When I was in high school I was working 32 hours a week making more than minimum wage. In todays money, that would be roughly $250 a week after taxes. I paid for my gas and entertainment with that money. Dad covered insurance so a $1000 stainless steel exhaust would have been 5-6 weeks net pay.
Sure, these days, parents just GIVE kids money, but the finances are certainly there.
I doubt we’ll see the OP again… Maybe the OP THOUGHT we were like Reddit dwellers… A bunch of Gen Zs of similar mind-set and age-range that would identify with the OP’s “plight” and provide a valid excuse to modify said vehicle.
Instead we were similar in age and attitude to the OPs parents (or grandparents). The OP did NOT like what we had to say and stormed out in a foot-stamping hissy-fit.
Audi has a very nice stock exhaust sound. I’ve seen a few people around here put the aftermarket (aka LOUDER) systems on. It makes the vehicle sound cheap.
I’ve got to admit, the junky 5 speed Tacoma that I paid $310 for before the guy scrapped it…it was more fun to drive before I fixed the exhaust leak before the muffler lol. I can’t explain it, but hearing the engine before I shifted gears was strangely satisfying. Not a ton of “performance sound” with that 4 cylinder, but…what can I say? I guess there’s still some dumb kid in me. My wife does refer to me as “the 3rd kid” from time to time.
Here’s a “good” reason not to “upgrade” the exhaust…
Parents often have to drive a family car to work, in order to either pay for the car, for the house, bills, etc. Given that…parents like to have a reliable car that provides a relatively pleasant driving experience every day.
A droning aftermarket exhaust, while it may sound “good” to you, might not be their cup of tea. And remember, they’re driving it back and forth to work every day.
Depends on the state. Where I live many cars (usually imports with 4 cylinders) have the tin can mufflers, most big-twin motorcycles run with open exhaust pipes. Too many cars with huge amplifiers that cause their trunk lids to vibrate and rattle. We had a noise ordinance for such but the court dismissed cases unless results of a decibel meter was provided. Law enforcement departments chose to not equip LEOs with such devices.
Things haven’t changed much. In the 1970s I talked to a coworker that lived in the same apartment complex about carpooling. He declined saying that he liked to play his music loud, too loud for others. I wondered if he was blowing me off, but I could always tell when he was driving near me because the the stereo was blaring, especially when the windows were down
+1
While my nephew was in college, he had a management-level job at a bar featuring live rock music. He doesn’t yet wear a hearing aid, but it is very clear that his hearing was very badly diminished by a few years of that loud rock environment.
lol … reminds me, a group of us were interviewing a job applicant for a high-tech position, one interviewer after another, 6 interviews total, about 45 minutes each. The first appointment didn’t go well, but the interviewer thought maybe the applicant might have a hearing problem and couldn’t understand what he was being asked. After the second interviewer had his chance, the applicant was told there would be no more interviews. It wasn’t a hearing problem …
There’s really no reason other that personal perference
Unlikely, it’ll be louder than stock, but not exceedingly loud. OEM-branded (Nismo is a Nissan brand), tends to be milder than most aftermarket-branded, even if the production of the OEM-branded stuff is actually made by an aftermarket company.
Highly unlikely, installing a catback system isn’t rocket science. Most of the time there’s no welding involved.
No, not really. Other than it would make it more difficult for you to sneak out unoticed.
It’s unlikely fuel economy would be noticeably improved.
It’s probably not exceedingly loud, where I live every third pickup truck you see has straight pipes, nobody cares. The police certainly don’t bother anyone over it, my daily driver has long tube headers and moderately aggressive mufflers, it’s not the loudest thing out there, but it’s noticeably louder than stock, again nobody cares if you have a loud vehicle where I live, not all places are like that though.
