Magnaflow, Borla or something else

[86pacecar]

I'm looking to replace my stock mufflers with something a little more free flowing and shiny. I want a nice rumble but not too much interior resonance at cruising speeds. I like the looks of both Borla and Magnaflow and wanted input as to which one would be better for my bone stock convertible. I know Corsa makes a nice system but not for L98's and Flowmasters are a little too loud by all accounts I've heard. Thanks for any input you can provide.

 

[vader86]

Both of those resonate, there are ways to decrease it but they still do.

Shouldnt be as bad on a vert though, you dont have the resonance chamber behind your head that we do.

 

[AStockVette]

I have a friend with an 88 vert and the Borla system, his car has a fair amount of resonance on the highway at cruise. Another friend with an 87 vert just put the Magnaflows on his, they have much less resonance although still at bit at certain speeds. I personally have the B&B 3" system on my LT4 and can't run the car in 6th gear on the highway because the resonance drives me crazy - running in 5th solves the problem, at the expense of some gas mileage. In my case, the car spends most of its miles on an autox course so the B&B's are fine but for street driving I'd recommend the Magnaflows.

 

[WNH]

I have an 88 coupe, I recently installed a Borla exaust with a 2 1/2" Y pipe.
The performance is better and the sound is good when the top is off, but a little annoying when the top is on.
I tried sound deadener in the rear compartment, it didn't make much of a difference.

 

[c4cruiser]

I'm running muffler eliminators on my modded 87 coupe. They provide a nice deep sound and have very little resonance. At cruise speeds (65MPH and about 1500RPM) they are very quiet.

The muffler eliminators sold in the catalogs are nothing more than a pair of small glasspack type mufflers on each side. Mid-America has them in SS or painted. Go to www.madvet.com and enter part # 603-412 for SS or 603-414 for black painted. Both of these have LT-1 style tips already installed. They also have other varieties of systems that won't break the bank but may provide what you are looking for.

An alternative is to just have a muffler shop remove the mufflers and install straight pipe with some nice looking tips at the end. The car will be louder but you should not get the resonance found with a lot of aftermarket systems.

 

[LittleRedFlatBack]

I'm looking to replace my stock mufflers with something a little more free flowing and shiny. I want a nice rumble but not too much interior resonance at cruising speeds. I like the looks of both Borla and Magnaflow and wanted input as to which one would be better for my bone stock convertible. I know Corsa makes a nice system but not for L98's and Flowmasters are a little too loud by all accounts I've heard. Thanks for any input you can provide.

My 90' coupe has a Borla system that was installed in 92'. I had to replace the "Y" pipe last year, but the noise level isn't bad. The mufflers still shine up very well also. Hope this helps you.

Dennis

 

[firedawg]

Borla Cat Back

I have the Borla Cat Back System on my 93 Coupe, there is some resonance inside, but not too bad and I like it. Although, on the outside, it is a little more aggressive than factory, but it wasn't quite as loud I expected/wanted, I'm looking at replacing with straight pipes and switching back when I need to get emissions testing done

 

[Doutdoor]

I have the mirror finish stainless steel Magnaflows installed on my car and I think they look awesome and sound great. The true dual chrome 4" round tips add to the look. The sound is a nice rumble at idle. There is some interior resonance while cruising around town at 1500 - 2000 rpm but I do not find it irritating. I think of it as sounding like a corvette should. Punch the accelerator and it roars. I did a lot of research on mufflers/cat backs etc. and found the Magnaflows to be the best buy for the money. A tech. from magnaflow said their testing showed only a slight improvement in flow from the stock exhaust piping to a full catback system on the 92-96 exhaust systems, so that is why they don't offer a catback system for those years. For me it's the perfect setup.

:cool

 

[c4ever]

I'm running muffler eliminators on my modded 87 coupe. They provide a nice deep sound and have very little resonance. At cruise speeds (65MPH and about 1500RPM) they are very quiet.

The muffler eliminators sold in the catalogs are nothing more than a pair of small glasspack type mufflers on each side. Mid-America has them in SS or painted. Go to www.madvet.com and enter part # 603-412 for SS or 603-414 for black painted. Both of these have LT-1 style tips already installed. They also have other varieties of systems that won't break the bank but may provide what you are looking for.

Ditto here. I'm looking to replace the exhaust and will stay with the eliminators. And best of all they won't breat the bank

Carlo

 

[Green LT1]

I agree with Doutdoor. I installed the polished stainless Magnaflow mufflers on my 96 LT1 coupe several months ago. I got mine on E-Bay for $350 delivered to my door, and installed them myself in an hour. Very high quality, and they look and sound GREAT. Little or no resonance noticed, although I haven't driven the car much at all since installation (stored for Winter). Sound is very subjective, but many people find the muffler eliminators to be too loud. I recommend listening to cars with various systems installed before making the leap. Good luck!

 

[Don&Kelly]

Both of those resonate pretty badly - have you heard the Corsa's for the C4 .. I personally think they sound great, probably better than the Corsa's on my C5 ..

 

[Eagle85C4]

I bit the bullet and replaced the entire system with stainless Borla, from the manifold back. Lifetime warranty. The mufflers have dual 3" tips, both functional. Little or no resonance...mainly because I put a layer of 1/4" dense foam with a aluminum foil cover and topped that with a layer of 1/4" bubble pack with aluminum foil on both sides in the complete interior. Now the car is pretty much sound proof and in the summer it stays cool. Nyernga passed on a tip to use welders cloth , which is fireproof and a very good insulator to place over the heat shield for the catalytic converter to reduce the heat going inside the interior. The 2 layers I used can be found at Home Depot as they are for insulating ducts and a/c lines, and perfect for the interior of the vette. And if you are changing for new carpet it is a perfect time to add the sound proofing.

 

[Redbob]

Here's the deal: the resonance is very much different with a convertible like you have than with the coupes all the posts above refer to.
Find someone who has put one or the other of these mufflers ON A CONVERTIBLE and ask HIM how it sounds!
(The resonance in the coupes is a result of an acoustic "standing wave" in the cabin running front-to-back, and the roadster of course has a very much different front-to-back cabin interior dimension)
Then keep in mind that the Walker rear exhaust crossover pipe will eliminate or greatly reduce any resonance that you end up with.

 

[bradvette]

I have a '90 coupe ZF6 speed, with headers and Magnaflow cat-back....I experience very little resonance at all, however having manual tranny helps alot. Low runble at idle (and not loud, which is perfect) however it raises hell when you put down any throttle, I love everything about it.

 

[drags1998]

Check parts for sale: I have a BORLA system for sale .Email me at DRAGS1998@aol.com Thanks,Paul

 

[4U2NV1986]

Just installed Flowmaster force II system on my 86 convertible. Not very loud at all, until you get on it. Interior noise is minimal at crusing speeds. Now if you punch out the pre-cats, the system becomes much louder.

 

[Mart]

Anyone here have any idea of how much power the precats eat, mine were been removed so now it is just one main cat.


Mart