Forza Horizon 5 lets players customize almost any part of their car – down to even the inner and outer rim color. The insane amount of customization makes Forza Horizon 5 such an addicting game for car enthusiasts.
Most mere mortals can not afford the best cars in Forza Horizon 5 in real life, but in Forza Horizon 5, a few simple clicks will get players the vehicle of their dreams and then some.
One of the most common performance upgrades in-game is the exhaust upgrade. But players are unaware that even if the maximum exhaust upgrade possible nets players the most power, it is not always the most pleasant sounding exhaust note in-game.
Exhaust: Everyone’s Favorite Modification
An exhaust upgrade is often the most cost-effective upgrade that car owners can add to their car. A good exhaust upgrade does a couple of things: It improves the car’s sound significantly, adds a little bit of power, and makes the car lighter in most cases.
Considering how little a basic exhaust upgrade costs versus the advantages it can add to a car, it can, without a doubt, be one of the most cost-effective upgrades in any vehicle, both in-game and in real life as well.
Types of Exhaust in Forza Horizon 5
There are four types of exhaust presets in Forza Horizon 5: Stock Exhaust, Street Exhaust, Sport Exhaust, and Race Exhaust.
The Stock Exhaust is pretty self-explanatory; it is the exhaust that comes standard in cars bought in Forza Horizon 5. Since this is the exhaust that is already the car pre-upgrade, we can expect zero power gain and zero weight savings from this exhaust type.
The Street Exhaust is a minor step up from the Stock Exhaust. It consists of the muffler and the pipe after the catalytic converter. This type of exhaust is often called a Cat-back exhaust because it only changes the exhaust parts after the catalytic converter. The Street exhaust increases power by up to 10 horsepower versus the Stock Exhaust.
Sport Exhaust is the obvious next step for an exhaust upgrade in Forza Horizon 5. The Sport Exhaust is a full exhaust system that changes the exhaust components from the headers all the way to the muffler. The Sport Exhaust adds a little bit of power (up to 20 horsepower) and saves a little bit of weight in the process.
Race Exhaust is the “best” exhaust upgrade that players can install in their cars in Forza Horizon 5. It offers the best power increase in any exhaust upgrade, and it weighs less than the already lightweight Sport Exhaust upgrade. The Race Exhaust is a full exhaust system that changes the exhaust components from the headers to the muffler. The Race Exhaust adds up to 30 horsepower from Stock Exhaust.
Which Exhaust Upgrade Sounds the Best?
To most people, exhaust noise is a subjective thing. What sounds good to a few might not sound good to others at all. However, can we all agree that an exhaust that sounds tinny and lacks body to its sound is a bad-sounding exhaust?
A bad-sounding exhaust can become annoying, especially since you will be cruising around the Horizon most of the time. Nobody wants to cruise around in their car while sounding like a vacuum cleaner.
Another thing to remember is that the exhaust note emitted by the four different exhaust systems in Forza Horizon 5 depends on the type of car it is installed on.
A great way to find out what an exhaust sounds like is by pressing “Tab” in the exhaust modification menu:
So which one sounds the best?
Sound is subjective but only to a point. Because of how the Race Exhaust is made (thanks to its titanium construction), Race exhaust tends to make the cars sound tinnier in almost every vehicle in Forza Horizon 5.
If you like the raspy and thin sound that Race Exhaust emits, then we can not argue. However, we prefer to keep the cars in-game sounding life-like and less like a digital vacuum cleaner. Some of the exhaust upgrades in Forza Horizon 5 outright murder the otherwise creamy exhaust notes the in-game cars’ real-life counterparts emit.
If you share the same love for keeping the in-game cars sounding true to life, then hop onto YouTube and A-B test the in-game sound with some of the real-life examples to get the best sound in-game.
Sound over Performance
Speed is not always everything in Forza Horizon 5. The whole point of the game is to take advantage of the online play capability to play, compete, and hang out with friends.
Racing and fast lap times are not the be-all-end-all of Forza Horizon 5. Socialization through cars and car culture is a major part of why Forza Horizon 5 is one of the best car games of all time.
To sum it up, fun is the name of the game in Forza Horizon 5. The sweet exhaust note emitted by your car while cruising around the mountains is an enjoyable experience that makes life in the Horizon just that much more fun and exciting.
