CES exahust and headers

[alexl8891]

I know this topic has been covered 1000000000 times...

But I just got the headers installed and the exhaust, costs a lot, but the quality of the product is needless to say awesome.

I've read a lot of comments about ppl comparing the noise level to stock and that it doesn't drone or what not... and....wait for it... i can't believe I bought into that...

The thing is freaking loud over stock, and drones like an injured wilderbeast especially during the normal driving rev ranges. When you get up onto it it's not so bad... but during decelleration and normal day driving it is annoying. As soon as I heard the drone and loudness of it my heart shattered into a million pieces.

Also, when are you supposed to feel the power gains? I had a TRD intake on it already.. does it take awhile for the ECU to get used to it or something? Cos driving it straight after getting it installed I felt almost nothing... just noise. Not really impressed with the power gains to be honest straight after installation. However I must note that Trevor did not do the install, I took it to another workshop to get it done as he couldn't fit me in.

[zedder]

you won't get any big gains with exhaust work on n/a 4cyl engines. You'll need to spend some more cash to lessen the drone. Bigger resonators and/or a decrease in pipe size should help.

[alexl8891]

mmm yeah quite disappointing... thought the H/E plus the intake already on there would at least yield some noticeable gains. According to their website the exhaust picks up 6-9kw and the headers 3-4kw alone.. you would think it would be very noticeable right?

[CHA54]

do an ecu reset and fill it with 98 octane fuel. With that done, that's about the max power you'll get from it without spending another 2-4K on an ECU and tune. Extremely low bang for buck.

[clifton]

As soon as I heard the drone and loudness of it my heart shattered into a million pieces.

One of the worst feelings ever haha, unlucky dude :( sometimes you gotta go for a ride in a car with that exhaust before you invest in it

[david.]

do an ecu reset and fill it with 98 octane fuel. With that done, that's about the max power you'll get from it without spending another 2-4K on an ECU and tune. Extremely low bang for buck.

Agreed, I would say reset the ECU then drive it hard. I got a custom exhaust (not CES) and an injen CAI, didn't feel like there were much gains at all till i managed to pull away from my mates stock sportivo in 2nd gear

*correction* didn't feel like there were any gains at all, but my car did come with a unichip ECU. don't know how it was tuned or anything and not planning to spend money on finding out :)

[gti_rsi]

they say anything less than a 10% gain in power @ the wheels over stock figures you won't notice, 6-9kw is less than 10% of our power outputs. i installed a simota CAI and varex muffler on mine, didn't notice any torque or power differences, not even on the butt dyno. but lining up against my brother in his mk3 swift GTI turbo when i was stock was an even race all through 2nd and 3rd. now with simota and varex i slightly pull on him in 3rd. definite increase in power and pull but to the average joe it isn't that noticable.

my varex by itself on stock diameter piping has as nice tone but also has a nice fartyness to it from 3k -4k rpm. considering getting a resonator put in to help combat this. it's also incredibly loud for just a muffler only.

[alexl8891]

As soon as I heard the drone and loudness of it my heart shattered into a million pieces.

One of the worst feelings ever haha, unlucky dude :( sometimes you gotta go for a ride in a car with that exhaust before you invest in it

hey bro, thanks for the sympathy.. totally should of, but all the reviews said it was the quitest exhaust ever... even CES at front desk said it was no louder than stock. Oh well, I'll just ride it out for sometime. Am planning on getting it tuned in a few weeks through a friend of a friend who has a experience with powerfc so hopefully the gains will be more noticeable then. ... cross fingers. Or my heart will definately feel crushed lol.

[alexl8891]

do an ecu reset and fill it with 98 octane fuel. With that done, that's about the max power you'll get from it without spending another 2-4K on an ECU and tune. Extremely low bang for buck.

Agreed, I would say reset the ECU then drive it hard. I got a custom exhaust (not CES) and an injen CAI, didn't feel like there were much gains at all till i managed to pull away from my mates stock sportivo in 2nd gear

*correction* didn't feel like there were any gains at all, but my car did come with a unichip ECU. don't know how it was tuned or anything and not planning to spend money on finding out :)

yeah after i tune it...that'll be all i'm spending on it.. ever... lol. Or the gf will definately go ballistic..

they say anything less than a 10% gain in power @ the wheels over stock figures you won't notice, 6-9kw is less than 10% of our power outputs. i installed a simota CAI and varex muffler on mine, didn't notice any torque or power differences, not even on the butt dyno. but lining up against my brother in his mk3 swift GTI turbo when i was stock was an even race all through 2nd and 3rd. now with simota and varex i slightly pull on him in 3rd. definite increase in power and pull but to the average joe it isn't that noticable.

my varex by itself on stock diameter piping has as nice tone but also has a nice fartyness to it from 3k -4k rpm. considering getting a resonator put in to help combat this. it's also incredibly loud for just a muffler only.

mmm well that makes alot of sense then. The noise is really bad when going up a hill or slight hill... it's so boomy and droney it makes my ears ache. Also torque down low feels as though it has dropped off a little bit after the mods, did you get this too? Feels like it was replaced with noise power lol.

