Mine is stroked and cammed and was verified on the engine dyno to make 90 more HP and about 100 lb ft more torque than the stock motor, but whether that qualifies as a "performance motor" is beside the point. I would still consider buying that Gibson exhaust even with a stock motor. Sound is a big part of the visceral driving experience of any vehicle. To me, a vehicle that sounds good is more pleasing to drive. That makes it worth the money to me to feel more connected to the vehicle.

Some people don't want to hear their motors. They want their interiors quiet and dead. They buy cars with whisper quiet mufflers and a hundred pounds of sound deadening in the body panels. And if that's what they want, that's fine. I didn't buy an XJ to feel like I was driving my living room couch around town.

That's why I bought the Gibson. I could have spent a lot less, but it would not have sounded as good. I wasn't trying to make it sound like a V8, and I didn't want it loud. I just wanted the best quality deep sound I could get for the money, and to me the sound of that Gibson is superior enough to the cheaper mufflers to justify the cost.

You can overpay for brand names, but in this case you really do get what you pay for.

 

Ahh, a BRZ! A friend of mine has a blue 2013, he brought it up to my shop last spring and we lowered it and threw on some new brakes. Big 4-piston Wilwood calipers up front, poor guy lost so much of that fancy Motul brake juice on my garage floor lol. I like those cars, they're fun and at least suspension-wise not hard to work on (rear LCAs, shocks, and adjustable struts done in 30 minutes!) Seems to be a community not dissimilar to Jeeps, he brought some good writeups with him lol

Anyway I know that there is a reason your exhaust kit is so damned expensive, can't blame Jeep owners for how simple an XJ is!

 

I have a manga flow muffler. It isn't too loud but isn't the most quiet muffler. But if you look through the hole you can see right through it so it doesn't cause any back pressure. And it sounds really good because it eliminates gross high tones. It's about $60-100? I don't really remember. I had it welded on.

 

Manga? Is that a female Mango?

 

No, he thinks his muffler makes him a Japanese comic book hero.

 

Gotcha. I remember Tom and Jerry, Yogi bear, Wylie Coyote and the roadrunner.

 

Damn the iPhone auto correct! I meant magnaflow*