Exhaust silencers/varex exhausts

[PotatoCake]

So my exhaust is loud and sounds awesome (good thing) but also is very loud when coming and going, dont want to piss off the neighours etc

Are the varex adjustable mufflers any good? I contacted them but they dont make r33 specific exhausts

Ive also see the adjustable inlets on this site but apparently they might restrict airflow too much which wouldnt be good for the engine.

Would prefer something thats adjustable from in cabin so i can change it on the fly, dont really want to put in one of those permanent exhaust tip things. 

Any other recommendations would be appreciated!

[The Bogan]

I had a generic 4" Varex rear box on my old V8, worked a treat for sneaking home late at night, it was as quite as stock when closed

The car was "fairly" loud when open as it consisted of 1" 7/8 headers to 3" catted Y pipe, to 4" single, it did have a resonator in the mid pipe and only the Varex out the back

I also hard wired in a Varex dash mount switch, as the key fob thing is a pain to use when driving

I wouldn't recommend giving the beans when it is closed though as it creates a large restriction in the exhaust 

It also can in very handy when pulled over for "random" breath tests or just cruising past the constabulary 

 

[PotatoCake]

10 minutes ago, The Bogan said:

It also can in very handy when pulled over for "random" breath tests or just cruising past the constabulary 

Coming home late at night and driving past the police is the only reason i need one haha

And yeh, definitley needs a switch to quickly enable it, dont have time to be getting my phone, opening an app, waiting for it to update etc before being able to make the change

[MBS206]

Plenty of modern cars run things like Varex exhausts, from HSV through to Ferrari.

Their systems are usually setup so once you meet a certain condition (RPM seems to be the main kickover on the HSV from my experience) they automatically open.

You could do the same some aftermarket ECU, IE, above X throttle, and X rpm, open the valve, otherwise shut, and then also have a switch to override it when you want a nice exhaust.

On my boss' HSV Senator, I pulled the fuse on the variable exhaust, and that fails it into the permanently open position. He loved it, and was the exact amount of idle noise etc that he wanted from it, but didn't want to buy an exhaust for it incase it was droney or shit sounding.

[Butters]

I had a 3inch varex mid muffler with a rear cannon. It was quieter closed but it wasn't enough to pass a DB test which are very strict. Still needed a silencer as well.   So they do work but they are also not magic.  

[PotatoCake]

Do they sound as good as Japanese exhausts? Ive heard their made in china and can cheap out on materials

[Butters]

I didn't like the sound of mine, much happier once it was out.  Lost it's RB note. 

Don't judge just my opinion though, be good to hear from others.

[Milkmun]

They're all just universal, will need to fab up to meet with existing exhaust and new hangers. 

Great for flying under the radar, but will not sound as good when open compared to an actual exhaust.

[PotatoCake]

8 minutes ago, Milkmun said:

Great for flying under the radar, but will not sound as good when open compared to an actual exhaust.

This is my main problem i suppose, u just cant beat the note of the rb26, and i dont really want to lose that. 

Are there any other options besides the varex exhausts then?

[Milkmun]

On 11/03/2025 at 9:54 PM, PotatoCake said:

This is my main problem i suppose, u just cant beat the note of the rb26, and i dont really want to lose that. 

Are there any other options besides the varex exhausts then?

Aes valve sort of but not really, will practically turn it into a straight pipe. So if you already had a well muffled exhaust system but the want more noise, you open the valve. Sometimes precat, sometimes postcat.

[Murray_Calavera]

@PotatoCake

Is the GTR your daily driver?

[PotatoCake]

10 minutes ago, Murray_Calavera said:

@PotatoCake

Is the GTR your daily driver?

Not a chance lol

It can get a bit droney in the fwy, which is another reason i would be looking to make it a bit quieter 

[MBS206]

59 minutes ago, PotatoCake said:

Not a chance lol

It can get a bit droney in the fwy, which is another reason i would be looking to make it a bit quieter 

Do you have a mid muffler?

[The Bogan]

8 hours ago, PotatoCake said:

Not a chance lol

It can get a bit droney in the fwy, which is another reason i would be looking to make it a bit quieter 

As stated above, if you don't have anything in the mid pipe look at putting a resonator in the mid pipe to reduce drone, the biggest and longest that will fit clearance wise

[PotatoCake]

8 hours ago, MBS206 said:

Do you have a mid muffler?

Its got hpi dumps/racepace 4" y pipe & hi flow cat, not sure which brand the exhaust is, ill attach some pics

[The Bogan]

26 minutes ago, PotatoCake said:

Its got hpi dumps/racepace 4" y pipe & hi flow cat, not sure which brand the exhaust is, ill attach some pics

If you like how loud the car is now a resonator behind that mid muffler should help with drone and not effect the volume much

I've added resonators to a few aftermarket exhausts before specifically to reduce drone, volume really never changed, but cabin noise hwy cruising was much improved......with great success 

 

[PotatoCake]

4 hours ago, The Bogan said:

I've added resonators to a few aftermarket exhausts before specifically to reduce drone, volume really never changed, but cabin noise hwy cruising was much improved......with great success 

Yeh nice, if your in melbourne could you recommend any exhaust shops in the east that do a good job?

[The Bogan]

45 minutes ago, PotatoCake said:

Yeh nice, if your in melbourne could you recommend any exhaust shops in the east that do a good job?

Yeah Nah, Sydney 

[Milkmun]

On 12/03/2025 at 1:11 PM, PotatoCake said:

Yeh nice, if your in melbourne could you recommend any exhaust shops in the east that do a good job?

Have a look at JS Performance Garage, just did a bit of work on a 32 GTR.

[Butters]

these guys recommended to me and supplied custom 4 inch mufflers, couldn't be happier. They will spec a muffler to your preferred level of sound and know RB's well. 

https://spmufflers.com.au/