I have an 08tl auto.

I already did the mid muffler delete car sounds nice over stock. But im thinking of doing the stage 3 i think which is the one with the dynomax resonator.

But is it really worth it with an automatic?

Ive always though that autos with any type of exhaust mod sound so dumb. Ive always owned a manual trans car this is my first auto. Not sure i want to be going down the road and it sounding dumb cause its an auto..

Thoughts?

 

you have to realize what the "stage mods" do.
you're doing nothing but changing the sound, that is all.

when you deleted the mid-muffler, that was just for sound.

so, your proposed job - adding the dynomax resonator, all you're doing is further changing the sound.

no performance increase at all by deleting the mid-muffler and putting on a dynomax resonator.

so, your question DOESNt really make sense....because changing the tone does benefit the end user.
not with performance increase, but with sound.

plus, a dynomax resonator is what 50 bucks? to get it installed is another 50 bucksS???
100 dollars to change the tone of the car sounds great to me!!!

 

not really asking about performance. Asking more about the sound sorry if i didnt make myself clear.

Is it worth going through all that to change the sound with an auto tl instead of a mt tl.

Personally ive kinda always made fun of cars that are automatics and have either after market exhaust installed or something thats altering the sound..

Now that ive come to the tl family w/ an auto my mentally has changed. i had preferred to have a manual tl over a auto but 07-08 other than the tls didnt come MT.

What are users thoughts regarding exhaust "sound" with an automatic..

 

if you want sound go with atlp non resonated exhaust.

performance is good on auto trans too, not just mt.

i switched from megan catback to atlp non res quads and it was faster, feels like it lost the asthma it once had.

 

you're not getting it, sir.
if its not for performance, then it doesnt matter if its auto or 6mt.
sound is sound and for the END user, which is you.

for as little as 100 dollars, you can change your sound, if you want.

100 dollars aint shit.
so, you tell me if its worth it or not....

if all you want is sound, who really cares if its auto or 6mt...
i can think of 2000 people who has done the stage mods, both auto and 6mt.
it doesnt matter. its up to you, the end user.
again, for as little as 100 dollars you can change the sound of your car by adding a different resonator.

it doesnt matter 6mt or auto.

 

yes your right its really up to me at the end of the day.

The $ isnt an issue here at all. I guess its more of look at that guy cant drive mt so he opted for an auto and "put an exhaust" on his car..

i appreciate your input though thank you

 

There are many factors why people opted for an auto than a manual transmission, and I say it from experience. Being in traffic for 1-2 hours is no fun at all and on top of that having a stage two clutch which was not smooth as butter. Back to the top, I personally don't think that an auto car with exhaust sound that bad. I have an auto with exhaust, and like it.

 

I got the auto since i couldnt find a tls MT and the tls i did find were completely not taken care of and werent worth the $ they were asking for. So i opted for the tl auto which is nice and fine I just much rather have a MT.

Anywho still debating in doing the dynomax resonator

 

A majority of other people are ignorant and assume my car is stick because of the "mean sound" it makes, until I tell them otherwise. Even from a performance standpoint its still much faster than most other hondas, minus a well bolted S2000.

 

I dont see why an auto trans would stop you from modding your car that you own. Fuck everyone else. Ill floor it with my auto and let my xlr8 exhaust roar.

 

at caring what others think.
honestly, no one cares if the car is a 6mt or auto, exhaust or not.
mod the car for your enjoyment

 

Auto with exhaust mods. I'd say a manual generally sounds cooler but that doesn't mean an auto sounds bad. On my other car I have a high stall torque converter, it sounds like a stick car cause it revs up much quicker and has more slippage at low RPMs.

 

Most of the TL's are autos...
before I had any exhaust mods, all my friends with auto TL's did the stage mods.
sounds cool to me!
the only thing a manual car can do with an exhaust is down shift to make the blipping noise and thats it.

not to sure why OP cares what others think about HIS car.
if you enjoy the sound, OP, do it.

 

that was simply a result of cognitive dissonance

 

If you want to do it and it's your money then it's worth it. Personally, I've never been a fan of eliminating resonators or welding in new mufflers. If you really want a good sounding exhaust save up for a full catback and do it right. When I was young, I did it piecemeal and I regretted it. I changed my exhaust 5 times on my Accord before getting the right setup.

 

thats what i was thinking of getting a full catback. But after listening and watching videos on youtube with the stage 3 i really like how it sounds and the fact that it looks stock is even better.

 

^and cheap!

 

Agreed, a full catback isn't very good value if you're just going for sound, if you're going for power you get way more HP/$ doing cat deletes/j pipe. On a muscle car where you can spend $3-400 on a catback and get 20HP it's a no brainer, ~10HP for $1000 I'll pass. I have dual 2.5" stainless mandrel bent exhaust with an X pipe and Magnaflows on my Impala and have about $300 into it. Go stage 3 or play around with different mufflers, I put on a Flowmaster 10 series just for the hell of it in place of the mid muffler, I like it. I have about $200 or less into my TL's catback and it has a nice unique sound.

 

The one exhaust mod you should do is the J-pipe. Not much sound increase but the added torque is definitely noticeable and something that makes the automatic cars feel punchier.

 

Everybody says this doesnt change the sound but upon hard accelerlation it made mine raspier than hell. After putting a resonater on it still get's a little noisy at times not nearly as bad though.

 

ya if you install j-pipe with no resonator or mid muffler thats gonna sound raspy. The mufflers alone wont quiet it down.

did you put the stock resonator or an after market back on?

ive read it gets raspy around 3-4k rpms

also which jpipe do you own?

 

I have a magnaflow resonator on it now. The pipe that i have installed is the rv6

 

wonder how it would sound with the dynomax resonator.
cool that deletes the 3rd cat? did you get an error with that?

 

Nope hasn't threw any codes yet. I just know that when i go to get my tags again ill have to throw the oem catalytic converter back on because here in tennessee they stick a fat ass mirror up under your car to check the exhaust. At least they do that in nashville, but there are no sensors on the 3rd cat so it shouldn't throw a code. As far as normal driving goes with the magnaflow resonator on the sound hasn't changed unless i'm driving up a hill or give it 3/4 throttle from a dead stop. Going up a hill brings out the rasp though, tolerable but a little annoying

 

Exhaust it totally worth it

 

do it! best mod i have ever made!

 

Do it if you like the sound. Stop caring about what other people think about your car's transmission. 99% of the world won't care or won't know the difference anyway.

I did my stage 3 a month ago, $43 for the resonator and $65 for labor, and it was money well spent.

 

Stage 3 is the best investment for my auto 08 TL so far. I just love how it sounds, not too loud and ricey but just loud enough. It's kind of similar sound to g35 which we all love. Later on I will be adding atlp jpipe for some performance so that balances out the sound and performance scale of the exhaust because stage 3 is primarily for the sound meanwhile adding jpipe won't factor much into sounding but will result in greater torque.