Ultimate Racing performance muffler review

Ultimate Racing "performance muffler" (axle-back exhaust)
Product page: http://www.ultimate-racing.com/Products2/LancerRalliart-09/LancerRalliart-09_Muffler.shtml

Sound: The beautiful, beautiful sound. Both in-car and out, this exhaust sounds pretty damn good. The videos posted in my progress report thread don't compare to hearing it in person. When idling, the exhaust is a bit louder than the stock exhaust and produces a low rumble. At low- to mid-range RPMs, it produces a much louder drone and a throaty grumble from the engine. On the inside, most of what you hear is the drone. It sounds especially good if you're driving through a tunnel/underpass or an enclosed space (ferry, car wash, etc.). However, at higher RPMs, inside the cabin, the engine noise starts to wash out the exhaust. The only complaint seems to be from my passengers: in the back seat they have complained that the noise is a little loud, similar to playing the radio at a moderate volume.

Performance: Since this is an axle-back, you can't expect much of a performance gain. I haven't really noticed one and I'm not going to do a dyno. Since there is no advertised performance gain and I wasn't shopping for one, I can't take any points off.

Price: Reasonable. $475 for the parts and $53 for (7- to 14-day) shipping and handling. However, I had trouble comparing the price to other companies: Borla and AMS don't sell axle-backs and Injen and MagnaFlow don't produce dual-exit axle-backs. I might need some help from the community to find other companies with axle-backs. But comparing the price of UR's full cat-back ($750) vs. Borla's ($948) or AMS' ($930) reveals a big difference.

Installation: As I couldn't find the time to install it myself (due to my busy work schedule) I had a local shop do it for me. It took a little over an hour and the mechanics told me the toughest part was centering it (mostly vertically) with the rear diffuser. Other than that, they said it was an easy install and would've taken less than an hour.

Complaints: Or rather, complaint. Fucking rattles. The increased noise and resulting vibrations has created a few new rattles in the cabin. The worst was the back deck: it was rattling very loudly where it's loose against the rear windshield. I was able to fix it by stuffing a felt buffer under the panel via the trunk. There are also a couple new, smaller rattles in the front of the cabin, the worst of which sound to be inside the door panels and I imagine are going to be a pain in the ass to fix.

Disclaimer: To be fair to UR, I don't think this is limited to their exhausts. We all know that the Lancer is a rattle box from the factory and I imagine that any aftermarket exhaust is going to cause this issue. The increase in rattles may bother some people enough to steer them away, but personally, it doesn't change my mind. I've wanted to deal with these rattles for a while anyway and the new exhaust is helping me locate the problem areas.

The verdict: If you're looking for some modest but hearty sound for a reasonable price, I think this is the exhaust for you. The sound isn't deafening and it's not going to attract too much attention; you're going to get enough sound for yourself, your passengers, and pedestrians about a city block away. The price is reasonable, the shipping is quick, and it's pretty easy to install. However, be prepared to have to finally deal with your car's rattles. Overall, I'm very happy (and I'll be even happier once I've eliminated those pesky rattles).