I have a 2012 G37S 7AT sedan and just threw on a Stillen CBE, my first aftermarket exhaust ever. (I'm 40YO) I have a few of questions for you 7AT G owners out there:

1. I've noticed a lot of people talking about exhaust break-in. Is there really that much difference in the exhaust tone from first install to after break-in? To be honest this exhaust has way more drone than I expected from 1500-3000 rpm with my 7AT, especially when under load (going up hills etc). I know I can shift manual and it sounds better, but I'd like to not have to do that all the time.

2. For those who have this exhaust, did installing a CAI make it sound any different on the exhaust side of things? I know CAI can affect low end torque etc, and I wasn't sure if this translated to any audible difference.

3. I have an R2C CAI from my coupe and now a GEN3 Stillen that's NIB. Any suggestions on if it's worth putting on the GEN3, or should I just throw the R2C on and sell the Stillen since it's new?

Should I even bother with a CAI? Honestly the R2C was a little loud for my tastes when it was on my coupe. It was so loud at FT that it would cause rattles inside my dashboard. I'm not sure if this will be different and complement my exhaust, or if the beast will just be loud all the time after installing a CAI.




UPDATE: I'm going in to the dealer Monday to have them checkout the Stillen, but also to check out my 7AT. It seems I may be falling victim to the sluggish 7AT syndrome. I have to push the throttle almost to halfway to get the car to downshift and it seems to stay in 5th gear even at 35mph and 6th or 7th gear and any speed more than 40-45. It is also very hesitant to shift out of those gears once it's in them. It's like it's in extreme gas sipping mode all the time, even in sport mode. The exhaust is so loud at low rpms though, I'm still suspecting that something else may be up. I'll keep everyone posted.

Any help or sharing of your experiences would be welcome. Thanks!

P.S. Oh, just for the sake of sharing, I also have KW v3's and I'm rolling on Vossen 085s 20x9 and 20x10.5 with Continental DWS tires. (Seattle weather)

 

If the R2C was loud for your tastes, and you don't like the drone from the Stillen it sounds like are best suited for stock intake/ stock exhaust.

 

Ive always had air intakes and the r2c I was on the fence about. If it didnt rattle my interior i actually would have been fine with it. I never took it of of my g coupe because it sounded pretty badass, but it was loud sometimes.

As for the exhaust, it drones ALOT. When I called Stillen they said no drone whatsoever. My wife said my car sounds like a boat when I pull up. When I floor it it sounds great, but during my commute, drone city under load. I'm pretty disappointed. I loved my coupe stock exhaust, but always wanted it a bit louder at speed. I was hoping that's what I would get with the Stillen. Not what I got.

I don't mind intake noise too much because I can avoid it if I don't floor it. The problem with this exhaust is that its loud UNLESS I floor it. I can't drive around flooring it everywhere. Under normal driving conditions it's just a loud low frequency boomy drone. Will it break-in and go away? I don't know, that's why I'm asking here.

 

I'm afraid the drone will most likely get louder as exhaust do tend to become louder over time.

 

Really? Shoot I was hoping someone would tell me the drone would get better after it was broken in. Man, not sure if I can deal with this. Doesn't anyone make a drone-free exhaust that's not stock?

 

I talked to Stillen and they admitted to me that the exhaust drones under load on the 7AT. If you have a stick shift no problem. I really wish they would have told me this before I ordered when I asked about drone. The solution I was offered was to shift in manual all the time and basically keep the rpms out of that range. This really sucks, I've never brought myself to buy and exhaust before and I was really excited about this. After doing a search for "quietest g37 sedan exhaust" I finally found a thread that talks about the drone on the Stillen. Everywhere I looked before buying using "Best g37 exhaust" said the Stillen and FI sounded the best. I feel kind of suckered to be honest.

I've put my exhaust up for trade or sale in the classifieds if anyone is interested in swapping out for a quieter system. If only Stillen had a 30-day return policy.

Link

 

Does Stillen advertise 'no drone'? Or do you have their promise of 'no drone' in writing? If so, get your money back.

 

It sounds to me like you're a good candidate for stock exhaust and simply replacing JUST the muffler with the 'sport muffler' from Infiniti direct. It's a little pricey, but sometimes you can haggle at the dealership. It really only changes the hard throttle sound...not much different at idle or lower cruising speeds.
Sport Muffler - 2011-2013, Infiniti Parts Superstore - Infiniti Accessories and Parts for sale online for a discount.

 

They're trying to sell you their product. They'll tell you anything you want to hear.

 

Yeah. I guess I figured they had a pretty good reputation, but after further reading that seems to be a source of debate as well. Even the dealer told me to put a Stillen on when I first bought the car!

And as for the replacing the stock muffler, I was really hoping to improve throttle response and maybe gain a little power while I was at it. The exhaust seems to deliver on this front, so I can't complain there, but I just don't think it's worth the drone.

Now keep in mind this isn't just a little drone. There's only a little noise when driving flat on the freeway and I'm totally cool with that. And I totally love the sound under WOT. But I'm not exaggerating when I say that the drone is loud from a stop or under load going up a hill. It easily overpower my radio at 60% volume. I can also easily hear it if my radio is turned all the way up.

I downloaded an iPhone app that will give me some sort of ghetto sound pressure level measurement. I'm going to test it with me talking, with my radio on, and then going up the hill to my house. We'll see where the exhaust lands. It's a low frequency boomy drone, so hopefully my iPhone is able to pick it up.

Also, as it turns out Stillen does have some sort of return policy, but of course there are tons of gotchas in there regarding stocking fees and shipping fees paid not only returning it, but the outgoing from them as well. It sounds like I could easily eat $300-400 on the exhaust, making it likely easier for me to sell it in the classifieds.

I'm not a sound sissy here. I had an S2000 that I drove as my daily driver for 2 years and I loved it. I even took off the cover of the air intake which made the engine super loud. What I can't deal with here is the constant loud drone when I'm just crusing around normal. I woldnt' mind if it's only at WOT.

 

I feel like I've seen it advertised that way before, but probably from Kyle or one of the guys who frequents the forums. I looked at the page and it's legally pretty safe in that respect.

I know that I was told "absolutely no drone" when I called. I don't know why I ever would think to believe a salesman, but I feel like they would want to avoid this kind of customer reaction by telling the truth, or at least what they know of the truth.

 

weird that they would claim no drone. The stillen on my 6MT sedan has a little drone, that I could see being worse on an auto. Just crank up the radio a little bit haha

 

Strangely...there's even a little faint drone with the stock exhaust during some types of driving...at least with my 7AT. I've noticed it already and I only have 1,000 miles on mine. It's nothing that bothers me though...yet.

 

I'd get the invidia gemini exhaust

 

So my initial findings were as follows:
Car at idle: 56Db
Me talking: 70db
Normal driving: 65-72db
My exhaust under load: 85-90db
Me driving over the raised rumble strip on the side of the freeway: 91db

And this wasnt even my exhaust at its loudest. The hills were small and not steep so it didn't get a chance to really hit max drone.

By the way it's not a growl, cuz that's what I want, it's a probably 90-180hz constant drone.

If you have a 6mt and want to test this try going up a hill in too high a gear and floor it.