Best valved exhaust for Audi RS3 8V

Your vehicle.

All our exhausts for this generation, version by version, are brought together on one page: Audi RS3 8V / S3 8V / A3 8V exhaust system.

The 8V generation RS3 put the five-cylinder back in the spotlight among sporty compacts. First as a Sportback, then as a sedan, it has had two power outputs and two versions of the same 2.5 TFSI. Here is what characterizes it, and what matters when choosing its exhaust.

Body styles

Sportback (five-door); sedan from 2017

Years covered by the product page

2016 to 2020, before and after the facelift

Engine

2.5 TFSI: 2,480 cc inline five-cylinder, one turbo

Factory output

367 hp and 465 Nm until the facelift; 400 hp and 480 Nm afterwards

Firing order

1-2-4-5-3

Transmission and drivetrain

Seven-speed S tronic; permanent quattro

Factory valves

Two valves, controlled by Audi drive select

Two phases for the RS3 8V

The RS3 Sportback 8V reached Audi dealers in summer 2015, with a 367 hp 2.5 TFSI, or 270 kW. Its 465 Nm of torque runs from 1,625 to 5,550 rpm, which makes it as lively exiting a roundabout as approaching the red zone.

At the Paris show, in late September 2016, Audi unveiled an RS3 sedan, then the facelifted Sportback at the Geneva show in spring 2017. Both receive a thoroughly revised 2.5 TFSI, raised to 400 hp (294 kW) and 480 Nm, available from 1,700 to 5,850 rpm. The sedan therefore never existed in 367 hp.

Sportback or sedan, 367 or 400 hp: the Rog product page applies to all RS3 8V of the 2016 to 2020 model years. It does not distinguish the body style in its options: your VIN specifies it before manufacture, and we let you know if a point needs confirmation.

367 or 400 hp: one engine, two versions

On the facelifted phase, the five-cylinder changes far more than its power. Its crankcase goes from vermicular graphite cast iron to aluminum, and the engine loses 26 kg, right above the front axle. Audi then billed it as the most powerful production five-cylinder on the market.

This gain is felt in the balance of the car as much as in its figures. For the rear exhaust, however, the two phases come together: the Rog exhaust stays the same product page, and the bar for your version appears below.

Factory 367 hp version

Factory 400 hp version

Stage 2: published figures with the front section and an ECU remap carried out by a tuner.

S tronic and quattro

All RS3 8V models pair their engine with the seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission and permanent quattro all-wheel drive. The torque goes first to the front, and a multi-plate clutch sends it to the rear as soon as the situation demands.

For the Rog exhaust, these components change nothing: the cat-back follows the factory route under the body and ends in the same place, at the rear of the compact.

1-2-4-5-3: the cadence of the five-cylinder

The 2.5 TFSI fires its cylinders in the order 1-2-4-5-3: it alternates neighboring and distant cylinders, so that the pulses reach the exhaust with an irregular rhythm. This is what gives it that voice you recognize by ear, somewhere between the rumble of a V8 and the cry of a six-cylinder, and which recalls the rally quattros of the 1980s.

It is also what makes the design of the exhaust so important on this car. A five-cylinder needs room to breathe: too many chambers and baffles, and its cadence blurs; a well-designed exhaust, on the contrary, lets it through to the tips.

An engine with a record

The 2.5 TFSI does not power only the RS3. Audi also put it under the hood of the TT RS and the RS Q3, and the International Engine of the Year jury has named it several times the best engine in its category, between 2 and 2.5 liters. For an enthusiast, it is above all the direct heir of the five-cylinders that made the legend of the rally quattros.

On the RS3 8V, this engine is mounted transversely, at the front of a reasonably sized compact. That gives a fast car that is easy to live with every day. Under its floor, inherited from the A3, the Rog exhaust follows the route of the factory exhaust, and your VIN lets us build it for your exact car.

