Seth (UBER A4)

I had the pleasure of having a number of different parts on my car over time and I'm one of the lucky people to have driven both the GIAC and APR chip prior to going with Stage 3. Part of my Stage 3 upgrade was to replace my Borla exhaust with the APR. APR suggested that this would help performance of the kit b/c the APR exhaust flows through a 2.5" pipe while the Borla is through a 2.25" pipe. Makes sense, right? Read on for the early results.

1) Quality: Hmmm. The APR looks a little shinier! And the tips are trick! The APR is a much sturdier steel and you can feel the weight difference between the two. I'm really not sure how else to assess "quality" the other factors should be added to this one so keep reading.

2)Fit: Wow, that is important and part of quality IMO. Ok, first, know this, I had the Borla on my car prior to the stage 3. It fit perfectly. After stage 3 went on, it was a friggin nightmare b/c of the repositioning of the exhuast due to the enlarged high flow cat. Honestly it sucked from day one. This may be a specific issue for the Avant. Is that Borla' fault? Probably not. APR's? Probably not. When you mess with things, things are not the same. OK, so the new exhuast is on and it is a LOT better fit for me on the Stage 3. It is NOT a perfect fit yet but I think it will be resolved. DSR has been very supportive, as always.

Sound: The tiniest bit louder than the Borla--almost imperceptible. The Borla might sound the tiniest bit better, but that was the pre stage 3 impression, after stage 3 they sounded about the same.

Performance: Well, that is what you are all wondering. Yes, it made a difference. How much?? Well, butt dyno says 10hp, 15 tops. It does seem to spool a little faster, and pull a little harder. So it does make a difference. It was not a huge difference.

For me, it was worth it. I want to maximize the investment I've made in STage 3 and this was part of that plan. I've decided that every part I put on that car should be the best part I can find for the application, and this was it.

Others can draw their own impressions.

P.S. I'm hoping that one day APR will dyno the two different exhausts (they hinted they might) on a stage 3 to get objective output data. This will let me know just how accurate my butt dyno is.

nick n

Would you happen to have the spring rates handy?

Does the ride ever feel over-bound in the high speed banks or on street? (i.e.: crossing over an expansion joint diagonally at 60mph).

In reference to your post (not a direct comparison), my borla gets loud under WOT..especially when I cut the tips within tips out.

Seth (UBER A4)

Over sprung? Is that what you mean? Hmm. I'd say the only time I feel that way is over these "whoop de doos" they have on the 280 in norcal. Its like a series of undulations in the road that really get the thing going up and down. My Probe GT (stock) practically got airborne over them. This car is a pain on them, but not as bad. With stock it was just a a floaty feeling. So other than that trade off, no it feels great.

I don't know the rates, but they are the stock s4 coilovers. For a good comparison ask a guy named Josh (Got Root is his handle) he drove the car back to back with his upgraded suspension and was really impressed with the mod.

nick n

Yes, over sprung. thanks.