Hey Guys,

Question for all of you with an invidia or any aftermarket catback. I currently have a stock exhaust and I feel like the pumped in sound along with the increased noise barely above 3000 rpm is the only thing I hear. My biggest complaint is I don’t hear any downshift revving. I assume if I get an invidia it’s going to solve a lot of my “complaints” about a lack of high rev noise, from down shifts to flooring it?

Ive read online invidia is 20-30% louder than stock? That doesn’t seem like a lot, as I watch the videos on YouTube and it really opens up the exhaust, more so than what seems like 20-30%, from start up, to revving to flooring it.

curious if anybody is willing to chime in and help me out before I make a purchase.

as a side note, I’m coming from a G37 with a catback and more recently a Q60 with a catback (which was very quiet).

Cheers!

 

Yeah,. it is on the milder side. It is more about quality than volume. The "aesthetic" of the sounds is incredible both inside and out. There is a lot of pitch and texture to the sound, but not a lot of added bass over stock. It gets more shrill/high pitched at high rpms rather than the sound expanding sideways. However, it is not drastically louder with Invidia over stock. I would say 20% max. Not even 30%. However, I love the exhaust even after 4+ years of having it. I have contemplated getting resonators deleted for more volume, but always worry I might mess up all that is so amazing about it. If you want a drastically louder exhaust then you might have to go with something like RR Racing full catback (including the valved option) or ARH etc.

Here is a video I made a while back for people like you who are considering Invidia and help them decide if this is what they want or not

 

If you want a loud exhaust the invidia is not for you.

Having said that, the Apex-i, Joe Z PTS, and Invidia are the best sounding exhausts for the RCF. It's not trying to be obnoxious but just amplifies the natural sound of the V8.

 

I like Invidia because the lack of drone going any speed on the highway. But you can throw it into sport and get some really nice crisp loud downshifts you're looking for along with some great tone and higher volume.

It's the perfect balance imo, I'm not willing to compromise it's daily-ability because I drive it everyday and can throw it into eco and be fairly quiet in the neighborhood.

 

I had the same feeling when I bought mine and had an exhaust on order while it still had paper tags.

With only the Invidia installed I could still hear intake noise, especially the flap opening at around 3500rpm, but it also let you know you're driving a V8. It's just enough extra to be enjoyable, have conversations on the highway, and avoid most of the ugly looks from your neighbors. The exhaust has a nice cold start crack to it, and really sings in the higher rpms. It's highly recommended on this forum and in the F social media groups, however some still want it to be louder. I've seen guys cut off the resonators, hate the drone, then just change it up for a different louder exhaust.

I knew I wanted headers so went for the Invidia to help keep things tame after hearing other F's with various exhausts, such as the discontinued Borla, or RR Bazooka, and thought they were a bit obnoxious. Paired with headers, things get rowdy on cold starts, but still manageable on the interstate. It really shines at WOT. Can't hear the intake anymore though.

Really the only downside to the Invidia is potential exhaust leak from improperly installed gaskets, but the fixes for that are well documented here and on FB. If you check my post history, I have a pretty comprehensive thread on the root cause and proven solutions.

Just have to decide if you're the kind of guy that wants a really loud exhaust, if so then look at other options because the Invidia will disappoint you. If you just want to know you're driving a V8 without being too rowdy, then the Invidia is a great compromise.

 

Thanks everybody. Seems like Invidia is the choice. I’m not into being the loudest car on the freeway, or have excessive drone in the car. I simply want to make sure that when I get on the peddle and drop a few gears it’ll open up and bark like my other cars with cat backs. The stock just seems so noise limiting from the driver perspective.

 

Yes an exhaust will change that. We have a lot of exhausts for the RCF, including Invidia's in stock!

-Josh

 

I have an Invidia and headers as well. I agree with everything LoSt180 said. It's loud at startup and at WOT it will turn heads. The sounds when downshifting and exiting the freeway make me smile every time!

 

I love my Invidia exhausts.
Highly recommend Meraki Autoworks.
Great pricing at lighting speed shipping.

 

Invidia sounds great but you have an exceptionally high chance of getting a CEL. It has a major manufacturing defect in that the flange is incorrect for proper mating.

Apexi sounds very different but the overall db’s are about the same. I always thought the Borla sounded like crap… load as F but with a crappy bap bap bap bap sound.

 

Apexi and Invidia are about the same DB wise? That’s reassuring. I test drove a rc f before purchasing this one with the apexi cat back and the aFe intake already installed. It sounded awesome but too much growl like an American V8. If that’s my benchmark then it’s probably time to go invidia with the aFe intake.

 

Invidia sounds way different than Apexi. Apexi is very deep and low pitched while Invidia as you can see in my video, is high pitched and light on bass.

 

I'm pretty sure Apexi is higher DB.

-Josh

 

Yep. Way different. Not better, not worse, just very different.

 

I didn’t measure them but I went from an Invidia axle back to an Apexi axle back and can’t say any db difference was noticeable. Sometime in the next week I’m going to pair the Apexi axle back with a cat gutted factory mid-pipe.

What was very different is the type sound….