Werks

I posted a slightly different version of this on the Z06 forum but though that as this new system is really tailored to track guys that I would post it here also so enjoy!

Having been involved in modding my vette for a while now and tracking it several times a month I have to say that it's not too often that I come across a product that impresses me anymore lol. Over the years my car has gone from completely bone stock to a bit of a track monster. Starting here:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-z...ech-style.html

Then:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-z...63-engine.html

Which resulted in this:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-z...ack-463-a.html

and ultimately this



So to say that in the end the car turned out to be more than I could have ever expected when I started all of this would be an understatement lol. However one of the areas that I have never been happy with has frankly been one of the first modifications that everyone seems to do, installing an aftermarket exhaust lol!

I've looked at Corsa, I looked at Borla, I looked at B&B and to me it made zero sense to spend money on replacing the exhaust system with one of those when I would gain virtually nothing in performance and in most cases actually add on more weight than the OEM exhaust just in order to make some more noise. It probably sounds funny looking at my build thread above but everything that I have ever done to the car has not only been about appearance but also about performance. Everything looks good but it also either reduces weight or in some way, shape or form increases performance! So after changing virtually the entire car in the first build thread I was still running the stock NPP exhaust simply with an exhaust commander. A few months down the road after the car came back after researching exhausts some more I decided to take the plunge and order a Titanium Akropovic exhaust system with Carbon tips. It was god awful expensive at something like $3.5k but it finally did one thing that none of the other exhausts seemed to do, offer a substantial weight reduction over stock! They look great, installed it and unfortunately after about 10 days on the car I took it off and sold them because I could not stand the intense drone that the exhaust caused or the fact that it seemed to be louder with the flaps closed rather than open!

So for the next year I left the OEM NPP exhaust on, went back to Katech and got a new engine making a whole lot more HP and then started thinking again it's crazy to have nearly every single part changed on my car but I'm still running around with this heavy stock exhaust system. So I started looking around again and ran across a post about a new exhaust system that Burns Stainless was supposedly building. I knew of Burns as they supply the mufflers and exhaust tubing for all of the factory Corvette race cars i.e. the C5R, C6R and C7R as well as most of the cars running the Tudor series. So I knew that their stuff was quality product and I also knew that the mufflers they put out are all stainless and known to be some of the lightest mufflers made! So I called them up, spoke to them for a bit and then decided to take the plunge and a week later a box arrived with my nice new all stainless steel exhaust system that looked like this:



As I track the car a lot and was concerned about sound I went with larger 6.25" mufflers initially along with single tip outlets so that I can run turn downs if needed at tracks that have extreme sound limits like Laguna Seca. With the larger mufflers the entire stainless steel exhaust system weighed in at 27lbs, a savings of 23lbs over stock, nearly a 50% weight reduction!

Here is a under car picture of the exhaust with 6.25" mufflers installed as you can see it's a nice and clean set up!



A better look at the dual tip's:



The muffler design that Burns makes is a straight through design, similar to motorcycle mufflers if you have ever seen those. So there is little if any restriction in exhaust flow (and they are rebuildable too!) which I'm sure helps performance versus OEM like I had. With the big displacement engine and cam that I have I was a little worried about being too noisy! So after getting everything installed I pulled out my DB meter to check sound levels and at idle about 10 feet back from the car it was measuring at 74db, exactly the same as the OEM NPP exhaust with flaps open. So actually rather quite! At the next track day I had the officials check sound while I was out and they measured me at 97db, I was the quietest vette out there lol and actually quieter than my car was with the NPP exhaust on it and flaps open but now with a much less restrictive exhaust that weighed nearly 50% less! As an added bonus if I run turn downs I think that I can easily cut the sound down another 3-4db making it possible for me to run at 95db days at Laguna Seca without having to jump through hoops!

After running the system like this for about a month to see how I liked it I decided to pick up a set of the smaller 4.5" diameter mufflers (these are the ones that come stock with the exhaust system) to drop another 5lbs out of the exhaust system


Here is a picture of the 4.5" muffler set up"



That now brings the entire exhaust system down to only 22lbs! Here are some pictures with the 6.25" mufflers next to the 4.5" for comparison sake:



As you can see the 4.5" mufflers are significantly smaller and they weigh 50% less than the 6.25" versions.

Here is another under car shot of the system with 4.5" mufflers installed showing how neat and clean the layout is:



And from a different angle:



With the 4.5" mufflers the exhaust is now 5db louder at idle (82db). This system has cut an amazing 28+lbs off the weight of the exhaust system in total! Best of all is that to cut all of that weight cost way, way, way less than the comparable weight Akropovic Titanium system. So you lose an equal amount of weight, end up with a system that does not drone as much and you spend nearly $2k less doing it at the same time. Burns Stainless is selling these systems in the $1800 range and it's important to note that all of them are custom made to order! I chose a 2 tip design so that i can run turn down, for those of you that want a traditional 4 tip design they can make it if you prefer that. So all custom made, all made here in the US, all made from stainless steel and all made with exactly the same proven mufflers that are used on the C6R & C7R race cars! I don't often rave about a product but in this case I'm 100% pleased with the service before the sale, the product that I received and the quality and performance of it. Burns calls it the "No Holds Barred" exhaust system and I think that they are going to grab a big part of the market for performance oriented vette owners that do not just want an exhaust for a sporty sound but also want to actually gain performance through improved exhaust flow and a huge reduction in weight!

