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CTS Catback Exhaust - Worth It?

chardav7767

chardav7767

New member
Hey all, I'm new to this forum as I have recently purchased a 2013 GTI Drivers Edition with less that 25K miles. I have been peeping around different exhaust videos and the APR and the CTS Catback Exhausts have caught my eye, but not much info on this forum has been given on the CTS Catback. If anybody has or had this exhaust please let me know your experiences and opinion on it!
 
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pioneercrazed

Passed Driver's Ed
TBH no catback is worth it on this car. The only thing you really gain is sound, not performance. So the question is how much is a little sound worth to you?

I'm not sure how much their catback is off the top of my head but for probably about the same amount of money you can get a stage 1 tune and gain over 50 hp. That's what I call bang for the buck.

I realize you didn't ask for this info specifically but figured I'd let you know since you're new and don't want you to regret it down the line.
 
pashley

pashley

Ready to race!
I have it on my car. Without pairing it with a DP it will sound pretty tame compared to the other options out there. It is near stock sound at idle, but gets loud when you get into boost. It is good for us guys who don't want to attract too much unwanted attention or who live in quieter neighborhoods. I can't really speak to power gains as I didnt dyno before and after install. There have been some complaints on the forums re: fitment for exhaust parts from CTS. While mine does sit a bit low, the tips are well-aligned and I had no install issues. Overall, I like this exhaust because it works for my lifestyle and driving habits. If you are looking for the loudest, meanest sound then you should def look at other options.
 
ModdedEuros

ModdedEuros

Go Kart Champion
A catback is not going to be as loud no matter what you go with as the downpipe is really what holds up the power and sound in the car. Some are def louder than others but it is nice to start with a catback since a tune is not needed for the CEL that can occur from the downpipe.

Personally we run CTS exhaust products on some of our cars and like them a lot.

Plus generally you can snag them for a good deal. Like their holiday sale ends tomorrow
https://www.moddedeuros.com/volkswagen/golf-gti/mk6-10-13/4-sale?utf8=✓&search[brand_id_in][]=31
 
S

songyun

Ready to race!
if the sound worth your money?
 
chardav7767

chardav7767

New member
For sure, thanks for the opinion! I'm definitely looking for an exhaust that is quiet at idle but louder higher up the RPMS, so that is why the CTS caught my eye. With that said I definitely would need to find a DP to do the job, because with the neighborhood friendly exhaust I still want some power out of it if you catch my drift.
 
chardav7767

chardav7767

New member
It's all good, thanks for the input. I'm also thinking of going stage 1 or stage 2 later after a few mods but an exhaust is one of the first things I plan on doing to my car. Do you still think a catback with DP won't hold as much power as a full turboback or something else?
 
chardav7767

chardav7767

New member
For sure! I'm definitely looking for an exhaust that is stealthy at lower rpms but can still sound mean higher in boost. Since you have had more experience with CTS do you think any of their exhausts could do this for me?
 
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amonk

New member
Fyi the AWE catback is on sale at Urotuning for a few more days. You'll have to wait for AWE to build it. I just ordered one :)
 
SnailPower

SnailPower

Autocross Newbie
Honestly, I don't think I've heard 1 good sounding exhaust for this car. They all sound whiny and raspy. Almost Honda like. Then again, coming from an SRT4, most 4 bangers do outside of the boxer engine...
I do know there are some interesting sound setups when you get the right downpipe paired with a nice catback.
 
O

olisjk

Passed Driver's Ed
I first had the cts catback installed and was real excited. Then the guy who installed it even said its quiet lol. So I went and got a catless cts downpipe, got the car tuned, and now it sounds and feels amazing. I personally think it's perfect because it's not too loud but you can for sure hear the difference. Then again I'm not the type of person that likes to set off alarms throughout the neighborhoods.
 
chardav7767

chardav7767

New member
Olisiwk said:
I first had the cts catback installed and was real excited. Then the guy who installed it even said its quiet lol. So I went and got a catless cts downpipe, got the car tuned, and now it sounds and feels amazing. I personally think it's perfect because it's not too loud but you can for sure hear the difference. Then again I'm not the type of person that likes to set off alarms throughout the neighborhoods.
Click to expand...

I totally feel you. I was just looking at the CTS DP and im seriously considering it! What site did you order it from?
 
M

MelowGTI

Ready to race!
SnailPower said:
Honestly, I don't think I've heard 1 good sounding exhaust for this car. They all sound whiny and raspy. Almost Honda like. Then again, coming from an SRT4, most 4 bangers do outside of the boxer engine...
I do know there are some interesting sound setups when you get the right downpipe paired with a nice catback.
Click to expand...

my exhuast sounds nothing even close to whiny or raspy it sounds like a car that is a lot more powerful than a gti ... nothing even close to a honda. There are A LOT of good setups

OP might as well go stage 2 if your upgrading downpipe
 
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