When it comes to upgrading the Jeep Wrangler JL, the right exhaust system should deliver more than just a louder sound—it should complement the character and capability of the Jeep. In this review, Adam Al-Khal takes a closer look at the Valvetronic Designs valved exhaust system for the 3.6L Pentastar V6, putting its sound, performance, fitment, and versatility to the test. From daily driving to getting out on the trail, Adam shares his firsthand experience with an exhaust designed to give JL owners control over how their Jeep sounds whenever they hit the road.

 Adam Al-Khal's Review:

I've absolutely had an upgraded exhaust on my wishlist, but did not expect to do it this quickly. Fortunately, I have a good friend who works for Valvetronic, and they've been developing a JL valved exhaust. I got picked to be an early test install of their production version. 

Full disclosure, I got this exhaust for free, but Valvetronic did not solicit or ask for this review, I'm doing it because I like reviewing stuff and adding to the knowledgebase. I will also attempt to be objective with facts and data before injecting my opinions at the end.

So why did I want an exhaust? 
An exhaust upgrade has been on my wish list for some time for a few reasons

1. As I've been learning and doing more offroading, I wanted more audible feedback from the engine/exhaust. I have a Sport, so I've spent a lot of time trying to really control my RPMs and smoothness to allow the brake lock diff to work AND not over-rev and break something. The stock exhaust just doesn't give great feedback.

2. I've had muscle cars in the past, and a little more exhaust note is pretty nice. This Jeep is not my daily driver, so I really don't mind a little more of an aggressive exhaust tone. That said, I am NOT a fan of the annoying sounding exhausts that have the clangy, chattery, harsh tone, and wanted something that was closer to a rumble.

3. I did NOT want something that would require me to remove my hitch and recovery hook in the back since those are my rear recovery points. I also want something that is a bit more tucked and not hanging as low as the stock exhaust.

Then came Valvetronic

To be honest, I didn't know about these guys before, but their repertoire seems pretty impressive. I watched their product video and it seemed to meet my requirements – great sound, works without having to remove my hitch and recovery hook, and while I hadn't considered it before, the valved exhaust was interesting. The sound of the 3.6 in their launch video sounded just like I like- more "grunt" without sounding too harsh, and with the valves closed, a little better than stock, but not too much drone. 

Here’s the link to the product page: Jeep JLU/JL Wrangler Valved Sport Exhaust System – Valvetronic Designs

And here’s a link to their launch video: The PERFECT Exhaust Solution for the Jeep Wrangler JL

Right now the exhaust is available for the 2.0 and 3.6 Wrangler JLs. I’m told there is a JK and JT version coming soon.

I’ve had the exhaust on for almost two months now and have about 1000 miles on the Jeep with it.

Exhaust System Overview

The exhaust tested in my Jeep is the full catback system. The built quality is phenomenal; welds are clean, paint coatings are smooth and haven’t chipped or flaked off with heat, and being stainless steel, it’s not going anywhere. The system is 2.5” and exhaust exits through two beefy 4” tips.

The vacuum control mounted cleanly in the under-floor space and you can see the vacuum valve control here on the muffler.

The remote control is very high quality- it has to be machined steel or some similar metal, as it’s very hefty and solid in the hand. Bonus point is that it fits in the spot between the cup holders perfectly. I would like a place to mount the control at some point, and may 3D print a holder/mount, but it lives nicely in the cupholder for now.

Testing:

In order to separate fact from opinion, I wanted to do some actual tests and provide data. All testing was done on my 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL Unlimited, 3.6 V6, Stock intake. 

Sound testing - Exhaust note
To objectively measure the sound before and after the new system, I used my phone to capture the frequency spectrum before and after the system to see how the sound actually changed. 

To do this, I setup my phone with the Spectroid App on a tripod, horizontal with the microphones facing the Jeep. The phone was on the tripod at 26.5 inches off the ground, and 24 inches from the rear bumper to avoid the exhaust "puffs" from affecting the microphone. I took a background engine-off measurement, then idle, and using a tuner to hold RPM, 1200 RPM, and 2000 RPM to try and capture the "grunt" you may hear, and not just the typical launch videos posted.