[gti_rsi]

do an ecu reset and fill it with 98 octane fuel. With that done, that's about the max power you'll get from it without spending another 2-4K on an ECU and tune. Extremely low bang for buck.

Agreed, I would say reset the ECU then drive it hard. I got a custom exhaust (not CES) and an injen CAI, didn't feel like there were much gains at all till i managed to pull away from my mates stock sportivo in 2nd gear

*correction* didn't feel like there were any gains at all, but my car did come with a unichip ECU. don't know how it was tuned or anything and not planning to spend money on finding out :)

yeah after i tune it...that'll be all i'm spending on it.. ever... lol. Or the gf will definately go ballistic..

they say anything less than a 10% gain in power @ the wheels over stock figures you won't notice, 6-9kw is less than 10% of our power outputs. i installed a simota CAI and varex muffler on mine, didn't notice any torque or power differences, not even on the butt dyno. but lining up against my brother in his mk3 swift GTI turbo when i was stock was an even race all through 2nd and 3rd. now with simota and varex i slightly pull on him in 3rd. definite increase in power and pull but to the average joe it isn't that noticable.

my varex by itself on stock diameter piping has as nice tone but also has a nice fartyness to it from 3k -4k rpm. considering getting a resonator put in to help combat this. it's also incredibly loud for just a muffler only.

mmm well that makes alot of sense then. The noise is really bad when going up a hill or slight hill... it's so boomy and droney it makes my ears ache. Also torque down low feels as though it has dropped off a little bit after the mods, did you get this too? Feels like it was replaced with noise power lol.

mines the same with noise although doesn't make my ears ache, i'm not used to loud farty n/a car's since my previous 2 cars before the stivo were turbo, each having a nice throaty burble rather than fartyness. so to me it may not be as bad as i make it to be. if you can take a video of your car driving away at normal accel and full accel, it will give us a better idea as to what needs to be done to your exhaust to fix it. i will be doing one on mine soon when i stop being lazy and charge my camera :P

my stivo basically stayed the same from what i can tell in the torque and power department. but my race with my brother proves otherwise. just isnt enough of a gain to really notice.

Edited June 11, 2012 by gti_rsi

[MY22ZZ]

How long have you had the CES exhaust installed on your car? Because I read on one of the threads somewhere on here that one guy had it installed and hated it and said that there were no gains at all, but then he said that over time of around 6 months, the car slowly began to get stronger and he noticed alot of gains

[Rolla & Sao Boy]

just to point out , amy sports exhaust will be louder than stock . I have CES CAI , Headers and Exhasut fitted on my car which i have had for 2 years and everyone who has been it has been impressed by the tone and tne in-car cabin noise of the exhaust .

I dont think it is loud at all and its DB level outside is legal too ..

I did notice with all my exhausts was , initally they are loud and then tone down a ted ..

Could purely be mind over matter or my ears trained to the sound..

Dont regret your choice , at least this way you got one of the better exhausts and didnt just wonder about it

[alexl8891]

6 months??!!!! Tha's crazy. I've only had it less than a week... just did a 4hr trip ... it was hell... jaw ache, ear ache and pretty much got fed up with it 1.5hrs in lol. What is the solution?!! I want the performace but not the cabin drone and noise. My friend used to have an na supra.. his exhaust was loud as hell, but in cabin you couldn't hear much... what's the difference? More sound deadening, longer exhaust pipe?

[MY22ZZ]

I'm no expert on exhausts but maybe throw another resonator in there? Not sure if it will decrease performance though?

I'm also looking at an exhaust and I found a guy who might part out with his sportivo, he also has a CES exhaust and said that there was no drone?

I'm guessing your one needs running in? Haha

[alexl8891]

Really? he didn't have drone... i find that hard to believe. I will be taking the car to CES this week. Like i said they didn't install it, maybe something wasn't installed right (Cross fingers!) ...

