I saw this Borla Exhaust POsted on ebay. Do you think its a good price, and a solid investment?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...858280026&rd=1

 

Well, a few points :

I bought my car w/ the Borla in place - the previous owner had it welded to prevent rattles. Alas, this has not been the case - mainly when run hard and then pulled up to a light I get a rattle from around the right rear - possibly caused by the pipes expanding & hitting the panhard rod - haven't quite figured it out yet.

I also will tell you that you should hear one first - they are quite a bit louder than stock even with the smallest baffle installed as I have in mine.
(Yeah, I am getting old !! )

You might also wanna check out the Borla web site or call 'em to insure that the tips are indeed sold seperately - probably, but IMHO the tips are the best looking part of the exhaust - well, other than the fact that the Borla muffler is smaller and is not visible from the back of the car as the stock unit is - and it would be a shame to buy a Borla and not be able to put the tips on.

So, base the $'s on the price of this exhaust ( $ 450 ) plus whatever the tips run for & there ya have it.

Good Luck !!

Britt



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'99 T/A
Best 13.071 @ 104.92
Now own '99 SS # 2073 !
12.969 @ 105.44

 

and as others have stated, its the $600 cutout.
Thats really all it is.. You should look into a cutout and some tips if thats the look you want.


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Psycho Cabbage
2002 Camaro Z28
(6 sp) Bone stock
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-Traded in- 1995 Camaro Z28 (A4 (#6 I might add!),ES tranny mount and torque arm bushing,SLP CAI,ASP 34% Underdrive,Strange 3.73's (shredded Auburn),1LE alum driveshaft & intake elbow,Yokohamas AVS Intermediates,160-stat,MAF screen removed, HPP+(for shift points only),Borla Y-pipe, Flowmaster Force-II catback, Gutted Cat, Airlift Airbag, !TB Bypass, J&M LCA's, Bosch Platinums, Moroso BlueMax Wires, Free RamAir, Meziere Electric H2O pump, MAC 3point STB, BMR Panhard, SCR SFC's
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best 13.44 @103.26
0-60ft 1.96
270 RWHP/296 RWTQ
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1987 Porsche 944S (waiting on LT1 mod)

 

Borla, love it. 1,000,000 mile warranty. Was an easy install, had a banging noise from the rear, found out it was the rear right tip, flipped the clamp, no more banging. Sounds good, tunnable. With no plate it runs 75%striat and 25% through muffler. You get a deep tone from the muffler and a racey tone from the right strait pipe. With no plate it is probably one of the loudest exhuasts for the ls1. People can deny it but i have listened to both sides and all plates. The price is rediculous, at more than 450 without the tips i have no idea what he is thinking, those tips are 150 bucks a piece. Plus the intercooled tips are one of the best parts of the borla. I got mine new last year for $550 from MTI. Do some shopping, you will find it cheaper. Plus if you buy it out of state you can get it tax free. check this link: http://www.motorsporttech.com/2002_w...FBexhaust.html excellent company. Got mine in 2 days after order. The guy is nuts thinking he will get that much for a tipless kit. DON'T BUY IT. You will find it cheaper.

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'02 Red Z28, ebony leather, M6, T-tops, Trac. cont., hurst shifter
Borla (the expensive cut-out), Wisperlid W/K&N, FRA, Cags eliminator, Strange 4.10's, G2 Rear Girdle, Valv. Synthetic 10W-30, Redline gear oil, Fat hurst shift ****, Lead foot

Soon to be:
Alpine Screen, Orion xtr 800.4, xtrpro 1000, Kicker 12L7 in a milhouse, Focal polykev K2's, Focal utopia 6" audiom midrange.

 

If you're looking for that wonderful GM catalytic convertor sound (which is all an open Borla is anyways) then just get a cutout. If you really like the way the Borla muffler sounds, just buy a Borla muffler and install a cutout.

Otherwise, Borla is overpriced...you can make just as much horsepower using other methods for FAR less cash.

 

A Borla is the ONLY adjustable catback system out there. It's as loud as a cutout, or almost as quiet as the stock exhaust, or anything in between. I love mine

 

A cutout is every bit as adjustable as Borla. Just change the blocking plate as you would with that ridiculous $600 catback.

 

I personally don't like the drone and resonance that you get with an "under the car" exhaust exit. My ridiculous $600 catback at least exits the exhaust out the rear like a decent exhaust should. If you don't have the money to buy it then a cutout makes a decent "2nd best" alternative though

It sounds like your envious to me

 

Pfft, I should have posted my sig; I'm not envious of much

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It is not a bad cat-back, i did a crap load of research before i bought it. Why did i, b/c it is adjustable, and again i love the look of the intercooled tips. I didn't get the flowmaster b/c it has that coffee can effect. Magnaflow seemed good but plain slash tips just didn't cut it for me. Loud mouth, extremely loud, not stainless steal and not adjustable if i get headers. If you have heard an LS1 you would understand how loud the loudmouth would be with a set of LT's. So it became between corsa and borla. So i went with the old dog in town for f-body's. The borla adjustable catback has been out since the 93's came out. And it doesnt get an open cat sound. Like i said before, you get a racey tone from the adjustable side and a nice deep tone from the left. In fact I get compliments on it quite often. One of the guys that loves the sound and the design works at a mustang performance shop here in corpus. One more time, DON'T BUY THAT TIPPLESS KIT.

