Active Exhaust - Meh?

[Stanzi]

Ok - so thanks for everyone who has been commenting on my which trim / spec to purchase.

I'd only driven a base GT up until this point... couldn't find a manual PP with Active Exhaust to drive - until today.

What am I missing?

The Performance Pack - 100% Definite improvement. Love everything about it. It's a must purchase / add.

I was most excited to test out the active exhaust...

And - well, I came away a bit - underwhelmed.

What am I missing?

At idle, all settings sounded the same (car was already warmed up when I got there - salesman took it and put gas in it).
Under half+ throttle, there was definitely a difference, but nothing like I expected. I was expecting quiet to be - well, super quiet.
It was still nice and rumbly. But even track mode (which I'm assuming is wide open) - it was only moderately louder.

I came away with from it thinking - why would I spend $1600 on that option when all the modes sounded like they were within 20% of each other...

Did I do something wrong? Saleman was of course clueless on how even to find the settings - I finally figured it out.

Thanks in advance, again...

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[zpduff]

Active exhaust is my favorite "extra" and I purposely chose not to get performance pack.

 

[Stanzi]

Has anyone measured the sound level difference with a db meter inside the car?

Maybe my old ears are just not what they used to be…

 

[JacquillynRose]

I’ve driven a Mustang with and without active exhaust. The sound changes, deepens, and is a little louder. I chose to have it added on my ordered Mustang because it is an item that will cost more to have installed later than to just have it installed OEM. I also wanted my vehicle to sound the way Ford intended it to. 3:73s or a whipple or even the performance pack are things I can do myself with products I want that won’t detract from what made me want the first Mustang I purchased. That Mustang sound when you first turn that 5.0 V8 is what did it for me.

 

[Stanzi]

Yeah it was one of the things I was most excited about. My 2018 SS 1LE had active exhaust and I feel it was much more pronounced. Maybe it's all the weight / sound deadening inside the new Mustangs?

 

[zpduff]

Yeah it was one of the things I was most excited about. My 2018 SS 1LE had active exhaust and I feel it was much more pronounced. Maybe it's all the weight / sound deadening inside the new Mustangs?

For a factory car the s650 with active exhaust is pretty loud

 

[JacquillynRose]

I don’t know if the mustangs come with more sound dampening inside of them because I generally drive with the windows down and at high RPMs. The only time I don’t is when it’s too hot or too cold and then I have music on so it tends to drown out some of the sound. If you’re not thrilled with the AVE don’t get it. It’s all preference. When I put in my order it was about not spending more each month than I had too, while getting what I wanted as far as OEM. I can have what I want installed later from ford without voiding my warranty, but I can’t have them do the AVE. I even went so far as to take advantage of the spoiler delete because I want to put the performance spoiler on it, even though my intent was to order it with the wedge spoiler.

 

[Upacurb]

From the other thread … I almost forgot … I added a resonator delete on my s550 with active exhaust and it was perfect…. Was a little too quiet from the factory …

Anyone with an S650 and active exhaust with resonator delete that can comment if same thing?

 

[robvas]

Lots of people come in here asking what catback they should add or what H/C pipe since track mode isn't loud enough

 

[LouG]

I find it hard to measure volume by ear, maybe mine are stuffed. But I can tell the different tone between modes. And a witness I trust tells me it's quite loud. From in a building.

 

[NegativeMultiplier]

The S650 with AE is considerably louder than without. Mine doesn't have the feature, but I've driven plenty that do, and there's a noticeable difference, especially on cold starts. The tone is deeper, much more susceptible to pops and bangs on the overrun, and ever so slightly choppier.

Honestly though, after having had this car for a few weeks, I don't miss the active exhaust all that much, except when I start the car in the morning and the growl echoes through the neighborhood. Once I put my foot to the floor and the engine gets loud, I forget I don't have it.

Get it if you can find one, but IMO, I don't think it's needed anymore. End of the day, it'll come down to what your must-haves are - for me, it was the PP with a manual.

 

[Stanzi]

The S650 with AE is considerably louder than without. Mine doesn't have the feature, but I've driven plenty that do, and there's a noticeable difference, especially on cold starts. The tone is deeper, much more susceptible to pops and bangs on the overrun, and ever so slightly choppier.

Honestly though, after having had this car for a few weeks, I don't miss the active exhaust all that much, except when I start the car in the morning and the growl echoes through the neighborhood. Once I put my foot to the floor and the engine gets loud, I forget I don't have it.

Get it if you can find one, but IMO, I don't think it's needed anymore. End of the day, it'll come down to what your must-haves are - for me, it was the PP with a manual.

That’s kind of where I’m at right now…

 

[Starship Enterprise]

Mellow cruising below 1600 RPM is relatively quiet in all modes.

The car is also isolates the exhaust sound much more than expected when inside with windows up.

Put the car in Track Mode and stand behind it and activate remote rev. Be sure to hit remote rev twice because the 2nd time is the more aggressive rev.

I love the active exhaust!

 

[Stanzi]

Mellow cruising below 1600 RPM is relatively quiet in all modes.

The car is also isolates the exhaust sound much more than expected when inside with windows up.

Put the car in Track Mode and stand behind it and activate remote rev. Be sure to hit remote rev twice because the 2nd time is the more aggressive rev.

I love the active exhaust!

I think that’s only on the automatics correct?

 

[Starship Enterprise]

I don’t have a manual, but I’m pretty sure you can get active exhaust as an option for the manual.

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