Exhaust Tips.. Do they really fix drone ? An honest discussion..

[bulldozer1984]

Hey guys,

SO.. Hoping to have some answers localised into one thread. And seeing as though people have had time to live with the tip replacement and then respond, which removes the honeymoon period from the equation. (The discomfort of drone is most apparent when cruising at highway speeds. When the motor is labouring up slight hills at 60/70 mph or 100/110 kmh approx is when it's most obnoxious, and what I think of when discussing drone. If you haven't driven like that to test the drone, you really haven't tested the drone.)

You guys that have replaced the tips on aftermarket exhaust systems that drone. Do they really stop it ? Or just reduce it ? Or have you replaced the tips and heard no change ?
If you have answered that, what system are you running ?

Cheers !

 

[bulldozer1984]

It’s interesting after 60 views not 1 reply. Is that because the tips are placebo/honeymoon phase or because people with tips actually haven’t seen this thread yet / want to respond.
I’m not having a go at anyone or anything like that. It’s just interesting...

 

[Snowwhite]

I had a huge difference on the highway at those speeds just using muffler wrap to cover up the gaps between the aftermarket pipe and the stock tips. I walked away because my muffler wasn't hung correctly and proper exhaust tips wouldn't have fit without another trip to the muffler shop, and I didn't want to bother with it. The wrap kept working loose and it was really nasty to work with. Tips would have cured my drone issue permanently.

As others have mentioned, drone is subjective. I think I'm fairly sensitive to it, and believe me when I tell you the difference was huge. The car was almost headache-inducing without any remediation back there, and with the wrap it was a sigh of relief (at least until it worked loose and I had to retighten it.)

The MBRP thread is a good read on drone and tips, even if it's 40+ pages at this point.

 

[narsnail]

Read through the exhaust tip thread, it's all in there, just a long read. I personally don't have mine connected but I think the consensus is it directs air out the back instead of underneath where it reverberates.

 

[jazzdabb]

Even with tips installed, I have minor drone. I never ran my Stillen catback without tips installed (as well as Killmat in the spare/battery area) so I cannot say whether they reduce the drone. I'm still planning to Killmat under my rear seat to see if that helps but I don't find the drone intrusive without really listening for it.

Regardless, I still prefer actual, functional tips to fake tips.

 

[HDTurbo]

Even with tips installed, I have minor drone. I never ran my Stillen catback without tips installed (as well as Killmat in the spare/battery area) so I cannot say whether they reduce the drone. I'm still planning to Killmat under my rear seat to see if that helps but I don't find the drone intrusive without really listening for it.

Regardless, I still prefer actual, functional tips to fake tips.

Agree on the actual/functional tips! Having to use more resources to add noise reduction mitigation products for you louder exhaust seems....counter-intuitive...

 

[Rynil2000]

Hey guys,

SO.. Hoping to have some answers localised into one thread. And seeing as though people have had time to live with the tip replacement and then respond, which removes the honeymoon period from the equation. (The discomfort of drone is most apparent when cruising at highway speeds. When the motor is labouring up slight hills at 60/70 mph or 100/110 kmh approx is when it's most obnoxious, and what I think of when discussing drone. If you haven't driven like that to test the drone, you really haven't tested the drone.)

You guys that have replaced the tips on aftermarket exhaust systems that drone. Do they really stop it ? Or just reduce it ? Or have you replaced the tips and heard no change ?
If you have answered that, what system are you running ?

Cheers !

Okay, I'll bite. Yes. Aftermarket tips severely reduce the drone from aftermarket exhaust systems.

The OEM Stinger exhaust and similarly most aftermarket exhaust seem to end just inside the bumper trim tips, which leads to a lot of the louder noise reverberating around under the bottom of the car and being reflected back toward the cabin thanks to the fastback shape.

I don't think you will ever fully eliminate the sound of a louder exhaust, which is probably why Kia worked so hard to make it very quiet.

I run the Akrapovic carbon finish oval tips found on Aliexpress (105x75mm w/ 51mm inlet). I also have lined the trunk with Noico byutl rubber liner and foam mat (similar to Dynaliner/Dynamat).

