I think I like the exhaust as it is. I came from a m5 v10, f430 and scuderia. I'm not sure about sounding like a vacuum. I think that's an over exaggeration. But, I also had a 911 TT and was satisfied with that too, maybe I'm getting old?
How old? I remember when turbos meant huge lag. Heat sync was a big problem. You had to cool down before parking the car. You really had to watch the temp while driving as well. Turbos bring back bad memories for me. I realize the technology has changed. But in the back of my mind something bad is going to happen...especially for a performance car.
Was it an HJS cat? I think the quality of cat matters to. If I recall in my research correctly, HJS Germany also builds cats for OEM. The OEM cat should be around 600 cell. A proper 200 cell cat shouldnt flow much differently than a 100 cell cat.
The Stradale I drove had HyperFlow cats. I don't know anything else about them. But the loss of low end torque was very noticeable. I installed Capristo 200 cell cats on my Speciale. I think HJS make Capristo cats (anyone know for sure)? I also found it difficult to confirm with any certainly how many cells the OEM cats were (I think they are 800, but you may be right at 600). I bought a package from Capristo that included 200 cell cats, heat blankets and O2 simulators. I'm very happy with the much more aggressive exhaust sound. I didn't pursue 100 cell cats only because I heard they didn't last nearly as long. But if I had it to do over again I'd seriously consider 100 cell cats just for a click more exhaust sound... I'm anxious to hear Ron's Speciale with OEM cats and Tubi straight pipes (important to note that these straight pipes replace the OEM silencers NOT the OEM cats). I've never heard of anyone doing this before. Carlo, if you read this post, what are your thoughts on keeping OEM cats but replacing the silencers with straight pipes? Any idea how the sound would compare to Frequency Intelligence or Novitec back box?
All I have is an iPhone 6. I can try to record the exhaust sound, but I don't think it will be too useful. But I'll try. I'll post it if it works I think Ron is going to post a video of his Speciale with those Tubi pipes that replace the OEM silencers. I bet Ron is well equipped to properly capture the sound. I'm looking forward to hearing his car It's hard to describe exhaust sound. It's such a subjective topic. I really wanted to hear some Speciales with different exhaust configurations in person to help me decide which way to go with my Speciale. But I wasn't close enough to anybody so it wasn't practical. I read everything I could find about exhaust systems on fchat and other sources, and it seems the consensus is that cats have the single biggest impact on exhaust sound. That's why I decided to take an incremental approach. My plan was to first start by replacing the OEM cats (I think they are 800 cells) with 200 cell cats (although if I did it over again I would consider 100 cell cats). Fortunately for me, I was very satisfied with the more aggressive exhaust sound with the 200 cell cats so I probably won't pursue any further changes. But I think that starting with 200 cell cars (or 100 cell) is a good place to start. Then, if you want more, then I'd change the OEM back box with something like Frequency Intelligence Ultimate Race exhaust or Novitec back box. But now that Ron introduced me to another option that I never heard of (replace OEM back box with Tubi straight pipes) I might consider that in lieu of Fi or Novitec back box. Have you read the post on exhaust options by Chrixxx? http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/458-italia-488/465931-speciale-sound-crisis-6.html
I have driven my Spec for 2 days now and I don't understand why people would say that the Spec has an exhaust sound issue. I came from a f430 and scuderia. If you drive it, it has a civility to it and if you want it loud, you need to play the throttle and gears. If you go 1 thru 7 gear, you may not get enough pressure to get the valves open up. At low speed, when you shift gear, try to remove some of the pressure in the throttle, you will have a deep throaty sound. At high speed and above 4 RPM, you wont miss it.
I had Stradales, and the stock exhaust sounds great. Especially when down shifting aggressively! When I got my Speciale I was disappointed immediately because the exhaust sound when downshifting aggressively was "muted". Nothing like the ripping sounds the Stradale made. This motivated me to look for a solution. After reading everything I could find on this topic, I concluded that the cats were the best place to start. I replaced the OEM cats (which I believe are 800 cells per square inch) with 200 cell cats. Big difference. Not as extreme as "straight pipes", but a reasonable compromise.
Even with 200 cell cats my Speciale is still pretty civilized when I want to be civilized. But when you want to go into "boy racer mode" the high flow cats provides a much more aggressive exhaust sound. Best of both worlds IMHO.
Hard to tell with my crummy computer speakers. It just seems to me that mods made further upstream have a bigger impact on the exhaust sound than mods at the mufflers. I believe the OEM cats are 800 cells per inch. That has to restrict exhaust flow tremendously. I don't have a picture of what 800 CPI cats look like, but Frequency Intelligence has a picture on their website (valvetronic exhaust system - Frequency Intelligent Exhaust) of their 200 cell cats compared to 100 cell cats. Look at the attached picture and imagine how restrictive 800 cell cats must look like. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Well after listening to it a few times it doesn't really show off the nice pops and gurgles the exhaust makes. But I am sure you are right that the cats need to be changed to really offer a better sound. I'll see if I can make another video soon.
