Vantage Exhausts - What is your set up?

[Broshnat]

Hi All

I have been doing a bit of tinkering with my V8 over the last few years on a quest for the perfect sound.

I fitted a Quicksilver Supersports silencer about a year ago and was happy with the slight increase in volume at lower revs and more of a general growl. Last month I added a pair of 200 cell cats and the difference is immense - the car sounds fantastic up to about 3500 rpm (which in all honesty covers 90% of normal driving) with a lovely throaty burble. The problem comes when you hit the loud pedal, from 3500 to about 5500 rpm the volume is there, which isn't a problem at all, but it is accompanied by a horrible raspy resonance which totally ruins the sound.

I found a couple of YouTube clips of cars with similar setups to try to demonstrate what I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzzolC-tyUI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydj-l05YmCw (0:35 to 0:40 for example you can hear a high-pitched metallic raspy sound over the lovely deep exhaust note)

So basically I love the 200 cell cats but I need to change the silencer to one that doesn't have this same resonance issue. Is anyone else running sports cats and if so what silencer have you found sounds best with them? I might just go back to the standard one initially but I have heard people having resonance issues with those as well so I'm not sure if that's gonna solve the issue or if one of the aftermarket ones are better suited...

Edited by Broshnat on Wednesday 21st August 21:34

[mikey k]

The majority who change cats stick with the OEM back box
It seems to be either but not both on the sport cats & back box

[Stuart Dickinson]

Broshnat said:

Hi All

I have been doing a bit of tinkering with my V8 over the last few years on a quest for the perfect sound.

I fitted a Quicksilver Supersports silencer about a year ago and was happy with the slight increase in volume at lower revs and more of a general growl. Last month I added a pair of 200 cell cats and the difference is immense - the car sounds fantastic up to about 3500 rpm (which in all honesty covers 90% of normal driving) with a lovely throaty burble. The problem comes when you hit the loud pedal, from 3500 to about 5500 rpm the volume is there, which isn't a problem at all, but it is accompanied by a horrible raspy resonance which totally ruins the sound.

I found a couple of YouTube clips of cars with similar setups to try to demonstrate what I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzzolC-tyUI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydj-l05YmCw

So basically I love the 200 cell cats but I need to change the silencer to one that doesn't have this same resonance issue. Is anyone else running sports cats and if so what silencer have you found sounds best with them? I might just go back to the standard one initially but I have heard people having resonance issues with those as well so I'm not sure if that's gonna solve the issue or if one of the aftermarket ones are better suited?

Edited by Broshnat on Wednesday 21st August 21:03

You need to switch to a quieter silencer. The OEM silencer doesn't have any glassfibre at all inside the chambers so it can be a little resonant with sports cats fitted.

[lime1]

Speak to Mike at Bamford Rose. He sorted my 4.7 V8V. Initially had a Supersports box on the back which was okay but not quite what i was after. I went back to Mike who put on the BR manifold and 200 cell cats. With the Supersports box it was way too loud so they put the OE back box back on with a switch to turn Fuse 22 on or off. Result is fantastic. Noise when you want it and more sedate if you don't (motorway cruise etc.). Added bonus of better performance with slight hike in HP and torque. Also improved fuel economy. It's still loud if accelerating hard through 4000 rpm even if valves active as that is of course when they open. Can highly recommend it and guaranteed smiles

[Broshnat]

Stuart Dickinson said:

You need to switch to a quieter silencer. The OEM silencer doesn't have any glassfibre at all inside the chambers so it can be a little resonant with sports cats fitted.

So would something like the quietest Quicksilver do the job or would you be looking to go quieter still? The sports cats probably double the volume so I can certainly see how even with a much quieter silencer you'd end up with something a lot louder and deeper than the stock setup...

But, this is the catch 22 - I like the current sound at low revs and the volume at high isn't an issue for me it is just the sound quality, the supersports box just sounds like it is rattling away which leads me to believe that maybe they aren't of the best quality. My concern is that I could end up with an overall quieter sound (which would be a shame as that isn't the issue) and possibly still have a poor sound quality if I just switch to any old quieter silencer.

Edited by Broshnat on Wednesday 21st August 21:27

[Broshnat]

lime1 said:

Speak to Mike at Bamford Rose. He sorted my 4.7 V8V. Initially had a Supersports box on the back which was okay but not quite what i was after. I went back to Mike who put on the BR manifold and 200 cell cats. With the Supersports box it was way too loud so they put the OE back box back on with a switch to turn Fuse 22 on or off. Result is fantastic. Noise when you want it and more sedate if you don't (motorway cruise etc.). Added bonus of better performance with slight hike in HP and torque. Also improved fuel economy. It's still loud if accelerating hard through 4000 rpm even if valves active as that is of course when they open. Can highly recommend it and guaranteed smiles

So with the BR cats and standard silencer you're not getting any resonance issues?

Edited by Broshnat on Wednesday 21st August 21:35

[Lunablack]

Stuart Dickinson said:

You need to switch to a quieter silencer. The OEM silencer doesn't have any glassfibre at all inside the chambers so it can be a little resonant with sports cats fitted.

Errr... I pulled a box full of the stuff out of a standard silencer..

[lime1]

Broshnat said:

So with the BR cats and standard silencer you're not getting any resonance issues?

