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2012 Passat 3.6 Exhaust: The Quest For The Best

152K views 156 replies 40 participants last post by  flute136 
#1 ·
Picked up my 2012 Passat 3.6 SE in March and I got busy right away. I love this motor more and more everyday. I have a goal to eventually have full cat-back made but I need to know what works first...this is my quest.

My wife drives a 2008 R32 that I've been toying with so I needed the Passat to sound the same or better. Hers wil have the cats removed soon. Here is a clip of her R32 (has UM ECU and DSG tunes with spark cut):




  • Forge Motorsports intake
  • Borla cat-back exhaust


So now with the Passat. I quickly got the same R32 Forge intake and it fit beautifully.


1 May-16 by santorum, on Flickr

Next, I started playing with the exhaust. The 2012 Passat 3.6 comes with 5 mufflers/resonators from the factory. The first one cut off, was the very large, single in | single out, "suitcase" muffler. Definitely freed up some volume.



Second, was the two small resonators right after the cats.



Here is an exterior video clip. It is much more deep in person...thanks GoPro. And I hate that the Passat has the DSG fart that the R32 does not have.



I removed these:


Untitled by santorum, on Flickr

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To make this:


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Interior video to follow.

Here is a photo of the stock exhaust setup:



I have the muffler that says "deleted" gone and the two small resonators that have the arrow pointing at them gone. My goal is to get two similarly sized resonators and tips from Borla to replace the end two mufflers for a quality sound, and then have an entire kit made by my buddy who owns a local shop. :thumbup:
 
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#2 ·
Not bad man, I really need to get an exhaust clip of mine. All I've done is remove the center muffler and added a VF intake. I really want to make it sound similar to my MKIII VR but I dont want the interior to be bad. Toying with the idea of leaveing the 2 after the cat and just putting 2 magnaflow mullers with twin tips in place of the factory mufflers. Just nervous about the drone. :beer: I like where your car is headed.
 
#6 ·
nice thread! I like how you've gone through the stages of each delete, to evaluate the difference. The b7 3.6 seems to have a bit more rasp with just the suitcase removed than mine did. that might just be a heatshield moving around though.

Regardless good work so far, and i am anxious to see how it sounds with the new mufflers out back.

Not sure if you have seen my thread at all, but I also have the suitcase pulled, and deleted the precats (using r32 precat sections) more info (and videos) are in my passat thread. I don't want to hijack yours. Have you felt any difference in power with these deletes? or is it oo hard to say? I notice a nice free up with the cats going away, but the suitcase was negligible. Sure sounds faster though :)

final note: the 3.6 has farts and the r32 doesn't. Might be the fsi combined with the dsg. Or not the dsg at all. My car farts too, and i have tiptronic. it is all dependent on throttle input and load/rpm.
 
#7 ·
Hey thanks! I read through your thread a while ago when I first started messing around. Not sure if I will ever touch the cats like you did but I almost want to. Haha. I'm going to keep it as is for now but I really just want to cut the rear two and leave it. But in reality, I will want two small mufflers for the end. I will most likely wait to do them until the full, true dual is made and put on. No ETA on that as of now.

I hate the fart...especially having both cars and mine does it...annoying.
 
#8 ·
with your true dual, will you still have an x-pipe? I too may go this way in the longrun, but the clearances get tight near the diff. and the added weight doesn't excited me too much.

due to the firing order of the VR, I think some sort of cross section is necessary isnt it? (at least a merge, like the fwd b6 3.6) even though your car is fwd, it still splits, so technically the entire exhaust is a x pipe, just spread out over a longer distance.

I would to revamp the whole system in top materials, vbands, and and seamless merges/bends. Maybe in a year or two :) Im very happy with the sound now, and you should be too! car sounds great.
 
#9 ·
with your true dual, will you still have an x-pipe? I too may go this way in the longrun, but the clearances get tight near the diff. and the added weight doesn't excited me too much.
Luckily, I don't have to worry about the diff. But yes, I do plan on an x-pipe. Following the cue of Jesse (infinteecho) and his Golf R36 build. His exhaust was heavenly and the only differences would be no flapper and a pair of mufflers at the end.

 
#10 ·
I loved Jesse's car. Well i'll be watching the thread to see any updates you post. DO you plan on maintaining both this one and your thread in the B7 forum?

Oh yeah, and thanks for looking through my thread :)
 
#12 ·


Here is my middle resonator delete on my B6 wagon. It is the same setup as the B7 Passat.

It isn't loud enough... :(

I am going to delete the two resonators are the cats like the OP did, and then add some mufflers to replace the stock ones.

Any ideas on muffler choice? I want something that will compliment the sound nicely.

Maybe something from flowmaster designed for a carbed v8?
 
#14 · (Edited)
Just chiming in.

Removed the front resonators and rear suitcase. I don't have the dual exhaust outlets on my VR6. Just the two pipes on the drivers side.