I think what is missing here is the difference in the aerodynamics when comparing either. Sound travels through differently on the Speciale. The whole ass end of the car is open whereas on the 458 Spider or coupe two thirds of it are closed. Ferrari did a massive amount of wind tunnel testing and when at speed the sound along with air stream is thrown away from the car. The sound is also dissipated by not being able to bounce around in the rear end by how open it is. Now, all I can say is the first thing I did on both cars was to get rid of the damn flap regulation with a Capristo unit. Night and day. That crap was annoying especially on the Spider. Droning on and off, on and off. To my ear going through the Lehigh tunnel here in PA, holy crap on either car! Open top was obviously louder by default. Pops and crackles came back with the Ferrari Sport exhaust by the way, so for 3-4K and its covered under Warranty, best of both. 458 Spider slightly higher pitch (I put on the Ferrari sport exhaust as well) 458 Speciale just a tick under pitch (not much) but more volume and meaner So all in all my advice is to just get control of the valve bypass first. Its nice to be able to cruise when you want without getting a headache. Other than that the world is your oyster. Great times to be alive! Best
With my factory stock Speciale, it still scares the crxxp out of people when I downshift in a tunnel. The sound is still incredible when keeping the car in the rev range that it's intended to be driven in. With that being said; I love the sound, just want more of it. Eventually, I'll be switching over to 200 cell hi flow cats. I still want my wife to be able to enjoy the drive, and test pipes would make it too annoying for her!
I took my Speciale to my dealer the other day to have the exhaust valves disabled. I didn't watch them, but I think they just pulled off the vacuum lines and plugged them. Took about 5 minutes. Although the bi-modal exhaust sound didn't bother me, I think it's more natural not to have a bi-modal exhaust. Plus, I like the louder and more aggressive sound at low RPMs. I have a question. When my car is cold and i start the engine the exhaust sounds very loud and aggressive...for the first minute. Then, even though the exhaust valves were disabled, after about a minute you can clearly hear the exhaust quiet down a lot. If I didn't know better, I'd think the exhaust valves were still operational. Listen to the attached video, and you can clearly hear the exhaust quiet down considerably around the 1:07 point. Any idea why the exhaust quiets down even thought the vacuum lines to the exhaust valves were plugged? https://youtu.be/l0qLA2nKfGY
The ruckus you're hearing on initial startup has nothing to do with the bypass vales. On cold start up it's designed to run at high idle , dump more fuel and run the air pump for the first 60 sec to bring up the cats to min operating temp asap , think of it as the modern day choke system. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I made a short "before" video revving my Speciale with Capristo 200 cell cats and the OEM back box. I placed my iPad about 10 feet behind the car. I wish I had something better to record the sound, but hopefully this video will give you some idea of the exhaust sound. BTW, in real life the hair on the back of my neck was sticking straight up https://youtu.be/G0Rfr2ZHMTU My Ferrari dealer is going to install a Frequency Intelligence Ultimate Race exhaust in a couple of weeks. I'll post an "after" video as soon as I can. For the record, I was not satisfied with my Speciale's exhaust sound with OEM cats and back box. Last year, I replaced the OEM cats with Capristo 200 cell cats. BIG improvement. Now a year later (Im bored), I decided to kick things up a notch by replacing the OEM back box with a Frequency Intelligence Ultimate Race exhaust. This exhaust comes with valves that can be controlled with a fob. Probably a good idea. Although, since the Fi Ultimate Race silencers are so small compared to the OEM silencers, I bet the exhaust will still be relatively loud even when youd like to be quieter Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Not surprised Rick. I've heard the version you are going to add. It's louder and nice. Cant get back to 458 Italia pitch, but it is nicer than stock.
The Italia is a tough act to follow But I'm much happier now than I was when I first heard my Speciale! BTW, I'm curious if you've heard the Fi "Ultimate Race" or the "Evolution" exhaust? Frequency Intelligence discontinued the Evolution about a year ago, and they replaced it with the Ultimate Race. Fi told me it sounds even better...whatever that means The only guy I know that has a Frequency Intelligence exhaust on his Speciale is Robert (fchat rblissjr), and he has their Evolution exhaust...but he also has straight pipes so I can't imagine any way to make a Speciale sound better than Robert's Speciale. But straight pipes are so "intense" that I just can't go to that level But I bet the 200 cell cats with Fi Ultimate Race will still sound pretty good Not Italia good, but still pretty good.
Look at the size of the Speciale OEM cats and mufflers compared to the Frequency Intelligence Evolution exhaust... which was discontinued last year and replaced by the even smaller Ultimate Race exhaust. Image Unavailable, Please Login
