Ark exhaust install and impressions

[Tonkabob]

The Stinger exhaust swap is straight forward, probably easier than some other cars i have done. I did mine solo, on jack stands in my garage. There is a video on YouTube that is very good. The only thing i did that wasn't in the video was loosen one downpipe mounting bracket to get the CAT to rotate just a little to line up with the mid pipe.
Weight savings.... drum roll... 4.5 lbs! The mufflers are a little lighter and the mid pipe a little heavier. Basically a wash. Fit and finish and quality are excellent.

On start up, idle, and rev with no load, the exhaust is pretty tame. Before my first drive i thought it was going to be too quiet. Under load it gets louder and under WOT it sounds like a race car. Seems perfect to me. It is mostly drone free. I only noticed a bit on the highway @ 1800 RPM once. I could see it getting a little loud if you are lugging up a hill at low RPM. Cruising under light load at lower highway speeds it is pretty quiet.
Start up and idol are quieter than my Stock WRX was, which was loud (just at idol). But while driving the Ark is louder than the WRX which is sporty but not loud overall. The Ark on the Stinger does sound very similar to the sport exhaust on my GLA 45 AMG, which is very loud for a OEM exhaust.

The exhaust totally changes the character of the car so beware. Stock it is sports/ luxury almost Lexus like quietness. With the exhaust it sounds like a Maserati or Ferrari. Not quite that aggressive but heading that way. With the exhaust you don't need the fake engine sound anymore. I turned that down in custom.

 

[Kamauxx]

Nice write-up. I love the sound of Ark's exhaust. What was the weight of the stock exhaust?

Regarding the install, I was going to just back my car up onto a ramp similar to what you have in the front. Do you think it can be done that way or does the entire care have to be lifted?

 

[Tonkabob]

Nice write-up. I love the sound of Ark's exhaust. What was the weight of the stock exhaust?

Regarding the install, I was going to just back my car up onto a ramp similar to what you have in the front. Do you think it can be done that way or does the entire care have to be lifted?

I dont have my notes in front of me but from memory the stock was 56 lbs and Ark 52. I'll correct if i am off.
You do need the whole car jacked up as the CAT is mid car and those are the hardest bolts. I had room to use a crawler which helped on effort and neck soarness.

 

[Tonkabob]

Forgot to mention that in the Ark install video they reused the stock CAT gasket and i used the one proveded by Ark as it looked better quality

 

[Kazz]

Do they have any power claims yet? I know you're modded beyond exhaust, but wondering about the Ark specifically. Thanks and great write-up!

 

[robz32]

Excellent write up. One of my top 5 exhaust. Do you have a video driving the car with the exhaust. To give an idea how it sounds inside. I know there is one, but the more info we can get the better.

 

[Tonkabob]

Do they have any power claims yet? I know you're modded beyond exhaust, but wondering about the Ark specifically. Thanks and great write-up!

I haven't seen any power claims yet but should be as good as it gets with the mid pipe cross over and 45 degree bends going towards the mufflers. Probably 20 or 25 hp with the exhaust and K&N panels. I know it is psychological but the exhaust feels like it makes the car faster than the racechip did. I'm planning on hitting the dyno at Tork and do a few 1/4 mile runs in the next few weeks. Mine is AWD so we cant really compare to torks stock dynos. But I will do a run with RC off , sport and race mode. (My sport is set to 6 rather than 5.)

 

[Tonkabob]

I replaced the Ark mufflers with Flowmaster DBX (Hush Power), attempting to quiet it down just a but more. Need to drive it more for the verdict. Quieter overall but the drone may be similar which is what I was trying to reduce. The Ark has a 3rd anti drone tube built into the muffler itself. Pretty slick. But that does reduce the baffles quite a bit.

 

[robz32]

interesting. So I assume over time drone increased? On you initial review you stated drone was not a concern until about 1800rpm.

Also if you are looking to reduce drone you will need to replace the mid pipes with resonated ones. The mufflers will only quite it down but not reduce or eliminate drone.

 

[Tonkabob]

The Ark has side mounted drone tubes on the mid pipe already as well as ones at the muffler.
The range of the drone is 1500-1900 and that has not changed much. The range does seem a little more narrow now maybe 1500- 1800. The drone is mild, not buzzy with either but just louder than the rest of the RPM range in a less audibly pleasing way. The Flow Master DBX is a little quieter over all so the loudness in the 1500-1900 does seem reduced. Probably didn't take the drone away but muffled everything a little more. The flow master is noticeably quieter above 2000. Flowmaster is deeper sound. Ark had a motorcycle, Indy car sound - very unique.

 

[Kamauxx]

Well that sucks. So now you're basically going to rebuild the exhaust to eliminate the drone?

 

[Bear]

This should be another illegal post! Exhaust post with no video!

 

[MicroBlue]

I installed the Ark Grip yesterday. Personally I’d say that there is some drone from 1400 to about 1800. This is pronounced under low RPM acceleration. I’m impressed with the exhaust at the moment.

 

[RandallK]

So I have a slight drone also about the same rpm range with my Thermal exhaust which leads me to speculate that we are hitting a resonance in the car that is now being excited and emphasized.. I can even feel it in the floor boards at times..

I am considering unbolting the rear exhaust hanger mounts and sandwhiching either rubber or sound damping material to decouple the exhaust from the car even more..

 

[Dark_Knight GT]

Going on three weeks with the Ark. Initially, I thought it might be too loud for casual driving (sounds ridiculously good WOT). Funny thing now, I find myself turning off the stereo to “enjoy” it completely. It’s definitely not as loud as the stock exhaust was on my SRT. It’s hard to provide an objective assessment of the presence or lack of drone as the irritation (or lack thereof) is subjective to some degree, but I’m never bothered by it, regardless of speed or RPMs. Very pleased with the purchase.

 

[MicroBlue]

Going on three weeks with the Ark. Initially, I thought it might be too loud for casual driving (sounds ridiculously good WOT). Funny thing now, I find myself turning off the stereo to “enjoy” it completely. It’s definitely not as loud as the stock exhaust was on my SRT. It’s hard to provide an objective assessment of the presence or lack of drone as the irritation (or lack thereof) is subjective to some degree, but I’m never bothered by it, regardless of speed or RPMs. Very pleased with the purchase.

What type of SRT did you have? I would agree with your assessment on the Ark

 

[Dark_Knight GT]

What type of SRT did you have? I would agree with your assessment on the Ark

392 Challenger with a proper manual. Damn, I miss that car sometimes.

 

[MicroBlue]

Fantastic car!

 

[Ozstung]

Ordering The Ark catback exhaust Monday to me the stinger deserves a quality exhaust. Fingers crossed its as good as the clips.

 

[AV8R]

Ordering The Ark catback exhaust Monday to me the stinger deserves a quality exhaust. Fingers crossed its as good as the clips.

Pics and vid when done please!