Custom Catted Downpipe + Gibson 55061 VS. JHM catted & Baffled Downpipe

[Pugnacious]

Recently went to test pipes on my S4, and am currently running the following exhaust system:

CAP ceramic coated TPs --> Custom catted downpipes (400 cell GESI) --> Gibson 55061 --> 2x vibrant ultra quiet mid mufflers --> stock rear muffler

I have a pretty nasty vibration & metallic ringing at ~3000 - 3500 RPMs. Sounds like it's coming from the Gibson muffler. Ordered mopar exhaust dampeners and toyota hanger dampeners to quiet the vibration but I don't think it'll help with overall noise & sound quality.

I have the option to buy V2 JHM catted (200 cell) & baffled downpipes for a good discount to replace the custom downpipes and Gibson 55061.

Any opinions on if the JHM setup will be quieter / less vibration, and sound somewhat decent?

[Fresh.S4]

pretty surprised the rear mufflers didnt have enough baffle to cancel the rasp.

the 400 cells will manage the sound much better than 200cells.

try bottle resonators somewhere before the rear mufflers.

[shreddykrueger]

I had the exact same issues with a very similar setup, and the jhm catted/baffled DPs solved my issues. zero drone/rasp, and vibration issues were resolved

[Airagitated]

I just installed a JHM set up on my A6 3.0t last week. This includes their test pipes, resonated downpipe’s, and their cat relocation x pipe fitted to my stock exhaust. Some negatives, the resonators used in the downpipe‘s look restrictive, but I have no evidence that they are, the welds aren’t fully penetrated, there were metal shavings in the pipes from when they cut them, fit-up was not great. The passenger side down pipe to x pipe v band clamp makes contact with the transmission housing. The stock exhaust had to be pulled apart slightly in order for the pipes to line up.
As far as sound goes. Cold start sounds a bit weird but once warm, the car is as quiet as stock. No drone at any speed. I wanted a stock sounding car and this JHM kit delivered that. For the record, I was a welder fabricator for 10 years. I mainly welded stainless steel pipe. Hope that helps.

[Pugnacious]

I had the exact same issues with a very similar setup, and the jhm catted/baffled DPs solved my issues. zero drone/rasp, and vibration issues were resolved

This is really helpful, thanks. Been an expensive pain in the ass trying to troubleshoot a livable solution. Seems like having baffling BEFORE the downpipes run horizontal helps mitigate the vibrations / rasp.

[Pugnacious]

I just installed a JHM set up on my A6 3.0t last week. This includes their test pipes, resonated downpipe’s, and their cat relocation x pipe fitted to my stock exhaust. Some negatives, the resonators used in the downpipe‘s look restrictive, but I have no evidence that they are, the welds aren’t fully penetrated, there were metal shavings in the pipes from when they cut them, fit-up was not great. The passenger side down pipe to x pipe v band clamp makes contact with the transmission housing. The stock exhaust had to be pulled apart slightly in order for the pipes to line up.
As far as sound goes. Cold start sounds a bit weird but once warm, the car is as quiet as stock. No drone at any speed. I wanted a stock sounding car and this JHM kit delivered that. For the record, I was a welder fabricator for 10 years. I mainly welded stainless steel pipe. Hope that helps.

Thanks for input, found a new set for sale local so I'm gonna pull the trigger and on this kit. I'll pass this along to my installer.

I know JHM made several changes to the revised system (V2 vs V1) that were supposed to help with weld longevity, and I haven't heard of anyone having any issues with the V2s for what it's worth.

How loud is the car at WOT? Do you have the stock center resonator and rear mufflers?

[Airagitated]

I have the v2 pipes. Even though the build quality was lower than expected, it’s on the car and working as intended. The metal chips left in the pipes was just a bit much. Nothing like buying a new set of catalytic converter’s and blowing hot stainless steel chips through them. We’ll see how the system holds up as the miles go on. We were putting in the 034 mounts yesterday and I noticed that the band clamp has fixed itself and now is 1/8” away from the transmission so that’s good. The car is fairly quiet at WOT. I was diving next to it after the install while my mechanic, AKA my brother was on the throttle. It’s not a good sound, but it’s quiet which is what I wanted. Everything from the xpipe back is stock. So yes, stock center resonator and mufflers.

[Jake@JHM]

I have the v2 pipes. Even though the build quality was lower than expected, it’s on the car and working as intended. The metal chips left in the pipes was just a bit much. Nothing like buying a new set of catalytic converter’s and blowing hot stainless steel chips through them. We’ll see how the system holds up as the miles go on. We were putting in the 034 mounts yesterday and I noticed that the band clamp has fixed itself and now is 1/8” away from the transmission so that’s good. The car is fairly quiet at WOT. I was diving next to it after the install while my mechanic, AKA my brother was on the throttle. It’s not a good sound, but it’s quiet which is what I wanted. Everything from the xpipe back is stock. So yes, stock center resonator and mufflers.

Please accept my apologies. All of our exhaust products are supposed to be cleaned of debri and bender lube prior to shipment. Can you DM your order number?

Jake