The QS HH is a lovely thing. It does exactly as advertised. No drone. No headaches. No fatigue. It makes a two tone note that I think is richer than the flat note from the oem race….The note is actually a little higher than the race and not quite as loud. It turns the exhaust into a four into one system as little exhaust gas flows out the right hand exit. Since there are no sharp curves, just a nice flowing S-bend and uniform diameter tubing, exhaust gas speed doesn’t change much through its length so it’s an efficient system. No noticeable performance loss or gain on the road. I’ve had mine on my 4C for six years without any issue.
The only negative for some is the angle at which the exhaust tips exit the rear. I’m not THAT ocd about it. For me it’s a point of difference, not a negative. Simple and effective. Highly recommended by me.

 

I must say Jim I have been behind you a few times when your right foot has a spasm and the tone is nice.not missing anything in the sound department.

 

I agree, and love mine. Great sound when you step on it, and the drone is gone when cruising...

 

Sounds perfect for me. Thanks!

 

The other day I realized that doing 75mph in 5-th is just under 3K RMP and it indeed sounds better than the 6-th gear at that speed, so unless you care about mileage, that is an easy solution to drone with the race exhaust when going on a highway.

 

Yes thanks. I've been using that approach on and off lately. It'll do the job until I get the new exhaust.

 

The Helmholtz exhaust does exactly what it claims. The 2,500 to 3,000 rpm drone does go away and exhaust note was a little fuller that the stock OEM race exhaust. With that said, remember to be careful as there are pro's and con's to everything in life. i took my Helmholtz exhaust off only after a few months because i found the road, tire and wind noise to be far more annoying because they were no longer hidden by the "white noise" of the drone. Remember, our 4C's have no insulation to keep road and tire noise down and our carbon fiber tubs amplify every sand pebble that touches it. Sometimes when i would travel the highways it would almost sound like i had no bottom to the car at all as the road and tire noise came straight into the cabin. .i really wanted to have the Helmholtz work out but Con's definitely outweighed the Pro's in my case. When i need to escape the droning noise from my stock OEM Race exhaust i just crack open one of the windows an inch and this seems to take care of it Bottom line, there is no right or wrong answer but i just wanted to make sure you understand that what you gain in one hand is lost in the other.

 

Another consideration may be the upcoming sound laws. The race exhaust is OEM, the Hemholtz is not and you may get into trouble, especially in some states, like the people's republic of California, where I live.

 

Although this is not an issue in my area it is a very good point. Thanks.

 

happy with my Muffled titanium exhaust made by Scara.
No drone

 

Cool!, how is the sound???

Scara 73 muffled titanium exhaust

New from Enrico https://www.scara73.com/shop/alfa-romeo/4c/exhaust/titanium-silenced-final-exhaust/

www.4c-forums.com

 

For extra contrast, I went from the OEM race to the QS SoundArchitect, but do want to add my 2p as I've got mixed feelings on the QS Helmholtz.

When it's set to go via the Helmholtz, the reduction in drone is massive. Huge. It really, really improves the NVH when crusing. That alone would be enough for many people....but that said, it does really tame down the exhaust note and 'drama' - if you like the farty/popping/drama the race OEM exhaust gives, you might be disappointed. I think I would have been, if not for the ability to switch.

In other words, if I had my time again I wouldn't go QS HH alone....

 

Are saying all the drama is there when the flap is closed bypassing the Helmholtz resonator?

 

Mine is 3” Titanium from the turbo and it does sound better than the valved QS I had previously. It has a 300 cell cat and twin mufflers. No drone. The sound is now in keeping with the cars appearance. I will try to make a recording.

 

Love my quicksilver non-valved, there is no drone, in fact it makes the exhaust pretty quiet cruising above 60 mph. That said, I must be getting old, there are times I wish it were 10% quieter at lower speeds too. I have the Spyder, and never put the top on, I suspect for the coupe it may be about the perfect noise level.

 

When I first got the car I didn't understand why people would pay money to swap out the stock race exhaust, but for the past 12 months or so i have been looking for 2nd hand Quicksilver non valved... i must be getting old as well

 

If you want to hear your exhaust put on a set of Cup 2s. They’ve really surprised me with their quietness. It might be something to do with the lack of sipes and only 3 straight channels for air and rubber to vibrate. Whatever the reason, it’s considerably quieter in the cabin with these. That’ll probably change as the tyres wear but at present they are impressively quiet. I can now easily hear the raspiness of the QS on a steady throttle at 110km/h with the windows up.

 

If you want to hear your exhaust put on a set of Cup 2s. They’ve really surprised me with their quietness. It might be something to do with the lack of sipes and only 3 channels for air and rubber to vibrate. Whatever the reason, it’s considerably quieter in the cabin with these. That’ll probably change as the tyres wear but at present they are impressively quiet. I can now easily hear the raspiness of the QS on a steady throttle at 110km/h with the windows up.

Thanks. Concur with similar experiences on other cars. PSC are so much quieter than for example R888 (here comes a tractor!). I am thinking that once the pzero's are toast PSC will be near top of my choices. Not the best in rain, but they will get you home - and I don't often drive this car in rain anyway.