K04 on stock cat-back??

[Grabbit]

Has anyone ran a K04 on stock catback setup? I'm thinking of going K04 this spring. I currently have a stg1 APR tune, intake and ARM FMIC with an SPM street TBE (without a cat). I ran the stg1 tune with just an intake and downpipe before putting on the SPM TBE setup and I didn't notice any gains in power, just an increase in noise and drone. I daily my car in traffic and I'd love to cut the drone out by putting the OEM catback back on, just not sure if its up to handling a K04. My guess is that its not but hoping for someone to say otherwise... because drone sucks...If I don't go K04 I'm definitely putting the OEM catback back on this spring. This old man cant take the drone anymore...

 

[Tony48]

You won't lose any power using a stock catback with a K04. Put it on and enjoy the quiet until you get into the throttle :thumbsup:

 

[SnailPower]

Yup. The dp is the most important part regarding K04 or even if you went high output stg1 or 2. The cat-back is mostly for noise and looks when it comes to the rear.

Honestly, a Eurojet w/o cat 3inch DP with stock cat-back sound was awesome. The increase in sound from the DP was plenty but the car was very tame regarding the overall sound. I should of stuck with that and put AutoZone 4 inch tips to the stock 2 1/2, lol. Honestly, the stock tips are so puny looking, they definitely need an increase in size.

 

[ModdedEuros]

Stock catback is fine on Ko4. Just keep the downpipe on there

 

[MMKAY6]

It will work just fine. I have a catted downpipe along with the stock catback and I like how quiet it is while cruising. I do not like the sound at idle or anything below 2k rpms though. The car sounds like someone blowing air through their lips. 2.0 TSI engine isn't a great sounding engine and the DP/stock CB combo just highlights it.

 

[SnailPower]

It will work just fine. I have a catted downpipe along with the stock catback and I like how quiet it is while cruising. I do not like the sound at idle or anything below 2k rpms though. The car sounds like someone blowing air through their lips. 2.0 TSI engine isn't a great sounding engine and the DP/stock CB combo just highlights it.

I like to give you props for pointing that out. It sounds almost as annoying as a Honda. There is nothing special/distinct about it. I feel a red vein forms in my buddies eye at work when I tell him that (hardcore Vdubber).

 

[riceburner]

With the right setup, it sounds really nice and the engine has a nice growl in the midrange.

But to answer the question that I think the OP is really asking, you CAN run OEM turboback, but wont make near the advertised power figures, and you may need to tune to compensate for it (factcheck, anyone??). The downpipe is a major restrictor in the system. if you have a downpipe on and stock catback you are good to go.

 

[Grabbit]

Thanks everyone. If I do upgrade to K04 I'll keep an aftermarket DP on it.

 

[Allchokedup]

I run 200 cell dp on stock exhaust on ko4. I did remove the resonator and it's not loud unless you get on it.
The guy above that said it doesn't sound much different than a Honda with a fart can is wrong. When I go under a bridge I get on it and it in fact sounds good. There is nothing ricer about it, I am manual and get some gurgle farts between shifts.

 

[SnailPower]

I run 200 cell dp on stock exhaust on ko4. I did remove the resonator and it's not loud unless you get on it.
The guy above that said it doesn't sound much different than a Honda with a fart can is wrong. When I go under a bridge I get on it and it in fact sounds good. There is nothing ricer about it, I am manual and get some gurgle farts between shifts.

Okay, Honda was harsh. Those are ear bleeding, piercing loud sounding horrid. HOWEVER, there is nothing unique about the sound from these cars. It's like just an engine that becomes a louder engine with an exhaust. Of course it has it's levels based on how hard you get on it, but it's like, meh.

I may have been spoiled coming from an srt4 however. That and probably a Subie boxer motor are my two favorite sounding 4bangers.

 

[torga]

Okay, Honda was harsh. Those are ear bleeding, piercing loud sounding horrid. HOWEVER, there is nothing unique about the sound from these cars. It's like just an engine that becomes a louder engine with an exhaust. Of course it has it's levels based on how hard you get on it, but it's like, meh.

I may have been spoiled coming from an srt4 however. That and probably a Subie boxer motor are my two favorite sounding 4bangers.

I knew that this car wouldn't sound great until I got a DP (just running a Beluga catback at the moment), but I didn't expect my old '95 Celica with full GReddy exhaust to sound so much better than my GTI. Ah well, with just a Stage 1 tune, my GTI is twice as fast as my Celica :lol:

 

[GolNat]

just running a Beluga catback at the moment

How do you like the Beluga? Have you installed the DP with the Beluga? There is one for sale near me practically new for $300. I want to install my DP first to see how it sounds with just that but have not had time.

 

[torga]

How do you like the Beluga? Have you installed the DP with the Beluga? There is one for sale near me practically new for $300. I want to install my DP first to see how it sounds with just that but have not had time.

Just stock DP for now. I'm trying to keep a steady mod pace so my wallet can breathe haha
I like the Beluga - fitment was excellent. If you're looking for huge sound gains over stock, you won't get them. It is louder, but not by a huge amount. However, the tone is of higher quality, imo - deeper and smoother than OEM. Sounds like more or less like OEM when out of boost, but has a nice, smooth growl when on the beans. You won't be bothering the neighbors or setting off car alarms with this catback.
Some members have commented on surface rust, claiming a lower quality stainless steel alloy. I haven't personally seen any on mine, but that's something to consider.

 

[GolNat]

I think that is the sound I am wanting to go for. I wanted the Borla originally but for the cost of it plus cat back not offering any performance gains it seems like a lot to spend on sound IMO. I could get WMI instead and get some power out of it. At that price point I figured the SS might be of lower quality then others on the market but I saw a used Magnaflow that had surface rust too. Around this area it's hard to avoid. Thanks for the feedback, definitely something for me to consider. The guy might even come down on price more from $300.

 

[Grabbit]

Has anyone ran both a 3" CBE and the OEM CBE with a K04?? Can you speak to any power gains/losses between the two. Does the power/torque band shift at all between the two? I imagine the OEM eaxahust would feel the same below 4500ish-rpm but the 3" CBE gives a tinch of power above that?