I'd like to find something to replace the rear OEM muffler. I like the low mumble it makes when you barely have your foot on the gas (i.e. pulling through a McDonalds drive thru or something), and when you're slowly walking it up to about 3.5k rpm, in sport mode.

It sort of reminds me of a g35. I like that. That machine-like sound.

Any suggestions, anyone? I want to hollow the sound out, instead of have it sound so baffled at the lower rpm range.

I'd love to have this sound:


Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 
#16 ·
Starting a new project on the Passat, involving swapping OEM R32 downpipes onto it. Here is my info from my B7 thread:

I am always in constant thought about the exhaust on this car. Been doing some thinking as of lately and revisited Devin's (DBVeeDB) Passat thread where he has some great information regarding the OEM 3.6, OEM .:R36, and OEM .:R32 manifolds, downpipes, and cats. As you may or may not know, my wife's R32 has a full Milltek system, including the manifolds. Based on some quick research, the 3.2 and 3.6 exhaust manifolds are interchangeable. One of the part numbers Devin showed on his manifold was 03H-253-032-B, which is for cylinders 4-6 on a 3.2 or 3.6 Passat, CC, and Touareg. This means, the Milltek manifolds and downpipes (with or without cats) will fit the Passat 3.6. Taking this one step further, Milltek also makes replacement downpipes which fit to OEM manifolds.

Going even one step further, haha, I have a full OEM R32 manifold back system in my garage from my wife's car. Since I don't feel like dishing out a couple grand right now, I am thinking about swapping out the downpipes. I know one of Devin's concerns was the extra set of resonators that the Passat has. I know I have already deleted them for sound restriction so I am thinking this is a plausible task. Making it easier will be not having a driveshaft in the way. Haha.

Thoughts?

Photo of the OEM .:R32 manifolds, downpipes, and cats from my wife's car:


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Link to where Devin starts going in depth: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...-my-Passat&p=80457135&viewfull=1#post80457135

you don't need to swap the manifolds, I have a mkv r32 dp on my car using the 3.6 manifolds. my concern would be how many o2 sensors you have. my swap came from an 07 which had 6 sensors but the um software only requires 4.
Oh I know. I don't feel like pulling another intake manifold (once on the R32 sucked and I have to do it again to do the SAI block off). Plan was just to just do the downpipes. As far as the sensors, I believe my Passat has four O2 sensors, same as the R32 (two on each downpipe). Major difference is location of the second sensor. It is further down stream since there is no pre-cat. Devin lengthened his sensors successfully.

As far as tunes, I am not happy. I contacted UM and Unitronic. UM essentially told me that it's not a priority to them and never replied back. Unitronic has a tune for the 2012 CC 3.6 DSG 4motion that has some serious gains. Their response was that the ECU would have to be sent to them for testing and no promises for power gains [exceeding APR's 7 hp]. I refuse to buy APR's pathetic tune. Already being in contact with my friend Chris at CBTuning (Chris contacted Unitronic for me), he recommended OE Tuning. He said Jeremy from OE Tuning would come to his shop (25 minutes from me) and bench/dyno tune the car for me for a day. It would in turn be a development car. He also stated that Jeremy laughed and promised way more than 7 hp. Haha. If he is not able to provide a DSG tune with launch control, Chris said Unitronic does have a file for that.

have you tried calling fred @um, if not call innovative motorsport and he is the front man there also. I don't see why the file I have for my car wont work on yours
I was actually speaking with Fred via e-mail. I really want UM, but if there is no motivation and willing to cooperate, I will move on. Your 3.6 is a 2007? I know not many differences were made but the manifold is the major change.

Thanks for all the shout outs! You will love the way the r32 downpipes feel on the car, I noticed a decent improvement. And I am still problem free with my extended 02's. Fuzzy is correct, certain 3.6 systems had 6 total ports, worst case scenario is you buy two plugs for the 2 that aren't used. Your passat most likely has 4.

I thought I looked up the r32/3.6 manifolds and found different numbers, so I am surprised to hear that. I figured the port opening would be larger for the 3.6. Do me a favor and measure one of each port on those 3.2's, and I will do the same with my stock 3.6 manis I have laying around.

I also noticed that the milltek and supersprint headers were offered for the r32 and r36 overseas, so i have been down this road about getting a full header system. But like you said, spend over a grand or just put the oem r32 stuff on and get some good results for a fraction of the cost. :thumbup: I am glad to see you are STILL messing with the exhaust setup. I can't stop thinking about how I want to perfect mine even more so. ANd I never get tired of hearing that vr6 love song. :heart:
I will measure the ports when I go get the setup (at my friend's storage). I am interested in the difference. The Milltek system is amazing on my wife's car. So goddamn loud. One day I will do the Milltek downpipes, but my car is still under warranty so I can't go too crazy. Haha. The wookie noise needs to be moar...moar...moar! I am looking to do this in a week or so and there will be documentation and pictures. :)

When I had my Ecu done he asked what manifold I had, not sure if it makes a huge difference but he did say the gray manifold was the better one
Carry on! If you want me to move this info some where else Chris, lmk. But I wanted to seize the opportunity to post it here since it was getting discussed.
I'm getting more upset now, knowing that there are several UM 3.6 tunes out there and I'm being blown off. I guess I comes down to who you know. I spoke with Jeff and Fred in person and they were singing a different tune.

