For many of us Ferrari owners hearing a Ferrari Exhaust for the first time is a sound that is forever stuck in our heads. That high pitched, F1 scream coming from a beautiful street car! It’s dramatic, emotional, and powerful. You want to be able to reproduce it at will with your right foot. So let’s talk all about mid engine V8 Ferrari Exhausts.

Selecting the right exhaust for your Ferrari can be a bit confusing, and the cost can vary wildly. It’s not like the old days where you had 3 choices – leave it stock, get a Capristo, or get a Tubi. The many different options make selecting the right one for your needs challenging.

In this article I hope to help educate you about what the different exhaust components do, how they can affect power, and how they change the sound. I will also discuss what different exhaust materials can be used, different designs considerations, and how to get the best sound for your specific Ferrari model.  By the end of this document you will have enough information to determine what Ferrari Exhaust you want.

Please note: This document is only intended to address “off road” vehicles. None of this should be taken as advice or serve as a guide on how to evade emissions controls or laws where you live. We take no responsibility if you choose to modify your can in any way.

I am not a physicist nor do I have a degree in fluid dynamics. This document is simply a summary of my opinions based on my own experience having seen/heard/sold many hundreds of exhausts on Ferraris.

There are 3 major components of the typical V8 mid engine Ferrari – headers, mid pipes, and the muffler. Let’s start off with discussing these components. 

V8 Ferrari Exhaust - Kline Inconel Ferrari 458

Headers & Exhaust Manifolds

Headers and exhaust manifolds are the first component of the exhaust. These come directly out of the heads of the engine. There is technically a difference between manifolds and headers. Typically, manifolds are cast parts that combine the exhaust ports in a short distance versus headers are individual tubes that combine at a collector.

Ferrari OEM Manifolds can have individualized tubes but they are very short and typically do not combine in a collector. For the purposes of this document I will be sure to use the term manifolds and headers deliberately to refer to whether or not the parts are individual tube headers vs traditional manifolds.

Ferrari OEM Manifolds have a notorious reputation for failing. Certain models headers have been known to crack, and in severe cases even have holes blown out in the material. The F355 and F430 seem to be the worst for OEM manifold failures. The F430 has an almost guaranteed failure over time.

Why do the OEM manifolds fail so often? Unfortunately one of the problems with having a flat-plane crank, high revving V8 is that it creates a lot of vibration, harmonics, and heat. The heat cycling causes the exhaust to expand and contract over and over, plus it stresses the metals at extreme temperatures.

This combined with lots of vibration can fatigue both the metal of the exhaust, and the welds. In some cases the welds begin to fail, flaking apart. In other cases the metal of the exhaust fatigues to the point of forming cracks, or even holes.

In minor cases this would result in exhaust leaks, increased engine bay temperatures, and possibly some irritating noise from the exhaust such as a ticking. But in extreme cases it can cause massive issues, including engine failure.

Simply put, you don’t want failing manifolds or headers.

OEM Ferrari F430 Manifolds

As you can see in the image above, the OEM manifolds have a lot of heat shielding surrounding the exhaust tubes. Some Ferrari models incorporate a “pre-cat” Catalytic Converter in the manifolds. You can see the large bulge in the image above-left where the pre-cat is located. This can pose some issues when upgrading to aftermarket headers.

If you replace OEM manifolds with aftermarkets and there are no pre-cats, this will dramatically increase the sound output of the exhaust. It also will almost certainly trigger a check engine light (CEL). The reason for the CEL is the missing pre-cats will alter the exhaust composition enough for the rear O2 sensors to flag the exhaust as having catalytic converters that are not functioning correctly (because the pre-cats are missing). I will discuss CEL solutions in a later section of this document.

So how will aftermarket headers alter the car? There’s a few things that typically happen when going from OEM manifolds to aftermarket headers and it will vary to some degree based on the material, tube length, pipe diameter, and even collector design.

You will have a louder exhaust. There are no cases I’m aware of in which changing out the OEM manifolds to aftermarket headers results in a quieter exhaust. There is some variance as to how the exhaust note changes. Many believe that equal length long-tube headers – those in which each of the individual tubes has the same length before the collector – have a higher pitch sound. There is also evidence that long tube headers tend to produce more peak power and torque than shorter tubes, and that equal length produce more power and torque than differing lengths.

