shamoo

Car: 2007 GPW S2000
Mileage: ~53,000
Mods: K&N FIPK intake and Espelir ASD springs

I have recently became the owner of a new (to me) Mugen AP2 exhaust, courtesy of www.s2ki.com member kevos2k. Exhaust was in great condition and very light. I would say the OEM exhaust is ~66-67lbs while the Mugen is roughly 30lbs. I had a few requirements when deciding on an exhaust:

1. Quiet and no drone
2. Looks good in the AP2 bumper holes
3. Fits with my Chase Race hitch
4. Somewhat light, as my hitch, Thule rack, and bikes that I carry can weigh up to 150lbs. I'm already at -3ish camber and I don't want to wear my tires out too quickly with the car being weighed down.

The choices were to stay OEM, Fujitsubo Legalis R, or Mugen AP2. The latter two are generally quite expensive on the "exhaust price scale", so I jumped on the Mugen when I saw the good sale price that was offered.

Basic info:
The design is a two piece system with the right canister already attached to the piping. The left canister has to be bolted on. There are two version of the Mugen AP2 as far as I'm aware. The type where there is 1 exhaust hanger on the front of the canisters, and one where there is 2. I have the double, and it mounts exactly like the OEM. Here is the description on Evasive Motorsport's website:

Fitment:
The install and fitment of this system was an absolute breeze. There were no gaskets included in mine (maybe because it was used?), but I did not seem to need any. The only sections you have to attach are the main pipe to the catalytic converter and the driver's side exhaust canister. I did the install with the rear bumper off to make things easier when messing with the rubber hangars. When I put the bumper back on, no adjustments were necessary as the canisters fit in their spacing perfectly. I do have a Chase Race hitch installed, and I will speak to that a little further down.

Sound:
Previously (for a short time) I had the Buddy Club Pro Spec dual exhaust. Within a week or two, I had to get rid of it because it was too loud. It was most likely louder than the Invidia duals. The drone was unbearable, and well...it had to go. I have heard people say that the Mugen sounds pretty much like stock (as with the Fujitsubo), however opinions are very subjective...until you actually own the system.

Upon cold startup (30 degrees F), the exhaust is quite loud and deep. The sound inside the car somewhat drones. As the car goes up to normal operating temps, the exhaust quiets down significantly. At warm startup, it sounds almost exactly like OEM save for the initial shot of gases. I have heard that once the system is broken in, the tone will change. I am not sure how many miles were on it previously.

Under 40mph at almost any rpm, the exhaust is actually loud! It has the sound of an exhaust that's droning. It's not as loud as some I've heard, but it's surprisingly loud for what I expected the Mugen to be. Keep in mind that I am basing this being INSIDE the car. I do not know what it sounds like outside. I also have a hardtop, so it's possible that the sound reverberates inside more than a soft top.

Above 40mph (normal driving), the car sounds EXACTLY like stock. It's quiet on the highway even at 80+mph or local roads at 50mph. However, as soon as you dip below 40mph, the loudness comes back. I cannot complain, but I wish it wasn't this loud at low speeds.

Above 40 (spririted driving), the car sounds VERY nice. Almost like an "F1" style exhaust. Very "high rev" sounding. You can give it gas at almost any speed above 40mph and that sound will come right back. However, once you get near Vtec, the sound quiets down a bit. I'm not sure if it's the speed of the exhaust flow quieting it down or the K&N intake system making most of the grunt. Needless to say I didn't notice it as much when the rpms were really high. Besides that, I rarely have a chance to drive fast/aggressively so I am not able to provide any more information.

Conclusion:
I love it. The sound is not too loud, not too soft. For those who say it's quiet, sure it's quiet compared to an N1 style or Invidia, but this thing is not quiet. My butt dyno feels as though the car can accelerate faster because of the reduced weight. When I blip the throttle, I seem to get a faster response. It's probably just me, but hey I like it. Can't wait until it gets warmer and I get rid of these dump winter tires.

Additional notes:
I mentioned above that I have a Chase Race hitch installed. This system is designed for the AP2 specifically and it fit perfectly with the OEM exhaust. It did NOT fit with my Buddy Club Pro Spec due to the split of the pipes being too far back. I chose the Mugen AP2 specifically due to the fact that I know it fits with the Chase hitch. This was confirmed by a thread on here that I read, plus one other person who has this exact combination.

