For a NA 16V I'd go for something in the 2.25" size piping with a centre hotdog (resonator) & a free flowing straight through offset rear muffler. If it's still to loud, through on a twin bypass rear muffler.
On my Mk1 GTI I have a set of 4-2-1 extractors, straight through 2" piping with a centre hotdog (can't remember how long it is) & straight through offset rear muffler with 2.5" tip. Not too bad on cruise & light throttle, but when you get into it, it opens right up.
Also rear tip size & angle only can dramatically change how loud your car is.
I've had the same systam as above with a 3" rear tip, a 2.5" dump pipe & DTM style & they all changes how it sounded from excessive dronning at cruise or being tinny up in the top end.
On new car's remember that they run cat. convertors, balance pipes & also very large (& most times very restrictive) capacity muffler's incl. twin chamber muffler's & mutiple pass muffler's.
Eg. a BMW E46 M3's rear muffler has a capacity of 130+ litre's.
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