The final part of headers to consider is the collector. This is where all of the tubes come together. On a V8 Ferrari, there is generally 2 different designs for header collectors, 4 in 1 and 4 – 2 – 1, sometimes called a tri-Y. 4 in 1 are where all 4 exhaust tubes combine at a single collector. 4 – 2 – 1 are where the 4 exhaust tubes combine into 2 exhaust tubes at a primary collector, and then those combine into 1 at a second collector.

4 in 1 are the most common as 4 – 2 – 1 tend to be much larger, more complex, and more expensive. I personally don’t see any benefit to a 4 – 2 – 1 design for the V8 Ferraris that justifies the cost increase. They are also not commonly sold so it may be difficult to even source them.

I noticed that changing out the OEM manifolds to headers does tend to help increase the pitch of the exhaust quite a bit. But more dramatically it seems to make the exhaust note sound more refined and distinct. It’s almost like you can hear each exhaust pulse as a unique sound versus just one constant sound.

What about extra heat? Unfortunately, aftermarket headers are all going to produce more heat than OEM manifolds. Is it enough increase in heat to worry about adding some form of heat protection such as exhaust wrap, blankets, and ceramic coatings? I think it is worth getting headers ceramic coated at a minimum as the additional cost is not significant.

However, if you plan to use the car on the track a lot, it’s worth getting blankets. If you are going to do blankets, you may want to consider ceramic coating as well simply to help extend the life of the exhaust. Blankets can retain some moisture when the car is off, for example after washing. This can in turn help increase corrosion over time.

I do not recommend exhaust wrap on headers for Ferraris. Ferraris run so hot that the exhaust wrap will fall apart, even the extreme high temp stuff. I had wrap on my F430 headers which was the hottest temp rated on the market, and it didn’t even last a year before falling apart and turning my engine bay into a dusty mess.

Mid Pipes

The mid pipes are sometimes called Cat Pipes, Sport Cats, Straight Pipes, Cat Deletes, or even Test Pipes. These start after the collector of the headers and generally will contain the primary catalytic converters (cats), along with the rear O2 sensors.

The OEM cats are usually one of the most restrictive components of the exhaust. They also decrease the volume of the exhaust considerably. The OEM cats have been known to fail occasionally and need replacement. Typically as they age, they become more restrictive due to contaminates and eventually flow is restricted enough or efficiency is reduced to the point of triggering a CEL. Of note, earlier models tend to have more sensitive cats that are more prone to failure and restrict power more than modern cats.

Unfortunately, altering the catalytic converter section of your exhaust may be illegal in your country or state. So this part of the conversation is entirely hypothetical and for off road use only.

The reasons to change out the mid pipes are to increase power, increase sound, and increase efficiency or in cases in which the OEM cats have failed, to simply replace the failed components. Aftermarket catalytic converter mid pipes, commonly called “Sport Cats,” are typically offered as a higher flowing option to improve the sound, exhaust flow, and of course gain power. They are normally rated at 200 CELL or 100 CELL. The lower the CELL count the louder, and more flow you get, but the more likely you are to trigger a CEL and be unable to pass emissions inspections.

High flow 200 CELL Catalytic Converter VS OEM

Of course the least restrictive, loudest, and best flowing option is the cat-delete mid pipe, commonly called a test pipe or straight pipe. Basically these are exactly as they sound, a straight pipe with no catalytic converter. Obviously these will trigger a CEL and would require other interventions to eliminate that. Also, these will fail any sort of reasonable emissions sniff test, but not necessarily an OBD check. Finally by swapping out the catalytic converters, you will be able to smell the exhaust, and will produce more harmful emissions that could pose a threat to our planet.

A quick side note about cold starts… Everyone loves the nice loud cold start of our Ferraris. Well, maybe not our neighbors. So why is it we get a louder exhaust note at start up? Well, it’s actually for emissions controls reasons.

When the car is started, the goal is to heat up the catalytic converters to operational temperature as quickly as possible. The faster they get to temperature, the less harmful emissions are produced. However, if you remove the cats, then the cold start is actually useless, other than the loud startup noises.

