Tifosi

Unless I am mistaken, but it seems to me that there are just not that many cabriolet owners out there with aftermarket exhaust systems. If you have one, please sound off and tell us which system you decided on.

Thanks.

Tifosi

I started the same thread over on AZ and gotten 150+ views with no replies. But I do know of at least two AWE equipped cars out there, one being AWE's tester and the other, the owner had traded in for a new 911 only after weeks of ownership if I am not mistaken. I also know that there is at least one Stasis car here in Seattle as I have seen one on the road. Anyway, now there are at least three AWE equipped cabriolets and this is my review.

Automobiles have always been a passion of mine since I was young. Driving is never a chore for me and it has always been something that I enjoy regardless of type of vehicle. Needless to say, my own view of what a driving experience or expectation will vary depending on the type of vehicle I am in. When it comes to sports cars or sports sedans, I believe the experience should be more visceral. It should be a symphony of all senses that includes sight, smell and sound. I guess this is why I do not see an electric vehicle as a DD in my near future due to the obivious reasons listed above. Audi has done a wonderful job with the S5 cabriolet, with the exception of two things, it is a perfect car for me and the it has provided great ownership experience for the past two years. The two exceptions are, 1) Lack of manual trans and 2) Lack of a more notable exhaust tone from the engine. Audi has not done anything about the first and it looks like they never will as DSG seems to be the future for all cars, but they agreed on the second, which they "corrected" by adding the Soundaktor to the B8.5 cars. While I am not a fan of this practice of artifically enhenced sound, I can however, appreciate the logic behind it. For one thing, it does offer the driver choices.

Decision:

After two years of waiting to see if more tuners will enter the S5 cabriolet market, I finally got tired of waiting. Miltek, AWE and Stasis are the only three that I know of that offers a system at a "reasonable" price. Per conversation with AWE, there are enough differences between the cabriolet and its B8/8.5 siblings that they are not all interchangable which may be why APR and Borla chose to pass on creating a system for the cabriolets. Also, part of the delay in making the purchase was due to lack of confirmation if the AWE system will clear the sports differential of not. The AWE tester car did not have sports differential. This was later confirmed by AWE that the system will indeed fit cars with sports differential, which seals my decision on going with AWE.

Ordering & Shipping:

I decided to take advantage of the holiday sale this past holiday season and made a purchase from Rabe Motorsport for an AWE system. I chose AWE because of their long standing reputation with Audi/VW and being a US company (Yes, I like to support US business when the option is avilable). I did not buy from a local AWE dealer because the closest dealer to me is ~200 miles away in Portland, Oregon (This will play a key role later), which worked out okay as Nat at Rabe was a pleasure to deal with. The system arrived in a little over 4 weeks and in two boxes. Kudos to AWE for the short time frame for a made-to-order system as they indeed kepted their promise as advertised. Since the cabriolets are only available with S-Tronic, which is notoriously known for drones, AWE only offers their system with resonated downpipes, in other words, a complete cat-back system. After going through the check list of parts, I noticed that the system for the cabriolets are indeed different from the coupes. The passanger mid-pipe for the S4/S5 are one piece as oppose to the cabriolets, which is two. As a result of that, you need an extra clamp. After going through the parts list, two things are missing, one exhaust clamp and bolts/nuts that holds the adjustable tips. I contacted AWE the next day and spoke to Mike. He asked me to send him photos of the system and called me back the same afternoon. He apologized for the missing parts and had them send via Next-Day shipping. This minor mishap is not a big deal and it can happen to any company. The point I am trying to make here is that to always check the parts list, it would be much more complicated matter and a real pain to be half way through the install then finding out that you are missing parts.

Finish and Quality:

I am not an expert and I will not pretend to be one. However, my installer, not associated with any tuner in any way, commented on the craftsmanship of the system. It is easily one of the best made system that he has ever seen and believe me, he has seen a lot of them after 20+ years of being a Chief Master-Tech.

