You joined us last month as we unveiled our outline for “Mafia BOSS” and all the sponsors participating in the project. This month we are going to break down exhaust options and do a full review of why we feel Larini was the best possible exhaust option for our Quattroporte.
Picking an exhaust for an exotic can be somewhat frustrating as the costs can be very different ranging from $2000-$8000 and honestly all promise to do just about the same in terms of horsepower. The real difference however lies in the sound which ultimately in an exotic car is much more important than the 1-2 hp difference you attain from each exhaust. Now the real problem remains that the only way you can get a real gauge of sound is when you hear it in person as clips can be deceiving and misleading.
Since we faced the same dilemma, we decided to take the thinking out of it by calling Jeff at Formula Dynamics and have him tell us what has worked best for all his customers. Formula Dynamics offers a wide range of products for Italian marquees like Ferrari and Maserati and has a great reputation on and offline for his products and service.
We talked to Jeff about finding us the perfect sounding exhaust while remaining conscious of cost as we were on a budget for our build. He recommended the Larini Sports Exhaust which to be honest didn’t sound that great in clips we were able to hear online. We decided to just go with his expertise and advice and moved forward with contacting Larini. The exhaust was one of the better priced ones while coming from a reputable exhaust manufacturer who had a history of building awesome exhaust systems for the Ferraris and Maseratis.
We finally received the exhaust which immediately struck us as simply beautiful. Fully polished canisters and beautiful tips about 1.5 time larger than the factory tips made us feel comfortable with our choice. The exhaust even comes with the letters QP written on the canisters. The install was very straight forward and easy thanks to our friend Josh at Exotic Car Specialties of Northern VA, who carefully installed the exhaust in less than 1.5 hours . For anyone in the DC/MD/VA area, we highly endorse Josh for any of your exotic/luxury car needs as not only he is extremely knowledgeable but also because his rates are simply unbeatable for his work.
Finally, our car was fitted with the Larini Sports exhaust and was ready to be test driven BUT first we just had to make sure someone finally gets a good sound clip for others contemplating the exhaust and so we became that “ someone”.
The first thing to notice about the exhaust is how beautiful it looks and how well it fits. The noise it makes when you are outside the car is similar to a stock F430 until you are at WOT at which point it becomes like a Stage 1 F430. The noise is “medium” level in terms of how loud it actually is, but the crisp sound remains through all RPMs. The most interesting part is how it sounds exactly like stock from inside the car, making it hard to enjoy the sound unless you lower the rear windows but even then, not really getting the full sound. You end up relying on your friends and people’s thumbs up to remind you that it sounds good. I highly recommend having your friend drive your car and having you listen sitting outside the car as he flys by or just drives. This gives you a great gauge of how it really sounds to others.
All in all an excellent piece for the money and highly recommended for anyone looking to spend less than $5000 for an exhaust. On a side note, we opted out of getting the X pipe as our car already had one being a Sport GT but if you are running a non Sport GT, then make sure to get your X pipe as well as exhaust for the ultimate sound.
If you are interested in getting an exhaust for your Quattroporte, make sure to call Jeff at Formula Dynamics @ 1800-351-8757. Just remember to let him know Secret Entourage sent you so you can get the best possible price. Join us next month as we look at suspension options and review our choices.
Photo Credit: Steven Di Leonardo