So how do the different mid pipes affect the sound? I’ve found that to achieve the desirable high pitch “F1 Sound” that most Ferrari owners want, it requires as little restriction to exhaust flow as possible. So 200 CELL will be better than OEM, 100 CELL better than 200 CELL, and test pipes are the best. Of course that means higher and higher decibels.

Muffler

The final component of the exhaust is the Muffler section, sometimes called the silencer, X-Pipe, Straight Pipes, or even just “the exhaust”. Typically when people talk about exhausts, this is what they are talking about.

This section of the exhaust is where I personally think the largest variance in sound comes from, not the loudness but the tone. If you’re wanting the F1 scream, here’s where you should begin.

This section of the exhaust comes from the factory with a muffler or silencer. Obviously the muffler is designed to reduce the volume of the exhaust, but it also has an effect on the sound itself. There are tons of different designs that produce different sounds so it would be impossible to go into all the options here.

So let’s talk about mufflers VS straight pipes VS X-Pipes plus to add in a twist, we will discuss exhaust valves. These different designs have the most dramatic and most noticeable difference in sound.

When you are choosing this component of your exhaust, look over the design carefully and identify the design, and where the design components are placed. Some or all of the different design elements may be here.

The major exhaust design strategies are:

  • Muffler(s) with or without valves
  • X-Pipe with or without valves
  • Muffler(s) and X-pipe with or without valves
  • Straight Pipe with or without valves

The OEM exhaust on most Ferraris is a muffler or mufflers and a valve system. The valving is controlled by the computer.

When the valve opens, it will make the exhaust louder typically bypassing some or all of the muffler. The valves are controlled by the computer which applies vacuum pressure to open and close the valve under hard throttle or above certain RPMs.

The different muffler brands have different effects on the sound, so it’s almost impossible to describe all of them. I have found that typically any muffler seems to shift the exhaust tone deeper along with quieter. This seems to be opposite of what most people what for the F1 high pitch sound.

There are also some considerations about how the sound is when the valves are opened vs closed. Some designs have it basically set up as straight pipes when the exhaust valves are open, others will have it still go through the muffler but in a part that perhaps doesn’t quiet the exhaust as much as when the valves are closed.

X-Pipes are just what they sound, a pipe that’s shaped like an X. They work by having the 2 separate exhaust flows from the left and right sides of the engine combine and accelerate. This is meant to help increase some power and torque although it’s probably not significant.

What I’ve found is that X-pipes consistently increase the pitch of Ferrari exhausts dramatically. And the more flow velocity you can get through the x-pipe, the higher the pitch. So an X-pipe alone will sound good, swap in sport cats and it sounds better. Go with cat deletes and now it’s really singing. Put in aftermarket headers as well and now it’s pretty damn close to sounding like a F1 car.

X-Pipe exhausts can come with or without valves. It’s worth noting that an exhaust with an X-pipe would be quieter than an identical exhaust without an X-pipe. The x-pipe naturally cancels out some of the loudness of the exhaust pulses, but that’s probably a good thing because it makes the tone improve significantly.

Typically valving is designed to quiet the exhaust when closed by either sending the exhaust through a muffler, or even just through much smaller diameter pipes. You’d be impressed with how much quieter you can make an exhaust just by making it go through a small diameter pipe. Some exhaust designs will actually send the exhaust through an X-pipe with the valves closed to quiet it a little.

And finally we have straight pipes. Just as it sounds, straight pipes are straight through pipes with no mufflers, no X-pipe, nothing but the raw sound from the engine unfiltered. There are very few “true” straight pipe exhausts on the market, unless you are looking for Ferrari Challenge parts.

It’s interesting but some Ferraris sound great with straight pipes, and others sound terrible. And certainly they are all loud. If your goal is simply to shatter ear drums, then get straight pipes. The odd thing is that on some of the very late model Ferraris, straight pipes sound very similar to the OEM exhaust with valves open, just louder.

Just something to note – There are some designs that have the X-Pipe before the valves, and others that come after the valves. You need to trace the flow of the exhaust to understand how that particular design will sound, and how that sound will change with valves open or closed.

What about droning? One of the unfortunate side effects of making the exhaust louder is the risk of having a lot of cabin drone goes up. Certain exhausts seem to produce a lot of drone while others do not.

