MOTOV8

Hi all. Great forum. Recently sold my old "manowar" '96 WS-6 T/A w/6 spd & intake & exhaust mods , and greatly appeased the wife with the purchase of clean 30,000 mile '98 Corvette convertible w/A4. The deal was she finally got the convertible automatic she wanted, and I got a stock LS1 'vette to massage into a 400+ horse daily driver!
So, I've installed the notorious column lock bypass, and purchased new rubber(Goodyear's new Eagle F1 DS-G3's are excellent and have a visually striking tread pattern) all around. Next on my personal list of "must haves" is the exhaust. I may eventually go whole hog with long tube headers, cats, & x-pipe, but I'm thinking cat-backs to start, maybe Borlas, or the new B&B product(anyone?), any guidance? And any suggestions as to the progression of this madness? I have dreams of stroked and turbo'd C5R blocks like everyone, but my goals aren't that lofty (read: checkbook isn't that deep!) and my wife does get to drive it!

Ling_650vette

iTrader: (1)

Personally, i wouldnt recommend Poorla but if you want to get it, go right ahead.

I havent heard any really great exhaust setups for the Corvettes, but the B&B and Corsa systems are pretty nice, but then again i am a Flowmaster man so Im somewhat biased to what i want my exhaust to sound like. Ive heard the GHL system has a nice tone, but never heard it first hand. Of course, not everyone is going to have the same opinions w/ exhaust.

And as to the progression, its about the same as an Fbody pretty much mod/engine wise (you just dont have to worry about the rear end as much) so there isnt much difference between the progression.

pdd

iTrader: (3)

if u lie it loud, get the slp loud mouth or ghl if u like it a few notchs down, or the stock z06 ti's(save weight and no resonence)

98UltraZ

iTrader: (17)

GHL is a really nice exhaust, I have the borla stinger two tip exhaust and magnaflow x-pipe, both cost around $850 shipped. If you don't get an x-pipe they tend to sound like a motor boat at close to idle speeds, and the xpipe will also get rid of a lot of popping on deceleration. I was told the stinger was a really loud exhaust, so I bought it..... It is not very loud at all, but I am actually pretty happy with it!!!!

MOTOV8

Thanks for the info, I've heard good and bad about the Borlas, but if the late John Lingenfelter endorsed them they have to be pretty good. I'm very interested in the latest exhaust from B&B, called "Bullet" I think, saw an ad in latest issue of Corvette Magazine. I admit that I'm leaning more that way simply because they're made right here in Phoenix, and the weight is said to be within 3 lbs. of the Z06 Ti exhaust. Does anyone have any negatives or positives regarding B&B? Obviously there's no consensus as to "the" exhaust to buy, but I appreciate all the info to be found on this forum. The exhaust "sounds" website referred to in other posts is a real help, but given all the choices I'm more apprehensive than ever about cutting the check. Just wanna do this right the first time, ya know?

98UltraZ

iTrader: (17)

yeah, I know exactly what you are saying....... I have heard or owned all of the following on a C5... 1. Loudmouth, sounded decent and very aggressive, cons- horrible resonance inside the car.. Sucked driving the car more than an hour. I was not impressed with the old style tips. Very good price, usually under $500 2. Z06 titanium, sounded good, but quiet under normal driving or idle..... sounded good at WOT throttle though...still not very loud. Priced around $400 +shipping 3. Corsa pace car (not sure on the cost as my friend bought them used), again, louder than the Z06 but nothing compared to the loudmouth, etc.... It sounds very refined, no resonance inside the car.. It is a clean refined sound. 4. Borla Stinger, $550 shipped sounds good at idle, louder at WOT, but quieter than the loudmouth. Normal cruising speeds, it does not overwhelm you like the loudmouth. Sounds good imo, but not as loud as everyone was saying.

I heard the B&B bullets was a step quieter than the loudmouth, but a lot louder than the stinger. I was hearing people were having problems getting the tips to line up, and they weren't the "best" quality... That being said, everyone that I have heard talk about them, really likes the exhaust.....but comments it might be to loud for a daily driver?! I had the loudmouth on my last daily driven C5, and it wasn't too much for everyday driving... just hated going on LONG trips with it. B&B bullets are also reasonabley priced, I think in the mid $500 range. Note, that all of these exhausts were put on stock manifolds and cat cars.... A new Magnaflow X-pipe makes a LOT of difference on these cars.... in stock form they sound like a motor boat at close to idle speeds and pop a LOT on deceleration. The X-pipe smooths out the sound quite a bit... some minor popping, but A LOT better. HP wise.... maybe 10hp out of a complete system.... The only reason I bought aftermarket exhaust is to make it sound better, because it won't give you much at all hp wise. the corvette forum has quite a few sound clips up, but it is hard to judge the sound over your computer. I would start checking out local corvettes and listening to their exhaust to make the best decision. Good luck