First post! AWE Exhaust question.

[Jakef7]

Hey everybody,

This is my first post. I’m brand new to the Jeep community. Just bought my first jeep which is a 2023 gladiator. Loving it so far. I wanted a little bit more noise out of the exhaust so I purchased the AWE trail edition. I have to say that I’m not 100% satisfied but it definitely sounds better than the factory. At idle, and while revving, it has a beautiful growl to it. Upon hard acceleration, it gets a little noisy and higher pitched than what I desire or expected. I was hoping for a little bit of a deeper tone. I was wondering if anybody out there has any experience with the AWE tread dual set up vs the trail single exit? I have heard that the dual exit with the 5 inch tips offers a more “full” sound or deeper tone. I have watched several YouTube videos and to my ear the dual set up does sound deeper. Is there anybody out there that can confirm this or that has an experience with this.

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[flipmode]

I have the dual tip tread on mine- and I rather like the tone. For a v6 it's pretty okay in my opinion.

I picked this kit because I really do not like the strained high pitch of other kits when the engine is getting rung out- and I absolutely would not have any gargling or whatever that sound is when shifting. The dual exit AWE met my expectations for sure. I had not heard this kit in person (only online or YouTube) so it was important that I manage my expectations. I don't have any experience with the single exit AWE kit for comparison, but I would NOT consider the dual exit high pitched at any or most RPMs.

I've also had a hard time recording the tone with my GoPro or iPhone. I will say this: this YouTube video is probably the most accurate to the real thing I can find since I installed mine, and was one of the reasons I pulled the trigger on it.



Recognizing sound preference is super subjective, hope these opinions help.

 

[Jakef7]

Hey, I really appreciate you taking the time to reply. You are definitely right about sound preference being super subjective. Everybody has their own taste or expectations. However, the video you posted does sound a bit different than my single exit trail edition. I called AWE and the rep told me that the dual does give off a different tone. He described it as the single exit being like mono and the dual exit being like stereo. He also said that the dual seems a little deeper and throatier. I would assume the dual would sound different anyway with it being split and having two large exhaust tips exiting on each side of the truck opposed to a single pipe being dumped under the truck.

The sound of the trail edition isn’t bad, it’s just a little different than expected. The idle and rev are near perfect. Very deep and throaty. It’s the heavy acceleration sound at around 3000 rpm that gives off a bit of a Japanese car sound. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but kinda strange in my opinion coming from a Jeep. Like it doesn’t match. However, its a V6 and not V8. I do think that the higher pitch note is partly due to the exhaust exiting from one small tailpipe and not two with large tips. All of the noise and exhaust gases are being squeezed out one pipe vs two.

I do plan on purchasing the dual conversion to give it a try but it’s pretty expensive at $695 considering what it is. The complete trail system is $795. Kinda weird pricing if you ask me. AWE is top quality though, but I still think the conversion is a bit overpriced.

 

[Killroy Was Here]

One thing to keep in mind with the AWE dual edition is that the pipes & large tips exit at an angle under the rear fender flares.

If you are considering installing any splash guards for the rear wheels you will most likely have clearance/interference and or heat (splash guard burning/melting) issues due to this.

This will definitely be a major problem if you would like to install the Rok Blokz splash guards as the angle of your exhaust pipe & tip will not allow the frame mounted brackets to work at all. The trimming of the bracket required to clear the angled pipe & tip will eliminate the mounting slots for the splash guards.

This was the deciding factor as to why I went with the AWE trail edition kit. The trail edition also required some trimming of the Rok Blokz bracket to clear the pipe as shown below, but did not compromize the mounting slots for the splash guards.

That said, no matter what brand or style aftermarket exhaust kit you go with, the Pentastar will always sound like a 6 cylinder & never have a low tone or rumble like a V8.
It is what it is & if you think an exhaust kit will change that fact, you will waste a lot of money in your quest.

Just a few thoughts for what it's worth.

Dave

 

[Jakef7]

Hi Dave, I appreciate the input. Thank you for sharing the info regarding the splash guards. I can see where the dual kit would cause issues there.

I understand that I’m dealing with a V6 and it will never have that V8 sound. However, I’d like to make this V6 sound as good as it can and I think the dual kit will help achieve that. Well, to my ears anyway.

I’m not completely unhappy with the trail. I actually quite like it. Unfortunately, I have already wasted money and gone through a couple of other exhausts. I do believe the AWE is as good as it’s going to get it though. It’s the best out there as far as sound, fit, and finish. I think I can make it sound even better by doing the trail to tread dual conversion. To me it’s worth a shot anyway. After this though I’ve gotta stop. The boss (my wife) says this is it! Lol….

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