I’ve noticed that generally Ferrari engines produce the most drone around the 3-4,000 RPM range. On the late model Ferraris with variable valve timing, that’s right where the engine starts to really increase the timing so you will notice a dramatic shift in engine sound.

To some degree droning will be subjective so it is hard to say with certainty what exhaust is best. I will note that the more baritone the exhaust sound, the more likely it will drone.

Exhausts without X-pipes tend to drone more than exhaust with X-pipes. Exhausts with mufflers tend to drone less than straight pipes. Titanium exhausts seem to drone more than all other materials for some reason.

Exhausts with valve systems can control the droning by shutting the valves until you are under hard throttle or at higher RPMs. This is what the factory valves do to make it more comfortable for the average person.

Some examples from my experience (all on a Ferrari 458):

  • The IPE Titanium drones more than the same IPE exhaust in Stainless Steel
  • Kline does not drone very much, even with valves open
  • S-Linesound with valves drones less (even with valves open) than the S-Linesound without valves
  • S-Linesound with valves closed has little drone at all
  • Top Speed Titanium has a lot of drone with valves open or closed

Exhaust Tips 

Exhaust tips have come a long ways since everything was just chrome. You now have an assortment of tip colors, shapes, and materials. Certain Ferrari models have more options than others as the tips are not actually a part of the exhaust, and are simply attached to the body (458, 488, F8). If you have a model in which the tips are directly attached to the exhaust, then you may have to replace the entire exhaust to change out different tips.

Some various different tips options now available are raw, brushed, polished, blue (typically titanium), black, and even carbon fiber. I don’t believe the tips have any effect on performance or sound, so it’s all about what you think looks best!

Valves

As discussed in the Muffler section, many exhaust come with exhaust valves that are generally designed to allow you to have both a loud and quiet exhaust. From the Factory, Ferrari sets up the valves to be controlled by the computer and it opens the valves making the exhaust louder when under hard acceleration, or over certain RPMs. Some models also have it change the settings based on the driving mode you’re in (louder in Race mode for example).

If you’re like me and you want to be able to manually control when you want to make it loud or quiet, then you can get an exhaust valve controller. There are quite a few options on the market, but generally they have some form of device that allows you to open and close the valves by pushing a button or switch.

Most of the systems use a key fab remote control that has buttons to open and close the valves. Some systems include a third setting which is to be able to allow the computer control the valves just as it would without any controller installed.

There’s 2 basic designs for the exhaust controllers. The first is simply overriding the existing vacuum solenoids from the factory. Generally this design just has some sort of wiring harness that is either spliced into existing wires, or plugs in to existing hardware with no wiring necessary.

The second design has new vacuum solenoids and is controlled independently from any OEM hardware. These are usually a little more difficult to install.

Most of the exhaust manufacturers have their own valve controllers, but to be honest I’ve found that the Forza Componenti is pretty much as good as it gets. Plus it’s usually the cheapest option so it’s a win win win.

It’s also usually the easiest to install as some of the systems require custom wiring or altering the vacuum lines. These generally just plug right in with little effort. The only catch is that the newest Ferrari models may require some additional wiring as there is no plug-n-play solution.

There are some other interesting valve controllers that have additional features such as the ability to plug in directly to the OBD port. Personally I haven’t been as impressed with these or found that the additional expense is worth it.

Materials

Stainless steel is by far the most common exhaust material, but now you have a lot of titanium systems and even Inconel 625. There are some sound difference based on the material but it’s fairly subtle.

I’ve found that titanium tends to increase the “tinniness” sound of the exhaust. I know that’s not a word, but it’s the best way to describe it. It’s almost like you can hear the exhaust pulses hitting the walls of the exhaust and echoing through out.

Inconel also seems to have some “tinniness” but not nearly as much as titanium. Both also tend to produce a slightly more refined sound compared to stainless steel. I have personally found that titanium tends to have a little more drone than an equivalent stainless steel exhaust but the same is not true for Inconel.

Titanium and Inconel exhaust are going to be significantly lighter than stainless steel, but that comes at a significant increase in price. Typically titanium and Inconel systems are almost double a similar stainless steel system.

Is it worth it? Well, I would say it depends. I personally can hear the difference enough to say if you want the absolute ultimate exhaust, Titanium or Inconel is the material of choice. But is the average person going to notice? Unlikely.

