My Aurion with an Electric Cutout

[DJKOR]

So before I get on with the bulk of it, I'll start of with a couple of points.

1) I most certainly know about the issues I will run into should I ever get busted for it. I am willing to take that risk. No need for anyone else to state the obvious to me.

2) Yes, I know this seems like a messy modification. The more cleaner method would have been a Varex solution, but I chose not to go down that path. This is what I wanted to do so here it is:

For years now, I have been looking at these things called 'electric cutouts'. I liked the idea of them, but this was during my phase when I was about to buy a 200SX. When I got the Aurion, I thought I would never go ahead with it for this car. So a couple of Saturday's ago, while helping to install a mates (Grande_TRD) HID's, his neighbour offered to remove my rear mufflers so I could go for a drive and hear how it sounds. Well after that drive, I though I would buy one for the fun of it. I went online, ordered one for USD$199 and waited about 5 days for it to arrive.

Here are some photos of it that I took just before I had it installed, and then a couple of pictures of it underneath the car:

I have mounted it just behind the resonator so effectively all it is cutting out is just the two rear mufflers, essentially replacing the need for a twin Varex setup. I would have wanted to mount it further back towards the y-split in the exhaust, but due to the size of the cutout, it wasn't quite as possible. Additionally, it would be way more obvious from behind in that spot and would give me a greater chance of being caught with it. As well, I have a feeling that I run a higher risk of it scraping if it were mounted further back.

I didn't want to put it in front of the resonator because in my opinion, it is already really loud without the rear mufflers. That is my opinion anyway. The butterfly is completely variable and is controlled with a switch that I have mounted in the centre console. It take just under 5 seconds to go from one end to the other. The problem that you get with these units however is that when they hit full open or full close, if you keep power applied to the stalled electric motor, it will reduce it's life. Next week when I have time, I will build an electronic motor controller which will detect the limits and cut power to the motor to keep it from wearing out.

As you can see from the photos, the ground clearance on this is pretty low. I measured 90mm. So far with only myself in the car, I have had no issues on any driveways or speed bumps that I have encountered over the last couple of days. Surely once the rear is loaded up, this will be bound to change, but I'll just continue to take it easy and hope for the best.

In relation to the sound, when wide open it sounds nice but is pretty loud. It's to the point where I think that maybe this idea was a little over the top. Buyers remorse then starts to settle in. Either way, I figure I can just keep it closed when I don't want it making noise, and if and when I finally get sick of it, I can just replace the electric cutout for a blank plate that will remain bolted on.

As for any other gains from this installation, I guess I will say none. When cruising down around with it open, it appears that my average fuel consumption as calculated by the on-board computer goes down by about 0.2-0.5 L/100km, but that could have been caused by anything. Throttle response? It feels like it is ever so slightly improved when the valve is fully open, but that is probably my head messing with me. As well, it is most likely back-pressure related, but acceleration at lower speeds (where the accelerator isn't pushed hard) seems to feel a bit worse. I say feel because I haven't really compared it. It is probably two-fold as well since my mind is also registering all this extra noise yet no gain. It's really hard to say based on driving around the street.

Now I tried to get a video, but I only have a point-and-shoot with a pretty basic microphone. I took a video from the side looking at the cutout so you can hear the variation. The video doesn't do it any justice. In person and under load it sounds much different. I was also going to take video from different angles, but since I did this from home and I have neighbours around, I didn't want to keep up the noise for a while. You should get the idea though.

Please wait a few seconds for Video to Load!

[xoom]

hahahahahah man that is killer ...... totally changes the cars note ...... that would be hilarious 2 do 2 sum1 at a set of lights or sumfin ..... completely freak them out ...... that being said its illegal and naughty naughty naughty :P :P :P

[Speedz]

I wonder if will bring any tangible benefits in terms of response and perhaps increase in the ponies count?

[BONDIE]

That is sickness, sounds good dude.

[ELEGNT]

sounds good man!!! bit jealous that i couldnt hear mine over yours when we gave it a bit from the lights hahah <_<

[SecaBoy]

after hearing this in person last night, i can safely say that this would be worth EVERY cent...

it sounds 1000% better than stock and its about half the price of the twin varex mufflers and it effectively does the same job.. :)

[Stealth]

Eeeer, a little off topic but you got an SX6 yeah? I noticed in one of your pics you've got the sat nav sound system but no climate control. Did you option that up when you bought it or was it an after market/EBay job?

