I have read through the threads and there are conflicting thoughts. For those that have the new setup, does it drone at 70, 75, 80? Some say it is loud until 3500 and the mellows while other says you can hear it all the time. Some say all exhaust drone but I know stock, RB, and JIC don't drone. Let's cut to the chase, will my wife hear drone cruising at 80 and give me crap? Let me know.....

 

I hope its not too noisy, or my wife will be screaming over that noise about how loud they are! Just ordered from dealership last thursday, and will have them installed in about a week.
Note: Dealership wanted $675 until i showed other prices, then they went down to $545. How much should I expect them to charge for the exhaust system installation? Also bought the alarm upgrade kit. Should I install that myself, instead of the dealership overchargeing me?

 

My opinion is to always install stuff yourself if you have the time and knowledge/willingness. Dealership charges so much...

 

Jeez, here's the story in the beginning when the ms dual exhaust first came out, one of the first buyers of the exhaust sold it as soon as he got it on and mentioned that it was droning and he was pretty unsure of it when he posted that.

The reason why you've read so many posts about the exhaust drone on the ms exhaust was b/c of some other owners that DON'T have the exhaust saying it drones b/c of that one comment. There are many owners of that exhaust in this forum and normally when a product isn't as good as expected that's when people start posting and complaining but if its going well noone would post anything. So i'm guessing there's a bunch of happy owners out there that would say otherwise.

 

That is a logical line of reasoning. I have listened to the clips at WOT and they only sound a little louder/deeper than stock. They give me an itchy trigger finger only the question of drone is keeping me from firing.

 

spend the money and get the JIC Titanium, not much louder than OE and only 16 lbs

there was more than one complaining of droning, several in fact and two went up for immediate resale

 

I own a MS dual for about 3 weeks now. It is much louder then the stock unit especially after it gets hot. My wife doses think it is loud. I am beginning to get use to it and do like it but it is louder then I wanted. I am looking to trade it for a RB setup.

I have not heard other systems on the RX-8 so I cannot compare how loud it is against the others. The system is also louder in the 2.5 to 3.5K ranges. I have not had it on the Highway yet so I can't comment on that.

It sounds like you are like me I was looking for something a little louder then stock but nothing obnoxious. This is close but a little too loud. Hope this helps.

 

I agree and I have had it for about the same amount of time. It will drone with any amount of throttle applied in the 2.5 - 3.5k rpm range, but with the rpm's closer to 4k on the highway and cruise set you barely hear it. You will know it is there when going through traffic though, because it hard to keep out of the range listed above. Hope this helps.

 

I have the new MS Exhaust and it does drone, especially after everything is warmed up and when you are in the 2500 to 3500 RPM range. Once you get above 3500 it sounds F***ing awsome though.

When I originally put it on I was like WTF this is really loud, but after a couple weeks I can honestly say I hardly notice it anymore.

 

Trying going under an overpass or through a tunnel, make sure you are going slow and in low gear around 2.5 - 3K and then GUN IT ... WOT ... sounds like a freakin indy car race, soooo sweet like music to my ears. As for drone, any AM exhaust w/ any amount of throttle applied will drone, more air flowing at lower freq. [ due to larger pipes and high flow mufflers ] = drone. Its really not that serious. I think everybody puts way too much emphasis on it honestly. If you want a stock sounding exhaust, leave the stock one on. The HP gains from catback exhaust are so nominal that if you are worried about drone or volume at all ... IMO, just dont get it.

 

Pretty much everything has been covered -- and I've already said it myself in other threads -- but I'll just reiterate that you WILL hear a big difference in volume when you're stepping on the gas, and just a hint of it when cruising above 3500 RPMs. If you're buying an aftermarket exhaust for the RX-8, and it's still N/A, you're not buying for any noticable performance gain. It's mostly about sound and this system sounds excellent, IMO. Yeah, if you let the RPMs drop down and you keep it there, you'll hear a bit of a drone.

But as I've stated elsewhere, if the sound was too annoying, loud, etc, then I would have removed it from the car already. I'll be 31 next month, and I really don't want an obnoxious-sounding car at this point. To tell the truth, after driving with it for a few weeks, I'm getting so used to it that I barely notice it. I drove my MX-3 a lot this weekend with its "quiet" version of the Brullen exhaust and I couldn't believe how much louder it was compared to the MS system. I know it's a very subjective view, but maybe it'll help you decide.