There is one drawback for titanium and Inconel… It is a hard material to work with. Not just bending and shaping the exhaust components, but also welding. This means if the manufacturer is not on their “A” game, you risk having the welds fail. Early titanium exhausts seemed to have this happen more often, but you really don’t hear about it happening much more.

There’s also another consideration on the titanium VS Inconel debate… There are almost no titanium headers on the market I’m aware of. I suspect that’s because titanium is simply too difficult to bend complex shapes.

You will notice that some titanium exhausts do not use any bends, instead they will weld pipes that have slash cuts to form bends. This creates a unique look that some people either love or hate. Finally there is one last thing about titanium which is that it typically has a natural “bluing” effect when heat is applied to it. This can create some very pretty colors. Some companies have even started applying a gold coating to the exhaust to help reflect heat.

Check Engine Light

OK, so you’ve swapped out your exhaust and now you’re getting a Check Engine Light (CEL). What components cause that and how can you fix it?

Basically the issue at hand is when you start messing around with the catalytic converters. Swapping out just the mufflers for an x-pipe for example will generally not cause a CEL. That sort of modification is completely legal in most locations, even on street legal cars.

Swapping out the cats for cat deletes will almost certainly result in a CEL. Putting in sports cats will sometimes cause one. Swapping out headers will generally only cause a CEL if they have pre-cats in them (F430, 360). But sometimes it will on other models due to increased exhaust flow.

There’s one other consideration which is the secondary air injection is frequently integrated into the OEM manifolds. If this is true, you will need to make sure the headers you get have secondary air injection ports. This will also add a little complexity to the installation.

So why do we get a CEL when altering these components? The rear O2 sensors in the exhaust are there to serve 1 main purpose, determine if the catalytic converters are functioning properly.

So when the cats aren’t there, or they have reduced functionality (sport cats, or even old cats that aren’t flowing well) then they will have readings that the computer interprets as a malfunction and throws a DTC code (Almost always a P0420 or P0430 – Catalytic Converter efficiency error). There’s 4 options I’m aware of for fixing a CEL due to exhaust changes.

  1. Revert back to OEM parts (BOO! Who wants that?!)
  2. Install O2 extenders or mini cats. Personally I’ve not had much luck with these on newer cars as the computers don’t like the reduced exhaust flow readings on the O2 sensors. In fact when I had these on my F430 and 458, I got different DTC codes (PO134, P0140, P0160, Oxygen Sensor Circuit No Activity Detected).
  3. Install an OBD dongle that clears the error. There’s a few companies that have little OBD devices that will monitor the computer, and any time a related code is thrown, they simply clear it. This is great for if you just don’t want a light staring at you all the time, but it does not allow you to pass emissions and it does nothing to address the actual problem.
  4. Get a tune. This is the best option in my opinion. Getting a tune will allow the programmers to go in to the software, and tell the computer to simply ignore the rear O2 sensors readiness monitors. Typically they set them to “not available” which in many states will allow the cars to pass emissions.

There’s one other major benefit to getting a tune which is the increased horsepower and torque. You’ve spent a bunch of money installing a nice exhaust that sounds great, and it increased some power. But now your air fuel ratio may be not ideal due to the change in exhaust efficiency.

The free flowing exhaust may have altered the way the computer is compensating the fuel injection, and getting a tune will maximize this. In fact, most of the power gains from aftermarket exhaust only comes when combining it with a tune.

For example, swapping out the entire exhaust for aftermarket may result in a 5-20 HP increase. But adding a tune with it could pick up another 20-40 HP on a naturally aspirated car, and potentially 50-100HP on a turbo car.

I recommend you talk to the tuner and get a customized tune for your needs. There’s much more than just getting rid of the CEL that they can do.

For example, I had my throttle pedal sensitivity increased. This makes it so the car opens the throttle bodies faster and therefore the engine is more responsive. This makes the car feel more like what I want.

But won’t a tune reduce the longevity or risk the engine? Modern tuners can adjust the AFR on these engines to increase power and efficiency and still leave a significant margin of safety. It’s extremely unlikely that a tune would result in increased risk to your engine.

But yes, it will void your warranty if you still have one… But you can always revert the tune if you need to.

