Gernzhaust and E-Tune
04-09-2014, 12:46 PM
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Gernzhaust and E-Tune
This will be sort of a two-part review, consisting of my car with the Gernzhaust, and then Gernzhaust + FlashPro E-tune.
Gernzhaust
This was the full system, which consists of Gernby's proprietary mid-pipe, along with with remaining exhaust which includes a hi-flow cat, a Magnaflow muffler and then uses the factory AP2 tips. It arrived in two large boxes. I was so excited when it finally came, since it got delayed in transit by a couple of days for severe weather! The items were packaged well, and arrived in good condition. So I jacked up the car nice and high and proceeded to remove my stock exhaust. It was a bit of a bear to remove that thing by myself, since it was pretty heavy, but I didn't really have too much trouble. Some silicone spray on the rubber hangers helped those slide off of their mounts. The installation of the Gernzhaust was pretty straight forward as far as getting all the pieces in position. It was a little tricky getting the slip joints positioned just right so the tips exited the rear at the right angle. It took a few iterations of adjusting, tightening the clamps, and re-checking. Oh, and the clamps, they were kind of a pain in the ass. Eventually it all worked out, but I probably spent a couple hours under the car messing with everything before I was satisfied. The result: the car looks almost stock from the rear. Thanks to the OEM tips, this system doesn't draw too much attention to itself, excpet when you crouch down low and look at the rear, and you can see the bulge from the HFC hanging down. It's kind of a cool look.
Driving Impressions
As soon as you start the car, it's evident that you're not using a stock exhaust anymore! It comes alive with a nice deep rumble, and if the engine is cold and in fast-idle mode, it's pretty loud if you're still in the garage. Once you pull out and start driving, the note settles into more of a low rumble. Even on a stock tune, it's noticeably smoother when accelerating and changing gears. The throttle response feels more silky and crisp. The butt dyno says that the car feels like it's pulling a little harder but could be inconclusive. The sound, overally, is quite sexy. It's not subtle, but not obnoxious either. I'm really impressed with the way the exhaust note transitions from a low, deep rumble to more of a high-pitched wail in the upper RPM range. It sounds almost exotic under WOT pulls, and occasionally you get that cool gurgle when you let off the throttle. There is almost no drone whatsoever. Cruising on the highway is very quiet, you almost can't hear the exhaust over the wind noise until you start accelerating. The only time you hear some drone is when you're trying to accelerate at too low RPM in the wrong gear. Since that's not normal driving behavior it's not a problem. It's easy to carry on conversations during all manner of driving and it's never headache-inducing. To sum up the sound, it's awesome. Greg really did his homework on this exhaust and it shows.
The FlashPro E-Tune
So after driving for about a week with the Gernzhaust and the factory tune, I got myself a Hondata FlashPro and contacted Greg for a custom E-tune. He sent me some calibration files with instructions and I sent him back a bunch of datalogs. Repeat once more, and then he sends me the final tune. (this may be a bit premature, since I'm not sure this is the 100% complete tune). But I've been running it for a few days now and it's awesome! Thanks to the removal of the stock cat, the VTEC engagement has been lowered (I forget the actual RPM, but I think it's somewhere in the 4000-range). On an AP2, since we got cheated out of the 9,000 RPM redline, this new tune really gives a nice long, meaty powerband. It feels sooo smooth at all RPM, but particularly the transition to VTEC is almost not noticeable. It just starts pulling hard from like 3k and doesn't let up until redline. I kinda miss that VTEC kick at 6k but this is a lot more predictable and much more driveable in the low-to-mid RPM range. Honda probably should have tuned the car this way from the factory. It really wakes up the car for city driving, stoplight-to-stoplight, or powering out of tight corners in the twisties. I'm not sure how dramatic this tune would be on an otherwise stock car, but if you have an 06+ DBW car, you owe it to yourself to get it tuned!
Here's a little treat for reading this far. I took this drive yesterday, with the top down, and you'll get a sense for the exhaust sound and the powerband (maybe). The video doesn't do the sound justice, because I applied a "Hum Reduction" audio equalizer in iMovie to reduce the wind noise, but unfortunately it de-sexifies the exhaust sound a bit. It should give you an idea of how it sounds though. Enjoy!