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'02 Red Z28, ebony leather, M6, T-tops, Trac. cont., hurst shifter
Borla (the expensive cut-out), Wisperlid W/K&N, FRA, Cags eliminator, Strange 4.10's, G2 Rear Girdle, Valv. Synthetic 10W-30, Redline gear oil, Fat hurst shift ****, Lead foot

Soon to be:
Alpine Screen, Orion xtr 800.4, xtrpro 1000, Kicker 12L7 in a milhouse, Focal polykev K2's, Focal utopia 6" audiom midrange.

 

well, as far as "adjustable" goes, so are supertraps (4 of these were used by John Lingenfelter on the Sledgehammer supervette) and they are in the bullet style (which flows the best right?).. Make your own exhaust.. If I am not mistaken, the Jegs or Summit catalogs also show the "Warlock" muffler/cutout..

As for metals.. well, I dont prefer stainless over aluminized steel. WHY? because my Porsche had a stainless steel exhaust and over time, the steel with heat becomes brittle and it just snaps.. Not fun.

But thats just your one time... NO, Its not. My friend had the TOTL SLP exhaust. Again Stainless Steel and with warranty.. He ended up with a Flowmaster Force II. Why? Cause of two reasons. The SLP kit broke in less than two years. (sure others last longer and whatnot) but the fact remains that I personally have seen stainless fail 2 times. Now lets look at the warranty. From what I understand, you have to ship out your parts to get them replaced. How many days does that take? Can you be without your car that long? I cant. Mine is my daily driver so I want an exhaust that I can get fixed cheaply if and when it does fail.

3.5" - 4" is what I am going to get.. Its just because if you are going to get it for the "tips" you may as well just buy the $150 tips.. I am getting it for results. I also like to hide the exhaust so the hidded turndown is good. Singles out flow doubles and never forget that its your car so its your perogative to get a car that pleases the world. I used to have two different flowmasters on my LT1 and both would get loads of compliments.. one cause it was obnoxiously loud and the other cause it was deep and mean..

Next I am going for silent but deadly...

 

All's i said was the tips are a nice addition to the catback. And borla pays for overnight shipping if you have failure, from what they say. What i can say is quite hatn. I know that sounds imature, but it sounds like you have some inner problems with borla or something. It's not a bad cat-back. You've seen stainless steal fail 2 times, well every flow i have had rusts through within 1 year or maybe even 2. If it's not stainless i don't buy it. Guess thats what happens when you have an ocean canal in your back yard.

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'02 Red Z28, ebony leather, M6, T-tops, Trac. cont., hurst shifter
Borla (the expensive cut-out), Wisperlid W/K&N, FRA, Cags eliminator, Strange 4.10's, G2 Rear Girdle, Valv. Synthetic 10W-30, Redline gear oil, Fat hurst shift ****, Lead foot

Soon to be:
Alpine Screen, Orion xtr 800.4, xtrpro 1000, Kicker 12L7 in a milhouse, Focal polykev K2's, Focal utopia 6" audiom midrange.

 

Took me a minute.. i think you wanted to say "Quit Hate'n" or something to that effect.
Actually, I dont have anything AGAINST them, just that I personally, based on my expereicences, will not be using them. I have had my Flowmaster Force II for almost 2 years and it was fine when I got rid of the car.. the only rust was on the edges of the muffler where I expect it and the I pipe looked fine.. no rust at all.
My friend has had the same exhaust on his 3rd gen and its been on for the last 6-7 years worry free.
Perhaps your environment is what has helped form your opinion and that is fine but I can also say that the last 3-4 years my friends car has been in the snow and having to deal with those conditions..
All a matter of real world experience..

On a side note, my friends Force II was on a dyno just before my dyno run in my LT1 a little over a year ago.. No one payed much attention to his little 3rd gen cause its just got a single 3" out.. and its pretty mellow at idle.. its an auto and once it was on the dyno and the rpms were held... the tech nails it, busts the tires loose and one of the meansest sounds I have ever heard from an exhaust starts to scream from his car... the result? after spinning the tires 2 times on the dyno with an auto on his little L98, 330 rwhp... over 400rwtq.. heheh damn torque monsters they are! hehe
But that sound was music to me.. and the reason I wanted that exhaust..

 

If all you are looking for is a loud exhaust and don't care how it sounds, then yea, Borla sucks and get a cutout. But if you like the way it sounds (Personally I think the Borla muffler sound is the best muffler you can buy. And you get the added bonus of adjustibility.

But again, if all you want is a cutout, then yes, go for the cutout.

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Black 2002 Pontiac Trans Am
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