Specific Models

On the older Ferraris (F355 and older) it seems like the exhaust from the factory is set up such that simply changing out the muffler creates enough exhaust velocity to get some of that higher pitch scream. Ferraris starting with the 360 and later began using what is basically 2 separate exhaust systems, one for each bank of the engine.

The problem with that design is when you have a flat plane crank and 2 separate exhausts, you get what sounds like two 4-cylinder engines running next to each other. Imagine running 2 Honda 4-cylinder engines next to each other. Not exactly what most of us are looking for.

So let’s discuss some of the specific models and what exhaust designs seem to have the best results.

Older Ferraris (308 – 355)

To be honest, I haven’t heard that many aftermarket exhausts on the 308 and 328. But I have heard the Capristo and Tubi on them, and I think those are pretty much the best. The same goes for the 348 and F355.

But there is definitely something unique about the F355 with Capristo and cat deletes. That is perhaps the most impressive sounding combination on a street Ferrari.

Aftermarket headers are not very common on these older cars, although the F355 has a reputation for cracking headers. So 355s are more commonly modified with aftermarket headers than other older V8 Ferraris.

Modern Naturally Aspirated Ferraris (360 – 458)

Once the 360 came out, Ferrari changed the exhaust design considerably and the sound became much more baritone. This means it takes more effort to get that high pitch F1 sound.

The one consistent thing that I’ve found is a X-pipe is required to get a high pitch sound. There’s just no way to achieve it from all the other exhaust designs I’ve heard.

Unfortunately, the exhausts that have no crossover, tend to have very deep sounding exhaust notes. Same with the factory exhausts. It’s just not the same, it’s much deeper and somewhat hollow sounding.

Part of the reason for these challenges with the modern Ferraris is 2 fold. The exhaust pipe diameters got much larger to support larger engines with more power. Also the design removed any crossover so you effectively have 2 separate exhausts.

This is even more true on the 458 which has 2 separate mufflers where as the 360 and F430 had 1 muffler (unless you got the sport exhaust, which is just a Tubi with different labeling).

I’ve noticed that generally, the more flow you can get through an X-pipe exhaust on these cars, the higher pitch it gets.

Turbo Ferraris (488 / F8)

Ah yes, the turbo Ferraris that lost some of that glorious Ferrari sound… Or did they?

I’ve found that you CAN get these Ferraris to sound just as epic with the F1 scream, but it basically requires 2 things – X-pipe and cat deletes. Unfortunately, the turbos muffle a lot of the natural sound coming from the engine, which makes it hard to produce that traditional F1 sound.

We’ve swapped in some X-pipe exhausts on these cars and they do pick up some pitch. However, once we combined an X-pipe with cat deletes, they began to sing!

The crazy part is if you do this, you pretty much need to get a tune not only for the CEL, but also because altering the exhaust on a turbo car can really increase the power a huge amount. You can expect to get 100HP or more with a full exhaust and tune on these cars!

Brands

I try not to voice my opinions too strongly about what exhaust brands I prefer for a few reasons, but mostly because sound is subjective. What I think sounds best is not necessarily what you think sounds best. So I don’t want to anchor people’s opinions to my opinion by suggesting certain brands.

So what I will do is discuss brands that I’ve heard in person, and tell you my opinions about the sound these produce, the build quality, value, and what models I think these would be good on.

I realize there are many more brands than this, but these are some that I’ve personally heard. As I hear more in person, I will add them to the list.

Kline Innovations (Shop HERE)

Kline is based in Romania, and produces some of the highest quality exhausts that I’ve seen. They can make most components in either stainless steel or Inconel 625.

They are certainly not the cheapest, especially if you choose Inconel, but you definitely get what you pay for. Their exhausts tend to produce a very dynamic sound. The valvetronic muffler design combined with X-pipe sounds somewhat like a low grumble at idle. It reminds me of the old Flowmaster exhausts on a muscle car with a lopey cam.

Once you start crossing past 3-4000 RPM the sound changes dramatically to become a nice smooth, high pitch, very F1 like scream. It’s not the highest pitch I’ve heard, but it’s the cleanest and most dynamic.

The headers are also very well designed and built. I have had no customers complain of fitment issues or flatness of the flange. Kline also offers carbon fiber exhaust tips which I must say look very nice.

My only complaint for Kline is the lead times are typically longer than other manufacturers… But they are well worth the wait and there’s a reason I’m putting them first on this list.

