Yep, pretty sure you were the first man. Exhausts are a funny thing, took me a long time to get off the fence and pull the trigger....lots of questions to members first regarding sound and power output. After it was all said and done I was/am VERY pleased with the Invidia system. Nice thing with the Gemini also is the new resonators, they kill the rasp associated with the first system on the 35's. No worries on the 45 though....
Invidia Gemini Exhaust - Need expert's inputs!!
- Thread starter minkl81
- Start date
Yep, pretty sure you were the first man. Exhausts are a funny thing, took me a long time to get off the fence and pull the trigger....lots of questions to members first regarding sound and power output. After it was all said and done I was/am VERY pleased with the Invidia system. Nice thing with the Gemini also is the new resonators, they kill the rasp associated with the first system on the 35's. No worries on the 45 though....
- Location
- Brooklyn New York/Queens
- Car
- 2007 FX35 AWD
I have it and it's great. It turns heads when they hear it. They are like wait that's not infiniti sound lol. It's sounds just like a strong purrr all that the way through the rpms. Not to loud and not to low either.
SexualChocolate
Member
- Location
- SE Houston
Not necessary at all.
minkl81
Member
- Location
- Beaverton, OR
exhaust got installed today. very nice quality system for the price.
loudness wasn't that bad either and no drone so far. it only gets louder than stock
in between 2000~3000rpm, other than that its very quiet catback system. i can say
its one of the quietest catback system i ever purchased.
only downturn is the 2~3k hum that resonates inside the cabin. i think this can be improved by applying some dynamat on the spare compartment.
loudness wasn't that bad either and no drone so far. it only gets louder than stock
in between 2000~3000rpm, other than that its very quiet catback system. i can say
its one of the quietest catback system i ever purchased.
only downturn is the 2~3k hum that resonates inside the cabin. i think this can be improved by applying some dynamat on the spare compartment.
I Took my entire trunk section out and did De-amplifier pro throughout the trunk area up to the hatch and over the wheel wells. Inside the spare wheel recess I also laid down a layer of luxury liner (also from second skin) Just finished the back seat two weeks ago.
Sound difference for exhaust is 10-15% (but it does help) Low level vibration or drone is similar in its transmission to a subwooofer, it tends to penetrate. Biggest difference with the sound deadening is road noise, if you really work in the back seat and the trunk to get the deadener up onto the wheel wells the difference in road noise is pretty impressive in our rides.
I have some additional sheets left over and I am considering laying them down over the deadener I applied in the trunk area to see if it adds to the effect.....
Sound difference for exhaust is 10-15% (but it does help) Low level vibration or drone is similar in its transmission to a subwooofer, it tends to penetrate. Biggest difference with the sound deadening is road noise, if you really work in the back seat and the trunk to get the deadener up onto the wheel wells the difference in road noise is pretty impressive in our rides.
I have some additional sheets left over and I am considering laying them down over the deadener I applied in the trunk area to see if it adds to the effect.....
- Location
- Portland, OR
That's disappointing... I used Brown Bread Ultimate and the difference after installing it in the trunk alone was huge! I'd say around a 50% reduction in exhaust sound and even more in the drone department. Looking at the Second Skin website, it looks like the Damplifier Pro is a vibration reducer rather than a sound insulation... I would say that might be the reason for the lackluster results but then you say you also used the Luxury Liner, which IS their sound insulation... Perhaps my louder muffler was easier to suppress in the first place? I don't know. Doesn't make sense to me. Brown Bread can't be THAT much better...
minkl81
Member
- Location
- Beaverton, OR
for sound deadening, i've tried several brands.
1. dynamat of course
2. fatmat
3. raammat
dynamat is the best in overall quality and dampening ability, but way way overpriced. also aluminum foil on dynamat is razor sharp, both hands will be sliced up pretty good after hours of work.
don't get fatmat or something more generic than that from ebay. i've tried them years ago (6+ years) and not sure if their quality improved recent years. but when i applied them on my car, the tar melted down during hot summer and started leaking down the door sills and stuff. so no more cheap stuff after that...
from the three on the list, i prefer raammat. i first tried raammat last year on my former acura tl. a roll of raammat bxt costs around $130 shipped and it was the best one i've tried. aluminum is softer (it'll still cut you) compared to dynamat and it was much easier on my hands. also being softer, it was easier to work around contours and grooves. and this year, i ordered another roll of raammat bxt and used the whole roll to cover most of my 240sx but it wasn't enough to cover the two doors.