I thought I remembered reading that when Jesse did the manifold swap to the Golf R36, there was the minimal upper RPM hp change. From a service stand point, I'm a fan of the two piece manifold. Removing the front on the R32 to do the full exhaust was frustrating. I think for the Passat, I'll be leaving this one on. Besides, I won't need it with a turbo kit anyway. :)

Devin, many thanks for all the info! It can stay because the B7 forum needs some class. :cool:

After talking back and forth with Devin, I went and took some digital measurements today of the OEM 3.2 exhaust manifolds I took off of the wife's R32. Devin also sent me photos and measurements of his OEM 3.6 exhaust manifolds. Right now, my judgement is that even though they look different, they are interchangeable. The studs line up and with the exception of carbon build up on the 3.2 manifolds, the measurements are the interchangeable. Break down:

All measurements were done on the manifold for cylinders 4-6.
  • Cylinder 4 width, 3.2: 34.671 mm
  • Cylinder 4 width, 3.6: 34.88 mm
  • Cylinder 4 height, 3.2: 37.084 mm
  • Cylinder 4 height, 3.6: 37.91 mm
  • Cylinder 5 width, 3.2: 34.773 mm
  • Cylinder 5 width, 3.6: 34.89 mm
  • Cylinder 5 height, 3.2: 36.068 mm
  • Cylinder 5 height, 3.6: 38.32 mm
  • Cylinder 6 width, 3.2: 34.976 mm
  • Cylinder 6 width, 3.6: 34.92 mm
  • Cylinder 6 height, 3.2: 36.424 mm
  • Cylinder 6 height, 3.6: 38.10 mm
  • Manifold exit, 3.2: 1.747"
  • Manifold exit, 3.6: 2.059"
  • Pipe OD after cat, 3.2: 1.965"
  • Pipe OD after cat, 3.6: 2.133"

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Ordered the downpipe gaskets and nuts yesterday:
  • Gasket: 3D0-253-115-E (MSRP $12.90)
  • Nut: N-102-090-09 (MSRP $0.90)
Devin let me know that the rear O2 spacers need to be lengthened about six feet. Each sensor has four wires; black, grey, and two white.

I need to do a lot of carbon cleanup on the inlet of the downpipes. Hopefully doing this on Wednesday. :thumbup:
 
#22 ·
I agree. One of the 3.6 swapped mk4's is running upgrade 3.2 cams in the 3.6 head (albeit - running traditional fuel injection, not fsi) I cant seem to find any specs/measurements on the stock 3.6 cams though. 3.2 vs 3.6 have different part numbers in ETKA (2008 3.2 r32 cams that is).

I dont want to derail Chris's exhaust thread, so we should continue this in a new thread. :thumbup: Back to exhaust talk.
 
#25 ·
Sounds like a good discussion. I spoke with AWE Tuning awhile back about the 3.6 engine, he told me the specific reason that they didn't come out with an exhaust upgrade specifically for this car was that the factory system flowed so well, that they got minimal performance gains, on average 2-3hp. So I've left the system as is.

Though I'll be adding an exhaust cutout in the near future, for those days when the douchbags in the ricers decide to pull up next to me and rev the **** outta their puny 1.8 engines.....

As for the FSI cam swap, that's another story, for another thread post. If you know someone in NYC, that would be willing to give their car to a shop for a month for some testing, in exchange for a bigger cam, I might be able to find someone to make a cam for our motors. Something small like 20hp at the wheels would be nice, lol.

Andrew
 
#26 ·
found these

no suit case 2x magnaflows




he then added a res





:beer:

ps:






his build thread translated

http://translate.google.ca/translat...GgO&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb

"And a very important issue namely exhale
The whole stainless steel + where you have wrapped a bandage thermal insulation. Three silencers RM motors, the first 3-inch, two further 60mm. It was not easy, of very little. But I did and it worked something like this:"

 
#28 ·
So Christof, the last cruising video you made, the 7 minute one, is that without the middle suitcase, and also without the 2 mufflers right after the cats? You kept the rear mufflers though, right? And have you noticed any power loss at lower RPM, or worse MPG?
 
#30 ·
Gotcha, thanks! Only asking because when I removed the suitcase muffler on my B6 FWD Passat VR6, I could notice a slight loss in lower rpm power and mpg sort of went down.
 
#34 ·
I still haven't done the OEM R32 downpipes yet...I still have them...but they should fit and connect to the cat-back section with no issues.

So on the Mkv R36 exhaust, what was he pressing in near the tips? were those flaps? because that sounds ridiculous and i want that now!
That was a flapper from a BMW.
 
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