Hey, everyone.
I'm Justin with americanmuscle.com.
And in this video, we show you what happens when you cut out the factory resonator on
your Active Exhaust-equipped 2018 Mustang GT and replace it with an aftermarket X-pipe.
The Active Exhaust system on the 2018 Mustang is an awesome edition from the factory that
gives owners the ability to control the volume of the exhaust using a button on the steering
wheel to select between four different modes: quiet, normal, sport, and track.
Now, if you forked out the nearly $900 to get this option on your newer S550 Mustang,
then chances are you're not in a big hurry to remove that factory exhaust in favor of
an aftermarket option.
But what if you want a little bit more volume and maybe change up the tone a little bit?
Well, removing the factory resonator in favor of an aftermarket mid-pipe would definitely
be the way to go.
If you didn't already know, a lot of the 2015 through 2017 parts transfer over to the 2018
here, and this does include those mid-pipes.
So for the purposes of this video, we did select the most popular X-pipe option currently
in the category for those S550 cars.
And this is the SR Performance cut and clamp option.
This thing is gonna deliver a full stainless steel build, two-and-a-half-inch mandrel-bent
tubing, all for just north of 100 bucks, making it not only the most popular option in the
category but also the most affordable as well.
Traditionally, that X-pipe will help contribute to a little bit more rasp in addition to a
higher pitch tone overall when compared to the factory resonator or even an aftermarket
H-pipe.
Just a heads up here, guys, we will be doing this same exact video but with one of those
aftermarket H-pipes, so be sure to stay tuned for that, and, of course, subscribe to our
YouTube channel so you don't miss that or any other great 2018 content.
But here's what we're gonna do today.
We've already got our X-pipe installed on our 2018 GT behind me.
We're gonna take the car outside, give you some stock revs, and then compare that to
some X-pipe revs in each mode so you can hear the difference.
We're also gonna use a decibel meter to compare the car with the factory resonator to the
car with the X-pipe to see if there is any difference in volume.
So without further ado, let's go make some noise.
All right guys, so we're outside.
We already have our stock numbers in the books with the decibel meter.
Now we're gonna re-rev the car with the X-pipe installed.
For reference sake, I'm gonna stand about 8 to 10 feet behind the car in order to give
you our most accurate maximum decibel reading with each mode, starting with quiet and going
all the way down the line to track mode, compare the numbers, and show you guys the results.
[00:02:31] [Silence]
[00:03:06]
Well, quiet mode is in the books and already we're seeing a noticeable jump in sound.
Now, baseline with the stock resonator in place was just over 100 decibels, now we're
107.2.
So a noticeable increase in sound already in quiet mode, but I have a feeling things
are only gonna get louder from here.
[00:03:22] [Silence]
[00:03:54]
Well, we just wrapped up our normal mode with the X-pipe installed.
And as predicted, things got a lot louder.
Now, with the stock resonator still in place, the car registered 111.9 decibels.
Well, now with the X-pipe in place, the normal mode is ringing in at a loud 119.2 decibels.
Now, that's louder than the track mode with our stock resonator in place.
So things are getting louder.
They're only gonna get louder from here.
Let's make some more noise.
[00:04:21] [Silence]
[00:04:55]
Sport mode clips are now in the books.
And with the stock resonator in place, the car registered at 113.4 decibels in sport
mode.
Now, with the X-pipe in place, we're looking at 120.5 decibels.
So a noticeable increase over that stock resonator, and only a slight increase over normal mode
with the X-pipe in place.
But now, last but not least, the all-out track mode.
I can only imagine these numbers are gonna go up from here.
[00:05:20] [Silence]
[00:05:59]
Well, track mode is as advertised.
My ears are still ringing because we just registered 122.2 decibels on our decibel meter.
Now, compare that to our stock resonator in track mode, which registered 114.3 decibels,
and, obviously, a huge increase in volume.
Now, for reference sake here, guys, average rock concerts register around 115 decibels,
while a military jet taking off an aircraft carrier at 50 feet tends to come in at 130
decibels.
So we're right smack dab in the middle of both of those.
And obviously, the car is making a lot more noise now with that aftermarket X-pipe in
place.
That's gonna wrap up our X-pipe comparison here with our Active Exhaust on our 2018 Mustang
GT.
Keep in mind we do have an H-pipe version of this video coming your way very soon.
And if you like what you see, you like all of our 2018 content, go ahead and subscribe
to our YouTube channel.
I'm Justin.
Thanks for watching.
And for all things Mustang, keep it right here at americanmuscle.com.