I've been messing with the different combinations of modes in N Custom on mine for a few months now to sort out all the different sound combinations the car can be set to and to try to help people out who have questions like "Why isn't it popping" and "How can I make it sound good without being a cop magnet". The owners manual doesn't really do a good job explaining this.
First off a quick overview of Modes. Exhaust mode only applies to performance pack cars.
Red N Mode = Engine-Sport+, Exhaust-Sport+
Purple N Custom Mode = Any mode it's set it in the Custom menu
Red Sport Mode = Engine-Sport, Exhaust-Sport
Normal Mode = Engine-Normal, Exhaust-Normal
Eco Mode = cmon
Pops/Bangs/Anti-lag
There are two distinct sorts of sounds I've observed with this.
2 or 3 distinct Loud pops in a row when you back off the throttle at higher RPM that sound like gunfire or loud firecrackers are the "anti lag" pops. They don't seem to ever happen till all the yellow lights are gone from the tach (warmed up). They also only seem to happen when both the engine and the exhaust are in Sport+ mode. Set either the engine or exhaust in a lower mode and you will not get them. In red N mode the engine and exhaust are in Sport+. You can make the car do these just by revving up above about 4K even if you're parked.
Then there's the less loud crackles and pops that don't seem as deliberate and are much more random. They generally happen any time you let off the throttle at any RPM. You'll get an occasional pop that will be as loud as the deliberate anti-lag pops but I think that's not intended. These pops happen whenever the engine is in Sport or Sport+ mode, but rarely in Normal or Eco. These will also happen before the warmup lights extinguish but not always.
Exhaust Sound/Volume
Exhaust mode is mostly responsible for this with Sport+ being loudest and Normal being quietest, but engine mode setting also is a factor so it's more complicated than it seems.
Mode Combination Observations
Sport+/Normal - Engine in Sport+ and the exhaust in Normal the exhaust will be louder and have more character than if both are set to Normal. In this setting the car still sounds unique but it won't annoy the neighbors or police. Crackle is present but muted, but no anti-lag bangs. Idle is somewhat quiet but when you rev it gets quieter.
Sport+/Sport - Engine in Sport+ and exhaust in Sport the exhaust is reasonably loud and has great character to it with various crackles and pops. No anti-lag bangs so the cops will mostly leave you alone but your neighbors might groan about the noise. Idle is louder.
This is my favorite N custom setting.
Sport+/Sport+ - Engine in Sport+ and exhaust in Sport+ this is the loudest, with the longest string of pops and crackles and the 2-3 distinct loud anti-lag bangs. Use this if you want to be noticed, because you will be.
Sport/Sport+ - Engine in Sport mode and exhaust in Sport+ is louder overall, but less crackle and pop and no anti-lag. Throttle response is slower in Sport engine mode than Sport+ so I prefer to skip Sport mode and just use Sport+. I didn't test any other Sport engine mode combinations for that reason.
Normal/Sport+ - Engine in Normal Mode and exhaust in Sport+ is, again, loud but with even less crackle and pop and no anti-lag. Sounds like a normal turbo 4 cylinder with a loud exhaust on it. Boring. Throttle response is even more muted than Sport mode and more tailored to easy cruising.
Normal/Normal - Engine in Normal and exhaust in Normal. It's like your mom's Camry. Great if you want to impress your grandma or pull into work looking like a "responsible adult". Also nice on the 17th hour of a 15 hour road trip when you're ready to start biting the other people in the car for looking at you.
I skipped a few different combinations because I saw no reason I'd ever use them and I'm really happy with Sport+/Sport and Sport+/Normal as my two go-to settings.
Another observation I had is that my fuel economy is worst in full Sport+/Sport+ (18mpg average!) but markedly improves as soon as I drop down one setting on the exhaust and that anti-lag stops banging. In Sport+/Sport I'm getting 23 average. In full Normal mode I average 26.
So I hope this helps out anyone who's not sure why it's not sounding like they'd like it to.
First off a quick overview of Modes. Exhaust mode only applies to performance pack cars.
Red N Mode = Engine-Sport+, Exhaust-Sport+
Purple N Custom Mode = Any mode it's set it in the Custom menu
Red Sport Mode = Engine-Sport, Exhaust-Sport
Normal Mode = Engine-Normal, Exhaust-Normal
Eco Mode = cmon
Pops/Bangs/Anti-lag
There are two distinct sorts of sounds I've observed with this.
2 or 3 distinct Loud pops in a row when you back off the throttle at higher RPM that sound like gunfire or loud firecrackers are the "anti lag" pops. They don't seem to ever happen till all the yellow lights are gone from the tach (warmed up). They also only seem to happen when both the engine and the exhaust are in Sport+ mode. Set either the engine or exhaust in a lower mode and you will not get them. In red N mode the engine and exhaust are in Sport+. You can make the car do these just by revving up above about 4K even if you're parked.
Then there's the less loud crackles and pops that don't seem as deliberate and are much more random. They generally happen any time you let off the throttle at any RPM. You'll get an occasional pop that will be as loud as the deliberate anti-lag pops but I think that's not intended. These pops happen whenever the engine is in Sport or Sport+ mode, but rarely in Normal or Eco. These will also happen before the warmup lights extinguish but not always.
Exhaust Sound/Volume
Exhaust mode is mostly responsible for this with Sport+ being loudest and Normal being quietest, but engine mode setting also is a factor so it's more complicated than it seems.
Mode Combination Observations
Sport+/Normal - Engine in Sport+ and the exhaust in Normal the exhaust will be louder and have more character than if both are set to Normal. In this setting the car still sounds unique but it won't annoy the neighbors or police. Crackle is present but muted, but no anti-lag bangs. Idle is somewhat quiet but when you rev it gets quieter.
Sport+/Sport - Engine in Sport+ and exhaust in Sport the exhaust is reasonably loud and has great character to it with various crackles and pops. No anti-lag bangs so the cops will mostly leave you alone but your neighbors might groan about the noise. Idle is louder.
This is my favorite N custom setting.
Sport+/Sport+ - Engine in Sport+ and exhaust in Sport+ this is the loudest, with the longest string of pops and crackles and the 2-3 distinct loud anti-lag bangs. Use this if you want to be noticed, because you will be.
Sport/Sport+ - Engine in Sport mode and exhaust in Sport+ is louder overall, but less crackle and pop and no anti-lag. Throttle response is slower in Sport engine mode than Sport+ so I prefer to skip Sport mode and just use Sport+. I didn't test any other Sport engine mode combinations for that reason.
Normal/Sport+ - Engine in Normal Mode and exhaust in Sport+ is, again, loud but with even less crackle and pop and no anti-lag. Sounds like a normal turbo 4 cylinder with a loud exhaust on it. Boring. Throttle response is even more muted than Sport mode and more tailored to easy cruising.
Normal/Normal - Engine in Normal and exhaust in Normal. It's like your mom's Camry. Great if you want to impress your grandma or pull into work looking like a "responsible adult". Also nice on the 17th hour of a 15 hour road trip when you're ready to start biting the other people in the car for looking at you.
I skipped a few different combinations because I saw no reason I'd ever use them and I'm really happy with Sport+/Sport and Sport+/Normal as my two go-to settings.
Another observation I had is that my fuel economy is worst in full Sport+/Sport+ (18mpg average!) but markedly improves as soon as I drop down one setting on the exhaust and that anti-lag stops banging. In Sport+/Sport I'm getting 23 average. In full Normal mode I average 26.
So I hope this helps out anyone who's not sure why it's not sounding like they'd like it to.
