exhaust(ing)
- Thread starter lumber
- Start date
- Aug 30, 2011
- 22
Ok, Ive installed the cat delete mid-pipes with the borla muffler. So stock manifold, cat delete, and borla...
Ive put a couple hundred miles on it, it sounds louder, not much though. It sounds very good/clean , just not angry enough.
Is it going to be any different with an x pipe? Or is it pretty much the same? Anyone getting rid of an x pipe...
Ive put a couple hundred miles on it, it sounds louder, not much though. It sounds very good/clean , just not angry enough.
Is it going to be any different with an x pipe? Or is it pretty much the same? Anyone getting rid of an x pipe...
BlackICE
GT Owner
The FRPP cat-delete pipe with any x-pipes will be louder than anything other than FRPP rear exit headers, or any other headers without cats.
I know I have a cat-delete with Accufab, too loud for everyday driving IMO.
I have heard every combination of headers, cat delete pipes, different mufflers, x-pipes, h-pipes, you name it. I've driven many and ridden in the others. Heard them from the inside and from the outside, on the street and on the track. I have heard it all. And on a non-turbo, supercharged Ford GT, the best sounding combination is the one above. It is the ONLY reasonably loud, really bitchin' sounding exhaust that does not have any drone, at any RPM, and sweet sound at every RPM. If my GT was not turbo-charged this is the combo I would have.
Owners in emissions inspection states that must have cats are out of luck as the FRP headers feed directly into the Borla and there is no way to have cats. And this combo does not work on turbo GTs either.
You will hear some owners say that their X-pipe does not drone, but trust me, yes it does. As you already have 1/2 of the magic combo I suggest you try the cat delete pipe and see what you think. If you like it better but it's "not quite there", then put the FRP headers on with your Borla. You can thank me later. Cheers.
Chip
33Bravo
GT Owner
Having not heard the stock manifold / cat delete setup compared to the Ford long tube header setup (both options feeding up to the borla) - I think there is just something cool about long tube headers - and I just can't imagine cast iron manifolds sounding better (or looking better) than headers..
fjpikul
GT Owner
Lumber,
Yes, the header-Borla combination is louder and sounds better than the cat-delete-stock manifold-Borla combo. As the cats have a muffling effect as well as the muffler itself, the cat delete pipe makes the car louder. The stock cast iron manifold is very efficient and switching to headers will yield very little performance gain BUT.....the headers sound much better than the stock manifolds do. I can't tell you why but they do.
I agree that the Borla muffler is almost as quiet as the stock muffler. With the cats and stock manifolds I think it is too quiet. But when you feed that Borla from the FRP long tube headers without cats it comes alive with a wonderful sound and NO DROAN.
I own seven different exhaust systems for my GT that I can combine in probably a dozen ways. I have a brand new FRP Borla in a box that I may put on some day. H-pipes with and without cats, X-pipe with and without cats, with and without headers, supercharged and now turbocharged (turbos have a muffling effect too), and except for the stock muffler and the Borla muffler, EVERYTHING HAS A DROAN IN 6TH GEAR SOMEWHERE AROUND 70-80 MPH. And thats right where you want to cruse on a road trip.
When I said you already have 1/2 of the magic combo, I meant you already have a Borla. All you need is the FRP headers to feed that Borla. And yes it will sound louder and better that your current stock manifold with cat delete pipe. Cheers.
Chip
While I agree with most of what you present, having owned both a Heffner H pipe and and Accufab X, both with factory cats, Neither has any drone at any RPM below 4000. I don't steady state cruise the car a RPMs above that so drone is not an issue there, things just change too quickly. I can say the X and the H configuration do sound different, but neither drones. Cannot answer for a car without cats.
topshot
GT Owner
I have the Accufab, with cats and original manifold,,,, it drones at 70-80... but it is worth it, as it is awsome sounding everywhere else, and I can live with the drone
Guess I am lucky mine does not. I did have a resonant buzz or rattle at about that speed when I first got the car from Shelby, but it was the belly pans, not the exhaust. Adding fiber washers to the few belly pan screws along the row between engine and trans removes the rattle. Had the same issue with the Heffner that was easily solved. Could that be what you are hearing? I would not have expected the difference one car to the next but I suppose it could be.
H
HHGT
Guest
I dont know what you guys are bitching about. Complaining about a how a women moans during an orgasm is just wrong. If you dont like the droan then down shift.
topshot
GT Owner
Cobraguy
GT Owner
Hey Chip...I'll be in Scottsdale in a couple of weeks.....any chance I can talk you out of that shiny new Borla?
I also have both a Heffner H-Pipe and an Accufab X-Pipe and have used them with and without cats. In 6th gear at about 2000 RPM they droan like crazy. It's not the belly pans or anything else, it's the exhaust. What is a droan to one person may be a normal sound to someone else. Bony put an Accufab X-Pipe on his white GT (before he went with the Stainless Works headers) and he proclaimed on this Forum that "it had no droan at all". I thought his X-Pipe might be slightly different than mine and so I went for a ride with him. His droan was WORSE than my GT's. Evidently the component that was different was his ears and tolerance for that droan.
My GT currently has twin turbos, no cats, and a Heffner H-Pipe. It droans. When I put the cats on, it still droans. Without the turbos, it droaned. With every single exhaust I have had on my GT, in every combination, EXCEPT for the stock muffler and the Borla, it droans. If your car doesn't droan to your ears then it doesn't droan. But to someone else's ears, unless you are running a Borla or the stock muffler, it probably does. I have ridden in/driven a huge # of GTs with just about every combo over the last 7 years and I have never come across a single GT that didn't droan EXCEPT for those with the Borla or stock muffler.
Chip
OK, its obvious we are hearing different things and have different 'views' of what is objectionable vs desireable in exhaust sound. I can live with that. I'll have to go for a ride in a GT with headers and Borla some time and hear what I am missing. Until then, I'll just be happy with my X pipe that does not seem to drone to me. I have had exhaust on other cars that had BAD drone and could not put up with it, The GT seems very quiet at 70. Much quieter with the Bridgestones than the Goodyears and since I am hearing tire noise, the exhaust cannot be THAT bad.
For what its worth, I like the deeper, less edgy tone of the X pipe versus the H.
For what its worth, I like the deeper, less edgy tone of the X pipe versus the H.
RPM217
2005 white/blue stripe
What's "drone" to one is like Chip so appropriately observed, is like "music" to someone else. I have the Borla "racing muffler", at 75 mph my wife falls asleep, to me it's just perfect. Ride in lots of cars/setups and see what you like.