ray101381

So yesterday I got my afe y pipe and exhaust delivered, so after work i decided to tackle the install. a pretty simple bolt on. So here are my thoughts and first impressions. Unboxing the y pipe and exhaust, they were very well packaged and included all necessary clamps and instructions as well as some heat reflective tape, more on that later. all the welds looked good and overall i was very pleased. the instructions were very thorough as well. The hardest part of this install was getting the old exhaust off. So starting with the skid plate under the transfer case remove the 4x 18mm bolts, it is kinda heavy so an extra hand would be helpful, next remove the protective bar/plate in front of the exhaust crossover again 3x 18mm bolts. set these aside as this makes the rest of the install easier and it is necessary. next remove the rear muffler section loosen the clamp with a 15mm deep socket and remove the rubber hangers on the left and right side(either take the hanger off the exhaust or off the body mount, it doesn't matter just do whatever is easier, save the hangers as they will be reused), use plenty of lubricant to remove the hangers, even then it's a bit of a chore. after taking the muffler off do the same for the midpipe. finally use a 13mm gearwrench or box wrench and remove the bolts holding ypipe to the collectors, 2 on each side, SAVE THESE BOLTS. pull the ypipe towards the front of the car and the entire exhaust is out. the AFE y pipe not only moves the crossover back towards the tranny crossmember like the teraflex exhaust spacers but actually puts the crossover on the OTHER side of the crossmember, so plenty of exhaust clearance. start fitting the afe ypipe and start the bolts on both sides while ensuring you have clamp on and the slip joints aligned, LOOSELY bolt these together, continue on to the midpipe and axle hoop,again making sure you have the clamps on one end of the pipe, reattach the rubber hangers and finally the muffler section. ensure your clearances and start tightening everything starting with the 13mm bolts at the ypipe and then move back from there. check again to ensure everything is tight, then finally use the heat reflective tape to protect the gas tank and lines coming from the tank on the passenger side y pipe where it makes the bend to the driver side. start the jeep and check for leaks with your hands or a piece of paper, if you have leaks undo the clamp and push the slip joint in further and retighten the clamp. I only have about 10 miles on it since the install, initial start up isn't as throaty as a V8 but it sounds good, a littler louder than a stock VQ37, a bit raspy at about 2800-3000 rpm, almost annoyingly so, but no drone. however i have noticed the exhaust settling in and the raspiness is starting to decline so i'm hoping after a 100 miles or so it'll be gone. fit and finish was fantastic. the clearance is very tight on the passenger side y pipe at the tranny crossmember but so far i haven't noticed any issues with it. the muffler sits very tight and tucked as does the bend over the rear axle the rest of the system fits very tucked and clean. finally the jeep's all ready for sunday and the teraflex 2.5 coil lift with shocks. as for performance i haven't noticed anything good or bad, feels the same just a bit louder, i haven't reset the ecu yet though. i was thinking of maybe doing the intake as well. i think the main thing for the 2012's would be a tune on 93 and some tranny tuning. the main purpose i did this was i didn't want to run exhaust spacers and risk having a leak, seemed like a band aid solution. so if anyone is interested in some teraflex exhaust spacers, brand new in the box, never opened. send me a pm. i paid 60 + 12 to ship them. I bought them directly from teraflex. so shoot me a REASONABLE offer if interested. pictures to follow, i got done late and was working by myself so no actual install pictures, but i'll get some completed pictures and a sound clip tonight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HwksLPxBig

River Hill

Good review. I have the y pipe on order.

Imposter_LRF

Good to hear I was hoping to hear some reviews of this.

As for the noise, you will never get a V8 noise out of this engine because the equal length y-pipe, which the AFe pipe keeps intact. A non-equal lenth y-pipe will give you "half order" noise. Uneven legs causes "mixing" of the sound waves from each of the cylinder banks which causes the "thump" of a V8 making it sound "throaty". The equal length legs on the 2012+ JK causes this to be super smooth (no thump or throaty sound).

MrJones944 put it best when he said that it might sound like a Nissan 350Z. Same idea with equal length legs. Its not a powerful V8 sound, but it has a nice smooth sound when you open it up a little.

Did you change the catback? The reason I ask is because of the raspiness. Rasp is actually a shockwave in your exhaust system propogating towards the tailpipe through long, uninterrupted pipe lengths. This will be more dominant on cold starts and will be less noticeable after it is warm (because the speed of sound in the exhaust increases with the increase in temperature). To rid yourself of this, put a resonator and/or muffler right after the new y-pipe as it will alleviate some of the acoustic sound pressure which is causing the shock wave and rid your system of the "rasp".

ray101381

yes i did do the catback as well, and you are right after the jeep gets to operating temp, the sound greatly decreases. it's starting to grow on me and i do like it now.

Imposter_LRF

Glad its growing on you now I hear there is a sweet spot near 2000 RPM's that has a nice little growl...

ray101381

it sounds really good for v6, not as good as my old WK Hemi but still very nice, i know the engine is there now. right around 2000 there is a nice little growl. i'll get a sound clip up tonight.

bo9roadking

I've been running the aFe y-pipe for about a month and I've had no problems with it. I'm looking at their hi-tuck cat back exhaust and maybe their CAI. Here are a couple of shots after the y-pipe was installed while my Jeep was on the rack.

HornetJK

What is your review of the sound difference and power difference?

ray101381

sound clip is in first post.

TAIL RATED

did the same on my 2012. It "feels" like I have more mid-range and top end. @ WOT, it sounds great! lower rpms I get a little drone though. Not bad, but it is there. It's a little lower tone than stock, but louder.

thanks to the OP for posting up that soundclip. Everytime I put one together it doesn;t quite sounds like it does in person.