No area under the car came in contact with the hitch, however, the plates where the hitch mounts to do make contact with the canisters (see pictures below). The contact is quite forceful so it does not rattle, but over time I am worried that something may happen. I will look into solutions to "pad" the area or something soon. Doing the above driving tests produced no rattle or ill effects, however when the car was warm (after ~30 minutes of driving) turning the car very slowly and blipping the throttle yielded a quick rattle.

Without further ado, here are some pictures. Sorry, no pictures of the install, but as most of you are aware, exhaust installs are quite uneventful.

Oh, and please feel free to PM me or ask me any questions about this.

I bet my car is cleaner than yours! This winter I haven't washed the car yet. This is about a month's worth of rain, snow, and salt. Ugh! You can see that the exhaust lines up perfectly. I did not adjust it at all. The sides of the hitch are spaced perfectly, and actually looks quite nice between the canisters. FYI, these are not my normal wheels. They're ugly flat black painted winter wheels with Blizzaks.



Here is a somewhat closer shot. During the install I was worried that the canisters were a bit too low. Standing back, however, proved me wrong. In addition, my car is lowered quite a bit so it's tough to even distinguish the spacing between the bumper and the tip if you're not bent down looking directly at it.



Almost forgot to add this pic:



For those of you with a Chase Race hitch, take a look at this. The RED arrow is an area that appears to have contact. However, it does NOT touch. The cylinder part of the hitch is in FRONT of the canister. Everything is peachy here.

The BLUE arrow shows where the hitch's bolt touches the canister. It's a bit tough to see here, so I will do a 100% crop on the next photo to show you better. The contact here happens on both sides of the car. I will have to look for a better solution in this area.



100% crop of the area.

Nuts

Great review! I am considering this exhaust this review definitely help pushing me over the fence!

Also, IMO, not just because of the name Mugen, I think this exhaust fits the AP2 bumper the best as aftermarket!

Thanks!

bigmacnfries

great review - looks like a pretty damn good exhaust too..

shamoo

Thanks. Also if you're looking for something of quality that also fits the AP2 bumper holes nicely, you may want to consider the Supersprint. They have oval tips similar to OEM. Pricing is similar to (maybe a little more) than a new Mugen AP2. Since they're rare, it may be difficult to find one used.

Here's a link to a pic: http://photos.e46fanatics.com/data/500/Picture_034.jpg

camoy

Dude I know Kev and that exhaust and it is already broken in the tone of it is not going to change. The way it sounds now is the way it will continue to sound. You got a good deal on it.

Oh and for those of you looking for another quiet exhaust that is more reasonable in price don't count out the Invidia Q300.

Tomakit

Good stuff! You might want to blank out your lic plate, no?

O, and wash that car! :-P

Black S2K

I would recommend getting gaskets if u dont want any exhaust leaks in the future

esean93

wipe down your rear bumper,everyonce in a while dude or get a catalyic converter.
nice s2k!

H.A.R.T B18C1EG6

iTrader: (1)

Excellent review!

shamoo

Good to know! Thanks a lot. I'm already used to the sound and I like it a lot. I did some adjustments with the contact points of the hitch and it seemed to work, but now some other area touches. Doh! I'll have to get under there when it's not 20 degrees outside.

Meh, I got insurance haha. Yeah, that thing hasn't been washed in a LONG time. Every time I want to wash it on Saturday, the forecast calls for rain on Sunday. No other time to wash it because of work.

So just where the driver's side canister attaches? That's the only place I can think of putting one. The cat to catback connection has the OEM donut gasket, that's it.

Hah, I have a catalytic converter. The car is just dirty from a full winter of salt/sand/ice/snow/dirt. Ugh.

esean93

ah good for you,being all environmentally concious and ****!lol

Mujenpwr

I have a question about the AP2 Mugen installation if someone can answer me.

I recently bought a used Mugen AP2 sports system for my 2007 S2K. My stock mufflers have the dbl post rubber hangers. My used AP2 Mugen system has single posts on the mufflers. Is it OK to use the stock dbl hangers with the single post Mugen exhaust?

Or do I need to use diff hangars?

I appreciate some help on this one. Its all mounted and looks good but I wanted to know what you guys think.

Thanks