Varex Rear Muffler

[Rudi_ARX-TURBO]

good morning gents.

thinking of getting a remote control rear muffler for the ar/x.

any body got one and have the pros and cons.

[Daleo]

Scotty is the man for this question.

[joshm35]

I have a varex with 4 inch tip. It's also the remote unit. My unit has recently stopped working but it's was great until this has happened. Scotty has a varex but it's boost actuated I believe. I like the option to be closed most off the time and open it when you give it a but of a squirt or on dyno. I notice closed you lose about 1 lb boost but when open isn't too loud either.

[scotty nm35]

Mine has saved me a few times, not something you would leave closed long term, but for driving into my street, or past an RBT it has proven itself many times.

There are many ways to actively silence an exhaust, but the Varex is by far the cheapest option.

[KiwiRS4T]

Cheaper still is to idle by the cops in a high gear. Varex are illegal here (probably in Aus too) although M35s are probably not cop magnets.

I think my exhaust is just legal but I avoid high revs around town especially around cops or coming home late at nights.

[Rudi_ARX-TURBO]

cheers guys, so when in race mode is the note great, eg, drags. and the street note is that loud?

[Z33Fairlady]

Cheaper still is to idle by the cops in a high gear. Varex are illegal here (probably in Aus too) although M35s are probably not cop magnets.

I think my exhaust is just legal but I avoid high revs around town especially around cops or coming home late at nights.

Was driving my NM35 Stagea on Friday night (about 10pmish) along Princes Highway (towards Springvale direction; for those who live in Victoria/Melbourne you know where I am talking about). Drove past a Highway Patrol cop car; he followed me for a while and he simply took off at the next set of lights...then literally 15 secs later, blue lights and high beam flashing behind me; cop pulls me over from behind (in his VF Commodore SS). Runs to my side...does a breath test...ask question "can i have your license, state your name and address...where are you going?...you're not cruising around racing are you?..."

Slightly off topic here; do you guys get randomly pulled over in your M35 Stageas? Spoke to a friend who drives an import and he said two things which may have explained why I spefically got pulled over:

- driving along Princes Highway at night where it is very common for street racing/traffic light drags to occur

- though the M35 Stageas look understated, they are starting to build a bad reputation by cops who specifically target imports

[Bennis]

I had one on my R33. They are illegal, but thats not the point of them. The point of them is to trick authorities into not harassing you for exhaust noise. They also keep neighbours happy and are good on long trips.

Never hit boost with the valve closed or else ull blow your manifold and turbo gaskets.

This is my old R33. The video doesnt do it justice, when the valve was closed it was like driving a stock car.

I also had my remote ditched in favor of a Momentary On/Off switch hardwired.

My varex model was a twin inlet/ twin outlet and had the valves on the inlet side so you couldnt see the valves at all. I did this for maximum fooling of the police lol.

[skyguy3804]

I have one on my M35 and to date have never been hassled by cops. As Scott said, great for going thru RBT's, cruising down the road when police are present, and on long trips. It's nice to have the control to turn the volume down when you need too I also had one on my R34 without any hassles and worked a treat!! Both have been the 3" oval ones with the single 3" inlet & the dual 3" outlets (VMK5-300), so looks stock. I've also got the remote velcro'd to the inside of the glove pocket on top of the dash (where the pop-up TV is on other models). I must admit, it has a nice rumble at idle when fully open and quieter than stock when fully closed and like others, has saved me plenty of times from *unwanted* attention. When it's open, It does get quite 'droney' at times in the cabin, but mates have said that it's not THAT loud from the outside either. I worry more about the flutter I'm getting from the turbosmart BOV!!

[scotty nm35]

Never hit boost with the valve closed or else ull blow your manifold and turbo gaskets.

No you wont, unless you have really crap gaskets.

I hit boost all the time with it closed.

It sounds like a vacuum cleaner on steroids and is louder than with the exhaust open. lol

[Trex]

Hows your home made one going scott?

[scotty nm35]

I swapped it back to the motor drive, as the boost actuated valve made it laggy.

I have since made my own 3.5 inch vac operated valve so it opens when I accelerate at any time, and closes on idle and cruise when I have vacuum in the plenum. I plan to bypass it with a 2.5 inch glasspack muffler when I get some time. It's better to automate it I think, to get rid of the drone.

[Trex]

Keep us posted on how you go. I'm still keen on something I can make the exhaust louder when I have 'that' feeling.

I was looking at these a few years ago but never did anything about it.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/271310820790

What do you think? By the looks of it and thinking about how they're setup. It seems like it would leak all the time and wouldn't give me what I want.

