Borla---keep it or ditch it?
Thread Starter
TECH Regular
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 413
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From: Findlay, Ohio
Borla---keep it or ditch it? hello everyone, I'm in the progress of buying a 98 trans-am black on black still Show room condition with 52K miles and it's geogous! 
ok it has Borla on it(the one with the plates) and i like the sound, much differnt then anything i heard on an LS1(stock everything execpt cat-back)but i was wondering how pace settler LT's and TSP catted Y will make it sound?....u guys think it will be worth it? cause i know borla is like $600 to $750 smakers. either that or i get either LMII or a hooker cat back with the long tubes and Catted Y...which do u think will sound better?....better as in loud,powerful,clean and crisp with out a bunch of snap ,crakle, pop and big old streight pipe truck sounding. any borla guys out there with long tubes and catted Y please share what u think. thanx again guys!!!
ok it has Borla on it(the one with the plates) and i like the sound, much differnt then anything i heard on an LS1(stock everything execpt cat-back)but i was wondering how pace settler LT's and TSP catted Y will make it sound?....u guys think it will be worth it? cause i know borla is like $600 to $750 smakers. either that or i get either LMII or a hooker cat back with the long tubes and Catted Y...which do u think will sound better?....better as in loud,powerful,clean and crisp with out a bunch of snap ,crakle, pop and big old streight pipe truck sounding. any borla guys out there with long tubes and catted Y please share what u think. thanx again guys!!! 
Ditch it and go with true duals https://ls1tech.com/forums/generation-iii-external-engine/383142-stainless-true-duals.html
borla closed up sounds fairly good with LTs and ORY. open it is LOUD, can't hardly tell the quality of the sound. i have mine closed up now. im going over to true duals now dumped with sweet thunders
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FormerVendor
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 531
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From: Decatur IN.
personal opinion (I have seen and heard about every combo out there )I would go with texas speed true duals,especiallly if you want to cam it.It is as close as you get to the true musclecar sound as you get with revised firing order,We have a corsa cat back on our car and it is very smooth sounding throughout the whole band(just not loud enough when you need it ).The loud mouth is sweet @ WOT throttle, but it gets really loud just before a shift when you want to keep it quite around the neighborhood or next to a cop!! 
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Verdad Gallardo Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2005
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From: Findlay, Ohio
well like i said no true duels...i'll only put true duels on if they exit out the rear with tips and i need the ground clearance. I might cam it with a small to mid size cam and maybe 5.3 heads. then one day maybe a procharger(if i can affored it) but i plan(for now)to add fuddle 3200stall with a 2.0 or 2.1 STR, B&M trans pak, tranny cooler, 323's or 342gears, pacesetter LT's, TSP catted Y, LS6 intake, lid, FTRA, WS6 hood and rims with Nitto's and i good daliy driver Tune. then hopefully a few years down the road i'm gonna get a procharger 5-6psi...and some supension mods.....thats all i plan to do(unless i can think of more goodies) anymore feedback about Borla will be very helpful! thanx guys u are the best!!!
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From: Tree-Hugging, Bug eating CALI'
I love my Borla. I have a QTEC in there and it is nice when the POPOs come by. Through my QTPs and cats' there is little to know rasp. The only thing I would change to be too change the I-pipe to a 4", to match the QTP merge collector. It will get loud a WOT. Suprisingly, it is quite subdued, with the QTEC closed, and I have lost A LOT of drone with the LTs that with the manifolds.
Keep it for a while. If it doesn' t grow on you there are a bunch of choices for you to explore. Go to ls1sounds.com. They have a lot of sound clips to sample with the Borla.
Keep it for a while. If it doesn' t grow on you there are a bunch of choices for you to explore. Go to ls1sounds.com. They have a lot of sound clips to sample with the Borla.
