Hib Halverson
Technical Writer for Internet & Print Media
CAC Members-
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/
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/