[CALICSGR]

I think I'm about to pull the trigger on a 42dd downpipe. My R is my daily, so I think catless is out of the question. My only decision is whether to get the downpipe with a resonator. I want the car to growl (especially when I add the catback early next year), but obviously want to avoid drone as much as possible. The APR system is just too quiet for me from outside the car and that's catted with a resonator, so it makes me think maybe I should skip the resonator.

Anyways, could folks with catted 42 dd downpipes with and without resonators please give me their impressions of fit, function and sound/drone? I've done plenty of looking in the forums, but I want to make sure I have the latest and greatest impressions all in one place.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: I should also mention I'm only looking at the stainless steel version.

 

[mk2gti2]

i have a one with no cat or resonator on a stock exhaust. it sounds pretty goodeace:

 

[CALICSGR]

i have a one with no cat or resonator on a stock exhaust. it sounds pretty goodeace:

Any issues with drone?

 

[lobuzz311]

IIRC, you got the R right before I got mine at Winn, so you should be somewhere in my area...
I just put on a catted / resonated 42dd downpipe (not stainless, though) to go with my Magnaflow catback. This setup is going to be as close as you can get to the 42dd full TBE. I don't have any issues with drone, although you can hear the exhaust on the freeway.
If you want, we can meet up somewhere, and you can check it out in person. :thumbup:

 

[Xanderips]

I just installed a catless no resonator version, and I LOVE IT!!! I can't say about how nice the combo is. it's quiet, zero drone, sounds like stock, etc. under 3000 rpm and no boost, and is a monster over 4K rpm with your foot to the floor. Inside the car is great. I will say that I had my friend drive the car while I was outside, and it was louder than I thought under WOT, but either way, it's a great setup. I still have the "flapper" from the stock exhaust working, so that may be giving me this type of sound. I daily this car, and I have my infant in it all the time, and it by no means is too loud for him or my wife.

X...

 

[signde]

I just installed a catless no resonator version, and I LOVE IT!!! I can't say about how nice the combo is. it's quiet, zero drone, sounds like stock, etc. under 3000 rpm and no boost, and is a monster over 4K rpm with your foot to the floor. Inside the car is great. I will say that I had my friend drive the car while I was outside, and it was louder than I thought under WOT, but either way, it's a great setup.
X...

catted non res version here and agree with this review. also this is pretty much spot on with every review of the catted non-res version i've read (I read all of them i could find, there are a lot on here).

she sounds like a beast at cold start. smooths out nicely once it warms up. sounds a little deeper and nicer than stock when not under WOT but mostly stock for all intents and purposes. nice burble when decelerating in gear. mash the throttle though and she sounds like a banshee. i absolutely love it.

about the drone though, there is a very, very faint drone when you get into the upper 80's - low 90's. TLUD talked about it in his excellent review and he even has the res'd version. i'm never going that fast and it is very very minimal so i'm not even worried about it.

here's his review - http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...f-R-Thread&p=82414130&viewfull=1#post82414130

i recall reading that there is very little difference in the res vs. non res version. i don't regret my decision at all.

 

[Nuc1ear_Rabbit]

I have the catted + res version and it has no drone and it quiet at cruising speeds, when you gun it... it sounds mean! :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[drvader]

I have the cat and resonated version and I love it. I wanted something that would not be as loud as the other versions. It has more growl than stock and agree with O'doyle that it's very tame below 3000 rpms but above that, the car is just a completely different beats.

Check this video from Lucas R
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HmCFCWfVDs

That sound is what made me get it! Enjoy

 

[Lucas_R]

Most definitely get the cat AND resonator if you want your car to sound any good at all. The res keeps the sound deeper, less-farty and more sophisticated.

I had a non res Scorpion dump pipe prior to getting the 42DD and it sounded rubbish. Really farty, raspy and sounded like some clapped out old crapbox.

