Welcome to Just Commodores, a site specifically designed for all people who share the same passion as yourself.

New Posts Contact us

Just Commodores Forum Community

It takes just a moment to join our fantastic community

Register

VF Series 1 SSV - quiet??

abuch47

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2018
Messages
1,035
Reaction score
289
Points
83
Location
Madelaide
Members Ride
LSS3 YOOTE
Got a quote for xforce varex cat back 2 1/2" dual exhaust (adjustable mufflers) for $1800 and change.

Not heard the greatest things about xforce though. And from the looks of things I may be able to pick up a bit more sound for a bit less buck...
Xforce sound is great along with the varex have a few friends with them on ve and vf, longterm quality is somewhat of an issue hence there cheap AF prices.

Every Bolton aftermarket or hsv will be louder depends on budget.

Perfect world I'd have a 180 degree custom titanium system with a fully configurable valve to control noise.
 

vr304

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2013
Messages
2,834
Reaction score
1,648
Points
113
Location
Auckland, New Zealand
Members Ride
2007 ssv manual
If you can afford it go for a di fillipo or manta stainless system
 

Pablito

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2006
Messages
407
Reaction score
300
Points
63
Location
Central Coast NSW
Members Ride
VF Redline, VE SS
Got a quote for xforce varex cat back 2 1/2" dual exhaust (adjustable mufflers) for $1800 and change.

Not heard the greatest things about xforce though. And from the looks of things I may be able to pick up a bit more sound for a bit less buck...
It all depends on whether you want to mess with the tune and get AFM turned off. Anything you put on a series 1 auto will sound terrible once AFM kicks in. And it literally kicks in a few seconds after you start cruising at any speed.
Only way to avoid it is to change gears yourself.
I have a Varex cat back on mine. I went this way as I didn't want to mess with the tune at all while still under warranty and also wanted the benefit of a bi modal exhaust. Nice and quiet for my early morning starts and when driving the family around. Press a button, and a nice V8 sound when I want to have some fun. Still have to change gears myself to avoid the booming sound AFM causes though.
I'm more than happy with the sound and no quality problems so far after nearly 2 years.
 

[paradox]

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2018
Messages
655
Reaction score
365
Points
63
Location
Sydney
Members Ride
VF2 SSV-R
Not heard the greatest things about xforce though.
to be honest i think you will find most of the bad press is prior to their latest 7 series exhaust.
and exhaust note is obviously a personal preference
 

jono67

Active Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2016
Messages
136
Reaction score
90
Points
28
Location
Sydney
Members Ride
2015 S1 Calais V Sportwagon V6
marcknight I'm in a similar position to you which is I have a '15 series 1 SSV with a stock exhaust. Mine actually does have a bit of a note in my opinion, particularly under load (ie giving it some up through the gears or driving up hills), but I've been researching for a while now to get it sounding with just a fraction more noise but with a deeper note and without breaking the bank. I am not after extra performance.

I've spoken to a couple of the reputable exhaust places here in Sydney (Sureflo and Castle Hill Performance) whether to bolt on a diff back sports muffler or go cat back. Both recommended cat backs for what I want, Sureflo's own cat back, and Castle Hill recommended the X-Force bolt on. That was putting things in the $1000-$2000 bracket, and I was worried I'd get too much noise (even though Sureflo measures their cat back at under 90db). I want more of a deep note without pissing off the neighbors/family and without attracting the attention of the authorities.

So I've been scanning the net and came across Chris at Best Mufflers, again here in Sydney. I had a pretty lengthy chat with him, who is a guy who has been in the business for years and knows his stuff. His recommendation was to throw a pair of Berklee sports mufflers on it, see the link below. He gets a lot of VE's and VF's with guys like me who want the same thing so has tried various sports mufflers over the years and thinks these are the best sounding. He's also happy for me to go and get them fitted and to take it for a quick spin to see if it's what I am after rather than just bolt them on and send me on my way. Additionally he has a professional noise meter and will check the before and after db reading to see where it will sit with the idiotic 90 db limit we have here in NSW.

I am looking at doing this within the next few weeks if you are keen to wait and I can let you know my thoughts. I read a lot of articles saying that diff back upgrades are no good, but have read a lot of ones where guys are happy. Like others have mentioned, personal preference. After speaking to Chris about the pros and cons it helped make my decision, so phone around up there in Brisvegas, even give Chris a call down here as he has online ordering.

lordsnipe recommended the marriage savers. My brother has those on his VE SSV (manual) and loves them, so there is a +1 for those (rest of his is stock).