so i'm thinking about ordering another roll of bxt for the fx and use the remaining to cover two doors of 240sx. this time, i'll also order the ensolite and try a combination of dampener and close cell foam
---------- Post added at 08:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:36 PM ----------
btw...
second skin, brown bread, dynamat, raammat; they all are sound dampeners.
and if i remember correctly, ratings on second skin was one of the best although very expensive.
if your on a budget and still wants quality stuff, try raammat.
www.raammat.com
1. dynamat of course
2. fatmat
3. raammat
dynamat is the best in overall quality and dampening ability, but way way overpriced. also aluminum foil on dynamat is razor sharp, both hands will be sliced up pretty good after hours of work.
don't get fatmat or something more generic than that from ebay. i've tried them years ago (6+ years) and not sure if their quality improved recent years. but when i applied them on my car, the tar melted down during hot summer and started leaking down the door sills and stuff. so no more cheap stuff after that...
from the three on the list, i prefer raammat. i first tried raammat last year on my former acura tl. a roll of raammat bxt costs around $130 shipped and it was the best one i've tried. aluminum is softer (it'll still cut you) compared to dynamat and it was much easier on my hands. also being softer, it was easier to work around contours and grooves. and this year, i ordered another roll of raammat bxt and used the whole roll to cover most of my 240sx but it wasn't enough to cover the two doors.
so i'm thinking about ordering another roll of bxt for the fx and use the remaining to cover two doors of 240sx. this time, i'll also order the ensolite and try a combination of dampener and close cell foam
---------- Post added at 08:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:36 PM ----------
btw...
second skin, brown bread, dynamat, raammat; they all are sound dampeners.
and if i remember correctly, ratings on second skin was one of the best although very expensive.
if your on a budget and still wants quality stuff, try raammat.
www.raammat.com
That's disappointing... I used Brown Bread Ultimate and the difference after installing it in the trunk alone was huge! I'd say around a 50% reduction in exhaust sound and even more in the drone department. Looking at the Second Skin website, it looks like the Damplifier Pro is a vibration reducer rather than a sound insulation... I would say that might be the reason for the lackluster results but then you say you also used the Luxury Liner, which IS their sound insulation... Perhaps my louder muffler was easier to suppress in the first place? I don't know. Doesn't make sense to me. Brown Bread can't be THAT much better...
Yeah, you know how much effort goes into the install.....I have three materials examples on hand Dynamat, raamat (friends gave me some install remnants) and the D-amp which I purchased based on solid ratings, the overall thickness is the same, the substrate and foil materials are relatively the same. In cabin sound IS better but I expected more.
minkl81
Member
- Location
- Beaverton, OR
i just took a quick drive around neighborhood
startup... not much louder
idle... not much louder
overall... not much louder
EXCEPT
2~3k RPM... lot louder. it just hums too much and some of the interior bits rattle due to resonance. i think this is crucial because our fx's cruising highway speed falls in that rpm range.
will see how this improves with some sound dampening.
just ordered a roll of raammat bxt, and 3 yards of ensolite peal & stick. total $192 shipped. i wasn't going to work on sound dampening anymore because of the time and labor it takes to finish the job, but guess i'm doing it again.. bummer...
startup... not much louder
idle... not much louder
overall... not much louder
EXCEPT
2~3k RPM... lot louder. it just hums too much and some of the interior bits rattle due to resonance. i think this is crucial because our fx's cruising highway speed falls in that rpm range.
will see how this improves with some sound dampening.
just ordered a roll of raammat bxt, and 3 yards of ensolite peal & stick. total $192 shipped. i wasn't going to work on sound dampening anymore because of the time and labor it takes to finish the job, but guess i'm doing it again.. bummer...
Have you taken it out on the freeway with the new exhaust? I have noticed that the freeway drone is minimal and surprisingly not a bother. Its the occasional sweet spot in 2nd or 3rd gear around town. Not all the time but when it does kick it it bugs me, then you either up shift or down shift and its gone. The deadener does help and it is brilliant on the freeway. Curious to hear your thoughts after the deadener install but before you do it log a few miles at 70 MPH and see what you think.
minkl81
Member
- Location
- Beaverton, OR
yea i'm planning to take it out on freeway soon once time permits.
money042
Member
- Location
- Orange County, CA
- Car
- 2008 FX45
Bump for updates. Any luck with the droning?
Sticky Trichome
Member
- Location
- Atlanta
Trying to find a deal on this exhaust system as well love the rolled tips