Just be aware that with the 42DD, fitment isn't great. It was bad enough to annoy me and i sold it. It rests quite hard on your shifter cables, the main support bracket is a pain in the arse and mine kept on coming loose (tried Locktite and also replacing the bolts/nuts etc to no avail) which made the dump pipe rattle on the heat shield. Also, mine started to rust within a few months, even though i had spend $250 getting it ceramic coated before installing it. The rust was coming through the coating and annoyed the hell out of me. I see recently that 42DD have a stainless option so i would go for that.

I have since purchased a SPM dump pipe, which fits soooooooo much better. The ONLY negative against the SPM is that there isnt a res option, so it sounds rapsy/farty etc. I have just purchased a custom made res and getting it fitted next week. Hoping this will give me the same sort of sound as the 42DD but with much better fitment and no rust.

 

[signde]

i wouldn't say the non-res version sounds farty but after listening to lucas's garage video i will say it is a little deeper than mine at cold start. not much though and i can only tell because i've been living with mine for a while now. best way i can describe is my non-res version has a little more clack sound to it.

this is a good video of the non-res non-cat version

mine doesn't sound that intense so obviously the cat makes a big difference.

after thinking about it, i seem to recall the res vs. non res argument being a non-issue in terms of drone. even the non-res version doesn't really drone.

 

[ilimit]

It you're keeping your stock CBE, you don't need the resonator. I think that's the best combo and it doesn't hurt the wallet.

Sound is great when you step on the throttle. It actually surprised me how loud it can get on WOT.

Also there is no drone with the catted version without the resonator. I'm not sure if the resonator actually keeps the exhaust noise more throaty.. but there is a satisfying burble while you let off the throttle as coast to a stop.

Save the money on the resonator is my advice.. unless you're going with the full TBE system.

 

[rockstar]

I have the chatted non res and like it. With stage 2+ it's a bit more pronounced than 1+ but not loud and no drone. Plus I really enjoy the performance aspect even at 1+ it opened up midrange to me.

I got the spacer too to avoid any issues with readiness codes in az, I was c2 then and not sure how they dealt with it. I'm not sure how arp does either. Tbh.

But I didn't want to take the chance for $25 the spacer seemed a smart idea to me.

My installer had absolutely 0 figment issues with the 42dd that he mentioned. Fwiw.

The above video seems louder than mine.

 

[CALICSGR]

First of all, thanks everyone for the replies. All of this was incredibly helpful. I placed an order for the stainless catted and resonated downpipe. I really loved the clips I heard of this setup with the stock catback and couldn't pass on the sale price. I plan to replace the factory catback in January with either the 42dd or Borla catback. The clips I heard of the 42dd turboback with my downpipe sounded great. But I love everything I've heard from the Borla - I would just have to figure out how to make it fit.

 

[CALICSGR]

Most definitely get the cat AND resonator if you want your car to sound any good at all. The res keeps the sound deeper, less-farty and more sophisticated.

I had a non res Scorpion dump pipe prior to getting the 42DD and it sounded rubbish. Really farty, raspy and sounded like some clapped out old crapbox.

Just be aware that with the 42DD, fitment isn't great. It was bad enough to annoy me and i sold it. It rests quite hard on your shifter cables, the main support bracket is a pain in the arse and mine kept on coming loose (tried Locktite and also replacing the bolts/nuts etc to no avail) which made the dump pipe rattle on the heat shield. Also, mine started to rust within a few months, even though i had spend $250 getting it ceramic coated before installing it. The rust was coming through the coating and annoyed the hell out of me. I see recently that 42DD have a stainless option so i would go for that.

I have since purchased a SPM dump pipe, which fits soooooooo much better. The ONLY negative against the SPM is that there isnt a res option, so it sounds rapsy/farty etc. I have just purchased a custom made res and getting it fitted next week. Hoping this will give me the same sort of sound as the 42DD but with much better fitment and no rust.

Lucas, I saw your road video a few days ago and it's the one that really raised my eyebrows to this exhaust. Funny to hear that you sold it! Anyways, I'm hoping they figured out the fitment issues or you just got a bad one, but thanks a lot for the heads up.

