RMB5190

iTrader: (2)

In its defense, it seems the G is hard on gaskets. Seems all the systems require an upgrade to the Z1 metal gaskets with the RTV red liquid gasket.

Rich11G37xS

Ive watched quite a few youtube vids, Like I said overall I do like the deeper tone of the ARK, in that vid someone mentioned hissing, not properly sealed ?, cheap gaskets ? sometimes you really do get what you pay for, with a nice car Id think you shoot for quality

Rochester

iTrader: (9)

I usually agree with that. However, you have a strong budget consideration here, and the OBX is obviously less expensive. I don't think you'd be unhappy with the OBX catback, since the only way to really feel that is to have both side-by-side. Both use a Helmholtz resonator design, so I can only imagine they sound similar.

I almost bought the ARK Grip years ago, but was scared away with stories about low fitment. Plus, the tips are a big turn-off for me. So I went with Fast Intentions. And although I have zero regrets about FI, I still wonder what-if about the ARK, because it sounds so freaking delicious.

strodda

I got lucky on timing when buying mine. There are a couple eBay sellers that offer the OBX and I had just happen to login during a 12hr sale where there was a promo code for a site wide 30% off. I ended up getting the catback for $609 shipped.

I will create a thread and upload some photos. Videos will come in the next few days. The exhaust is deep sounding and shockingly/happily surprised that while freeway cruisng, the drone is almost non existent. But downshift and go, and it screams. Best of both worlds.

SkyG37

As I ran the ARK grip with Z1 HFC, I can only speak when running this setup. But it did have some hiss on decel. Meaning if you are driving and decel from 3k rpm to idle, it will give off a hiss sound . As far as drone, I wouldn't say there is alot (at least compared to my motordyne). I was able to cruise without music and barely or if not at all hear my exhaust cruising on the freeway depending on the rpm .

Also, I paid $1300 for my ark grip. You're going to be laying ~$1560. I paid about $1750-18 for my MD. I think if you're going to pay 1500, I would just go out and get the MD (if you're looking for an exotic tone) . I would pay $1300 for an ARK grip but idk about $1550 . At that point, I would step up to the MD as for the price difference, the MD sounds way more exotix. But you may not want exotic / loud which the ark will give off those deep tones with a few gurggles .

Good luck .

Edit: here are a few videos of the ark + z1 HFC as well as the MD + Z1 HFC. Unfortunately, there are no drive bys with the ark.

This one is a cold start and has 1 quick rev which can show the type of gurggles and pops u can get. Rev is at the end around 1:10
​​​​​

In this video, you can hear the hissing sound at the very end of each decel. This is the hiss noise people mention . Revs are at the end of video

this is the Motordyne E370 on a warm start and a few revs . As you notice when compared to the ARk revs, there's no more hiss .

lastly, this is a light takeoff and upshifts / downshifts of the Motordyne .my favorite part about this exhaust is the upshifts and the little "humming" noise on decel. It's very satisfying from hearing it outside of the car .

​​​​​​

afrayedknot

iTrader: (3)

Hello Exhaust Enthusiasts,

I've been running Magnaflow 3 chambered mufflers with 2.5" piping from the factory resonators for about three months now on my G37x sedan. Lately I have been yearning to tinker with the exhaust to eliminate some of the boominess and achieve a deeper tone. My initial plan was to simply replace the factory 18" resonators with 12" Vibrant bottle style resonators. I figure this will deepen the tone a bit and clean up the sound. However, the more I read about exhausts, the more ideas that I wanted to experiment with. So I'm hoping to get some feedback/recommendations on the customizations I have in mind to help narrow down my choices.

I've scoured the sedan exhaust thread and I've narrowed down a few parts that have many positive reviews, which I would like to experiment with. They are the Vibrant bottle style resonator, Vibrant Ultra-quiet resonator, and the single chambered muffler (Flowpack).

#1. Vibrant bottle resonator + Magnaflow 3 chamber muffler - 12" Vibrant in place of stock resonator with current magnaflow 3 chamber muffler. This seems like the most promising route in terms of improving sound/tone, but one issue that I have with the 3 chambered muffler is the non-existent low end torque. From what I've read about exhaust back-pressure/velocity, it seems that the 2.5" pipe ID may be too large for my particular setup, leading to a lower-than-optimal exhaust velocity and loss of torque in lower RPM band. Since others have had great results with 2.5" piping, I am thinking that this problem maybe due to the specific combination of the 3 chamber muffler and 2.5" piping. Thus, I am considering swapping out the magnaflow mufflers as well.

#2. Vibrant bottle resonator + Single Chamber muffler - To address the (potentially) low exhaust velocity issue from the magnaflow 3 chamber, I am thinking of replacing it with a single chamber muffler. My logic is that the single chamber should provide a very similar sound as the magnaflow 3, all the while allowing better flow due to having two less chambers. As a result, the exhaust exit-velocity should increase, but this is largely speculative.

