR exhaust note was just the way they'd filmed it. I guess that's really how the system sounds.
I like the APR. I think it has a unique race car sound.
It would be cool to hear the non resonated version of all of them as well.
I know it is a matter if personal preference but Milltek really got it right..I am not impressed with others..but then again the best way is to hear it in person
That's awesome you guys were able to get together and make these videos for comparison. Unbelievable how much louder the s/c whine is on the cars with intakes, though I'm undecided on whether or not I like it.
2009 A4 2.0T quattro sedan: quartz, prestige, S Line, nav APR - ADV.1 - A.W.E. - StopTech - Posi-Quiet - STaSIS - Rieger - DEVAL/EuroGear - Ingolstadt-Kunst - FormulaOne - Valentine One - KW - VCDS - OEM+
I like the APR. I think it has a unique race car sound.
It would be cool to hear the non resonated version of all of them as well.
To the best of my knowledge, APR doesn't have a non-res. I also agree that other than expansion/contraction there is not a lot to break in on the APR. Sure the ECU might adjust things some now if there is a little more room to breathe, but it has no packing, just resonation chambers like a silencer on a gun - metal baffles that don't move, to there is not a lot to break in I don't think.
Like a surgeon with a scalpel, my S4 is a precision instrument, with which I carve and dissect my way through traffic.
Great work. This will be extremely useful for many members. Didn't think I'd say this, but I dig the Milltek. The V8'ish grumble under WOT is stunning. Although, I plan on going APR for a tune, so I might want to keep my whole setup homogeneous with APR products.
Thanks for doing this.
NWS4, do you notice any power difference with the seat of your pants with the new exhaust? When I got my APR exhaust on my B5 A4, I felt as if there was more high-end power, could have been a mind trick though.
Delivered 12/31/09 Audi 2010 S4 Meteor Gray 6MT
Prem + // Nav // B&O // Sport Differential // 19" Wheels // Carbon Inlays
Great work. This will be extremely useful for many members. Didn't think I'd say this, but I dig the Milltek. The V8'ish grumble under WOT is stunning. Although, I plan on going APR for a tune, so I might want to keep my whole setup homogeneous with APR products.
Thanks for doing this.
NWS4, do you notice any power difference with the seat of your pants with the new exhaust? When I got my APR exhaust on my B5 A4, I felt as if there was more high-end power, could have been a mind trick though.
I am an equal opportunity enthusiast. In my last car I had a Milltek exhaust and an APR ECU, which later became a GIAC ECU and then an ASP ECU. In this car, I will run the Milltek non-resonated exhaust and either an APR or GIAC ECU.
Bruce
"I think the car is too damn quiet and smooth. It doesn't seem like you're hauling ass until you look down at the speedometer."
Stock ECU, Sprint Blue 6MT 010 B8 S4, Premium +, B&O, sport diff, black Nappa, BBS CH, 255/40/18 Bridgestone RE960 AS
Milltek resonated cat-back & DPs
I am an equal opportunity enthusiast. In my last car I had a Milltek exhaust and an APR ECU, which later became a GIAC ECU and then an ASP ECU. In this car, I will run the Milltek non-resonated exhaust and either an APR or GIAC ECU.
Bruce
Bruce, do you know if DrV is running non-res exhaust with or without downpipes?
The miltek sounds the sportiest but the APR is the one I think I would want for a DD. IMO I don't like the intake because the S/C whine kills the money spent on the exhaust sound. The cars without the S/C whine you can hear the exhaust and engine much more clearly.
I have very similar videos of the AWE exhaust from when I first got it. Problem is that mine are ghetto fabulous vids taken with my NexusOne complete with trialware watermark after conversion and import on my Mac. They're pretty lame compared to these.
I have very similar videos of the AWE exhaust from when I first got it. Problem is that mine are ghetto fabulous vids taken with my NexusOne complete with trialware watermark after conversion and import on my Mac. They're pretty lame compared to these.
Voltron-
I am sure if we get somebody with an AWE exhaust out here in the PNW, we can have NWS4Guy repeat the same exact test at the same exact site.
Bruce
"I think the car is too damn quiet and smooth. It doesn't seem like you're hauling ass until you look down at the speedometer."
Stock ECU, Sprint Blue 6MT 010 B8 S4, Premium +, B&O, sport diff, black Nappa, BBS CH, 255/40/18 Bridgestone RE960 AS
Milltek resonated cat-back & DPs
I know this isn't an apples to apples comparison because of the quality but perhaps it will help someone make a decision. it's good to have this in one place anyway.
Ghetto Fab #1 AWE Resonated Exhaust Stronic
Ghetto Fab #2 AWE Resonated Exhaust Stronic
Last edited by Voltrons_Head; 07-11-2011 at 12:21 PM.
To me, the Milltek sounds empty, almost as if theres too much echo in a large room, the APR sounds the best IMO. The APR is the sportiest and has the most unique sound.
The stasis is too similar to stock for my liking.
My first reaction is the Milltek sounds the best, but it may be too loud. I had and APR on my B6 S4 and it was awesome - not tooo loud, distinctive high revving V8 sound. I think hearing them in person will sway me as I am not ready to commit yet.
considering my car is a daily driver and getting stuck in traffic on the way to work is really annoying, i wouldn't want to top that off with a an exhaust that will give me more of a headache than enjoyment. I like the extra "power" that milltek claims, but i am in love with AWE. Price is also an issue and paying $2000 for an exhaust is a little steep.
2010 S4 WHITE ON BLACK 6MT ......mods coming soon!
To me, the Milltek sounds empty, almost as if theres too much echo in a large room, the APR sounds the best IMO. The APR is the sportiest and has the most unique sound.
The stasis is too similar to stock for my liking.
+1
(Alex)2010 Audi A4-Ibis White-Quattro-Sport Package-6MT - http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...mods-pre-shoot
Mods:Spacers-15mm-f/25mm-r, Debadge, 20% tint, black grill, clear corners, Plastidipped wheels, 034 high flow turbo inlet, intercooler pipe
Yeah... reminds me of my buddies FORD Lightning P/U. Alllll you hear inside and outside his truck is the S/C whine.
Not at all like this in reality. I've got several requests for in cabin sounds, so I will rig up the camera mount and do some normal driving, spirited, and WOT.
Like a surgeon with a scalpel, my S4 is a precision instrument, with which I carve and dissect my way through traffic.
Not at all like this in reality. I've got several requests for in cabin sounds, so I will rig up the camera mount and do some normal driving, spirited, and WOT.
From the videos I saw/heard it does. It might not sound like that from the inside but if that's what people hear from the outside... I wouldn't want anything to do with it.
2010 Audi S4 Prem+, Alcantara inserts, Brilliant Black, S-Tronic, B&O, Nav, CF trim
From the videos I saw/heard it does. It might not sound like that from the inside but if that's what people hear from the outside... I wouldn't want anything to do with it.
All you heard was WOT runs, who drives like this all the time or even every day?
Here is Doc's car from back several months ago when I took footage of his newly installed Milltek. I challenge you to detect any SC noise, it had the Strat intake on it at that time (as evident from the other videos in that series), but this is a normal driveby the way you drive the car every day.
Edit, here are the same videos from the same day, note the one from the front has the SC whine, but when you listen from the rear, you cannot hear that at all:
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Originally Posted by NickS
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