Edited by Broshnat on Wednesday 21st August 21:35

There's nothing about the set-up that I don't like but I suppose it's all down to personal choice. On a steady motorway cruise with the back box set to quiet mode it's absolutely fine with no resonance issues. If you're pressing hard on the right pedal and the valves open or you've switched them to open then you'll get the noise and I suppose there's an occasional bit of resonance but nothing that is persistent or to me unpleasant. Again it's all down to what you want from your system. If you have the chance the best thing it to try and see a car in the flesh with the BR system or other depending on your choice. Don't know where in the UK you are. I'm in the north-east. You're welcome to have a ride in my V8 if you're near but you'll need to be quick as I think I'm about to move up to a DBS. I'm sure there are others on here who would also oblige. Or if you're near BR pop in and see them.

[EBruce]

The first clip is my car so hard to add any further value!!

Broshnat said:

Hi All

I have been doing a bit of tinkering with my V8 over the last few years on a quest for the perfect sound.

I fitted a Quicksilver Supersports silencer about a year ago and was happy with the slight increase in volume at lower revs and more of a general growl. Last month I added a pair of 200 cell cats and the difference is immense - the car sounds fantastic up to about 3500 rpm (which in all honesty covers 90% of normal driving) with a lovely throaty burble. The problem comes when you hit the loud pedal, from 3500 to about 5500 rpm the volume is there, which isn't a problem at all, but it is accompanied by a horrible raspy resonance which totally ruins the sound.

I found a couple of YouTube clips of cars with similar setups to try to demonstrate what I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzzolC-tyUI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydj-l05YmCw (0:35 to 0:40 for example you can hear a high-pitched metallic raspy sound over the lovely deep exhaust note)

So basically I love the 200 cell cats but I need to change the silencer to one that doesn't have this same resonance issue. Is anyone else running sports cats and if so what silencer have you found sounds best with them? I might just go back to the standard one initially but I have heard people having resonance issues with those as well so I'm not sure if that's gonna solve the issue or if one of the aftermarket ones are better suited...

Edited by Broshnat on Wednesday 21st August 21:34

[Stuart Dickinson]

Broshnat said:

So would something like the quietest Quicksilver do the job or would you be looking to go quieter still? The sports cats probably double the volume so I can certainly see how even with a much quieter silencer you'd end up with something a lot louder and deeper than the stock setup...

But, this is the catch 22 - I like the current sound at low revs and the volume at high isn't an issue for me it is just the sound quality, the supersports box just sounds like it is rattling away which leads me to believe that maybe they aren't of the best quality. My concern is that I could end up with an overall quieter sound (which would be a shame as that isn't the issue) and possibly still have a poor sound quality if I just switch to any old quieter silencer.

Edited by Broshnat on Wednesday 21st August 21:27

The Quicksilver 'Sports' box has 6" of perforated section in each of the transverse pipes. This is the same amount of silencing that I we in our 'Touring' systems, which is for 3/4 of people who fit 200 cell cats, the perfect sound level.

[PiloteAM]

lime1 said:

Broshnat said:

So with the BR cats and standard silencer you're not getting any resonance issues?

Edited by Broshnat on Wednesday 21st August 21:35

There's nothing about the set-up that I don't like but I suppose it's all down to personal choice. On a steady motorway cruise with the back box set to quiet mode it's absolutely fine with no resonance issues. If you're pressing hard on the right pedal and the valves open or you've switched them to open then you'll get the noise and I suppose there's an occasional bit of resonance but nothing that is persistent or to me unpleasant. Again it's all down to what you want from your system. If you have the chance the best thing it to try and see a car in the flesh with the BR system or other depending on your choice. Don't know where in the UK you are. I'm in the north-east. You're welcome to have a ride in my V8 if you're near but you'll need to be quick as I think I'm about to move up to a DBS. I'm sure there are others on here who would also oblige. Or if you're near BR pop in and see them.

Yeah, I have this combination too (on an N400 which has a slightly louder backbox) and I'm very happy with it.

Valves open it's pretty loud, even at low revs, but cables closed its fine on the motorway.

I've not noticed any significant resonance.

[Broshnat]

EBruce, how are you finding your setup?

Like I say, I'm 90% happy with it - the volume and overall burble are amazing, I just want to get rid of the resonance issues that I'm getting...

[davidexige]

Broshnat, could I ask what make of sports cats did you fit as these are something I'm also contemplating fitting, there seems to be a few options out there so I'd be quite interested in your thoughts on quality etc.

Thanks.

[lime1]

PiloteAM said:

Yeah, I have this combination too (on an N400 which has a slightly louder backbox) and I'm very happy with it.

Valves open it's pretty loud, even at low revs, but cables closed its fine on the motorway.

I've not noticed any significant resonance.

I should say that other than a long motorway trip or if my OH is in the car I tend to drive with the valves switched to open. I have no issues with it

[EBruce]

Broshnat said:

EBruce, how are you finding your setup?

Like I say, I'm 90% happy with it - the volume and overall burble are amazing, I just want to get rid of the resonance issues that I'm getting...

I personally really like it and it gets compliments all the time on the sound. If it was a daily driver it would bother me....I love sound across the board but would be annoying all the time. It sounds nasty and is not for everyone, but is one of a kind. Local service center said its the best sounding aston they have had in. The burble and pops from down shifts and throttle lifts are amazing!