[scotty nm35]

They all leak, and you still need to plumb them back into a muffler, or the police will hear you coming from 50ks away.

[killeran]

I've got one in my 2000 Forester and it's pretty great.

Insane noise when open and near-stock when closed. Let's just say its louder than my Stag that has a cannon

[M35woah]

Was driving my NM35 Stagea on Friday night (about 10pmish) along Princes Highway (towards Springvale direction; for those who live in Victoria/Melbourne you know where I am talking about). Drove past a Highway Patrol cop car; he followed me for a while and he simply took off at the next set of lights...then literally 15 secs later, blue lights and high beam flashing behind me; cop pulls me over from behind (in his VF Commodore SS). Runs to my side...does a breath test...ask question "can i have your license, state your name and address...where are you going?...you're not cruising around racing are you?..."

Slightly off topic here; do you guys get randomly pulled over in your M35 Stageas? Spoke to a friend who drives an import and he said two things which may have explained why I spefically got pulled over:

- driving along Princes Highway at night where it is very common for street racing/traffic light drags to occur

- though the M35 Stageas look understated, they are starting to build a bad reputation by cops who specifically target imports

I never get hassled, even when I had P plates on it, I've even got a kakimoto exhaust on it and the kaki has a larger tip around the actual tip of the exhaust that makes it look like a cannon. I've had police follow me for ages but that's only because I've over taken them and sat in front.

It's also registered in a 60 year old lady's name lol.

I reckon most likely wrong place wrong time situation, they specifically asked you if you've been racing....

Back on topic. If the turbo ever gets strapped onto my car, I'm hoping that the drone will be lessened, if not I'll be looking down the varex path if not varex then it'll be nismo or fujitsubo zorstipoo.

[Blek]

Was driving my NM35 Stagea on Friday night (about 10pmish) along Princes Highway (towards Springvale direction; for those who live in Victoria/Melbourne you know where I am talking about). Drove past a Highway Patrol cop car; he followed me for a while and he simply took off at the next set of lights...then literally 15 secs later, blue lights and high beam flashing behind me; cop pulls me over from behind (in his VF Commodore SS). Runs to my side...does a breath test...ask question "can i have your license, state your name and address...where are you going?...you're not cruising around racing are you?..."

Slightly off topic here; do you guys get randomly pulled over in your M35 Stageas? Spoke to a friend who drives an import and he said two things which may have explained why I spefically got pulled over:

- driving along Princes Highway at night where it is very common for street racing/traffic light drags to occur

- though the M35 Stageas look understated, they are starting to build a bad reputation by cops who specifically target imports

As above, probably wrong time wrong place. If you're innocent and polite to the police, they'll show you the same respect back. It's unfortunate that sometimes a few idiots ruin it for the rest of us.

Personally, I have never been pulled over by a highway patrol, though I have been randomly pulled over by a single cop whom had set up his own RBT station on a rural road around Glenorie, NSW. After breathalyzing me, he walked around the rear of my car and stared at it for a few seconds (which felt like a whole heap longer!), came back to the driver's window and questioned it's loudness: "It sounds a bit loud, don't you think mate?"

"mmm yeah maybe - it's not that loud though?"

"Okay, off you go.."

I've been through a few RBT stations as well where the police have had a good look at the outside of the car, but they've never questioned the volume of the exhaust or given me a hard time. I figure, RBT stations are really out there to catch drunk drivers - not to write up defect notices?

For the record, I am not quite sure what exhaust is in the car. Some kind of custom 3" though.

Does anyone know how many decibels the legal limit is for exhausts in NSW?

[M35woah]

Always thought legal was around 90dB.

http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/noise/vehiclenoise.htm

Plus they really have to measure it with a proper sound level measuring device, not a phone app.

I guess they'll use it as an indication, but I'd loose my shit if ol mate senior sergeant constable Greg Browne pulls out his iphone and says my exhaust is over the legal limit.

Edited June 16, 2014 by M35woah

[Daleo]

Nah, they'll just say it "sounds too loud" and send you to a test station.

Varex is an instant defect.

[killeran]

Yeah 90dB is the legal limit.

As #@Daleo said, if you do get pulled up on sound they will test you but if you're caught with the Varex it's instantly game over

If you go to an exhaust customs place they are usually happy to do a dB range check for your car.

I had one done with the cannon and got 93dB @ 3000rpm and 98dB on back off, so yeah not "legal". They fabricated a pea-shooter exhaust for me which is a simple bolt on at the flange whenever I please. This system is ~80dB keeping me well under the limit, so if I am ever unlucky enough to be summoned to a dB Range check by police I have that ready and waiting to put on

Sure it looks ridiculous, but whatever keeps me out of trouble hey!