Going mufflerless bad?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Your car will sound like a "motorboat". The fun lasts about 30 minutes. The ringing of the ears and headache last longer. I did what you're asking about to see if I'd like cut outs. I put washers between the h- pipe and cat back then bolted back up so I didn't have to remove or worry about the mufflers. Needless to say, I removed the washers and saved my money on cut outs.
SOME THINGS TO KNOW!
The C5 98 fuel tanks are not shielded like later years and the hot gasses will attack the plastic tanks.
The D R O N E will be far more unpleasant than you will be able to tolerate. Its BAD!
The exhaust note is a CRUDE GUTTERAL sound and you will have lots of popping and backfire on deceleration.
You can damage the rear fiberglass spring with the heat and gasses.
YES, the bottom of the car will be very black around the exhaust exits.
BC
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 3,830
Likes: 394
From: Rocky Mountains
I had exhaust cuts outs for a few years. I got a borla x-pipe and s-type mufflers. They sound much better IMO. The cut outs, which I bet sound similar to straight pipes, do make the car sound like a truck or something agricultural. At low rpm, the borla system is actually a little quieter.
The installer said it would get louder after break in. With large amounts of throttle, the sound comes alive. The tone is much sweeter than cutouts. The engine purrs with the x-pipe. I don't miss the excessive popping I had before.
The installer said it would get louder after break in. With large amounts of throttle, the sound comes alive. The tone is much sweeter than cutouts. The engine purrs with the x-pipe. I don't miss the excessive popping I had before.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 4,346
Likes: 755
From: Greensboro Nc
I actually have straight pipes and careless long tube headers on my z06, and I'm genuinely convinced that my car sounds different than any other straight piped LS. It's really smooth, almost no drone, and almost exotic sounding. I have videos in my car talking with a normal voice, I've daily driven it like this for 4 years until I just recently bought my Toyota, and I've taken it on a dozen 500-1500 mile trips with my wife without complaints. any trip over an hour and she falls asleep like a baby in it.
Mine doesn't sound like any of the videos posted, even before the headers it didn't have the tractor sound like every other video does. To be honest I bought the straight pipes while my headers were on preorder and I wanted to make noise in the meantime, planning on putting the stock exhaust back on when the headers came in. After header install the exhaust was easily tolerable, droning only at 80-85 miles an hour.
Mine doesn't sound like any of the videos posted, even before the headers it didn't have the tractor sound like every other video does. To be honest I bought the straight pipes while my headers were on preorder and I wanted to make noise in the meantime, planning on putting the stock exhaust back on when the headers came in. After header install the exhaust was easily tolerable, droning only at 80-85 miles an hour.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 3,830
Likes: 394
From: Rocky Mountains
Z06 has a lumpier cam and you have long tube headers so that might be why yours sounds good with open pipes. I can only say I greatly prefer the Borla to the cutouts I had on my stock LS1 coupe. Although I liked the cutouts, tractor noise and all, to the stock mufflers which are pitifully quiet.
Pro
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 622
Likes: 48
From: Nederland Texas
He cut off the mufflers too, stating that he knew what he was doing and that he hated them. About 2 or 3 days later he was asking me if I could get him some stock mufflers poor guy
