TraceZ

I agree with your wife. The sound of the LS exhaust is less than inspiring no matter what aftermarket parts are installed. At least it's better than a Viper.

When I want to listen to an awesome exhaust note I go for a ride in my LT1 Camaro with headers and Borla exhaust. It sounds almost as good as a Mustang.. Nothing sounds better than a Mustang with a good aftermarket exhaust so spend as much as you want and she will still be able to say a Mustang sounds better.

I think it has something to do with the location / geometry of the combustion chambers and how the sound pulses are formed and how those pulses combine with the pulses from the other cylinders to form a voice.

Whatever it is... Mustangs sound awesome.

LoneStarLizzard

I, too, like Toque's GHL exhaust sound. However, he bought his GHL's from a predecessor company (GHL) who, as I recall, went out of business. The present GHL is a successor business.

Now I could be wrong but I recall some recent GHL purchasers have been very disappointed with the build quality of the GHL exhausts they received - something about quality control problems with the Philippine manufacturer of these systems. [Read, for example, all of the postings on this thread: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...endor-ghl.html .] Perhaps these things have been sorted, but still....

[I'm not one to beat up any vendors for having their stuff made in in the Philippines, China, etc. In truth, about the only things actually made in the USA today are those little tags on stuff that say "Made in the USA." 'Cause if every item that claimed to be truly was made in the USA, we'd be paying quite a bit more for them than we are. Just remember, made in Japan was a very derisive description in the 1950 and 1960s. Now? We associate "Made in Japan" with very high quality. I suspect the same will happen in China, the Philippines, Mexico, Thailand, Bangladesh, etc. My point: things change, and sometimes in a hurry.]

Nevertheless, I lost confidence that GHL would deliver the quality of product I wanted, so I bought the Billy Boat (B&B) PRTs as replacements for my C5 Z06 titanium exhaust setup. The PRTs are louder than the Z06 setup all rpm ranges including at the 1,500 - 2,000 rpm range at which I cruise around town - loud enough that I have to shift into a lower gear to get rid of the almost-a-drone sound.

I suspect the only truly satisfying exhaust system for me would include electronically controlled cut-outs - like the Billy Boat Fusion bi-modal exhaust. But having just bought the PRTs three months ago, I just can't justify the cost of the swap-out.

So as the saying goes...you pays your money and you takes your chances.

The Lizzard

mstromquist

Didn't know a Corvette made the queef sound?


Seriously though, if your looking at the bullets, I should let you hear mine before you commit to anything. I don't think we have the same complete exhaust but it would be similar. I will see if I can find a video of it if I made one when I awaken from my slumber this afternoon.

troyguitar

The Corvette is a sports car, not a muscle car. It's not supposed to sound like a Mustang.

...but more people drag race their vettes than road race them, so I guess all bets are off

3318C5

OP go & listen to the actual systems on our cars & then make up your mind. ALL have different opinions on different systems. Borla, Corsa, B&B, they are all quality systems. I personally have Borla Stingers & love them. Drone you say....man up I say...

Opinions are like......well I can't use the analogy I was thinking off....

Again, what worked for me was going to local meets & hearing the different exhaust systems. Then I felt at least I made a choice based on what I actually heard & appealed to me. That IS my opinion anyway.....LOL

DanSavage

What do you say to a woman with two black eyes?

Nothing. She's already been told twice..

mcm95403

I liked my Flowmasters (direct replacement system) - nice improvement over the TI exhaust, NO drone and a good sound out the back.





As for the drone - skip forward to about a 3 and a half minutes to see the interior sound level at cruise on level ground.



And if you want obnoxious, you can do the SLP Powerflow system. It does sound great out the back, but I lost about 5 mpg due to the massive torque loss. There was no gain in the upper end compared to the Flowmasters either - I should have never changed them out, but I really liked the SLP tip that's shaped to match the cutout in the rear bumper.

doublec4

Personally I prefer the Z06 titanium mufflers but bypassed. I also went with an x-pipe and breathless headers. No drone but a wicked sound when you open it up.

jmxp69

YIKES! This is an unfortunate turn of events. Thanks for sharing the info. I've been reading quite a bit about these and hadn't come across that thread. Guess I'll have to re-evaluate.

By the way, regarding the various 'make it sound like a Mustang comments' I'm not trying to make it sound like a Mustang, just need to lose the weaksauce sewing machine note and make it sound like a sports car.

jake07Z06

Jeff T.

No two ears are the same! Go and have fun!

calivette805

I HAVE to agree but......... I will take a c5 with a donkey cam and straight pipes any day of the week

0GHL Exhaust

We have corrected the problem by having a car in the shop. Now they are perfect..

B747VET

There are so many variables. If your mind isn't already made up, you haven't listened to enough systems. Go listen to several and then decide.

The stock C5 exhaust??

The first week I got this car (with stock exhaust) I took my wife's best friend for an aggressive spin. Her comments?

"I really like your car! I especially like the fact that the exhaust is so quiet! Much quieter than all of those other noisy sports cars that your friends drive!"

The Corsa's were installed a week later...

troyguitar

eh. I find that the loudest cars at the track are usually not the fastest. It's the sonic equivalent of saying that the most outrageous body kit with the biggest wings is the best.

A car loud enough that OSHA would mandate hearing protection for you to drive seems retarded, but maybe the people doing it already have hearing damage so they need it loud to hear it?

2004c5blackcoupe

One of the first mods I did was the A&A exhaust bypass because the stock exhaust was way too quiet. I had a local muffler shop do this for $50.00.
Sounds great, no drone and the price is right!
Old thread:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...ypass-mod.html

Lee DeRaud

And what's really retarded is trying to figure out what a car sounds like based on a Youtube video played through laptop speakers.

forensicsteve

Yep....vipers are not known for their rapturous exhaust tones. The srt's is greatly improved but still underwhelming.

Lee DeRaud

Gotta laugh: at the moment, this thread is adjacent to one titled "Installing sound deadener for a quieter ride".

TraceZ

Me too man, me too. The ride is so much more enjoyable in a Vette. The overall experience trumps that of Mustang any day of the week.