exhaust ?'s: Borla or Flowmaster or ??

[shadyphi]

Hello all,

I just recently purchased a 1997 Trans AM WS6. ( I love the 1996/1997 body styles ).

Anyways, the car only has 22,XXX orig miles on it, still with the stock exhaust. For my first mod, I'm looking to upgrade the exhaust system. I've heard alot of good things about borla & flowmaster.... but I'm not sure what is best. I'm looking for a mean sound, that is not too overbearing & crazy loud. I'm just looking for the growl.

Any suggestions on whether to go with borla or flowmaster.... or something I have not mentioned???

Any & all reply's are welcome.

Thanks!!

[Trash man]

corsa, buddy had it on his 95 z28, it sounded nice as heck 2
http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...06&prmenbr=361

[Blazer]

Yes corsa got it on mine an love it. Blazer

[Need4Speed]

I got the exact same model car shady... I love it!

I bought my car w/ exhaust... and the guy who I bought from said that he had many different exhausts tested on the car from borla to flowmaster etc... He ended up going with Magnaflow... and let me tell you, it rumbles!!

I havent personally heard the rest though, just my 2 pennie's!

[raroZ28]

try ls1sounds.com

magnaflow sounds awesome. Not crazy loud but sounds really good at idle and wot. Flowmaster sucks, its the worst catback out. NOT SS either. It'll rust from the inside out and sound like crap.

Magnaflow, SLP loudmouth (Crazy loud), and borla (also loud) are all SS. Can't go wrong with any of those three. It's all about what you wanna spend. SLP and Magnaflow are around 350. Borla is way up there in price. Corsa is too.

I'd go with magnaflow.

[jerrysta]

I can't be happier with my Borla system. Of course, when I bought it a few years back it was 600 bucks. I think now it's around 8.

I am no car expert, but to me this is not an area where I would skimp. I listened to clips online and liked the Borla. Then I researched to find out how good it was performance wise and when I heard it was very good, I bought it. You won't want to take it off so take your time and make the right choice.

With the miles on your car you have a liftime of driving left. Good luck.

[Craig 94 TA GT]

There's no comparison between the two. Borla is far superior in terms of material and design. That's obviously why Borla is 2X+ the price of Flowmaster. I think Borla might be perfect for you because it's an adjustable system...if price doesn't matter. You can make it louder or quieter by adjusting the plates into the built-in cutout. The 1.75" plate would probably suit your needs of not too loud, but nice and mean. TraceZ, I, and several others have added an electric cutout to the Borla so you can adjust the sound when driving. It's probably the coolest setup, but about $150 on top of the Borla.

[Barry 94Formula]

I have a Borla and I love it. They are around 8 bills. You might be able to find a used one for half that. If you can swing the cost of the Borla check out the GMMG. If I didn't have the Borla this is what I would get.

[raroZ28]

Just something to think about...

You could buy a cam and everything you need to install it, and the SLP or magnaflow for the price of the borla. Or, you could buy the magnaflow, or slp, fipk, and still have 300 left over for 1.6R RR's or something.

They're all awesome. If money is no object, I'd say get the borla. I have heard all three systems, and I think the Borla sounds inbetween the magna and the loudmouth. Louder than magnaflow, but quieter than the SLP LM. I mean... If you're in a spot where you can afford to spend over 800 on just a catback, I say go for it.

[Al 96 Ram Air T/A]

Borla...hands down. What I love most about it...it allows me to "tune" the sound to my lining. I will be adding the elctric cutout...soon...which will further enhance the tuneability.

My buddy has a used Borla sitting in his garage. He might be willing to let it go for less than $300...just not sure how to get it from NJ to you

[shadyphi]

Thanks to everybody who put in a comment.... looks like Borla won that fight hands down.... I'll do my research & let you all know how it goes. Sucks bein a newbie to the f-body's .... but hey, gotta start somewhere.

guess I better start flippin my loose change into the piggy bank, I didn't realize borla exhaust cost so much!

- Shadyphi

[Dave M]

Everyone here is mentioning the loudmouth from SLP, but nobody has really suggested it because it's too loud. I'd suggest another SLP exhaust, the 2-on-the-left. I have a friend that has this on his 96 SS and it is the perfect sounding exhaust to me! It has that perfect throaty rumble without being obnoxiously loud. Plus you can see straight though the muffler so you know it flows well! To me the Borla sounds a little too mettallic. The SLP 2 on the left is deeper. It's Stainless Steel like the Borla, but about half the price. Much closer in price to the Flowmaster but is not a cheap piece of rusting crap like flowmaster. I would give it serious consideration if I were you, big difference in price, and I'd chose the SLP based on sound alone, even if money were no object.

Here's a link:

Slip fit version

Bolt-in version ($50 more)

[Steel2686]

I'll just throw another 2 cents into the pot...

I absolutely LOVE the SLP Loudmouth exhuast. If you get the Loudmouth II, it's not quite as loud, but has a great rumble. Of course, it will sound a bit different on an LT1 compared to the LS1, so you'll have to find sound clips from an LT1.

If you are just deciding between the Borla and Flowmaster, I would go Borla. I've heard it on an LT1 and it sounded very nice.

[Christopherrr]

Magnaflow gets my vote for bang for the buck. it's a clean sound.

LMs are mean too, but raspy up high.

Borla is too expensive too me.

If I had money, I run Corsa.

I run it on my TA (LS1) great low rumble...and hellish up high. Sounds so good at 2-3K rpm and just plain scary 4K+. I hate to see what'll it sound like when I cam her and slap headers on.

[Joe 1320]

Here's my .02¢

I try to stick with stainless steel whenever possible. Anything less and there will be a point that you'll be doing it twice. It may not be next month, but rust eventually eats though everything else. Not only that, I think stainless helps dampen certain frequencies and creates a more pleasing exhaust tone. It's also easier to take apart should the need arise. Mild steel rusts together quickly. I like Borla, I like Corsa, actually I seem to like all of the stainless systems. Too bad it's so pricey.