As per the title, anyone out there who can give me an idea of the sound of a resonated Scorpion exhaust. As I am "getting on a bit" I certainly do not want a non resonated one, as too much sound and possible booming in the cabin would drive me mad. However, as numerous members here have stated, the Octavia VRS original sound is just too muted. I did in the distant past have a 2002 Civic Type R EP3 which I fitted a Scorpion resonated exhaust to and it sounded just right. With my last MK2 FL Octavia VRS TSI, I had a custom exhaust made up and that sounded great. Before I spend £740 on a Scorpion exhaust though, I need to know whether there is any improvement to the sound to make it worth it.  

👋 I have! Have had it on for the past 3 years, having 'accidentally' bought the non-resonated version first and realising my mistake pretty early on 😅

 

100% it makes a significant improvement to the sound - although mine is turbo-back, so I got the 3" downpipe and sports cat. - which is obviously less restrictive, and so perhaps noisier. So depends on whether you're looking to go turbo-back, or cat-back as to the 'depth' of sound. But I was at a small Brisky meet where one of the chaps had a cat-back and the noise difference was minimal, and still definitely louder than OEM.

 

I've not got any audio equipment that'll really do the sound justice; there are a few vids on YouTube which are perhaps better than what I could achieve anyway. It burbles on overrun (but not pops / bangs unless the engine's mapped that way), and makes a lovely deep note on cold start up. Generally, it is a lot less restrictive and 'sounds like it should do'.

 

Noise / Vibration / Harshness will increase (naturally), but with the non-res setup it's definitely within acceptable levels. As the Octy III has minimal sound dampening, you'll hear it more in the cabin - but it's not a drone (like it was with the non-resonated setup!). When i very occasionally ferry people around in the back, they do note that it's a fair bit louder than a standard car - but when you've got a cavernous boot space in the hatch (like ours), let alone the estate, that's perhaps the reason. But it's definitely manageable.

 

I rate Scorpion very very highly. I called them up to ask all sorts of questions before I bought the exhaust too, and they the customer service guys were really passionate, knowledgeable and helpful in helping me select what I wanted. Including when I said I'd made a mistake and "Could I please have the resonator back...?" after a long round trip to Birmingham and back in a day, where I basically went deaf 😁

6 hours ago, Ads230 said:

👋 I have! Have had it on for the past 3 years, having 'accidentally' bought the non-resonated version first and realising my mistake pretty early on 😅

 

100% it makes a significant improvement to the sound - although mine is turbo-back, so I got the 3" downpipe and sports cat. - which is obviously less restrictive, and so perhaps noisier. So depends on whether you're looking to go turbo-back, or cat-back as to the 'depth' of sound. But I was at a small Brisky meet where one of the chaps had a cat-back and the noise difference was minimal, and still definitely louder than OEM.

 

I've not got any audio equipment that'll really do the sound justice; there are a few vids on YouTube which are perhaps better than what I could achieve anyway. It burbles on overrun (but not pops / bangs unless the engine's mapped that way), and makes a lovely deep note on cold start up. Generally, it is a lot less restrictive and 'sounds like it should do'.

 

Noise / Vibration / Harshness will increase (naturally), but with the non-res setup it's definitely within acceptable levels. As the Octy III has minimal sound dampening, you'll hear it more in the cabin - but it's not a drone (like it was with the non-resonated setup!). When i very occasionally ferry people around in the back, they do note that it's a fair bit louder than a standard car - but when you've got a cavernous boot space in the hatch (like ours), let alone the estate, that's perhaps the reason. But it's definitely manageable.

 

I rate Scorpion very very highly. I called them up to ask all sorts of questions before I bought the exhaust too, and they the customer service guys were really passionate, knowledgeable and helpful in helping me select what I wanted. Including when I said I'd made a mistake and "Could I please have the resonator back...?" after a long round trip to Birmingham and back in a day, where I basically went deaf 😁

Thanks for your reply Ads230, as usual you are very informative. I am not after a major difference in sound, just something that sounds like it should have done out of the factory, seeing as though it is a GTI engine. Don't think I should get too much noise from the boot area inside the cabin with the Scorpion exhaust, as I reinforced the boot floor space when I stuck a space saver wheel in there, rather than the gunge and foam insert. So I have on the boot floor, 5 ply wood cut to match the boot floor area, the usual carpet and then a thick rubber mat. I just hope after spending a fair amount of money on the exhaust, it will be worth it when I hear it's new sound effect. 

