iv a reasonable spec engine in my 91 8v gti 40/35 head newman 268- looking to change matched inlet/exhaust manifolds 2.0 agg 'hotgolf' fly milltek manifold back system this spec made at midland vw with only ignition timing adjustment- 134hp@5712rpm 144.6 lbf.ft@4515 i was on the quest to make the car a little quieter, its a little embarrassing when picking a bird up on a date! so i plumped for a supersprint link pipe, genuine oe vw middle/back box 2" how restrictive could it be i took it easy at first, put 100 miles or so on the new exhaust. it was deadly quiet, well impressed. so i pressed on. 1st to 3rd not alot of difference, only in the last 1.5k maybe?. then comes 4th. the thing what impressed me the most with this engine was the way it pulled to over 100mph in 4th. now it no longer does. over 4.5k its flat, into 5th and it'll do the same over the 100 mark (private track). at first i thought it was the sound it used to make that made me think it was quick? so alot of petrol later, im stuck with a dilemma and trade off so do these expensive, 'performance' exhausts make more of an contribution than just noise. yes. but now im stuck with a headache, and a lack of dates!
A standard 16v exhaust without the funny shaped box just in front of the axle might be a good way to go. Should be reasonably quiet and flow enough for your engine. You'd need a pipe to replace the square box, which isn't straight through. A good quality performance exhaust can make a difference on a modded engine, and especially if the engine has been properly set up with the exhaust. Good quality standard ones are much better than the cheapo versions though. Gen VAG and Ernst are where I'd go.
thats just it. its a 2 box exhaust brand new from vw tps. i looked 16v and saw that huge 2nd box and thought no! and also problems with the different downpipe/box. i honestly thought it would flow enough. im not sure if its the 2" diameter or the design in the boxes that are holding it back the exhausts are in the garage next to each other now. the milltek goes from 2" to 2.5" after the first resonator. the milltek is top notch quality. and looking at the vw system, pipe diameter decreases on the bends the noise that annoyed me about the milltek the most was not out the rear pipes, but more from under the car (perfectly sealed) sounding like a tractor. i put this down to the increased pipe diameter
