There is a lot written here and elsewhere about the Capristo exhaust for RS5's. After some research, I settled on it and had it installed yesterday. It really is fantastic, it is louder and changes the tone of the note considerably from the OEM Sport exhaust. Startup with closed valves (can't keep valves open and start the car) is surprisingly loud and crackling, until it settles to a quiet burble at idle, about as quiet as closed valves on Sport stock. When opening the valves, there's' a louder, more distinct rumble with an AMG-like tone to it. On acceleration, especially in spaces where the sound bounces, like in city streets, it's quite loud (not deafening but MUCH louder than OEM sport), and to me it has a Porsche quality to it - that is indeed the best part of the noise quality from this unit. Among the best notes I've gotten so far is downshifting from 3,000-3,500 rpm from 3rd to 2nd... it distinctly cracks and crackles, something I never got on the OEM one.
The Capristo comes with a resonator bypass option that makes it sound louder yet. As it can be installed later, I thought I'd start without the bypass and for now it seems loud enough. But I might get bored at some point, and it's nice to have the option of "upgrading" at a later time. I've read some people say (and seen YouTube car-porn videos with res-delete Capristos) that without resonators, the car sounds less refined and sort of harsh, which may detract from the beautiful tone I get now. Also, apparently it gets better as the exhaust breaks in and the glass fiber in the muffler shrinks and settles a little with the heat.
In all, it's definitively an expensive but great mod that makes you feel like you're driving a street-legal track car. Would recommend, and no video I've seen comes close to faithfully reproducing its actual sound.
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Originally Posted by Mlaudisa
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