 

i feel that i can comment about this as i have about 15k miles on the corksport exhaust. as hopefully you know this is the exhaust ms copied. the cans are the same as is the design. tips are different.

it does not drone. it makes noise on wide open throttle. when warm it is loud from 3200rpm to ~4500rpm on wot....

idle is quiet. under cruise conditions below 80 mph you can hear a slight hum. noticable but not a drone. over 80 mph the hum gets loud.

beers

 

The MS exhaust is definitely louder than the stock after it gets warm, but not obnoxious at all. When it is cold, it does not sound that much different than stock.

At idle there is a deep, low rumble. When at WOT at 2750-3500 rpm the exhaust is the loudest, but not a drone. Once past 4k the exhaust quiets down and takes on a different, but awesome tone. When shifting past 5k rpm's you get the nice "popping" sound. When cruising at 60-80 mph there is no drone at all, just a slight hum and the exhaust is barely noticeable unless you are WOT.

The system sounds awesome and I definitely recommned it to anyone. Since the install, I have found myself turning off my MP3 player just to listen to the sweet music of the MS exhaust.

 

If you're worrierd about it being too loud, then don't get it and play the safe side and keep it stock. I got the MS exhaust and love it, you get used to stuff over time and you'll get used to the sound. I don't experience a drone on the exhaust. But i feel that you should get it, install it and see how it sounds after a few days. If you dont like it, sell it here and i'm sure you'll get someone to buy it without loosing too much money on it.

 

The best thing to do is to ride with someone that has it. I know its hard but that is the best way to answer any and all questions you have about it. This is a very VERY subjective subject and opinions will vary widely. So, as others mentioned, buy it and see how you like it and sell it if you don't...or stay stock.

 

Thanks guys. Anybody in So. Cal have this exhaust? Maybe we can meet up and I can check it out. If not, may just order it. Like was stated previously I could always sell it here at a nominal loss.....

 

Yeah, after re-reading my last post, I should say that it doesn't really drone per se in that 2500-3500K RPM range. It's just louder than it is at moderate-to-higher speeds, yet it's still a nice note. It's not an annoying sound, at least to me... and when you're accelerating and then cruising, you're out of that range pretty quickly anyway.

 

I have noticed this too, and it is amazing how good it sounds! Just need to find a tunnel to get the full effect,

 

Some info for you that have the MS exhaust...at a local meetup a couple weeks ago, someone that has the new MS exhaust said the my CorkSport is nearly if not the exact same item, except for the nameplates on the tips obviously are different.

Be that as it may, I can tell you that I too experienced the same drone at ~3K RPMs that was fairly unpleasant. I'm not sure I would have kept the exhaust if the fix was not easily done to my satisfaction.

Other than that area of resonance, the exhaust was great. What to do? Simply remove all the interior trim pieces, tailgate, sides, floor, from the trunk and 'dynomat' everywhere, then underneath on the exhaust shield - you guessed it - a couple long dampening pieces.

I didn't actually use dynomat but the aluminized/sticky duct dampening material avail at any Home depot. Worked like a champ. I used about 15 sq ft, I believe it's 10 sq ft to the package at about $10 each.

Bottom line, that was just the trick. Not only is the resonance a non-issue, but the whole car is much much quieter at all speeds but with a distinictive rrrrriiiipping sound under load, at high reves and naturally accelerating that is very delicious, esp. when going under underpasses! Otherwise it's a sound that is there, but quite subdued, and with a light throttle, it's virtually stock sounding for when I want to be un-noticed.

 

Interesting, when you talked about lining the underneath of the exhaust shield are you talking about the heat shields above the muffler? Would the sound martial not cook off of this?

 

I put the material on the shield on the outside (between the car and the shield). The cans are so far from the shield that the shield likely barely gets warm unless you just sit for a long time. Lots of air cooling there. As I recollect I put a 4" strip on either outside edge side-to-side so it's not above but lateral to the can... it's just enough to damp the metal so it can't resonate under any circumstance.

 

This is a really intriguing solution. Once the weather warms up I will defiantly give it a shot.

 

We've actually done this same thing to a couple people's cars who thought their exhaust, be it ours or otherwise, was too loud.

 

having the same drone issues with my Trust Ti system . Will give this a shot . Good to see a simple effective solution ...