Installation and Alignment:

From what I understand, it is a little more complicated with the cab then its other sibiliings, mainly due to the extra chasis re-enforcements that needs to come off in order to take the stock system off the car without cutting the stock system. While the system goes on the car without much drama, the alignment is an entirely different story. Multi-piece system offers the advantage when it comes to shipping and the ability to adjust and fine tune the system accordingly. However, it makes alignment more of an art than just a job. The two piece passanger mid-pipe needs to be in a correct orientation to clear which is easier said than done because it is not a symmetrical straigh pipe. In addition, you not only need to worry about the clearence between the system and the rest of the car (Including the Sports Differential), you also need to make sure that the system will clear the middle deflector/brace and more importantly, the re-enforcement bars underneath. Per exchanged message, the difficulty was shared by the other owner as well. He had to make 5 different trips to the shop until he was happy with the alignment. As for me, it was only 3 and I was even considering making the drive down to Matrix (A seasoned AWE dealer) in Portland had it not worked out after the third try. Luckily, I did not have to.

Sound:

Needless to say, the difference in sound is immediately notable and appreciated at startup. It has a much deeper tone with burbles. Drone was indeed present between 1,800 and 2000 rpms and especially so in 7th @ ~60 mph or under load going uphill. And wouldn't you know it, living here in Seattle, we just happen to have a lot of those hills. However, just as stated by AWE, the drone that was present initially was reduced significantly after about 800 miles. However, that first 200 miles were unbearable for me. I could have swore that I was getting a headach even after getting out of the car. In addition to the alignment issue, I was seriously considering putting the OEM system back and be done with my desire for a better overall driving experience. Now, after about 2000 miles has gone by, I can still detect a little drone under the same condition. Overall, the exhaust is relatively quiet under normal driving, but transforms into a completely different beast when pushed. It is not quite the same as an American V8 exhaust sound but it certainly has the elements of a much more sophisticated European sound to it.

Conclusion:

Please keep in mind that this is just my own personal opinion of the AWE system. I would have preferred to have the system a little quieter when under load or spirited acceleration at the stated 2,000 rpm range, however, I do believe this is an inherited issue with the S-Tronic cars and not AWE's fault. The system may have been quiter had AWE chose to go with a system that's slightly smaller like Miltek, but that may not be what AWE was looking for when they developed the system. And with that logic, as nice as the adjustable tips already are, I would have prefer something a little smaller and more understated. Don't get me wrong here because the double walled tips really looks great, fit and finish and all, but I just think they are a little too "loud" visually. With that said, I am very satisfied with the system overall and will easily give the system an "A". While adding an aftermarket exhaust adds only marginal performance gains, the effect it has on improved driving experience for an enthusiast is exponentially better by folds. It is not an inexpensive mod to the car, but in my opinion, the reward is well worth it. Especially when you should be able to re-sale the system later if you should chose to and with it being just a cat-back system, you should not have to worry about having warranty issues with the dealership and AoA.















Link to AWE's own video on the system:
Link to the other AWE equppied S5 Cabriolet that I know of:

NJViper

Car: 2010 Audi S5 Cabriolet

I plan to head down to AWE next week to take a look at some of their options 1st hand. They are located fairly close to me, which is a big factor since ECU software can be done onsite instead of having to send it out.

I'm looking to eventually upgrade the exhaust, ecu software, air filter, and maybe the supercharger pulley (not released yet). I'm open to other mods anyone has tried and recomends.

I'll update the post after my visit.

I love most of what Audi did with the S5, but I wish they had the option of the V8 in the cabriolet. Coming from a 2005 S4 cabrolet it is a completely different driving experience, not to mention the even the stock exhaust sound was joy compared to the S5.

Tifosi

AWE Exhaust Follow Up:

It has been ~5 months and ~7,000 miles since the exhaust has been on the car. The drone is now completely gone and I am left to the wonder exhaust note that the system provides. The system isn't cheap but it is, IMO, well worth the money for those that prefers more involvement when it comes to motoring.

Churchill

Yeah, I know this is an old thread.

If Tifosi is still around maybe he could tell me if he ordered the Track or Touring cat back and whether he went with non-res or res for his downpipes?

I'm sold on AWE's Touring set up, still undecided about which downpipes to go with.