Been looking at Aurion GPS systems on EBay to upgrade my SX6 but they're not cheap and need some extra bits for the GPS etc. Just wondering how you did yours...

Aside from that, your car sounds good. I would question the benefits of doing something like that considering the legality and effort involved.

Edited October 3, 2008 by Stealth

[beaves]

And the fact your username is the same as your number plate...........................

Sounds good though......

[DJKOR]

Eeeer, a little off topic but you got an SX6 yeah? I noticed in one of your pics you've got the sat nav sound system but no climate control. Did you option that up when you bought it or was it an after market/EBay job?

Been looking at Aurion GPS systems on EBay to upgrade my SX6 but they're not cheap and need some extra bits for the GPS etc. Just wondering how you did yours...

Aside from that, your car sounds good. I would question the benefits of doing something like that considering the legality and effort involved.

Nah, mate. I had the stock 6-stacker in when I got the car. The navigation head unit is aftermarket. It's the one discussed in the following thread:

DVD player with 7" Screen Installed

Yeah, I thought I would be a bit different in regards to the exhaust cutout. I figured not too many people out there would be willing to do it, so it makes it a little unique having it :P

And the fact your username is the same as your number plate...........................

Well, we'll see how far I make it. LOL.

[beaves]

Where did you get your LED's for numberplate light and interior lights???

And how hard is the numberplate and reverse light to change, I havent even looked at changing them, hopefully it's not too much of a drama!!

[DJKOR]

Where did you get your LED's for numberplate light and interior lights???

And how hard is the numberplate and reverse light to change, I havent even looked at changing them, hopefully it's not too much of a drama!!

All from eBay. A search for 'T10 5 LED white SMD' will come up with the ones I bought for the parkers/number plate/interior, and 'T10 25 LED white SMD' will find the ones I used for my reverse lights. I am able to change all the T10 bulbs in the Aurion for LED's in under 15 minutes, and that's including the parkers. Probably double that if you don't know 100% what you're doing.

[SecaBoy]

man, i'm gonna have to get you to do my LED's...

i think i ****** the front passenger 'reading' light when i tried to install the LED... the middle and the drivers one is sweet... but the passenger one doesnt work...

oh and i cant get the cover back on properly...

after i did that, i freaked out and left all the other lights i was gonna change...

[Speedz]

Hmm....

DJKOR...

the 25 SMD LED you got how bright is it?

gives better light output than the standard halogen bulb?

[DJKOR]

the 25 SMD LED you got how bright is it?

gives better light output than the standard halogen bulb?

Wow, this tread really went off topic. Someone should have just started an LED thread. But in all interest (and hoping to leave it there until another thread is made), I will answer it here. The 25 LED SMD replacement that I mentioned is brighter than the stock filament bulb in terms of intensity. LED's however have a major issue in that they may be of equivalent or greater brightness than a bulb, but unfortunately don't project that light the same distance without focal lenses (which narrow the field of illumination). So by replacing the reverse lights with those LED's will yield a brighter and cleaner look, but it will not light up as much behind the car as the stock bulbs.

[X-Power]

love it, will buy it one day! lol

[BLCKLABEL]

So before I get on with the bulk of it, I'll start of with a couple of points.

1) I most certainly know about the issues I will run into should I ever get busted for it. I am willing to take that risk. No need for anyone else to state the obvious to me.

2) Yes, I know this seems like a messy modification. The more cleaner method would have been a Varex solution, but I chose not to go down that path. This is what I wanted to do so here it is:

For years now, I have been looking at these things called 'electric cutouts'. I liked the idea of them, but this was during my phase when I was about to buy a 200SX. When I got the Aurion, I thought I would never go ahead with it for this car. So a couple of Saturday's ago, while helping to install a mates (Grande_TRD) HID's, his neighbour offered to remove my rear mufflers so I could go for a drive and hear how it sounds. Well after that drive, I though I would buy one for the fun of it. I went online, ordered one for USD$199 and waited about 5 days for it to arrive.