 

[jazzdabb]

Agree on the actual/functional tips! Having to use more resources to add noise reduction mitigation products for you louder exhaust seems....counter-intuitive...

It was never my intent to make my exhaust louder. I hoping for the marginal power gains that come with intakes / exhaust upgrades and perhaps a deeper exhaust note. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that the lack of any deadening material under the rear seat (and to a lesser degree in the spare well) are the main issue. I need to get serious about the backseat now.

 

[bulldozer1984]

Thanks for the replies guys. I have read through the entire exhaust tip thread already, just wanted to hear some opinions after the honeymoon phase had ended. Most of the posts on there are just after people put the tips on. It's good to also hear opinions after 6/12 months sort of thing.

 

[bulldozer1984]

It was never my intent to make my exhaust louder. I hoping for the marginal power gains that come with intakes / exhaust upgrades and perhaps a deeper exhaust note. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that the lack of any deadening material under the rear seat (and to a lesser degree in the spare well) are the main issue. I need to get serious about the backseat now.

So you are contemplating removing the back seat and placing deadening material under there ? I hope it works out for you ! I am kind of sceptical with that as the drone is a bass sound. A low frequency sound. And to block low frequencies you need a very dense thick material. When guys crank the stereos in their car, and you are standing outside you mostly hear bass. Because the car's panels block most of the high frequency information, but the bass goes straight through. Same thing when standing outside a night club. You can hear nothing but the bass.

Bass is very hard to control and easily moves through thin objects. Low frequency sound waves are very long so you need that thick material to trap them. Recording studios have bass traps built into the walls that are up to 12 inches thick and have insulation inside (like the insulation in the roof of your house).

So with putting sound deadening material under your seat etc, it needs to be very thick in my opinion. Sorry for the rambling but applying my knowledge of recording studio design which i have learnt over the years to help build a home studio. Good luck !

 

[mandasol]

I have a 2.0 so YMMV but since it's the same vehicle the effects should be similar. It's not tips that make the difference in themselves it's getting the exhaust to exit out the back instead of under the car. My muffler shop chopped off the tail pipes of my magnaflows and welded on longer pipes to get the same effect.

Long term review: Overall it's still noticeably louder than stock, but almost all of the drone is gone except in cold conditions. When the weather is cold it's definitely louder and some drone comes into the cabin but it's like if before extending the tips the drone was a brain rattling 10 then in cold weather it's like a 2 or 3 which I consider acceptable. I believe it happens when it's wet out too, but that may be coinciding with cooler weather. When the weather is warm or hot and dry there is zero drone and overall less noisy.

 

[bulldozer1984]

I have a 2.0 so YMMV but since it's the same vehicle the effects should be similar. It's not tips that make the difference in themselves it's getting the exhaust to exit out the back instead of under the car. My muffler shop chopped off the tail pipes of my magnaflows and welded on longer pipes to get the same effect.

Long term review: Overall it's still noticeably louder than stock, but almost all of the drone is gone except in cold conditions. When the weather is cold it's definitely louder and some drone comes into the cabin but it's like if before extending the tips the drone was a brain rattling 10 then in cold weather it's like a 2 or 3 which I consider acceptable. I believe it happens when it's wet out too, but that may be coinciding with cooler weather. When the weather is warm or hot and dry there is zero drone and overall less noisy.

Yes I understand you don't need tips, just what the tips offer which is essentially extending the pipes to the back of the car. Out of curiosity, how far from the end of the stock tips does your exhaust reach ? All the way to the back, or 1/2/3" from the back etc. ?

 

[mandasol]

Yes I understand you don't need tips, just what the tips offer which is essentially extending the pipes to the back of the car. Out of curiosity, how far from the end of the stock tips does your exhaust reach ? All the way to the back, or 1/2/3" from the back etc. ?

