I have JetHot LT's w/a custom 3" ypipe, NO CATS, Borla (wide open no restrictor plates). Although I love my performance with this setup and everyone else loves the sound...I think it sounds like an LS1 with Borla, kind of raspy vs the deep LT1 tone it had prior my longtube install. I've heard stock manifold LT1's with Borla that have the deeper tone mine used to have and miss that. Curious if anyone else with JetHot or Hooker brand longtubes and Borla have noticed this as well?

I do realize that every thing I do to the engine will have an effect on the performance and the sound hence; cam, heads, stroker, etc and so I'm not that worried about it, but at the same time if it were something simple and cheap like adding one of those micro Flowmaster 8" long mufflers somewhere after the ypipe or something then I'd consider it. I'm running dual 3" cutouts roughly 8" after the LT collector flanges so I really don't want to add CATS, or anything in their place.

 

I don't have LT's but I had the same problem after removing my cat. I've got SLP single cat headers, ORP, and Borla catback. When I removed the cat and went with the ORP I really didn't like the sound of it, it was too raspy, kinda nasty sounding. I added one of these 3" insert cones. I put it in the ORP, it makes the Borla sound much better imo, took out almost all of the nasty popping sounds it would make especially when decellerating and mellowed the note out just enough. You could go with two of them one at each header collector or one farther back after the y. I noticed no noticable difference in performance after adding it.

 

Same setup; LT's, y-pipe, Borla. Lost the deep tone I had with just the borla, cats, and stock manifolds but the butt dyno says its better regardless of the sound.

Jeff D.

 

Brettinator, i have the same set up as you except I have it on the smallest adjustable plate...
Yeah that rasp between 2k rpms and 3.5k rpms is annoying... at wide open throttle and idle I really like it though.

I was thinking of using a resonator too. LIke a dynomax or something.. anything to hopefully get rid of that rasp..
I'm gonna go look at those cones greg posted up.

 

I thought it sounded awesome at idle and WOT too, it was the 2-3k range (where you drive the most) that it was really ugly. The single cone really made a difference in sound and still sounds much meaner than the cat did. If I go to LT's, which I may, I will get another one of these cones and run it after each header collector.

 

Well, it will sound like that, if you don't have a cam, or any kind of internal mods. I have Hooker LT's w/ Borla, and I am running the CC306 w/ heads. I had the hot cam before w/ no heads, and the same exhaust set up, and it still sounded really good

But that is a great exhaust set up, you won't want that extra restriction when you get a cam

 

i have a cc305 with 1.6 rockers...

Stock heads though

 

Hey thanks for the great replies, I'm kind of excited now. I've been looking at doing something like these cones but didn't realize they made that much of a difference. For the price it's worth a try and when I do heads, cam, rr's, stroker etc later I don't think the cone restrictor will matter with my cutouts opened up right after the collector flange. I'm glad to hear it took care of the popping, nothing as sweet as Borla downshifting IMO but it's not like it used to be with the popping and rasp so hopefully this trick will help.

This might give me the best of both worlds while I'm saving up for all the other expensive stuff I want to do (heads, cam, stroker, blah blah)...all the crap I can't really justify from a cost standpoint but still want

 

I ONLY like the Borla sound with stock internals, manifolds, and cats regardless of whether the car is an LT1 or LS1. But as soon as you add headers, remove cats, or add a cam, the sound just gets very raspy and high-pitched(really crappy IMO). Same thing with the SLP Loudmouth. If someone actually thinks that sounds good, more power to them.

Why not just sell the Borla and replace it with a much better sounding cat-back or go true duals? The Hooker cat-back is really cheap and sounds much deeper than the Borla with headers/no cats. And true duals are the only remedy for ridding your car of that rasp that comes with the "single exhaust/Y-pipe" set-up. You can't beat the sound of them without cats...

Mike

 

hmmm...well when I stroke the car I was considering an xpipe & true duals provided I could get the all too loved Borla deep tone I'd maybe do so. I'd have to keep the Borla tips, just finishes the car IMO. I didn't realize the 3" single pipe helped make it raspy with LT's and no cats...

 

Absolutely man, ever notice how catted Y-pipe set-ups don't rasp in the mid rpms or when you let off the throttle after shifting up high? That nasty raspy tone is just the nature of how our motors sound without cats through a Y-pipe/single exhaust set-up(some cat-backs, like the Borla or LM, just sound worse than others this way). Like I said, the ONLY way to entirely get rid of the rasp without cats is to run a true dual set-up with either an X or H pipe.

BTW, true duals would make the Borla sound like a six on your car.

 

I see your point....ok well let me clarify on what I was thinking for a stroker exhaust setup, I would only use the Borla tips (about 16" of the piping maybe and that's it. If I true dualed I would not use the Borla muffler (would be one short anyways) or exhaust piping. I would run an 3" xpipe, 3" pipe into (good flowing muffler of choice) and out the back with Borla tips. No way that would make it sound like a six but I'm sure you thought I meant using other borla components.

 

we cant find a way of getting true duals to go over the axles and out the exhaust tips...
not with 3 inch piping anyways...
I dont know of anyone who has done it...
4 of my friends dump the exhaust before the axles and dont have exhaust tips anymore

 

I didn't know that...sheesh man...that's part of the whole look for the car. I'm all about performance but want the look and sound which I enjoy as well. Honestly if I could get away with it I'd run a setup I designed for my car with side exhausts late 60's style non chromed stealthy, tucked black really mean looking setup with all the performance you could ever want. But very NON-street legal and I'd never get it past inspection, so my plans are sitting there gathering dust

 

Borla+longtubes=CRAP
Took the cats out of a heads cam car and it sounded HORRENDOUS, put those babies back in after about a week.

Another alternative to the cones is a dynomax bullet muffler. I had one fabbed with flanges to use as my ORP. You could also easily get one put in your I pipe. This worked GREAT for me. I have soundclips vs. the cat on my page, but never put the regular ORP back in cause i'm lazy, trust me it sounded bad. Since my cam install the rasp returned, but only for the first minute while the exhaust tubing is still cold

I'm not sure what size this guy used. I know there is someone who ran them out there respective sides. There is also someone who definitly ran 3" but had to modify the panhard rod mount. Maybe someone will jump in and link to those.

Even if you can't run 3" duals, 2.5" duals done with mandrel bends (above were not) would outflow a single 3" and sound a helluva lot sweeter too.