Throwing another resonater in would mean chopping up that beautiful stainless steel exhaust .. not sure if i have the guts to go through with that. And i've heard resonators are hit and miss unless placed correctly.

[123R-Prozak]

Lol sounds like its killing ya you make it sound bad

My car is so much louder since I put the engine mount inserts, might be just the vibration trough the whole car and the panels are about to fall off haha, that and I do have abit of exhaust work and cai,

Can you record it while driving and post us ??!!

[alexl8891]

Lol sounds like its killing ya you make it sound bad

My car is so much louder since I put the engine mount inserts, might be just the vibration trough the whole car and the panels are about to fall off haha, that and I do have abit of exhaust work and cai,

Can you record it while driving and post us ??!!

It is bad haha! I'm not being a drama queen either, I used to drive a civic with fart cannon on it and the CES resonates way more than that! The torque down low has reduced slightly i think which makes it even worse when i'm trying to accelerate in 4th or even 3rd during normal day driving.. the acceleration is slower so i have to live with more resonation from the exhaust. And don't get me started on hills..

I haven't got a recording but I am thinking of taking the exhaust off and replacing it with the stock one again... how much more restrictive is the stock exhaust compared to the performance exhaust?... Because there honestly wasn't any difference at all between them when driving. And what would be the difference if the car was tuned with stock exhaust + headers and CAI, compared to with a performance exhaust?

Thanks!

[alexl8891]

***

Edited June 11, 2012 by alexl8891

[zedder]

sounds like your exhaust system is too big for the engine. go down half an inch in size and fit the biggest resonator you can.

[MY22ZZ]

the exhaust has been especially designed for the corolla sportivo 2zzge engine and has shown significant gains in most cars, not too sure as to why alex's is soo bad??

[MY22ZZ]

Lol sounds like its killing ya you make it sound bad

My car is so much louder since I put the engine mount inserts, might be just the vibration trough the whole car and the panels are about to fall off haha, that and I do have abit of exhaust work and cai,

Can you record it while driving and post us ??!!

It is bad haha! I'm not being a drama queen either, I used to drive a civic with fart cannon on it and the CES resonates way more than that! The torque down low has reduced slightly i think which makes it even worse when i'm trying to accelerate in 4th or even 3rd during normal day driving.. the acceleration is slower so i have to live with more resonation from the exhaust. And don't get me started on hills..

I haven't got a recording but I am thinking of taking the exhaust off and replacing it with the stock one again... how much more restrictive is the stock exhaust compared to the performance exhaust?... Because there honestly wasn't any difference at all between them when driving. And what would be the difference if the car was tuned with stock exhaust + headers and CAI, compared to with a performance exhaust?

Thanks!

are you the one selling the exhaust on gumtree already after 1 week? hahaha

[alexl8891]

hahaha.. are you always on the hunt for goodies?

Exhaust is already off as i couldn't stand it. Trevor at CES said he'll try and fit me in next week to install it on himself... and maybe try with a bigger resonator. But if I can sell it by then for a good price i think i will as i'm well and truly over it... im all droned out.

I think i was too wishful and impulsive in listening to the reviews of the exhaust. I want something that looks good, has got the performance and sounds good.... and NO cabin resonation period. Maybe i should just polish the stock muffler

[MY22ZZ]

i reckon the stock muffler is good looking, polished it up a bit with some metal polish and looks great.

and yes im always on the hunt for goodies, always wanted the CES but from what you have to say i dont think im gonna travel down that road haha

maybe try varex exhaust? its half the price aswell. muffler looks very similar too

[alexl8891]

nah no more... i'm over it lol... Never investing in a performance exhaust until i've heard it and been in a car with it on. That's me ey, just way impulsive. Never thinking always just doing it.

Wonder how long it would take to polish up the whole muffler barrel and all, not just the tip.

I took my old headers in to CES this morning and asked Trevor about the exhaust noise..he was absolutely adamant that the CES exhaust does not drone or resonate within the cabin. He's gonna find time next week and will be refitting it back to the car himself to make sure the drone and resonation is not there. He did mention a bigger resonator if need be.

If you know of anyone with one installed, jump in their car and let me know if it drones at all :)

I dunno man, something about the varex just doesn't do it for me.

[MY22ZZ]

ive been in my mates sportivo which just had a no name brand exhaust and muffler and it went very well and lift kicked in alot harder than mine did. im guessing that yours wasnt installed properly?