Here are some photos of it that I took just before I had it installed, and then a couple of pictures of it underneath the car:

I have mounted it just behind the resonator so effectively all it is cutting out is just the two rear mufflers, essentially replacing the need for a twin Varex setup. I would have wanted to mount it further back towards the y-split in the exhaust, but due to the size of the cutout, it wasn't quite as possible. Additionally, it would be way more obvious from behind in that spot and would give me a greater chance of being caught with it. As well, I have a feeling that I run a higher risk of it scraping if it were mounted further back.

I didn't want to put it in front of the resonator because in my opinion, it is already really loud without the rear mufflers. That is my opinion anyway. The butterfly is completely variable and is controlled with a switch that I have mounted in the centre console. It take just under 5 seconds to go from one end to the other. The problem that you get with these units however is that when they hit full open or full close, if you keep power applied to the stalled electric motor, it will reduce it's life. Next week when I have time, I will build an electronic motor controller which will detect the limits and cut power to the motor to keep it from wearing out.

As you can see from the photos, the ground clearance on this is pretty low. I measured 90mm. So far with only myself in the car, I have had no issues on any driveways or speed bumps that I have encountered over the last couple of days. Surely once the rear is loaded up, this will be bound to change, but I'll just continue to take it easy and hope for the best.

In relation to the sound, when wide open it sounds nice but is pretty loud. It's to the point where I think that maybe this idea was a little over the top. Buyers remorse then starts to settle in. Either way, I figure I can just keep it closed when I don't want it making noise, and if and when I finally get sick of it, I can just replace the electric cutout for a blank plate that will remain bolted on.

As for any other gains from this installation, I guess I will say none. When cruising down around with it open, it appears that my average fuel consumption as calculated by the on-board computer goes down by about 0.2-0.5 L/100km, but that could have been caused by anything. Throttle response? It feels like it is ever so slightly improved when the valve is fully open, but that is probably my head messing with me. As well, it is most likely back-pressure related, but acceleration at lower speeds (where the accelerator isn't pushed hard) seems to feel a bit worse. I say feel because I haven't really compared it. It is probably two-fold as well since my mind is also registering all this extra noise yet no gain. It's really hard to say based on driving around the street.

Now I tried to get a video, but I only have a point-and-shoot with a pretty basic microphone. I took a video from the side looking at the cutout so you can hear the variation. The video doesn't do it any justice. In person and under load it sounds much different. I was also going to take video from different angles, but since I did this from home and I have neighbours around, I didn't want to keep up the noise for a while. You should get the idea though.

Please wait a few seconds for Video to Load!

Hey DJKor, I just bought a QTP Cutout as well.. didn't know it was that hard to find someone to install it. Anyways do you regret having installed the electric cutout. I've been quoted for $300 to $400 to install it. and well after reading your post, i'm abit reluctant to go ahead with this. Buttt. i've bought the dam thing already :( lol.. will this sound very obvious when fully open? I would've gone with an actual exhaust system but i have spark arrestors that have been designed to fit onto the original exhaust tips. (For refinery work) so i've decided to go with the Electric Cutout. I'll probably go ahead with thei installation but i would like to hear what you think about it. Hope to hear from you soon... xoxo.. haha.. >.<

[DJKOR]

Hey DJKor, I just bought a QTP Cutout as well.. didn't know it was that hard to find someone to install it. Anyways do you regret having installed the electric cutout. I've been quoted for $300 to $400 to install it. and well after reading your post, i'm abit reluctant to go ahead with this. Buttt. i've bought the dam thing already :( lol.. will this sound very obvious when fully open? I would've gone with an actual exhaust system but i have spark arrestors that have been designed to fit onto the original exhaust tips. (For refinery work) so i've decided to go with the Electric Cutout. I'll probably go ahead with thei installation but i would like to hear what you think about it. Hope to hear from you soon... xoxo.. haha.. >.<

That's a bit expensive to install it. If you have the cut out, all a muffler shop needs to do is to cut a small section out and weld the cutout in. Cost me like $30 in labour to have it fitted. Wiring, if you don't do it yourself, should not cost too much either.

After having it for five months now, all I can say is that it is cheap and dodgey, but does the job of increasing the noise just like removing the rear mufflers. It hasn't had any issues with it's operation, and the only problem I have come across is the occasional scrape on a steep surface. I could have easily overcome that by mounting it further back, and I would highly suggest putting it close to the rear muffler split to avoid this.