redtopz

Great post! That is a sweet exhaust system. Those Burns mufflers are awesome. Did you gain any hp with these vs the stock exhaust? I still have some rusty old 2.5" pipes and heavy mufflers on my race car. Synergy is planning to do a custom exhaust for me later, but I might want to use those Burns mufflers to make sound.

froggy47

hungryhippo

Thanks for posting. I have been eyeing that exhaust and read about your car on their website. Have just been hesitant to find out the pricing.

Werks

You are right about their mufflers lol! When I first opened up the box it was like the scene in Pulp Fiction when Travolta opens up the brief case and the golden glow came out. They are like little glittering jewels when you open the box, then you pick them up and marvel on how light they are! The 4.5" mufflers are 17" long and barely weigh 3lbs lol! As far as picking up HP I honestly can not see how I could not have coming from the heavy **** (and I'm guessing pretty restrictive)stock NPP system and going to the Burns straight through mufflers!

I know that you race at Laguna etc. so if you are having a system made you might want to go with the 6.25" mufflers that I ran at first. With all of the mods, big engine, big cam etc using those I was only at 97db when checked by the officals at Thunder Hill. With turn downs I'm pretty confident that I can easily hit 95db, so with the lighter mods you run on your engine I think that you should be golden as far as sound is concerned!

Werks

I bought it a couple of months ago but if memory serves me right it was a little less than $1900 which if you compare it to the stuff from Corsa, Borla etc. is right in the ball park but this system is about 50% lighter, is all stainless steel (so it will never rust) and has some of the best quality racing mufflers on the maket that are also rebuildable. As I mentioned in my post I've gone back and forth about switching exhausts for a long time. The one time that I thought I found a product that was actualy worth installing was the Akrapovic system which turned out to be a complete waste because it just droned so much as was so loud inside the car that it gave me a headache. So when I ran across info on the Burns system and noticed the weight reduction I was intrigued, but I was also concerend about being obnoxiously loud after the Akra experience especially with the straight through mufflers which is why I bought the 6.25" at first. You should have seen the expression on my face when I first started up the car and it was just as quite as the stock exhaust system lol. I've been so happy with this system that I went back and ordered the smaller 4.5 mufflers to drop a few pounds and make it even louder lol

smellya

Do you plan on selling your old burns set up? It will go to a good home. you always have good writes also.

Werks

Nope keeping them for tracks like Laguna! the way their system is designed I can jack the back of the car up, loosen 2 clamps and swap the mufflers in a matter of minutes! I think it took all of 10 minutes to swap them when I took the pictures above, it took longer to get the car on and off the lift than it took to actually change them lol!

smellya

Sounds good. I been looking for a exhaust so I can take mine to Laguna Seca. It's now on my short list to buy.

hungryhippo

I don't see it on their website, just the article in their news section. Have you gotten any new db readings at the track with the single stage mufflers? I wanted the 2 stage, but it sounds like the smaller ones should work for me. I'd like to be under 100 db but i have 100rwhp less than you.

hungryhippo

Thanks so much for the detailed info. I will definitely go with the bigger 1 stage mufflers then. For the right price i'd buy one now, otherwise I'll probably wait till the winter. Retail price is very reasonable though.

redtopz

Do they make an over axle kit for the C5? I tried contacting them last week but still haven't received any response. Thanks.

QUIKAG

I bought a Burns Stainless set based on the Werks recommendation with the smaller mufflers and the box was delivered to my house a few weeks ago. I haven't installed them due to some wife health issues, but when I picked up the box to move them away from the entryway of our house, I was SHOCKED with the weight, or lack thereof. These suckers are LIGHT.

I'm putting these on and the Shorai battery to drop about 60lbs or so to be a touch more competitive with power to weight in TT1 NASA time trial. Pretty hard to drop so much weight so relatively easy with a good Li battery and an awesome exhaust system.

Vince Roman at Burns was very easy to deal with and very professional. Can't wait to try to this set-up at my next track day!

fcarga

Did you ever get an answer on the C5? And thanks for the time you've put into this.

Werks

I did talk to them about the C5 and they do not have a system ready for that yet however they are open to doing one. I got redtopz in touch with them and I think that they are going to start working on developing a system. No eta on it yet but it will be in the works soon!

fcarga

Thanks for replying

Vette_DD

Commercial promotion of a Non-supporting vendor has been removed. Only forum vendors can post group buys.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/foru...l-posting.html

Werks

Got it, thanks for unlocking the thread

bdanyluk

Please post video of how it sounds.

NemesisC5

In for sound clip, idle with aggressive revs please. Track video / sound from trackside would be really appreciated.