Skip to main content

Ford Mustang GT's Active Valve Performance Exhaust System, Ya Heard?

img 1604209631 1534890649323 jpg 2018 Ford Mustang GT |

The 2018 Ford Mustang GT is available with an Active Valve Performance Exhaust system for an extra $895, allowing drivers to adjust the sound levels of the Mustang GT’s exhaust among four levels of loudness. The four settings are Quiet, Normal, Sport and Track in order of quietest to loudest. The sound levels produced by each setting are fairly self-explanatory: Quiet keeps things polite, while Track assaults ears with the Mustang GT’s all-American V-8 rumble. Normal and Sport rest in between the two extremes.

Related: Braun Vs. Brawn: BMW M4 Vs. Ford Mustang GT Performance Pack 2

A key part of the system is its Quiet Start feature. Again, Ford has chosen directness over some overly focus-grouped name — this setting allows the Mustang GT to start in the Quiet setting instead of Normal. Your neighbors will thank you for not waking them up every morning as you start the car. This feature also comes in handy for new parents.

Quiet Start even includes a scheduling feature that allows owners to set a window of time when it engages automatically. For example, 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. — or any other period of time — can be “quiet time” for the Mustang GT.

In our own tests, Quiet Mode starts peaked at 72 and 75 decibels; Normal starts peaked at 86 and 84 decibels. For comparison’s sake, that’s roughly the difference between normal television or radio volume and a garbage disposal or blender.

Look, a lot of people will say things like, “If it’s too loud, you’re too old.” But in the era of bitter suburban feuds over the stupidest stuff, it’s helpful to err toward politeness.

Check out the video above to see this system in action and hear more of that beautiful exhaust note.

Shop the 2018 Ford Mustang near you

Used
2018 Ford Mustang GT
60,503 mi.
$21,995 $1,000 price drop
Used
2018 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Premium
46,118 mi.
$21,995 $1,702 price drop

Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.

Brian Normile
Road Test Editor Brian Normile joined the automotive industry and Cars.com in 2013, and he became part of the Editorial staff in 2014. Brian spent his childhood devouring every car magazine he got his hands on — not literally, eventually — and now reviews and tests vehicles to help consumers make informed choices. Someday, Brian hopes to learn what to do with his hands when he’s reviewing a car on camera. He would daily-drive an Alfa Romeo 4C if he could.
Email Brian Normile

Featured stories

Flooded Car scaled jpg
ford expedition tremor 2025 51 exterior front angle scaled jpg
kia carnival hev 2025 01 exterior front angle 1 scaled jpg