ok im looking at borlas website... and the picture of the exhaust system they sell has the dual exit... but on the passenger side it appears that it doesnt go thro the muffler...

so i thought that it was blocked off and was accually a single exit..

someone plz help me here...

and it also says the exhaust tips are intercooled... what does that mean?

 

i have borla and no, it doens't go through the muffler, but it sounds amazing! dont know about the intercoolered exhaust tips.

 

one side goes thro the muffler the other side doesnt?

that doesnt make much sense... excuse me for my ignorance, but what exactly does the muffler do... it muffles the sound right?

 

What you're seeing on the passenger side exit is a built in cutout. Plates of adjustable diameter can be installed there via 3 bolts and a flange to adjust noise, flow, and power gains. It takes me about 10 minutes to change a plate if I'm not rushing. QTEC sells an electric butterfly valve that is made for the Borla that can open/close in 2-4 seconds.

With the cutout blocked off the exauhst is only a little louder than stock. Also the muffler is a relatively efficient "straight through" design.

I think "intercooled tips" serve style more than anything useful. If you look closely there is a metal shroud over the exiting exhaust pipe. It has holes drilled into the front part of the shroud that I suppose let's airflow through and cool the tips? It looks cool though.

 

so say i bought that system and i didnt block it off... would it be smog legal? here in the horrible golden state?

 

A cut out is a muffler bypass. A muffler while quieting the exhaust also restricts flow. By bypassing the muffler, flow is improved by decreasing back pressure and power output is increased. Too little back pressure, though, can also rob torque.

The cut out plates come in different diameters a blocking plate, and 3 circular openings.

 

would it be smog legal if it werent blocked off?

 

Sure....Nothing after the catbacks affects pollutents expelled. Cops may not like the sound, though I've never been pulled over after having mine for 2 years.

BTW....when I got mine, I found the best deal at www.thunderracing.com

 

my best friend was pulled over for his edelbrock exhaust and headers and tested the sound decmial by a cop... ohh well sounds like fun...

so both exhaust tips are used?

 

I didn't put a plate in my borla. I had to pass smog this month. I didn't have a problem.

 

Yup...

As far as comparisons go though, most 3" catback systems will give you about the same performance increase. Borla and Corsa seem to be the more expensive one's out there....I didn't buy mine just for performance though. I liked the adjustablility, looks, and sound. There are a lot of options though. If you look around you can find sound clips of various designs.