Results are below, and I scaled the pics to try and keep the spectrum measurements aligned to tell the relative differences. You can see from the data that:

1. At Idle, the overall exhaust is louder. Interestingly here, you can see the Valvetronic exhaust brings out frequencies at 50 Hz, 100 Hz, and 300 Hz. The strong peaks in the 50 Hz and 100 Hz areas really describe the rumble you get with this. Opening the valve at idle doesn't really change the pronounced frequencies, but brings in more upper end noises, which you can hear in the video.
2. The theme is similar at 1200 RPM and 2000 RPM, where opening the valves really brings out the 200-700 HZ range. INTERESTINGLY, here you can also see that opening the valve boosts the 50-80HZ range- this is what I attribute to the noticeable drone reduction in the cab with the valves closed vs open (which you can see in the 0-50 MPH pulls later on).
3. I did capture a video of each, but I don't know if the phone's video processing does some normalization, so grain of salt with those. I will upload it as soon as I stitch all of the videos together so you can hear the comparisons.

Sound testing - 0-50 MPH acceleration

I wanted to compare the stock vs Valvetronic exhaust here as one of their claims is reduced in-cab drone. Qualitatively, and after a few hour-long trips, the valve on the exhaust makes a noticeable difference. Valves open- there is a substantial drone on the highway around 1800-2300 RPM which is very low frequency; enough that you have to speak loudly to hear when you’re pulling a hill. Closing the valve reduces this to a level similar to the background noise in the Jeep with a soft top on- you can still hear some exhaust note, but you can hold a conversation easily and hear your radio.

To try and measure this, I did a 0-50 MPH pull and tried to keep all else the same: all tests were done with the soft top on, windows closed, HVAC off, radio off, phone mounted in the same spot to a Bulletpoint magnetic mount, pull performed on the same flat road, and I tried to keep each pull to about the 30-seconds which the Spectroid app can measure. 

You can see from the spectrum measurements, the valve closed noise level is pretty similar to the stock exhaust, with a few more pronounced frequencies letting you know you have a performance exhaust system. The bigger difference is when the valves are open; the drone can be seen in the prominent 50-100 HZ ranges, matching the low drone I hear with my ear. This chart below pretty clearly shows how well the system pulls the drone frequencies out, but still leaves a performance sound.

Clearance

I also captured the ground clearance of the exhaust tips and main body of the muffler before and after the new exhaust system. I do have a 2.5 JKS lift on the Jeep, so I documented the height of the hitch and tow hook so you can have reference points with different ground clearances. 

The system comes with large 4" exhaust tips, and even so, the tips sit 1/8" higher than the original exhaust tip. A rectangular 3x5" exhaust tip would give even more clearance and will fit by my measurements. I will be trying this and giving this as feedback to Valvetronic if it works.

The body of the muffler has me scratching my head a bit as everything looks much more tucked, but by the numbers, the main body of the exhaust sits about ⅞” lower than the stock. This isn't a big deal to me as it's still within the departure angle area as seen in the photo, but something to note.

So my opinions

Simply stated, I love it and am very happy so far.

It’s the exact sound I wanted; a low grumble that sounds like a performance vehicle as you wind through the gears. I also love the flexibility of this system. It’s a very enjoyable daily driver vehicle with the valved exhaust; I can go on longer trips with my family without having to blast my music/audio book (even with my puny Sport sound system), then can open the valve and have a great time offroad or driving to a car show. This exhaust lets you choose to be loud or quiet, and that's a huge selling point that I didn't appreciate before. 

The ground clearance isn’t significantly altered, though I plan to try out some alternate smaller exhaust tips for future improvements, and would be even better if they were able to squeak the main muffler body that last ⅞” higher. The stainless construction is icing on the cake- this thing is bulletproof. The Valvetronic exhaust ticked off all my requirements and then some. 

As for the price, it is in the same range as the higher end systems, putting it as more of a planned medium-priced upgrade; not something I'm going to buy on a whim, but would plan for. 

Coming into this, I wasn't sure that I'd ever really fork out extra money for a valved exhaust. After living with it for a few months, I'm not sure why you wouldn't.

Ready to Take Control of Your Jeep’s Sound?

Adam’s experience proves that a Jeep exhaust doesn’t have to be a compromise between aggressive sound and comfortable driving. With the Valvetronic Designs Valved Sport Exhaust System, your 3.6L V6 or 2.0L Turbo can deliver a deeper, more aggressive exhaust note when you want it—and a quieter, more refined experience when you don’t.

Whether you’re hitting the trails, cruising the highway, or just want your JL to sound as good as it looks, you’re in control. Explore the Valvetronic Designs Jeep Wrangler JL Valved Sport Exhaust System and hear the difference for yourself.

Ready to unleash your JL? Check out the system today.