GHL Bullet Review

Just some background on my car before I get started, I have a 2004 Z06 with some of the basic respiratory mods: Kooks Long-Tube Headers, X-Pipe, Blackwing CAI (w/ CF air bridge), ECS Tune, and now GHL Bullet Exhaust
I originally bought the car back in December and it came with a set of SLP Powerflo exhaust, now the start up and low rpm/low speed sound was amazing, but the drone was just mind numbing and it got worse when you hit the highway and set a constant speed. Over bluetooth or even with a passenger it became impossible to hold a conversation and interior panels would sometimes rattle due to the resonance.
After about 600-800 miles with the SLP I decided to make the switch to the stock Ti exhaust. My drone sorrows were gone and I again could have a conversation if I wanted to. The mods I had helped the stock Ti sound a little bit better, but to me it no longer sounded like a Vette should. I lost the thrill I once got every I started it up.
After much research I came across the magical "drone-less" GHL exhaust that would "make my car sound like it should". Throughout my 3 month process in choosing an exhaust I rode along in cars with B&B, Corsa, Borla, and Magnaflow and although I like to tone of some I was never fully satisfied. I never got to hear a GHL car in person, so I had to go off vague descriptions and poor quality YouTube videos (anything I found that was good quality was on a car way more modified than mine)
I came across a great deal on the GHL's and figured they seem to be in demand so if I don't like them I'll sell them. I ordered from GHL directly and had them in less than a week!
Packaging
My shiny new exhaust came in a package smaller than I had expected, I ripped it open (before even going into the house) and found a bunch of parts individually bubble wrapped in what I would call "overkill" but I am sure they don't want to take any chances. I opened everything and laid it out on the floor to inspect for any flaws, but to my avail I found none. The piece looked very well constructed, much more than the SLP and almost to the standards of stock. The first thing I noticed was the solid welds and clear air path. This had be grinning at would could be

Install
So I planned that I would wait till the weekend and get this on, but I just could not wait - I had it put on in less than 24 hours of receiving it. I had to know if what I got was worth it, I was looking for great start up sound, low to no drone, throaty/raspy idle, and an exhaust note that was deeper, something that said this is a Z06. The install went flawlessly, fitment was a no brainer. (I do need to go back and adjust the tips so the align a bit better, I was in a rush to get back to the office)
First Impressions
I only had about a 2 mile drive back to the office, but that was probably the best 2 miles I have experienced in this car. Seat belt on, clutch in, key in, turn key, and.....
I had got exactly what I wanted, a start up sound that was nothing more or less and worthy of this car. Pulling out I definitely heard the car a little bit more with the windows down, but not obnoxious. More importantly the note/tone of the exhaust was now in the right place.Extended Drive
I work two jobs so after leaving the office I headed to my part-time at a mall up in NY. Leaving work I figured what the hell let me goto Bear Mountain for a bit of a "spirited cruise". Within the first mile I thought "
OMG THIS THING IS WILD". Now I am usually the first to have buyers remorse on large purchases, even if I end up liking them down the road, BUT not this time. To be honest if I could have experienced this before buying I would pay twice as much (but I am glad the price is competitive.)There is some drone in a few small RPM ranges, but even then it is not mind numbing and my interior panels do not rattle. Although not a huge performance upgrade for my car, it mentally made me feel more confident in the cars capabilities, it made me fall in love with my car all over again (and I never stopped loving it!)
My favorite experience with this exhaust was coming home on the Garden state park way, there was a bit of traffic I was moving at about 35mph in 4th gear, I see an opening coming up just as I am about to go under and extended overpass/pseudo-tunnel and I hold 4th gear and get about halfway down on the gas and the car just sounded amazing.
I had a rough few weeks with some personal things and this exhaust has really been my therapy. I hope that this write up/short story helps other who may have been stuck making the decision.
I will be posting videos, but what good would an iPhone video be, I want to represent the true exhilaration and emotion of this exhaust. So I will be reaching out to a few friends with professional video and audio equipment.
I am sure I have not touched on everything, but please feel free to ask me anything specific.
Also I have NO affiliation with GHL or ANY vendor on or off this forum. I would like to share a link to GHL's special, the price is truly amazing - their customer service and turn around even better. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...isle-sale.html





I sure wish I had of got my GHL Bullets first. Sure would have saved me a ton of $$ going thru other exhausts till I found the sound I wanted.
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