IPE (Innotech Performance Exhaust) (Shop HERE)

If you seek high pitch, this is it. IPE is based in Taiwan, and they produce what is probably the highest pitch exhaust I’ve heard on a modern Ferrari.

They have the option of stainless steel or titanium. They can even coat the titanium exhausts components with a gold finish to help reduce heat (and look cool as hell). It does have a bit of drone at lower RPM’s, more so with the titanium exhaust. They use a valvetronic X-pipe that has smaller, round mufflers to reduce sound with the valves closed.

IPE has a very solid build quality, and they are priced well to what I believe they offer, so very good value. Typical lead times range from only a few weeks to a month. Fitment is usually good.

I was also impressed with their willingness to improve. When Loeper’s first IPE exhaust broke due to metal fatigue, IPE altered their design to improve it and prevent future failures. They also hooked him up with a significant discount on his new full gold Titanium system.

They also offer a range of exhaust tips in various colors so let your tips shine.

S-Linesound (Shop HERE)

S-Linesound is based in Colorado, USA baby! I’ve personally visited their facility and was impressed with their work. Build quality is excellent, build times are usually very fast, and they offer a very good value.

S-Line has become well known for producing a very distinct F1 sound that is outstanding. It’s not the highest pitch, but it’s got a nice evil flavor to the tone. It’s a bit more raspy than the Kline or IPE, and to me that makes it endearing adding a little “flavor” to spice it up.

The non-valved versions are typically very very loud. Adding the valves quieted down the exhaust, even with the valves open. It uses a very narrow diameter pipe with small mufflers to quiet the exhaust with the valves closed. One unique thing about their exhaust design is they position the X-pipe much further upstream than most other brands.

Having heard lots of exhausts on the F430 and 360, this to me is simply the best option for the F1 sound. But there’s only one catch, the F430 and 360 exhausts they offer currently do not have a valved setup. They are working on that and will have it in the future.

Once that comes out, I’m gonna say it may be the perfect setup for those models. Plus with the way the F430 and 360 have the exhaust clearly visible with the bonnet open, it just looks cool as heck. I would recommend ceramic coating just to add some extra heat protection and keep the exhaust beautiful given how prominent it is.

Novitec (Shop HERE)

By far the most expensive, but unmatched in build quality. Novitec is simply perfection achieved, but perfection comes with a steep price. They are one of the only companies that will actually wrap their exhausts in Inconel for heat shielding.

By that I mean, they make separate heat shields out of Inconel which is impressive, effective, and expensive. But again, if you want the ultimate, this is it.

Novitec exhaust sound pretty much as you’d expect for the price, perfect. If you have the means, I highly recommend you pick one up.

Capristo (Shop HERE)

The default aftermarket Ferrari exhaust for a good reason. Capristo is simply outstanding build quality, and you definitely won’t be disappointed. On the older Ferraris, this is the one. I haven’t heard a better sounding exhaust on the F355 and will say that it is my favorite sounding Ferrari exhaust note.

It’s also my favorite exhaust on the Testarossa. That being said, I am not a fan of the Capristo on the F430, or 360. It doesn’t have an X-pipe design on those models so it retains that baritone sound that I’m not a fan of. I have yet to hear it on a 458 so I’m reserving judgement.

The fitment on Capristo is excellent and shouldn’t require any adjustments. Furthermore, their heat blankets are outstanding, probably the best on the market. These aren’t cheap, but you will be very pleased.

Tubi (Shop HERE)

Located next to the Ferrari factory in Italy, Ferrari and Tubi go way back. Tubi is the manufacturer that makes the “sport” exhaust option for many of the Ferraris. In fact, the sport exhaust and Tubi exhaust is literally the same exhaust just with different badges on it for most models.

Tubi quality is top notch. If it’s good enough for Ferrari to install at the factory, you can be sure it’s damn good. Their headers are superb. Fitment is perfect, welds are perfect and beautiful, materials are excellent.

There’s one catch with Tubi, on certain models I do not like the sound. On the 360, F430, and 458 I personally think they sound terrible. There is no X-pipe. Basically they are mufflers with straight through pipes.