I will soon know what the Scorpion exhaust will sound like, just ordered one. Will bore you all with a later update on what I think of the new sound of my motor once it's fitted. 

On 13/06/2021 at 08:57, roaddetective said:

I will soon know what the Scorpion exhaust will sound like, just ordered one. Will bore you all with a later update on what I think of the new sound of my motor once it's fitted. 

Really interested to hear what you think, but I'm pretty confident you won't be disappointed. It's certainly got a lot more (good) attention since being fitted a few years ago 👌

 

On 11/06/2021 at 15:14, roaddetective said:

as usual you are very informative

VAG fanboy / nerd / too much time on hands 😅

Edited 15 June, 20214 yr by Ads230

So now the exhaust is fitted, which by the way the mechanic said it was a pain in the ar-- to get the numerous parts put together without touching anything. My opinion is- with a steady touch on the gas pedal, not much difference to the standard exhaust. Put a bit of pressure on the gas and there is a bit of a booming effect, but I guess I will get used to it. Floor the gas and that is when it sounds the best, bit of a roar actually. On tick over, you can tell the exhaust is not standard, as it does have a slight low burble to it. On my last MK2 Octavia VRS TSI, I had a custom exhaust made up by Tony Banks in Leeds. That was perfect with just the sound I was after. This one comes in at second place to the custom one, in my own opinion of perfection. 

Edited 18 June, 20214 yr by roaddetective

1 hour ago, roaddetective said:

So now the exhaust is fitted, which by the way the mechanic said it was a pain in the ar-- to get the numerous parts put together without touching anything. My opinion is- with a steady touch on the gas pedal, not much difference to the standard exhaust. Put a bit of pressure on the gas and there is a bit of a booming effect, but I guess I will get used to it. Floor the gas and that is when it sounds the best, bit of a roar actually. On tick over, you can tell the exhaust is not standard, as it does have a slight low burble to it. On my last MK2 Octavia VRS TSI, I had a custom exhaust made up by Tony Banks in Leeds. That was perfect with just the sound I was after. This one comes in at second place to the custom one, in my own opinion of perfection. 

I had the BCS exhaust on my mk2 as it was used to develop the Octavia line. How come you didnt get another Tony Banks one fitted?

1 minute ago, Ecomatt said:

I had the BCS exhaust on my mk2 as it was used to develop the Octavia line. How come you didnt get another Tony Banks one fitted?

Leeds is nearly a 400 mile trip for me, so I thought I would give a Scorpion exhaust another try. I say another try, as I had one years ago on my Civic Type R and was extremely happy with it. I might have made that long drive to Tony Banks and the exhaust he makes up might not be quite as good as the other one he made for me. On Tony's first attempt, when I had asked for a non boomy exhaust with just a better tone, the one he made was awful, with mid range booming that blew your ears out. Even my young daughter thought it was bad. So a few weeks later as I had to pass Leeds to get to Newcastle, I dropped in for him to cure that really bad mid range booming. The car then came out of his workshop perfect. 

Give it a bit of time to 'bed in' - mine took about 1000-1500 miles before it sort of 'settled' (i.e., stopped being as boomy / tinny, and modulated through the rev range). I'm sure most would call it BS and say "you just got used to it", but I am fairly well tuned into most noises generally in the Octavia and it definitely refined its noise.

 

I guess at the end of the day, it is effectively an 'off the shelf' item rather than fully customised exhaust, so not that surprised it comes in as second best to something tuned specifically for your previous MkII. Still hope you enjoy it though 

On 19/06/2021 at 23:00, Ads230 said:

Give it a bit of time to 'bed in' - mine took about 1000-1500 miles before it sort of 'settled' (i.e., stopped being as boomy / tinny, and modulated through the rev range). I'm sure most would call it BS and say "you just got used to it", but I am fairly well tuned into most noises generally in the Octavia and it definitely refined its noise.

 

I guess at the end of the day, it is effectively an 'off the shelf' item rather than fully customised exhaust, so not that surprised it comes in as second best to something tuned specifically for your previous MkII. Still hope you enjoy it though 

Hi Ads230. I certainly think you are correct about it bedding in. Must have done at least 400miles since it was fitted and it does sound a lot better. Like you, it is also not me just getting used to it either. In fact I am starting to like the sound now, although it would be good to have it bed in just a fraction more. At first I thought I had made a mistake buying this exhaust, but my mind is changing of that opinion now. Can't wait for as you say, 1000-1500 miles bed in. Cheers for all the info mate.