Is My Cobra Y Making a Difference?

[Rook]

My OE Y pipe had a hole in the flex so I replaced it with a Cobra Y to compliment the resonated Y-back kit I have on at the moment.

 

I was positive it wasn't going to affect the sound, because I assumed it was the same dimensions as the OE, but I swear the car is louder at about 4K RPM and above.

 

Before the change the volume increased only reasonably steadily as you went up the revs at full pelt but now it seems to suddenly scream when you hit 4K and stay pretty constantly loud from there up.

 

It's great, I'm loving it, but is there any difference a Y pipe can make, or is it in my head?

[Rook]

Cats are stock, always have been, by the way.

[KyleR]

Isn't the Cobra a 3" exit compared to stock 2.5"? That'll make a difference.

[Rook]

I didn't realise if that's the case.

 

Likely to have any effect on performance pre- or post-remap?

 

I haven't remapped since switching from full OEM to cat-back Cobra. Gone off the idea of HFC's, will this have made a difference?

[Yorkie]

The cobra dimensions are 2.5" inlet pipes into a 3" collector pipe versus stock which is 2.25" inlet pipes into a 2.5" collector pipe. So along with the difference in metal (stainless), the dimensions should make a difference to the sound (probably pipe thickness too).

 

I have a cobra non-res system with OEM y pipe and am looking to upgrade to the cobra y-pipe.

 

Would you say the sound difference is that noticeable, worth £260? This is what I'm really interested in as the performance difference will be negligible.

[Rook]

Hmmmmm not sure I got £260 worth of sound. It sounds deeper, a tad louder, and opens up more in the 3.5-5k range.

 

Not night and day, I definitely noticed because I know the car well, and I do find myself listening to the car more.

 

I changed because I needed a new Y-pipe. I'd have liked to have changed before I needed to just because I like the idea of having a full system that's designed together, but the £260 isn't good value in terms of changing the sound when you consider the mid and back sections were £500 odd and make soooo much difference haha.

 

If you have a non-res, I imagine you'll notice more difference than me, though.

[Yorkie]

Thanks for getting back to me with the detailed response. My flexi pipes are starting to show some wear and fear they may start leaking soon so I'll probably just upgrade the y pipe when that happens.

 

The cobra mid and back sections were definitely worth every penny as the difference in sound was huge.

[TT350]

Installing de cat pipes made a huge difference to mine.

[Yorkie]

I am after a small gain in volume ideally, so fear that going decat or HFC is going to ruin this car for me, as it is my daily and motorway cruiser.

[TT350]

Just make noises like when you were a kid.

 

 

Brrrrrrooommmm.... neooowwww...scrrrrreeech!