Is your car a manual or auto though, as droning may or may not be a problem with just the diff back upgrade like this one.

https://bestmufflers.com/bshop/inde...ts-rear-mufflers-bs9530pd-&controller=product
 

VS 5.0

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2006
Messages
7,980
Reaction score
14,099
Points
113
Location
Perth WA
Members Ride
VE SSV Z Series M6
marcknight I'm in a similar position to you which is I have a '15 series 1 SSV with a stock exhaust. Mine actually does have a bit of a note in my opinion, particularly under load (ie giving it some up through the gears or driving up hills), but I've been researching for a while now to get it sounding with just a fraction more noise but with a deeper note and without breaking the bank. I am not after extra performance.

I've spoken to a couple of the reputable exhaust places here in Sydney (Sureflo and Castle Hill Performance) whether to bolt on a diff back sports muffler or go cat back. Both recommended cat backs for what I want, Sureflo's own cat back, and Castle Hill recommended the X-Force bolt on. That was putting things in the $1000-$2000 bracket, and I was worried I'd get too much noise (even though Sureflo measures their cat back at under 90db). I want more of a deep note without pissing off the neighbors/family and without attracting the attention of the authorities.

So I've been scanning the net and came across Chris at Best Mufflers, again here in Sydney. I had a pretty lengthy chat with him, who is a guy who has been in the business for years and knows his stuff. His recommendation was to throw a pair of Berklee sports mufflers on it, see the link below. He gets a lot of VE's and VF's with guys like me who want the same thing so has tried various sports mufflers over the years and thinks these are the best sounding. He's also happy for me to go and get them fitted and to take it for a quick spin to see if it's what I am after rather than just bolt them on and send me on my way. Additionally he has a professional noise meter and will check the before and after db reading to see where it will sit with the idiotic 90 db limit we have here in NSW.

I am looking at doing this within the next few weeks if you are keen to wait and I can let you know my thoughts. I read a lot of articles saying that diff back upgrades are no good, but have read a lot of ones where guys are happy. Like others have mentioned, personal preference. After speaking to Chris about the pros and cons it helped make my decision, so phone around up there in Brisvegas, even give Chris a call down here as he has online ordering.

lordsnipe recommended the marriage savers. My brother has those on his VE SSV (manual) and loves them, so there is a +1 for those (rest of his is stock).

Is your car a manual or auto though, as droning may or may not be a problem with just the diff back upgrade like this one.

https://bestmufflers.com/bshop/inde...ts-rear-mufflers-bs9530pd-&controller=product

I'm interested to hear how these sound....both idle and driving.
 

Unicorn

Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2019
Messages
67
Reaction score
14
Points
8
Age
46
Location
perth
Members Ride
2013 vf ssv wagon
Ridiculous doesn't quite cover it, I used to have a series 2 2011 VE 3 litre V6 that might have had more grunt stock lol. Yes I test drove before I bought, and I was always going to be getting a VF V8. In a perfect world the series 2 LS3 would have been great but unfortunately I came up around 5 to 8 grand short depending on my negotiation skills.



So a straight through setup huh, I might go for a chat to the local exhaust specialists in my neck of the woods tomorrow and see what they have to say. I don't suppose you have a video laying around of what yours sounds like by chance?

I took my aftermarket rear mufflers off because I couldn't stand the afm kicking in and out constantly,sounds terrible,v8 one second and the next a droning 4 cyl.....
Got a couple more things to do to mine and then ill refit the mufflers and get it tuned then.
So yeah, I don't have a video of sound, sorry
 

stooge

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2014
Messages
3,099
Reaction score
2,980
Points
113
Location
wa
Members Ride
Turbo Alpaca
I took my aftermarket rear mufflers off because I couldn't stand the afm kicking in and out constantly,sounds terrible,v8 one second and the next a droning 4 cyl.....
Got a couple more things to do to mine and then ill refit the mufflers and get it tuned then.
So yeah, I don't have a video of sound, sorry

and here I was thinking you had just the afm disabled without a tune at actives.
its good you didn't waste money just getting afm done and then going back for a tune and paying again, it is almost like someone was trying to save you money in the long run :)
 

abuch47

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2018
Messages
1,035
Reaction score
289
Points
83
Location
Madelaide
Members Ride
LSS3 YOOTE
Heres mine with a stock bimodal system except for a hsv centre section swap. took this afternoon after 6 months carbed up.

you can faintly hear the bimodal switching quickly at the start because ive got the button in my hand the first ttwo throttles are open, third shut. still decently loud with the valve closed but gets rid of all the deeper noise.

 
Last edited:
Top