• Revel is a manufacturer dedicated to producing exhaust systems, coilovers, auxiliary gauges, and carbon fiber components for current/late-model JDM cars and trucks, and Teslas.
• The Revel Medallion Ultra Ti titanium exhaust line represents the brand’s top-tier offering and promises to deliver lightweight performance and style to its owners.
• Every Revel Medallion Ultra Ti titanium exhaust features a fully TIG-welded construction, a 76mm pipe diameter, and a 115mm burnt tip diameter, and includes all the necessary hardware to complete the installation from start to finish.
• This unit converts the exhaust into a single-exit system to shed maximum weight for the Subaru WRX STI Sedan 11-21/WRX Sedan 08-21 platforms.

In modern car culture, the predominant stereotype of a WRX or STI owner gives off a rather cringeworthy vibe. I affectionately say all this as someone who comes from the BMW world — a place with its own set of unfavorable cliches — and a 1st-gen BRZ owner. And despite the giant vape clouds, I’m here to defend the proudest monikers in the Subaru lineup because the prototypical WRX/STI driver is pretty far adrift from the stereotype. Most are pretty cool car enthusiasts who bought a WRX/STI for its reputation as a mod-friendly sports car or as a perfect compromise between practicality and its rally-bred hooningan demeanor once the kids are dropped off at school.

Like so many other enthusiast cars, extracting the potential of the WRX is a crucial element of its ownership. And Revel’s new Medallion Ultra Ti titanium exhaust (T60188R) does this perfectly with lightweight performance, style, and tasteful discretion.

WHO IS REVEL?

Although we are here to talk about its Medallion Ultra Ti titanium exhaust, that is only a small portion of Revel’s manufacturing capability. The California-based outfit also produces coilover systems, auxiliary gauges, and a slew of dry carbon fiber components for a wide range of JDM cars and trucks, and the Tesla Model 3.

Even that is only part of the full story. If the “Medallion” moniker sounds familiar, it should. The brand is owned and overseen by Tanabe — a 41-year-old Japanese company that is synonymous with motorsport success in Formula N1, JGTC, Super GT, and more. The trickle-down effect of this participation has created products that harness the Japanese “racing spirit” and both Revel and respected wheel brand SSR, another subsidiary of Tanabe, have shared the benefits.

INSIDE THE BOX

For one thing, you won’t be throwing your back out lifting this box out of your car; its full-titanium construction means that this system is light, even compared to the muffler delete that was on this car before. The Revel unit preserves the factory system’s 3.0” pipe diameter, but in pursuit of even more weight savings, it swaps the quad exhaust for a single-exit setup. The new exhaust routing provides ample opportunity to admire Revel’s TIG-welded construction and high-quality pie-cut bends.

The burnt tip, laser-engraved with the Medallion name, measures 4.5” for maximum visual impact. Astute observers will notice that the exhaust routes out the passenger side diffuser exit — a marked difference from other aftermarket offerings — and immediately sets you apart from the sea of other commonplace exhausts on the market.

The Revel exhaust includes everything you need to complete the installation from start to finish. It even includes a silencer, which truthfully, you won’t want to use since it deprives your ears of the unique titanium exhaust soundtrack.

THE INSTALLATION

As you’d expect, we did this properly and set up shop at our favorite Montgomeryville, PA destination, R/T Tuning. Exhaust installations are pretty straightforward, and even with the unique routing, this Revel exhaust is no exception. First, the stock (or other aftermarket) system needs to come off. From here, it’s just a matter of working front to back; the resonated front pipe bolts right up to the catalytic converter using the factory hardware.

Thereafter, the center pipe bolts onto the front pipe. Here, you’re able to see how the Revel center pipe perfectly routes around the factory components with adequate clearance throughout.

The muffler attaches to the OE exhaust hangers via two included t-bolt clamps. We found that mounting the rearmost clamp as close to the end of the muffler works best to maintain enough clearance to the diffuser. Tension springs are included as an added measure to the sturdy connecting clamps. The former ensures that nothing comes loosened during those spirited drives.

THE VERDICT

The WRX/STI community is a crowded space, which makes it hard to stand out. But the Revel Medallion Ultra Ti titanium exhaust is a huge step in achieving that — both as a commitment to high-end quality and as a rebellion against the dominant stereotype. In that way, this exhaust is exactly what this demographic needs. Visually, I’m not sure you can do much better than this. The single-exit looks great and the burnt titanium tip never gets old. In the sound department, this isn’t an exhaust for Subaru owners with drift charms who like pissing off their neighbors with 105dB cold starts. It’s more for an enthusiast who can appreciate Revel’s engineering prowess. This exhaust actually exercises restraint initially, but manages to exude a sweet, full-bodied melody when it matters most: when you’re driving the snot out of it. This is what a truly balanced exhaust should do. And Revel’s achievement here reflects its parent company’s mission to infuse its products with that Japanese “racing spirit”.

More than the sound, this Revel exhaust manages to re-write the rhetoric of what it means to buy quality parts. All too often, quality has become synonymous with extravagant costs and lengthy wait times — the Medallion system proves that you can have it all without sacrificing your wheel budget at the same time. And that, coupled with the fact that you can get one right away, helps us all enjoy the car hobby a little bit more.

 

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