Pretty close to the edge, I would say less than an inch from the edge. Doesn't look as good as replacing the tips, but my exhaust shop advised against tips. Pictures:

2.0T Magnaflow catback before and after video

Just had the Magnaflow cat-back exhaust system installed this morning. I had some gear handy so recorded before and after on my Blackmagic pocket cinema camera 4k with sennheiser mkh-416 so the audio is pretty good. I plugged the mic in the camera directly and used phantom power from the...

stingerforum.org

 

[jazzdabb]

So you are contemplating removing the back seat and placing deadening material under there ? I hope it works out for you ! I am kind of sceptical with that as the drone is a bass sound. A low frequency sound. And to block low frequencies you need a very dense thick material. When guys crank the stereos in their car, and you are standing outside you mostly hear bass. Because the car's panels block most of the high frequency information, but the bass goes straight through. Same thing when standing outside a night club. You can hear nothing but the bass.

Even if it just blocks additional road noise, I'll take it. I was surprised to see bare metal under both the seats and the hatch area. That doesn't seem conducive to a quiet interior.

 

[Snowwhite]

Even if it just blocks additional road noise, I'll take it. I was surprised to see bare metal under both the seats and the hatch area. That doesn't seem conducive to a quiet interior.

It’s bare metal on the roof panel too. And the wheel wells. Sound deadening does help with road and wind noise. But it won’t eliminate drone. It may reduce secondary vibrations caused by the drone, but you’ll still have the source drone.

 

[mhal8876]

Installed my oval tips (MBRP Exhaust) today and yes it makes a huge difference in cabin noise. Now you can hear it coming out in the back of the car, not inside from the hatch area been running the stock fake tips for a while so i know the sounds difference it makes now.

 

[jraj7995]

I think it helped with drone. I was driving along once with the aftermarket tips and the drone kicked in whilst I was driving. Checked the back of the car and one of my exhaust tips had fallen off after a repair job. So yes, it is noticeable as I had an A/B comparison whilst driving

 

[runner1]

my borla system is actually so muted in the car in comfort mode that my wife noticed immediately after installing the oval tips. The drone is less, much less. Makes The back seat friendly again. It went from boy racer annoying loud inside in comfort mode to grownup acceptable cool guy loud lol

 

[Spaceme17]

Hey guys,

SO.. Hoping to have some answers localised into one thread. And seeing as though people have had time to live with the tip replacement and then respond, which removes the honeymoon period from the equation. (The discomfort of drone is most apparent when cruising at highway speeds. When the motor is labouring up slight hills at 60/70 mph or 100/110 kmh approx is when it's most obnoxious, and what I think of when discussing drone. If you haven't driven like that to test the drone, you really haven't tested the drone.)

You guys that have replaced the tips on aftermarket exhaust systems that drone. Do they really stop it ? Or just reduce it ? Or have you replaced the tips and heard no change ?
If you have answered that, what system are you running ?

Cheers !

Drone will mainly be a property of the exhaust system itself.

That being said, since the end of the exhaust is before the opening in the rear bumper, a good bit of noise will be reflected back under and into the car. If you have a loud or droney exhaust, this will be reflected back as well.

The exhaust tips extend the exit of the exhaust pipes relocating the noise after the bumper so it is not reflected back into the car.

But if the exhaust had drone before, it will have drone after tips.

 

[Nockalous]

I haven't had the tips on as long as you were looking for, but it's been close to 4 weeks now and I've done 4000~ kms with the tips on.

Hands down, highway driving in the cabin (with a Borla Exhaust + Jun BL Sec dp) is now almost as quiet as stock - I hear absolutely nothing (and compared to my last exhaust, it's like an executive car again).

The exhaust setup I have on now is loud, like, really loud (but very exotic) and I can only hear the exhaust when medium throttle or in sport mode since putting the tips on. Eco mode all but eliminates the exhaust sound in cabin as it will shift up at lower RPMs sooner. In my opinion the tips are a quick, effective way to remove most (if not all depending on drive mode) in-cabin noise from the exhaust.

PS: Have not had any melting on plastic bumper/diffuser from the tip temperature, as my mechanic thought I might do (and I have seen others ask the same question).