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haAwGdPZiAM[/media]
Gernzhaust
This was the full system, which consists of Gernby's proprietary mid-pipe, along with with remaining exhaust which includes a hi-flow cat, a Magnaflow muffler and then uses the factory AP2 tips. It arrived in two large boxes. I was so excited when it finally came, since it got delayed in transit by a couple of days for severe weather! The items were packaged well, and arrived in good condition. So I jacked up the car nice and high and proceeded to remove my stock exhaust. It was a bit of a bear to remove that thing by myself, since it was pretty heavy, but I didn't really have too much trouble. Some silicone spray on the rubber hangers helped those slide off of their mounts. The installation of the Gernzhaust was pretty straight forward as far as getting all the pieces in position. It was a little tricky getting the slip joints positioned just right so the tips exited the rear at the right angle. It took a few iterations of adjusting, tightening the clamps, and re-checking. Oh, and the clamps, they were kind of a pain in the ass. Eventually it all worked out, but I probably spent a couple hours under the car messing with everything before I was satisfied. The result: the car looks almost stock from the rear. Thanks to the OEM tips, this system doesn't draw too much attention to itself, excpet when you crouch down low and look at the rear, and you can see the bulge from the HFC hanging down. It's kind of a cool look.
Driving Impressions
As soon as you start the car, it's evident that you're not using a stock exhaust anymore! It comes alive with a nice deep rumble, and if the engine is cold and in fast-idle mode, it's pretty loud if you're still in the garage. Once you pull out and start driving, the note settles into more of a low rumble. Even on a stock tune, it's noticeably smoother when accelerating and changing gears. The throttle response feels more silky and crisp. The butt dyno says that the car feels like it's pulling a little harder but could be inconclusive. The sound, overally, is quite sexy. It's not subtle, but not obnoxious either. I'm really impressed with the way the exhaust note transitions from a low, deep rumble to more of a high-pitched wail in the upper RPM range. It sounds almost exotic under WOT pulls, and occasionally you get that cool gurgle when you let off the throttle. There is almost no drone whatsoever. Cruising on the highway is very quiet, you almost can't hear the exhaust over the wind noise until you start accelerating. The only time you hear some drone is when you're trying to accelerate at too low RPM in the wrong gear. Since that's not normal driving behavior it's not a problem. It's easy to carry on conversations during all manner of driving and it's never headache-inducing. To sum up the sound, it's awesome. Greg really did his homework on this exhaust and it shows.
The FlashPro E-Tune
So after driving for about a week with the Gernzhaust and the factory tune, I got myself a Hondata FlashPro and contacted Greg for a custom E-tune. He sent me some calibration files with instructions and I sent him back a bunch of datalogs. Repeat once more, and then he sends me the final tune. (this may be a bit premature, since I'm not sure this is the 100% complete tune). But I've been running it for a few days now and it's awesome! Thanks to the removal of the stock cat, the VTEC engagement has been lowered (I forget the actual RPM, but I think it's somewhere in the 4000-range). On an AP2, since we got cheated out of the 9,000 RPM redline, this new tune really gives a nice long, meaty powerband. It feels sooo smooth at all RPM, but particularly the transition to VTEC is almost not noticeable. It just starts pulling hard from like 3k and doesn't let up until redline. I kinda miss that VTEC kick at 6k but this is a lot more predictable and much more driveable in the low-to-mid RPM range. Honda probably should have tuned the car this way from the factory. It really wakes up the car for city driving, stoplight-to-stoplight, or powering out of tight corners in the twisties. I'm not sure how dramatic this tune would be on an otherwise stock car, but if you have an 06+ DBW car, you owe it to yourself to get it tuned!
Here's a little treat for reading this far. I took this drive yesterday, with the top down, and you'll get a sense for the exhaust sound and the powerband (maybe). The video doesn't do the sound justice, because I applied a "Hum Reduction" audio equalizer in iMovie to reduce the wind noise, but unfortunately it de-sexifies the exhaust sound a bit. It should give you an idea of how it sounds though. Enjoy!
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haAwGdPZiAM[/media]
04-18-2014, 04:11 PM
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awesome write up! I just finished my Gernzhaust install last week and have to say I agree with you all the way. I'm actually in the process of data logging my info to get my tune from Gernby.
As far as the exhaust goes, it sounds amazing. The car responds quicker and has a little more pep. It is the most noticeable to me in 3rd at WOT. The fact that you can cruise at highway speeds without the exhaust getting in the way is great. But quick step on the gas and you can hear it rumble to life as you accelerate. I am incredibly happy with this purchase as well.
As far as the exhaust goes, it sounds amazing. The car responds quicker and has a little more pep. It is the most noticeable to me in 3rd at WOT. The fact that you can cruise at highway speeds without the exhaust getting in the way is great. But quick step on the gas and you can hear it rumble to life as you accelerate. I am incredibly happy with this purchase as well.
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