Jason, Jamie, did you happen to compare the exhaust notes on the two mufflers? Is the HKS that much louder or is it still reasonable for street use and doesn't get "ricey" loud.

 

First off, I have no Idea who Jamie is... but myself, Juliann, Greg Stevens, Mack and Hoser all got to hear and compare the HKS and Mugen exhausts. I'll try to describe the differences.

Loudness - The HKS is definitely louder, probably about 20% louder. It's not annoying, but certainly gets your attention and the attention of those around you. The Mugen is definitely louder than stock, but very quiet inside the car. In the car it's louder from 2-6k, as is the HKS. HKS seems to have more resonances.

Tone - The Mugen has a muted, throaty tone. It has a really low growl down low, and then above 6k it changes to a really snappy, flat, gutteral tone. If you've ever heard a tuned 911 flat-6, it has the same tonal characteristics, although with a 4-cylinder pattern. Very sweet sound. The HKS has a very raspy racy, almost sport-bike sound to it. It sounds a little less precise than the Mugen. It's definitely more biased toward high-pitched sounds than low. Very cool sound from behind, as the car screams through VTEC.

Verdict? They both sound good. My personal preference is the Mugen, as it sounds more dignified and advanced. The HKS sounds like many hopped up Civics and Integras sound like - which is a *good* sound, don't get me wrong. But I like the way the Mugen sounds like the muted, powerful tones of a well tuned race car. At times it sounds allot like an old Ferrari flat-12. Awesome.

Any of the others that heard them both care to comment? Mack? Hoser? Juliann? Greg?

 

Also, if anyone has heard and compared the Comptech exhuast to the HKS i'd like to hear thoughts on that.

 

Thanks for the comparison. If I heard the two, I'd probably go for the Mugen too, since sounding like tose hopped up integs and civics is exactly what I don't want to do. Wish I could hear the two for myself...

 

Movies removed. Email me if you still want to see them

[Edited by Zoinks on 01-15-2001 at 07:31 PM]

 

Jason seems to say what I would in comparison, though I do not have the tuned 911 or Ferrari sounds in experience to go by. Good post, Jason!

 

I had the pleasure of riding in Jason and Greg's S2000 last night. My reviews of the exhausts...

HKS - Very boy-racer sound. It sounds very much like my Teg's (Greddy PE) exhaust. It is loud and has a higher pitch to it than the Mugen. The exhaust looks much more aggressive with larger tips and they point upwards a bit.

Mugen - Very understated tone. Not as loud as the HKS but much stronger sounding than stock. The exhaust sounds much deeper than stock and deeper than the HKS. Not too noticable in the cabin until WOT. The look of the exhaust is also very understated with small mufflers and close to stock sized tips.

Both are very nice sounding, but in different ways. The Mugen is much more of a refined sound while the HKS is loud and gets people's attention. If price were no issue I would choose the Mugen, but at $1500 I don't see it in my near future.

 

As an overview, can you say that the HKS application make the S2000 sound like an integra? Is it that bad?

Thanks,

 

Unicron

My Teg isn't a stock Teg. It has an AEM CAI, DC stainless Header, Greddy Power Extreme Exhaust for engine related mods. I think my Teg sounds pretty darn good. The HKS sounds similar to my Teg in that it is louder than stock and not all that "deep". I don't think the HKS sounds bad, but the Mugen is much more refined and has a deeper tone to it.

It is hard to describe sound in words, but lets say I heard Jason hit the rev-limiter twice last night while outside the car and it sounded pretty sweet!! I have also said that nothing but Mugen or Comptech parts will go on my S2000 and this comparison is just another reason to stick with that conclusion. The HKS is a great $1000 (or however much) exhaust, but the Mugen is a nice piece no matter how you slice it.

 

I'd probably go with the Mugen exhaust if I could but at $1500 its a little too much to pay for an exhaust for minimal hp gain. The HKS is a little more reasonable for 700-1000 but the loudness may get to be little to much for everyday applications. Thanks for all the input though guys.