Keep the Borla.. Its a much nicer and better sounding catback than the LoudMouth. The Loudmouth gets really annoying once you do longtube headers.. The Catted Y will tone it down a little but it will still be loud and obnoxious sometimes.. I have the loudmouth on my car with Hooker LT's & Hooker Offroad Ypipe and its ungodly loud.. I am going to true duals soon tho.
The Hooker catbacks are pretty quiet and when you go to longtube headers and ypipe it gets a good bit louder but still nothing like a Loudmouth or Borla with open plate. The Hooker catbacks flow pretty well and are rather cheap, but in my opinion the Borla sounds better..
I had Borla with mac midlengths and no cats on my other car and it was loud but still had a great sound to it.. The Borla is already on your car and its a very nice catback so, I say keep the Borla..
The Hooker catbacks are pretty quiet and when you go to longtube headers and ypipe it gets a good bit louder but still nothing like a Loudmouth or Borla with open plate. The Hooker catbacks flow pretty well and are rather cheap, but in my opinion the Borla sounds better..
I had Borla with mac midlengths and no cats on my other car and it was loud but still had a great sound to it.. The Borla is already on your car and its a very nice catback so, I say keep the Borla..
On The Tree
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 126
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I have borla with LT pacesetters and tsp catted y pipe. It will sound a hell lot nicer then with a LM. The only problem i have is on the drivers side the cat hits the floor board at a certain rpm range and causes it to sound like ****. In park revving it, its really nice. I just have to fix that clearance problem then it should sound nice all throughout.
Mine on the Dyno...
SLP LT's W/ Cats and a Borla catback w/out the plates... WO...
Ia m thinking about ditching my Borla to go w/ the GMMG.. It's kind of high pitchedwhiney type howl... Getting sick of it... Sounds good, tho... Just getting to me, not throaty enough.
Click here to see Video
SLP LT's W/ Cats and a Borla catback w/out the plates... WO...
Ia m thinking about ditching my Borla to go w/ the GMMG.. It's kind of high pitchedwhiney type howl... Getting sick of it... Sounds good, tho... Just getting to me, not throaty enough.
Click here to see Video 
Originally Posted by Transgression
well like i said no true duels...i'll only put true duels on if they exit out the rear with tips and i need the ground clearance. I might cam it with a small to mid size cam and maybe 5.3 heads. then one day maybe a procharger(if i can affored it) but i plan(for now)to add fuddle 3200stall with a 2.0 or 2.1 STR, B&M trans pak, tranny cooler, 323's or 342gears, pacesetter LT's, TSP catted Y, LS6 intake, lid, FTRA, WS6 hood and rims with Nitto's and i good daliy driver Tune. then hopefully a few years down the road i'm gonna get a procharger 5-6psi...and some supension mods.....thats all i plan to do(unless i can think of more goodies) anymore feedback about Borla will be very helpful! thanx guys u are the best!!!
Exhaust wise, if you want something that doesn't pop or backfire all the much, I'd say go with Magnaflow. It'll be relatively quiet, but smooth, deep and rumbly. I have Corsa and it's probably not what you'd want. Hooker's also a good choice, better than the LMII, I'd say. Just my $.02. Hope this helps. Welcome to the Dark Side.
Adam
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Joined: Aug 2004
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From: Buffalo, N.Y.
I've heard Borla-equipped LS1's, and I do not like the way they sound. But that's just me. To me, the Borla/LS1 combo sounds too crackly and raspy. I prefer more of a rumble-type exhaust note. I've had excellent results with Kooks long-tubes, and Magnaflow cat-back. Nice rumble, and zero ground clearance loss.
This isn't a Borla-bashing post. All this stuff is based upon personal likes/dislikes, which means your choice isn't subject to being right/wrong, or good/bad.....it merely reflects what makes you happy. Go with what you like.........
This isn't a Borla-bashing post. All this stuff is based upon personal likes/dislikes, which means your choice isn't subject to being right/wrong, or good/bad.....it merely reflects what makes you happy. Go with what you like.........