What holds back the factory sound

The RS3 8V is not a quiet car, but its factory exhaust keeps a good part of it to itself. Its mufflers, calibrated for an everyday compact and for noise limits, round off the rhythm of the five-cylinder; before them, the turbine has already smoothed out some of it.

In the calmest settings, the car is discreet. The character that made the 2.5 TFSI's reputation only really appears in Dynamic, and even then in a version polished by regulations.

The factory valves and Audi drive select

As standard, the RS3 8V's exhaust carries two valves that vary the flow, and therefore the sound, according to load and revs. Through Audi drive select, the driver chooses a more discreet or a louder setting. An RS sport exhaust, with black tips, was offered as an option, with the same control.

The Rog product page leaves you two routes. With the Factory option, the exhaust arrives with the mounts for your two valves: your garage refits them there, and Audi drive select continues to govern them. With the Rog option, these are our valves, fitted in advance, that a remote opens or closes: they stay that way, in Comfort as in Dynamic.

Straight pipe or resonator for the 2.5 TFSI

With the valves open, the flow escapes the muffler's partitions: the five-cylinder finds its syncopated rumble, a real push of sound on acceleration and plenty of crackles on lift-off. With the valves closed, the RS3 becomes a compact you can take to the office without bothering anyone.

Two characters exist, with no price difference. With a straight pipe, the 2.5 TFSI keeps all its roughness and its odd cadence. The resonator gives it a rounder and slightly softer voice, without taking anything away from its sporty compact character.

Tips, material and front section

As standard, the RS3 8V is recognized by its two large oval tips, one on each side of the diffuser. The Rog exhaust ends with round tips, with Rog tips in chrome, gloss black or blued titanium, included in the price; it can also be ordered without tips. The exhaust is built in 304 stainless steel or in titanium, about 40% lighter for the same design, in brushed, gold or purple at the same price.

Under the "Manifold" option, the product page also offers the downpipe, placed right after the turbo with its catalytic converter, in 200 cells, 100 cells, or catalyst-free for track days. If your RS3 stays on public roads, choose the 200 cells: the factory emissions control is maintained.

With the cat-back alone, the 2.5 TFSI keeps its control unit and its factory power. To go further, you need the downpipe and an ECU remap done by a tuner. Your exhaust is built on the basis of your VIN, and your garage fits it without welding or cutting a single pipe.

Configure your exhaust.

How the exhaust is put together

On the RS3 8V, the Rog cat-back starts at the downpipe outlet and reaches the rear of the compact: pipes, mufflers, valves and round tips. The downpipe, the first part after the five-cylinder's turbo and carrier of the catalytic converter, forms the front section; the product page lists it as an option, under the name "Manifold".

Each choice explained in detail, from sound to material: How to configure your exhaust.

Three recommended configurations.

• The everyday compact

  • Stainless steel
  • No manifold
  • Resonator
  • Factory valves

  For an RS3 that runs in all weathers: the factory downpipe stays in place, the cadence of the five-cylinder returns with a rounded voice, and Audi drive select keeps control of the valves.

  View this configuration

• The whole five-cylinder

  • Stainless steel
  • 200-cell sports catalytic converter
  • Straight pipe
  • Rog remote

  To hear the 1-2-4-5-3 without restraint on the road: 200-cell downpipe, straight pipe, and a remote to open in Comfort as well as to close in Dynamic.

  View this configuration

• Track RS3

  • Blued titanium
  • Decat
  • Straight pipe
  • Rog remote

  For an RS3 that strings together track sessions: titanium takes weight off the rear, the catalyst-free downpipe gives the five-cylinder its full breath, and the valves stay wide open.

  View this configuration

From order to fitting.

VIN, manufacture, delivery, fitting and warranty, step by step

Questions.

Further reading.

• All our exhausts for the Audi A3, S3 and RS3 8V
• Guide to the Audi RS3 8Y 2.5 TFSI
• Guide to the Audi S3 8V 2.0 TFSI