The sound it makes after the resonator is very smooth and at first seems loud (well it did for me), but in comparison to other cars out there, it is actually pretty quiet. I mainly got it because at the time the US dollar was nearly 1 for 1. I was cheap at the time. Now that I'm starting to get a little more money and I have been quite satisfied with the sound of the engine with everything after the resonator dropped, I'm going to put get something much more 'professional'.

[BLCKLABEL]

Hey DJKor, I just bought a QTP Cutout as well.. didn't know it was that hard to find someone to install it. Anyways do you regret having installed the electric cutout. I've been quoted for $300 to $400 to install it. and well after reading your post, i'm abit reluctant to go ahead with this. Buttt. i've bought the dam thing already :( lol.. will this sound very obvious when fully open? I would've gone with an actual exhaust system but i have spark arrestors that have been designed to fit onto the original exhaust tips. (For refinery work) so i've decided to go with the Electric Cutout. I'll probably go ahead with thei installation but i would like to hear what you think about it. Hope to hear from you soon... xoxo.. haha.. >.<

That's a bit expensive to install it. If you have the cut out, all a muffler shop needs to do is to cut a small section out and weld the cutout in. Cost me like $30 in labour to have it fitted. Wiring, if you don't do it yourself, should not cost too much either.

After having it for five months now, all I can say is that it is cheap and dodgey, but does the job of increasing the noise just like removing the rear mufflers. It hasn't had any issues with it's operation, and the only problem I have come across is the occasional scrape on a steep surface. I could have easily overcome that by mounting it further back, and I would highly suggest putting it close to the rear muffler split to avoid this.

The sound it makes after the resonator is very smooth and at first seems loud (well it did for me), but in comparison to other cars out there, it is actually pretty quiet. I mainly got it because at the time the US dollar was nearly 1 for 1. I was cheap at the time. Now that I'm starting to get a little more money and I have been quite satisfied with the sound of the engine with everything after the resonator dropped, I'm going to put get something much more 'professional'.

thanks for the quick Reply!.. aite i'm gona go ahead with it.. Yeh crappy currency cost me just below AUD$500 to buy the item and ship it over...

[the_random_hero]

Hey DJKor, I just bought a QTP Cutout as well.. didn't know it was that hard to find someone to install it. Anyways do you regret having installed the electric cutout. I've been quoted for $300 to $400 to install it. and well after reading your post, i'm abit reluctant to go ahead with this. Buttt. i've bought the dam thing already :( lol.. will this sound very obvious when fully open? I would've gone with an actual exhaust system but i have spark arrestors that have been designed to fit onto the original exhaust tips. (For refinery work) so i've decided to go with the Electric Cutout. I'll probably go ahead with thei installation but i would like to hear what you think about it. Hope to hear from you soon... xoxo.. haha.. >.<

That's a bit expensive to install it. If you have the cut out, all a muffler shop needs to do is to cut a small section out and weld the cutout in. Cost me like $30 in labour to have it fitted. Wiring, if you don't do it yourself, should not cost too much either.

After having it for five months now, all I can say is that it is cheap and dodgey, but does the job of increasing the noise just like removing the rear mufflers. It hasn't had any issues with it's operation, and the only problem I have come across is the occasional scrape on a steep surface. I could have easily overcome that by mounting it further back, and I would highly suggest putting it close to the rear muffler split to avoid this.

The sound it makes after the resonator is very smooth and at first seems loud (well it did for me), but in comparison to other cars out there, it is actually pretty quiet. I mainly got it because at the time the US dollar was nearly 1 for 1. I was cheap at the time. Now that I'm starting to get a little more money and I have been quite satisfied with the sound of the engine with everything after the resonator dropped, I'm going to put get something much more 'professional'.

thanks for the quick Reply!.. aite i'm gona go ahead with it.. Yeh crappy currency cost me just below AUD$500 to buy the item and ship it over...