 

[CALICSGR]

IIRC, you got the R right before I got mine at Winn, so you should be somewhere in my area...
I just put on a catted / resonated 42dd downpipe (not stainless, though) to go with my Magnaflow catback. This setup is going to be as close as you can get to the 42dd full TBE. I don't have any issues with drone, although you can hear the exhaust on the freeway.
If you want, we can meet up somewhere, and you can check it out in person. :thumbup:

.

That's right! I really appreciate the offer but I've heard/read enough to pull the trigger on this. Hopefully will see you at the next Bay Area meet up.

 

[ecirwin]

I just installed a catless no resonator version, and I LOVE IT!!! I can't say about how nice the combo is. it's quiet, zero drone, sounds like stock, etc. under 3000 rpm and no boost, and is a monster over 4K rpm with your foot to the floor. Inside the car is great. I will say that I had my friend drive the car while I was outside, and it was louder than I thought under WOT, but either way, it's a great setup. I still have the "flapper" from the stock exhaust working, so that may be giving me this type of sound. I daily this car, and I have my infant in it all the time, and it by no means is too loud for him or my wife.

X...

X2

The flapper really helps to keep it tame under normal conditions and completely eliminates drone. Once you get above 4k rpms and the flapper opens, then you can really hear it. Once you do the cat-back, then you need to be concerned about drone.

I do have the exact same setup. The good thing is, that if you ever decide you want a resonator, you can just order it from 42DD and install it in 30 minutes.

 

[peplsuk]

Who ever installed o'boys down pipe and said there were fitment issues did something wrong. This down pipe is great welds are superb and and fitment is great! Yeah the cables rest on the pipe who cares. They dont pull on them or anything bad. Sound is good and mellow untill you get on the gas then its mean. Install was a pain but I did mine on jack stands at 3am and didnt read the directions right, I reread the directions and I went it smooth.

 

[rockstar]

X2

The flapper really helps to keep it tame under normal conditions and completely eliminates drone. Once you get above 4k rpms and the flapper opens, then you can really hear it. Once you do the cat-back, then you need to be concerned about drone.

I do have the exact same setup. The good thing is, that if you ever decide you want a resonator, you can just order it from 42DD and install it in 30 minutes.

Oh I didn't know that, that is for clarifying, I can order the res and have it installed that quickly then it's not big deal if I decide later on. Not sure I would.


The only thing for me is it is a little raspy (when on it) and I prefer a slightly deeper tone, but I'm not sure how much of a difference it would make.

at c2 1+ and another car tuned by evoke there was less rasp! as you'd probably expect! compared to ape 2+ - my assumption being there's more air running through the system with the latter due to higher boost levels, please correct me if I'm mistaken.

It could VERY WELL be hat things have broken Ina. Bit more.

Put it this way though. My girlfriends has never said anything about it. And I stand by the statement at even with not res with a cat it is the real version of the sound the soundaktor fakes

 

[CSG_R]

IIRC, you got the R right before I got mine at Winn, so you should be somewhere in my area...
I just put on a catted / resonated 42dd downpipe (not stainless, though) to go with my Magnaflow catback. This setup is going to be as close as you can get to the 42dd full TBE. I don't have any issues with drone, although you can hear the exhaust on the freeway.
If you want, we can meet up somewhere, and you can check it out in person. :thumbup:

Hey are you stage 2+ tuned as well? I would like to meet up to see if 42dd tbe is what I want to go with. Beer on me if you are willing to meet :thumbup:

 

[lobuzz311]

Hey are you stage 2+ tuned as well? I would like to meet up to see if 42dd tbe is what I want to go with. Beer on me if you are willing to meet :thumbup:

I am stage 2+. I just got the 3.31 file flashed yesterday. :thumbup:
I'd be more than happy to meet up & have you check it out. Where are you located?
My schedule is a bit slammed through the end of next week, but I could do it next weekend (26th/27th).
And I'll gladly take you up on that beer! :laugh: