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New CORSA Exhaust

Hib Halverson

Technical Writer for Internet & Print Media
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For the last two weeks, I've been on a road-trip through Florida (see my post on the C5 boards about the new, Goodyear Eagle F1 AS), part of the northeast and the upper midwest.

Earlier this week, I stopped at Tom Henry Racing, which is part of Tom Henry Chevrolet in Bakerstown PA, to get a Chevrolet dealer's perspective on what's going on with Chevrolet. I also got to drive an 07 Z06, an 07 Cobalt SS Supercharged. Both cool cars.

From there, I drove over to the Cleveland area and spent half a day at Fidanza Engineering and half-a-day with the folks at CORSA Performance Exhausts. After that I drove to Detroit. The next day, I visited GM Powertrain's World HQ to meet and interview GMPT engineers who worked on the new, LS3 engine. You can read my article on LS3 in a Fall 07 issue of "Corvette Enthusiast" magazine.

Now...let's talk aftermarket exhausts for a bit. Many CAC members are familiar with CORSA. They've been manufacturing exhausts for Corvettes since 1996-97 and have after-catalytic-converter exhaust systems for 86-96 C4, all C5 and C6 up to MY07. At CORSA, besides the obligatory plant tour and briefing by their public relations agency and their top marketing staff member, I got to drive an 06, Z51, 6-spd coupe equipped with CORSA's new "Xtreme" muffler system.

I'm not going to delve deeply into the technology behind their mufflers because CORSA has a good web site which explains it and even has sound files you can download. Briefly, the Xtreme exhaust uses a new muffler design which incorporates the company's "RSC" technology but has a different interior configuration to allow the Xtreme system to be just a "tad" louder. CORSA Xtreme exists because the CORSA folks received feedback from C6ers that their most aggressive offering to date, the so-called "Sport" system, wasn't loud enough. This means to me that some C6ers are hearing-impaired...just kidding.

What I want to tell you about is my limited, subjective evaluation of this new system. I did not objectively test the exhaust with noise measurements, a chassis dyno session or a full track test. My impression is all based on seat-of-the pants feel and my ears.

The first thing you notice about the CORSA Xtreme on the road, from inside the car is that, in-spite of it being somewhat louder than the CORSA Sport exhaust, the low frequency drone you get from V8 engines around 1700 rpm and again at 3400 rpm, is minimal with this new product. Yes, the drone is there and a bit more than you'd get with a Sport exhaust and noticeably louder than the CORSA touring exhaust, but IMO, it is not objectionable

The second thing you hear with CORSA Xtreme is that, whether you're inside the car driving or outside the car listening to it go by, the sound when the engine is above 4000 rpm is, well....quite pleasing and certainly louder than the Sport system.

As for performance? Well, again, I did not dyno test the car before and after the installation, so this is not a product review. I'm going to cite CORSA's claims for power increases which, I was told by CORSA representatives, apply equally to the Sport and the Xtreme systems. With this exhaust, on an 05-07 w. LS2, you may see an approximate 10hp increase, however, some cars might see 12-13 but some might see only 5-7. My guess is on an 08 w/o RPO NPP the increase will be about the same. Now, this disclaimer: in general, manufacturer's claims for power increases are optimistic, but CORSA seems to be pretty straight, so their claims are probably on the "realistic" end of the optimistic range. Lastly, I've never witnessed CORSA's testing procedures and, thus, I assumed much in making the above statement, so I cover my ass by saying....your results may differ.

This new exhaust is just getting to CORSA retailers as I key this in. I'm told you can order it now from Mid-America and other of CORSA dealers will have it, soon.

There's more info at http://www.corsaperf.com/
 
Hib,

Thanks again for a well written report on a new aftermarket product!

I myself am a Magnaflow man. I am going to investigate this new technology from Corsa.

SAVE THE :w
 
I have Corsa Sports with headers, so mine are probably louder than the new Corsa Extreme.

I wonder what the 'tone' sounds like. Is it a high pitched tone like the Sports or is it a lower tone like Borlas ???

BTW, I think the HP claims are 'optimistic'. ;)
 
(snip)

I wonder what the 'tone' sounds like. Is it a high pitched tone like the Sports or is it a lower tone like Borlas ???

BTW, I think the HP claims are 'optimistic'. ;)

As for pitch...I'd say it splits the difference, but this disclaimer...CORSA and Borla are vastly different in their design and quality, plus there's a huge difference in how different persons' ears perceive pitch, so it's tough to directly compare.
 
Quality as in Corsa is a lot better?

I've looked at several CORSA systems for different vehicles and several Borla systems, mostly for C4s. While it depends on the specific exhaust as to the degree of difference, I'd say CORSA 's stuff is higher quality.

Is CORSA "a lot better"? Well, again, that will depend on the specific system and I've not compared the specific Borla product that competes directly with the new CORSA Xtreme for C6. What I have studied a bit is CORSA's current top selling offering (the Sport exhaust) for C6 compared to the system GM Performance Parts sells which is made by Borla. In that case, CORSA is a lot better.

Executive Summary: CORSA is better, IMO. But--is the Xtreme "a lot better" than Borla branded products? Perhaps.
 
I am a CORSA fan based on my experience with their exhaust on my ex '92 coupe. I took the opportunity to chassis dyno my car before and after the exhaust change and I noticed 22 HP difference.
Granted, my 92 was already modified with LT4 heads, intake and the Hot Cam but running through stock exhaust. The stock exhaust really restricted the LT4+ configuration. CORSA opened it up.

I just ordered an '08 with the dual mode exhaust so I'll probably leave that stock for a while. I've been wanting to change to the Sport exhaust on my '06 but the wife is driving that one now and is happy with the stock exhaust. She's not deaf yet like me!!!
 
Personally, I think GHLs trump both Borla and Corsa, and I've had all three on late model Vettes. With Corsa it's either too quiet or too loud, and I don't like Borla's engineering. I love the big block sound of the GHL, and I got a legitimate 8 horsepower - not easy on the C6.
 

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