That's most of a catback exhaust system ;)

[BLCKLABEL]

Hey DJKor, I just bought a QTP Cutout as well.. didn't know it was that hard to find someone to install it. Anyways do you regret having installed the electric cutout. I've been quoted for $300 to $400 to install it. and well after reading your post, i'm abit reluctant to go ahead with this. Buttt. i've bought the dam thing already :( lol.. will this sound very obvious when fully open? I would've gone with an actual exhaust system but i have spark arrestors that have been designed to fit onto the original exhaust tips. (For refinery work) so i've decided to go with the Electric Cutout. I'll probably go ahead with thei installation but i would like to hear what you think about it. Hope to hear from you soon... xoxo.. haha.. >.<

That's a bit expensive to install it. If you have the cut out, all a muffler shop needs to do is to cut a small section out and weld the cutout in. Cost me like $30 in labour to have it fitted. Wiring, if you don't do it yourself, should not cost too much either.

After having it for five months now, all I can say is that it is cheap and dodgey, but does the job of increasing the noise just like removing the rear mufflers. It hasn't had any issues with it's operation, and the only problem I have come across is the occasional scrape on a steep surface. I could have easily overcome that by mounting it further back, and I would highly suggest putting it close to the rear muffler split to avoid this.

The sound it makes after the resonator is very smooth and at first seems loud (well it did for me), but in comparison to other cars out there, it is actually pretty quiet. I mainly got it because at the time the US dollar was nearly 1 for 1. I was cheap at the time. Now that I'm starting to get a little more money and I have been quite satisfied with the sound of the engine with everything after the resonator dropped, I'm going to put get something much more 'professional'.

Hey, just had my car looked at on a hoist. The guy figured out where u put it but he's not sure about the wiring... i'm not sure either coz i'm a noob with a black car.. haha.. Anyways.. i wana research before i get this done.. a few questions.. how did u get the wiring thru into the car? was it thru the steering column? if so was it really hard? (i need pointers >.< Pleasee!) was the wiring itself long enough? coz the guy thought about putting it closer before the exhaust splits.. but there's too many things in the way.. i'm already thinking of selling the Cutout instead..haha.. abit annoyed!.. do you have any other photos? coz the ones that u've posted up don't show up as fullsize photos, only as thumbnails. if you can could u tell me a detailed installation? much appreciated.. thanx

[DJKOR]

Hey, just had my car looked at on a hoist. The guy figured out where u put it but he's not sure about the wiring... i'm not sure either coz i'm a noob with a black car.. haha.. Anyways.. i wana research before i get this done.. a few questions.. how did u get the wiring thru into the car? was it thru the steering column? if so was it really hard? (i need pointers >.< Pleasee!) was the wiring itself long enough? coz the guy thought about putting it closer before the exhaust splits.. but there's too many things in the way.. i'm already thinking of selling the Cutout instead..haha.. abit annoyed!.. do you have any other photos? coz the ones that u've posted up don't show up as fullsize photos, only as thumbnails. if you can could u tell me a detailed installation? much appreciated.. thanx

Any thumbnail pictures of mine, you just need to click on them to enlarge. As for the wiring itself, the process is that simple that I'm not sure if I can even write up a decent guide. This is about the best I can do... I'm not good with giving instructions.

Along the floor of the car, there are a few different grommets here and there leading from the inside to the outside of the car. I simply had a look under the car to gauge where one of them were then I removed the rear seat and folded the carpet to the side a little. Then I poked a hole in the grommet and fed the wiring through here. Afterwards I just cable tied the wiring to the park brake cable running nearby. This is for mine which is mounted just under the passenger seat area:

Then on the inside, I ran the cabling along the door sill all the way to the front cigarette lighter socket and hard wired it into the rear. For this application, there was just enough cable to do all this. If you want to mount it further back, you will need to extend the length of the cable a little.

[BLCKLABEL]

Thanks DJKor.. much appreciated for the help. *Hi 5* haha.. Will call the Muffler dude nxt week..

[BLCKLABEL]

Decided to not go ahead with it... Sooo i'm selling it on ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/QTP-2-5-Electric-Ex...A1%7C240%3A1318

[DJKOR]

Decided to not go ahead with it... Sooo i'm selling it on ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/QTP-2-5-Electric-Ex...A1%7C240%3A1318

Damn. It's hard to think that when I got mine, I got the stainless steel pipe with mine as well and I got it for a good price thanks to the 0.99 exchange rate at the time. Good luck with the auction.

In other news, one I get back to Brissy, I'm going to get my cutout... cut out. Why? Because I just bought myself two Varex mufflers.

[51DER]

damm nice one DJ look forward to seeing /hearing them also you coming out tonight ?

if so Ill see you there