VETTEC599

I am planning to have my '99 FRC dyno tuned in the near future. Right now it is totally stock except for the Borla exhaust and power duct. The car has all new fluids, plugs, wires, etc. My question - is there any reason that I should install a x-pipe other than smoothing the exhaust noise? I am not looking for anything spectacular - 90% of my driving is interstate 200 - 300 miles at a time - just that I have it tuned for optimal performance. Thank you in advance.

LoneStarFRC

Personally, I'd just leave the "H" pipe center section alone for now, unless it's all coming out for a complete exhaust system upgrade. I doubt the difference in sound to be worth the expense right now.

Be advised there were a few early C5s that had rattling/jingling noises coming from the "H"-pipe section. Seems Arvin (the manufacturer of the C5 exhaust systems for GM) shipped a lot of units out with a small piece(s) of round metal from where the crossover holes were cut inside the pipes during manufacture.
You also should give a VERY close eyeball to the flange welds at the rear of the center-section where it bolts to the axle-back pipes. They had quite a few C5s (my '99 included) with defective or incomplete welds of the rear gasket flanges resulting in exhaust leaks. If you catch this early enough (meaning the flange has not broken free), you can unbolt then remove the center section and a welder makes short work of rewelding the flange all the way around the pipe. A good muffler shop can make quick work of this if needed.

VETTEC599

Thank you - I agree - the difference in sound is not worth the expense.