#3. Single chamber muffler + magnaflow 3 chamber muffler - There is a member that deleted his mufflers and replaced the stock resonators with single chamber mufflers. The tone sounds wonderful, but I find that it is a little too loud under light load. So, I was curious how it might turn out if I swapped out the stock resonators for the single chamber muffler and kept my magnaflow 3 chamber. My guess is that it will be over muffled and possibly hinder the exhaust velocity even more. But seeing how inexpensive this route is, I decided to include it in the off chance that it might be a feasible setup to use two mufflers and no resonators.

#4. Single chamber muffler + Vibrant bottle or Ultraquiet resonator - Lastly, if I decided to replace the stock resonators with single chamber muffler, I would have an exhaust that sounds very similar, if not the same, as this - . Like I mentioned earlier, the tone sounds fantastic, but it's a little too loud under light load, which is how I will be primarily driving on my daily commute. So if I went along with setup #3 and it sounded terrible or negatively affected my power band even more, I would drop the magnaflow 3s and replace them with either Vibrant bottle or ultraquiet resonators, which should tone it down a bit.

My goal for the outcome is to achieve a deeper tone. I am not concerned about increasing the loudness, but am okay with an increase in sound as long as the tone becomes deeper. I have been contemplating these different ideas for a few weeks now and would really appreciate any feedback or suggestions from others that have experience with exhaust mechanics/builds.

Thank you!

Rochester

iTrader: (9)

Too much for me to process, but I love the sound of that video. If you know exactly how to make that happen, I suspect you'd be happy.

Customizing an exhaust piece-by-piece, choosing the type and size resonator, 1 vs. 3 chamber mufflers, pipe diameter, TP vs HFC vs RHFC, and then all the different manufactures, etc. That's an impressive effort over just selecting an entire pre-packaged system. Cost doesn't really factor in, because you could manage cost and save money, or you could easily nickel & dime yourself over budget.

But like I said, video sounds great. Turned up the volume, closed my eyes... kid came into my office and complained, LOL.

kroy

I agree with Sky.

I have a coupe with ark and i have that hiss too. Got tested and no leak. I noticed the hiss after installing rhfc.

Rochester

iTrader: (9)

I have that hiss with my full FI exhaust. It's not always noticeable. What happens is that you forget about it (until someone reminds you, thank you very much), or you only hear it when listening for it. Whatever, it's no big deal.

I suspect it's more about the VQ37 than it is something sourced by the exhaust, because it's pretty common. What I mean is I think an exhaust can mask or suppress the hiss, and aftermarket cats/catbacks don't do that as well.

I also think you're right, kroy, that the hiss becomes noticeable when you replace the OEM cats with something aftermarket.

kroy

Hiss is very vague. I only noticed it when I installed HFC because I was actively listening to find a hiss due to how common leaks are. I might have even had it before but just never noticed it.

I also find it funny you think about the ARK exhaust the same way I think about FI. ARK was like $100ish cheaper and no 3 month wait time.

Rich11G37xS

First I want to thank you for replying , I really appreciate taking your time to upload vids....the MD does sound dam good !!

Rich11G37xS

…..when I compare the OBX and ARK they look similar, BUT, the ARK is all one pipe , not a bunch of welds like the OBX....advantage ARK!

Rochester

iTrader: (9)

In what way is that?

The sound of an ARK Grip exhaust on our car is so much fun, you can't help but giggle like a little kid, and play with the throttle all the time (6MT FTW). Although I'm pretty sure I'd not want to experience that 24/7. Whereas the sound of the FI exhaust seems more refined (for lack of better words), more modulated, certainly loud but without being noisy.

The 4.5" burnt Ti tips on the ARK are over-the-top (for me), whereas the 4" FI tips (which are from Sebring Racing) are freaking gorgeous. While that's a subjective opinion, I can't imagine anyone thinking otherwise. Same for the cans themselves. Beautiful engineering.

As for fitment, the FI setup is perfect, all the time. Whereas you will read about fitment issue with the ARK Grip, or at least you used to.

You know, there really is no right or wrong here. Both are excellent choices.

SkyG37

To add on with what Rochester said, the ARK also hangs alot lower compared to the F.I. I think most individuals on this forum tend to choose F.I. unless (1) They don't want to wait for the build-time or (2) They want soemthing more aggressive like MD or GTHAUS or (3) They want a cheaper alternative therefore leading into OBX, axle backs, custom exhausts, etc.

I think people tend to pick ARK because it is known as one of the "deeper" exhaust tones. Thats why I picked it over the F.I at the time I bought it as well as not wanted to wait for the build-time. But if you are going to slam your car, I would avoid ARK. If its a moderate drop to get rid of the wheel gap, then you might be able to get away with the ARK and not scraping after every bump / driveway. To give you an idea, I was on stock 4x4 ride height and I still scrapped on deep driveways.

kroy

You're right, there's no real right or wrong here. Both are quality systems. It's like buying a coke and wondering if you'd have liked the pepsi more.

FI does sound more refined. I think that's why I've always wondered. The sound just seems a bit more "full." ARK is really nice low RPM, my favorite part of the band is around 2.7K; that reverberating purr still makes me smile.

I already had an IPL exhaust, which I think was 4", so the 4.5" didn't seem so bad. I also went with stainless steel rather than burnt.

Also didn't need to worry about fitment because I had it installed at ARK as I live close by. That was kind of what sold me. I took an extended lunch the next day and got it installed at ARK.