I currently have a skunk2 megapower exhaust ,Js header and a 60mm de-cat pipe on my 2006 S. It's been mapped using hondata flashpro and I'm really happy with it. The only Problem I have is the exhaust. It's just way too loud for me. I have the bungs in which look awful and its still too loud. I'm going on a tour around Europe in August and I want it sorting for then.
I have read alot of exhaust threads and the invidia q300 is jumping out at me. Sounds good on the clips (but you can never really tell) and is a 70mm system (should still make decent power). My question is, is it considerably quieter than the megapower? And does it drone to the point it gives you a headache?

 

This exhaust is extremely loud when run without a cat. I would say it would not be much quieter, if at all, compared to your current setup. Look at Fujitsubo, Tanabe Medalion, Mugen, Milltek, etc if you really want something quieter.

 

The Q300 came highly recommended to me. Was horrible. Sound clips are inaccurate. The mic clips the recording and our speakers don't reproduce it well. Use of "Invidia Q300" and "Quiet" in the same sentence is a grammatical impossibility -- or should be.

With a high flow cat the Q300 drones painfully in the 3000 to 4000 rpm range-- headache inducing describes it well. I expect it will sound the same with no cat. Early last summer a buddy and I put the Q300 and Berk cat on my '06 and his '02 -- both of us pulled them within a month! A hit at the high school though!

We put Tanabe Medalion Touring dual exhausts on both cars and are extremely happy with them. "Mature performance" and "gentlemanly" describe the exhaust. Under 94dBA sound level claimed (and measured on our cars). The Q300 exceeded 100dBA (maybe 105dBA). Painful after the first few drives. The Tanabe still growls during acceleration and VTEC. Especially with the 3600rpm VTEC in my Hondata FlashPro tuned car.

But since all aftermarket exhausts drone in one rpm band or another you gotta hear any aftermarket exhaust in person from inside the car before buying. We didn't and both took a hit selling the month old Q300 systems.

-- Chuck

 

I'm not sure why people say this exhaust is quiet. I've heard numerous S2000s with it and I feel like its even louder than my Greddy single sometimes at full tilt. As Chuck mentioned about the Tanabe medallion touring dual seems to be nice. Ive also heard good things about the second version of the Greddy spectrum elite dual.

 

Yeah, it's not that quiet. I have one with the factory cat and it can be pretty loud. However there are engine speed ranges where it is pretty mellow, and then other times it's just plain obnoxious. It does sound very good though. I always bring earplugs with me for long highway drives but the howling noise my RS3s make certainly don't help there either.

 

I appreciate the info. Read another thread on here saying it's really quiet and not much louder than OEM?!. There is alot of conflicting info, but like has been said its all personal opinion. Problem is here in the UK there aren't many S2000s and alot are completely standard. So there is little chance of finding one with the exhaust I'm interested in to listen to.
It's alot of money especially over here and I've already paid out for the megapower. As many of you can appreciate it's a tough decision to make and I want to get it right this time.

 

I know there are a lot of mixed reviews and opinions vary on exhaust, but it was enough for me to not take a chance on it. Just going on what I have read from numerous reviews, the volume level on this exhaust seems to change a lot depending on stock cat/HFC/test pipe. Everyone who considers this "quiet" seems to be running it with stock cat. Large variation could possibly be related to almost non-existent resonator on the mid pipe. I have been a group drive with a car running Q300/test pipe and I couldn't even hear my own exhaust.

 

Have you thought about doing the UK exhaust mod?



It's pretty much impossible to comparison shop exhaust systems online. Plus, we all probably hear things differently, so what sounds like drone to me may sound good to you.


That said, I've really enjoyed my Q300 (with stock cat).

 

I'm after a system that will make power over the OEM but be drivable noise wise, so I don't really want to go back to the OEM system. One of the main factors that drew me to the q300 was the 70mm diameter. The mega power delivers good gain but is just too loud to live with. I put the bungs in and despite what I've read this reduces the efficency of the system dramatically. I was told by my tuner up to 12bhp down when running with the bungs in. What dual systems are there that are 70mm? A lot are 60mm if I'm not mistaken?

 

I would look into the greddy SE v2 dual. Its supposed to be like 94db at 6000 with the stock cat and still giving 10hp gains (according to Greddy). I have the megapower right now as well but it doesnt really bother me too much. At some point ill move to the greddy exhaust though since it seems perfect for what I want: its quieter than the skunk2 but still loud enough to hear, and has a nice, deep tone.