AWE SwitchPath Exhaust: THIS is How the Audi RS 6 Avant and RS 7 Should Sound From Factory!

By Michael S. Palmer - July 20, 2023

This AWE SwitchPath Exhaust boosts power, retains MMI and Drive Select valving, is 50-state emissions compliant, and sounds amazing!

Color me thrilled to find a C8 generation RS 6 and RS 7 AWE SwitchPath Exhaust press release in my inbox. You see, I’ve been extraordinarily lucky to spend a bunch of time behind the wheel of Audi’s various Biturbo 4.0L V8s. The RS 6 Avant is the ultimate family hauler, combining sportscar driving dynamics with room for an entire family. The RS Q8 is one of the best-driving SUVs on the planet, with many dubbing it a budget Lamborghini Urus. And the flagship Audi S8 has the best Audi suspension of all time.

These 600-horsepower luxo-beasts all accelerate like goddamn rocket ships. And each one handles with surprising grace despite portly curb weights. But they are all too quiet from the factory. Even with the RS sport exhaust. The trouble? You can only really hear the engine when the car is at wide-open throttle (WOT). But they’re all too freakin’ fast to play that card for anything more than the briefest of moments.

AWE SwitchPath Exhaust for C8 RS 6 and RS 7

Thankfully, AWE has answered the call with the new AWE SwitchPath Exhaust for the C8 generation RS 6 Avant and RS 7 Sportback (SKU 3025-33776). Full disclosure, AWE is a vendor on a variety of forum communities owned by AudiWorld’s parent company. But, AWE had my personal respect before I found out they were vendors, which is why I’m covering this week’s announcement. Not only because they design, engineer, and manufacture all of their systems in-house and in America. But because they build high-end components worthy of vehicles from companies like Audi and Porsche.

The AWE SwitchPath Exhaust is a dual 3-inch, straight-through stainless steel catback exhaust system. In other words, it’s 50-state emissions legal and AWE guarantees that you’ll never see a check-engine light come on. The trademarked SwitchPath system features active valving like the factory RS Sport exhaust, which alters system tone and volume based on driving mode and throttle position. Unlike many aftermarket active-valve systems the AWE SwitchPath retains Audi’s MMI and Drive Select factory functionality.

Out back, AWE engineered independently mounted oval-shaped exhaust tips. Ovals are a must-have for any RS vehicle, and these tips not only mount securely in the factory location but also use what AWE calls ReflectTip technology to aim and amply exhaust sounds toward the driver. (Automakers have used similar technology on vehicles like the 2023 Corvette Z06 and Dodge Charger Banshee concept.)

If you hate drone as much as I do, you’ll be relieved to know AWE includes “patented drone-canceling 180 Technology” on this system as well as “robust” post-catalyst flex pipping to absorb NVH created by engine movement.

Thanks to the system’s simple, straight-through design, AWE claims maximum, dyno-tested gains of up to 8 horsepower and 14 lb-ft of torque at the wheels. As a bolt-on system, AWE also guarantees fitment without the need to cut or modify, on both standard and rear-steer equipped models. The company also offers a lifetime guarantee on the parts.

Click HERE to learn more or purchase a C8 generation AWE SwitchPath Exhaust for a C8 generation RS 6 Avant or RS 7 Sportback.

Sound Demo

Check out the embedded video above or head over to AWE’s YouTube channel to hear the system in the real world. Sound tests include engine revving (although as we know, you can’t redline these in Park), in-cabin acceleration runs and cruising, in-exhaust-tip accelerations (demonstrating the opening valves), and flybys at various speeds.

AWE SwitchPath Exhaust First Reactions

It’s not fair to fully judge an exhaust on a video. Even when it’s well-captured and you have nice speakers. But, in terms of first video-based impressions, I’m really impressed.

Given the pipe diameter and relatively limited muffling, removing the drone must have been quite the challenge for the engineers involved with this system. But they did it. From what I can hear in the video, cruising down the highway is as clean and as luxurious as you want from an Audi.

But everywhere else, the SwitchPath system rumbles and roars like the German muscle car that it is. The flybys, especially, reveal a system with great tone and no sense of rasp or NVH. It basically sounds like a meaner, angrier version of the stock system, which I like because it’s not radically different from the stock RS sport system.

If I had one minor nitpick, it’s that revving an Audi in a parking lot almost never sounds amazing — the rev limiter is set pretty low — and that’s still true here. It’s deeper and throatier, but as revs come down, there’s a slight resonance with a touch of rasp. Not a deal killer, mind you. But something to note.

Still, I hope to hear one of these systems in person as soon as possible. (If you live in the Los Angeles area and install one, please do reach out to me, Palmer, in our forums.)

Bottom line: this is how the RS 6 and RS 7 should sound from the factory!

What do YOU think?

Let us know HERE in the forums!