Golf R Observations and Questions

[G-rig]

All good rexman, wasn't saying they were bad or otherwise just commenting on custom jobbies in general. Sounds like the quality is excellent.

[simonm]

Custom exhausts are hit and miss, i've been burnt before...

Well don't touch them right after you've been for a long drive...

[Corey_R]

I'm always happy to pay extra, but if you want $4k for an exhaust it has to look at least a bit better than the one I can get for $2500-$3000, surely.

Really, apart from the tips, you can't see the exhaust anyway. The APR Quad Tip exhaust I had on my MKV GTI looked so good that it felt silly putting it underneath the car! At least to me, what is important is its performance (additional kW and it reducing backpressure and all that), and its sound. And to me, making something louder is really not a desireable outcome. So would I pay $4k for an exhaust which looks no better than a $3k exhaust? Sure.

Beyond that, who here can honestly put their hand up and say that simply by looking at an exhaust, they can tell the mix of metals used in the steel and the type of welding used and the internal structure of the mufflers? Again, I'm sure all those factors are more important than external appearance (apart from the tips).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying HiTech are bad, or that Miltek or APR etc are better, I'm just saying that they don't list anything for VW on their site, the only info I can find for them is custom exhausts, and the example I have been able to find sounds terrible imo.

Edit: Here's a picture of my APR Quad Tip for the MKV GTI I had... it was only on the car for about 4 months when it was written off

[REXman]

I call it how I see it.

That exhaust on your mkv gti looks straight out sick, and of the quality I expect when you spend over $2000 on an exhaust.

Really nice work.

The R one I talked about did not look like that though.

And I'm not saying APRs exhaust systems are bad either, but they are very expensive, and i only say that cause you can get that quality you had on your GTI from hitech, for less..

[dave_r]

it's actually more expensive than the Golf R exhaust (after taking into account that the divorced downpipe utilised in the APR setup is worth $2495).

Err hold the phone, what exactly are you getting for $2500?

[Mr_Bob]

that's the price of the APR divorced downpipe.

[dave_r]

All answered...
http://www.goapr.com.au/products/apr...-downpipe.html

This picture explains the improvements! Factory one is horrible.


So for $2495, you're getting this:


The extra $1500 gets your the rear muffler/outlets and section of straight pipe. This part I don't see as being too badly priced, about the same as most things. The $2500 for front section seems a bit high though?

[Corey_R]

The APR Golf R/S3/TT-R Downpipe comes in two models. Because it is a "Divorced Downpipe" there is one to match the stock K04 turbo and one to match the Stage 3 Turbo. The price is the same.

Here is a picture of the version for the K04 vs Stock:


And here is the picture of the complete K04 downpipe package:


It includes the high flow catalytic converter, and an adaptor to then fit to the stock midpipe. It's $2495.
It is actually this assembly which gives you most of your power gain. Included in the cost of the downpipe is the "upgrade" to Stage II ECU (from Stage I) which is required because of the increase in performance that this provides.

So this is what I've meant by saying that I'm not surprised that the cost of the complete APR Golf R TBE is $4k.
Even the alternative "rear silencer" and "axleback" products that I've seen for the S3 and GTI and have started to see for the R are usually still mated with the APR Downpipe if the owner is looking for a performance increase and not just a change in "sound", and those rear silencer kits have in themselves ranged from $1200 to $2000 here locally.

Hence why I've said that effectively this new part is $1500 piece. And for that you're getting the rear silence and the mid-pipe (which is the upper most pipe in this picture):



So I don't know guys, I'm not an exhaust specialist here, but I'm not sure really what the issue with the price is. Look at this HKS Exhaust for the R33 Skyline for example:

I've picked this particular exhaust because it's also from a well known (in Skyline-land) company, and it's also an "off the shelf" product rather than a custom product.
It's $1198 from Nismo.com.au. So it's only $300 cheaper than the APR R "Catback" exhaust, and well, considering the obvious size differences between the R exhaust and the Skyline exhaust, I think $300 more for the APR is a comparative bargain.

I also feel the other point worth mentioning, is whilst I agree, the cost of upgrades for Euro cars always seems more expensive than the Japanese cars, think of why you are purchasing a Euro car in the first place!

Refinement

You're at the point in your life where you're sick of the "rawness" (or whatever) of the Japanese cars and you're looking for the refinement which comes from a Euro, whilst not compromising too much, if at all, on performance.

So sure, you could put an exhaust as small and loud as the HKS on your Golf R if you wanted to, but then you also lose part of the reason that you're getting the Euro in the first place. Is $300 additional really worth losing that over?

[dave_r]

I have no issues with the catback section. But $2500 for the other bit is crazy! And how does it being a euro car justify the price?

What refinement are you talking about? Its still stainless steel and doing the same job! If being a euro made car justifies a price gouging then fark me!

[Corey_R]

Volume, vibration, drone etc. Those things are not necessarily factors in skyline, wrx and falcondore exhaust upgrades which people are sitting as their basis for $2k exhaust systems they've installed in the past.

Again, the $2500 also includes the Stage II software upgrade...