[Joa]

Good evening,

I recently had the stock catback replaced by a Milltek non-resonated catback. Shortly after I also installed the CP2 tune instead of Dreamscience Perf+.
My car already had 100 cell cat, 3" downpipe and bigger intercooler.

The sound from the stock exhaust was very good, but I wanted a bit more volume without any drone.
I read a ton of topics, listened to as many sound clips as possible, and went for the Milltek non-res.

For some reason I'm underwhelmed.
The volume is more or less the same. I'm guessing a bit louder when pressing on, and a bit quieter cruising.
Quite possibly the noise feed from the engine bay into the cabin is different with CP2 than with Perf+.
I always found Perf+ the best sounding Dreamscience map. Much better than Mod X for example.
Possibly because of less boost and more pure engine sound?
The most disappointing part however, is the seemingly reduced sound spectrum.
The stock exhaust combined raspy, metallic and deep sounds. The whole symphony. Sounds great.
With the Milltek it's a more refined and deeper sound, more monotone. No more raspy, metallic sounds. The sound doesn't change much across the rev range.

Sound is the key reason I bought this car, so this is quite a let down. And as live in Belgium, it will be hard to sell it on as there are very few mk2 ST's around here.

Did I just pick the wrong exhaust? Would a Mongoose for example suit my liking more?
I also thought about deres'ing the stock catback, but then I wouldn't be able to go back to resonated I guess?

Any input or experiences welcome.

Thanks.

 

[Pete-ST]

Well Jao, yous pays your money yous take your chance 😉 being non resonated that's as loud as you'll get seeing you have a down pipe fitted already, milltek are one of the best around and have been for quite some time, I don't think they are particularly known for being the loudest though 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[Alb]

This is highly subjective.
Two people can listen to the same exhaust and conclude that it is both too loud and too quiet!
The ideal situation is to see/hear the exhaust you fancy in another ST first (and I mean in the flesh, not on YouTube!).

 

[marco_ST]

Throw out the cat 🐱

 

[NigelStap]

Throw out the cat 🐱

No. Fit a sports cat. De-cat is illegal in the UK.

 

[marco_ST]

No. Fit a sports cat. De-cat is illegal in the UK.

"... And as live in Belgium"

 

[Sean B]

"... And as live in Belgium"

Where, I believe, your car has to conform to it's 'European certificate of conformity' which means that no power gains are permitted. Pretty sure the OP is aware of that

 

[K3FUS]

Sounds like a grown up's exhaust system to me.

 

[marco_ST]

Tricky to buy an exhaust in a country where you are unable to hear it live mounted on an another ST... This also can be said for when you are choosing a remap....

 

[NickFST3]

"... And as live in Belgium"

You are still right in your first statement............................ I have a big dog at home hence my house is completely cat free.............. Well to be absolutely honest the feline lives in a little box in the garage but it hasn't been 'fed' in years......

 

[Joa]

True, I took a risk by buying an exhaust without hearing it in real life.
I already have 3" downpipe and a 100 cell sports cat. The sports cat was a very good exhaust sound upgrade.
Regarding MOT: I haven't had any issues in the 5-6 years I have the sports cat. As long as emissions are within the limit, there is no problem.
Catback does need ECE approval I think it's called. I actually went for (approved) resonated and a tuning company emptied the inside and welded it back so you can't see it was opened.

If I were to change the exhaust in the future, which catback would you guys recommend? Something that sounds similar to stock but a bit more volume. I didn't know I liked the different tones and raspyness of the stock exhaust so much.
And can a deresonated stock catback be restored to resonated again? That could be a cheap solution, if I decide to get rid of the Milltek. I do want to give it more time though.

 

[Vader225]

Kms section 18

 

[Alexander29]

I always heard the milltek exhaust are the better choice for those who hate exhaust drone. And if you need ECE approved ones the options drop by a lot. Now it depends how strict your local authorities are.
Personally I have found that LongLife custom exhaust have the most raspy/low tone sound but usually are made by local dealers. I`m not aware of them being sold off the shelf or having ECE approval.
I also hate the sound of Section 18 or 59 as to me it sounds like a 1.2liter with straight pipe.

By the end of the week I will install my resonated Milltek system, I`m a bit worried after reading your post. Luckily I bought an extra resonated section so I can gut it but I`m running the stock cat. Hopefully there will be difference from stock and its not just a waste of money.

 

[sttwoton]

Being a fabricator and welder for over forty years, when inspecting some of the products Milltek turn out, I’m not very impressed, maybe they’ve gone down Hill a bit in recent years, I’ve seen some poor welding, even some welding wire and splatter left on them, the mk3 patchwork back box is an abomination imho.

 

[Joa]

Well I didn't like the idea of swapping the catback over every year, so when the tuning company offered me to purchase a resonated and make it deresonated, I went for that option.

I just loved the sound of my stock catback, especially combined with a 100 cell cat and bigger downpipe, I just wanted more volume. The milltek non-res does produce decent volume, but the sound is more monotone (deeper and less raspy), in my opinion less fun to listen to. I like how the sound changes through the rev range.
But sound is very personal. Most like the deeper Milltek sound so no need to worry.
I'm also going to go back to stock or Perf+ map to see how much the sound symposer has to do with the change in sound I'm experiencing. Higher boost maps do change the interior sound. That's my personal experience with Mod X and also what I'm reading on the forum.
But in my case, I'm afraid the exhaust just eliminates sounds I enjoyed. I still need to drive it a lot more and do some tests before I make up my mind.

 

[Alb]

I quite like the idea of electronic cutouts. They've been popular for years in the American market.
Having a V8 does help of course. Here's a fairly old example: