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AWE exhaust issues

wasbaggedonce

Autocross Champion
Location
PA
Car(s)
2020 GLI Autobahn
Did you buy it new or secondhand? You might have just gotten a defective unit.

It’s new. Exhaust seems to be the hardest thing to get right on this car so far, in my experience, both in sound quality and fitment. But the car is also only a $20k car so I’m not trying to spend thousands on a piece of pipe that just makes noise.
 

Nineeightyone

Autocross Champion
Location
Pennsylvania
Car(s)
20 CX5 19 GTI 10 MZ3
I went CTS cat-back (I know, I know) -- fitment was pretty easy, though I had to flip one of the rear bolt-in hangars around to get it to sit where I was comfortable (not too close to the end of the hangar.

I looked at AWE, but wanted something more subtle. It'll be interesting to see if this is just a one-off issue or if others have similar issues, this is the first car I've bought a purely bolt-on exhaust (versus welded/custom) for and it seems most of them are designed with a degree of 'play' to make fitment easier with various factory tolerances being what they are.
 

wasbaggedonce

Autocross Champion
Location
PA
Car(s)
2020 GLI Autobahn
I went CTS cat-back (I know, I know) -- fitment was pretty easy, though I had to flip one of the rear bolt-in hangars around to get it to sit where I was comfortable (not too close to the end of the hangar.

I looked at AWE, but wanted something more subtle. It'll be interesting to see if this is just a one-off issue or if others have similar issues, this is the first car I've bought a purely bolt-on exhaust (versus welded/custom) for and it seems most of them are designed with a degree of 'play' to make fitment easier with various factory tolerances being what they are.

By subtle do you mean not too loud? Cause I went with the AWE track without the resonator and I can barely hear it. Really can only hear it on a cold start and when I push the pedal to the floor.

Waiting to hear back from AWE about what they recommend.
 

Keehs360

Autocross Champion
Location
Denver
Car(s)
Mk7.5
By subtle do you mean not too loud? Cause I went with the AWE track without the resonator and I can barely hear it. Really can only hear it on a cold start and when I push the pedal to the floor.

Waiting to hear back from AWE about what they recommend.
It sounds a hair louder than stock till maybe 2600-2800rpm. After that it does sound louder

since we have two cats, getting a boost in volume is only possible with a muffler delete
 

wasbaggedonce

Autocross Champion
Location
PA
Car(s)
2020 GLI Autobahn
It sounds a hair louder than stock till maybe 2600-2800rpm. After that it does sound louder

since we have two cats, getting a boost in volume is only possible with a muffler delete

I might eventually add a downpipe, but still figuring out how I want to do that with a yearly emissions check in my state. Don’t feel like taking it off and putting it back on once a year, and O2 spacers don’t always work.
 

Nineeightyone

Autocross Champion
Location
Pennsylvania
Car(s)
20 CX5 19 GTI 10 MZ3
By subtle do you mean not too loud? Cause I went with the AWE track without the resonator and I can barely hear it. Really can only hear it on a cold start and when I push the pedal to the floor.

Waiting to hear back from AWE about what they recommend.
Yeah, videos I saw on the AWE Track setup were louder than I wanted for this car. Don't get me wrong, I love go-fast sounds, but we have three noisy cars in the family and I wanted to have just one that wasn't constantly singing the song of our people for longer trips and whatnot.

Deciding on a catback for the GTI was one of the most anxiety-inducing things I've experienced, largely due to the number of options, and difficulty in finding videos on the stock downpipe. Lots of folks looking for more power (and more power to them for that), all I wanted was a little more sound and a 'low-key' look.
 

Keehs360

Autocross Champion
Location
Denver
Car(s)
Mk7.5
I might eventually add a downpipe, but still figuring out how I want to do that with a yearly emissions check in my state. Don’t feel like taking it off and putting it back on once a year, and O2 spacers don’t always work.
Screw that man. Delete the awe muffler. Add a resonator in its place, it’ll probably hum and drone around the 55-60mph area. Boom, instant volume
 

launchd

Drag Racing Champion
Location
New York
Car(s)
2023 M3LR, 2021 A7
It’s new. Exhaust seems to be the hardest thing to get right on this car so far, in my experience, both in sound quality and fitment. But the car is also only a $20k car so I’m not trying to spend thousands on a piece of pipe that just makes noise.

I was literally at a shop yesterday that was installing a new AWE exhaust on a BMW 440i... the left tip stuck out further than the right tip (noticeably) when they were done... they told the customer that they would need to modify the exhaust to get it to line up properly.
 

Reggie Enchilada

Autocross Newbie
Location
nowhere
Car(s)
yes
I know noise levels can be subjective, but the AWE track paired with a catless downpipe really isn't loud. It's got some volume, but nothing crazy.
 

JJ_MK7

Go Kart Champion
Location
San Antonio
Car(s)
2020 GTI Autobahn
I'm have an IE catted downpipe paired with an AWE Tuning Touring Edition exhaust (Resonated Version). Didn't experienced any issues of alignment or fitment during installation. As far as sound, is not bad, no droning but I which it was a little louder. I might explore in the future removing the resonator and replacing it with a straight pipe.
 

FlyingNugget

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Toronto, Canada
Mine is exactly the same. I adjusted the tips to make it somewhat even. I have reassembled the entire catback a few times with the same result.

When I sent AWE a complaint about the fitment of the downpipe and catback, they told me I installed it wrong, and basically to go $*&%#*$ myself.

Never will buy an AWE product again.
 

wasbaggedonce

Autocross Champion
Location
PA
Car(s)
2020 GLI Autobahn
Mine is exactly the same. I adjusted the tips to make it somewhat even. I have reassembled the entire catback a few times with the same result.

When I sent AWE a complaint about the fitment of the downpipe and catback, they told me I installed it wrong, and basically to go $*&%#*$ myself.

Never will buy an AWE product again.

I sent them an email about it with pictures and descriptions and everything and they just sent me back a copy of their installation instructions lol.
 
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