So if you have a valved version, when the valves are open they are effectively straight pipes toned down the slightest bit. Now, that being said, on other models the Tubi sound amazing. It’s very good on the F355 and older Ferraris.

Fabspeed (Shop HERE)

Located in Pennsylvania Fabspeed has built a big following, especially in the Porsche market. I’ve personally installed many different Fabspeed exhausts now, and I’ve developed a love/hate relationship with them (mostly love to be fair).

When Fabspeed is good, they are great. But I’ve had some header fitment issues that drives me nuts. That being said, their customer support is generally top notch.

I currently have Fabspeed headers in my 458 and they are fantastic. As I said, when they’re good, they’re great. Fit was spot on and they sound excellent. I’m not as big a fan of their modern Ferrari exhaust designs however as they mostly don’t have X-pipes.

There is an X-pipe on the F430 Supersport exhaust but it’s only used when the valves are closed which to me defeats the purpose of the X-pipe. Now their race exhaust has no valves, but it does have an X-Pipe so it sounds fantastic.

Fabspeed used to be able to get custom orders very fast but as logistics issues came to a head with covid, their times have stretched out a bit. I suspect this is temporary and they will be back on their A-game shortly.

Of note, Fabspeed has inconsistent margins on their products so I no longer offer a flat 10% discount using ngs10. I had multiple times in which I actually lost money on orders because of this. So if you want a Fabspeed exhaust, you’ll need to get a custom quote for us to discount it. Just email sales@normalguysupercar.com.

Top Speed (Shop HERE)

By far the cheapest on the market. If cost is your only concern, these are for you.

No, they are not going to be the highest quality. Yes, you may have some fitment issues, but nothing that a little work can’t resolve. Are they going to last a long time? For sure, they are better than the OEM manifolds.

I’ve sold a lot of their headers, especially for the F430. Of those, I’ve had a few complaints about flatness of the flange, and some of the stud holes are just slightly off. But considering they are basically half the price of anyone else, and less than a quarter of the price of some of the big name brands, it’s hard to be upset.

As of the writing of this, I have their titanium exhaust on my 458 and I will say I was very impressed with it. The welds are excellent, material was perfect, and sound is great. So I would say their titanium products are very high quality.

VR Performance (Shop HERE)

Another contender in the no added Ferrari tax market. If Top Speed is the ultimate in budget conscious choices, these are second place. They cost a little more than Top Speed, but seem to be a little higher in quality. I haven’t sold as many of these and haven’t had a chance to see them in person so I can’t say too much yet. I’ll update this once I get a set in my hands.

Armytrix (Shop HERE)

I’ve only heard one Armytrix exhaust in person, and it was pretty badass. It was a 458 and the sound was certainly deeper in tone than the IPE or Kline, but still had a nice high pitch sound at high RPM.

I’m working on getting my hands on one of these to test out in person so I’ll update you once that happens. Talking with the owner of that car, he was very pleased with the quality and value.

Ryft (Shop HERE)

Ryft makes high end Titanium exhausts that look stunning. They are pretty much works of art. I have not heard a Ryft on a Ferrari yet, but I’ve heard them on many Lamborghinis and they sounded epic. I will update you once I get one.

Exhautech (Shop HERE)

I have yet to order one of these for a customer, but I can’t wait to see one. I added them here because I plan to eventually try their equal length headers and full exhaust on my 458. Based in Japan, and built to the highest of standards, they have a big reputation over there, so I have high hopes.

Kreissieg (Shop HERE)

Another ultra high end company based in Japan and known for making some of the most insane sounding exhausts. I have only heard a Kreissieg on the F355 and it was stunning.

I really want to hear a modern Ferrari with their exhaust and as soon as I do I will update this. I know they have a huge reputation for outstanding quality, but that quality and sound come at a pretty hefty price.

Videos

Ferrari 458 Exhausts – Kline, IPE, S-Line, Reid (Straight Pipes), Fabspeed, & Stock
Ferrari 458 Top Speed Titanium
Ferrari 458 S-Linesound Valved Exhaust
Ferrari 458 IPE Titanium Exhaust
Ferrari 458 Kline Inconel Exhaust
Ferrari F430 Fabspeed Supersport
Showing a set of cracked Ferrari F430 OEM Manifolds
Ferrari F430 with custom X-Pipe, Tubi
Ferrari 355 with Capristo