AEM (DC Sports) Cat-Back Exhaust Review
First Impressions
When I received the exhaust, and after cleaning up 5 trash bags worth of packing peanuts, I was thoroughly impressed with the quality and craftsmanship of the exhaust. The piping and flanges were welded with clean welds, the stainless steel was clean and the packaging was well done. The only problem I found was packing peanuts in the secondary b-pipe, even though it was bagged. I had to pick some out with my fingers because they were stuck to the mandrel lube and the rest I blew out with a can of compressed air.
Installation
Other than mounting the resonator upside down, the installation was quite easy. The hardest part was the removal of the stock exhaust. The instructions were very easy to follow (as if instructions were needed) and all the required parts were included.
Fitment
Fitment was great. The flanges lined up with their appropriate counterparts perfectly. The only issue was initially mounting the resonator upside down.
On a side note, my car is lowered 1.6" and the lowest point of the car is a pair of mated flanges which sit 3.5" above the ground. Already gave it a good scraping leaving Peter's place.
Sound
This exhaust produces a low growl when first starting the engine and is fairly quiet, which is the way I like it. Not too loud.
Audio clip (Digital audio clips sound crappy, especially when done with a digital camera)
Performance
First thing I noticed was throttle response. Acceleration was felt sooner than with the stock exhaust.
Below is the dyno performed with the DC Sports exhaust. From what I have been told, the Mustang Dyno reads 10% - 15% lower than a DynoJet (which is what my previous dyno was done on). The only mods done to the car since installing the exhaust are groundwires and synthetic oil (which are negligible). Previous dyno - 164whp [AEM CAI, Nology HotWires, Silverstone plugs], Current Dyno - 172whp - 179whp (with 10% - 15% difference)
Oh, and the spikes in the dyno were due to my Nology wires, according to the technician.
