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I'll probably get flack for saying this but...PRT's drone.
I scored a used set of PRT's on ebay and put them on yesterday. First test drive to work this morning confirmed some drone with this catback.
I've gone through the following setups: Stock manifolds/stock midpipe/GHL magnums (bought the car this way) LT's/catted X/midmount DIDO NO internal crossover Magnaflow/straight pipe...droned like CRAZY! LT's/catted X/Ti LT's/catted X/GHL magnums LT's/catted X/Corsa Sport LT's/catted X/midmount DIDO with internal X/Corsa Sport
LT's/catted X/custom Dynomax with manual bypass
My goal is a car that gives me NO reason not to drive it. It is a street car/autocross toy and date night car all in one. I have added a ton of sound deadening and insulation for heat. I want my cake and eat it too.
The Corsa was the BEST at not having low frequency drone. However it can get LOUD over 1/2 throttle. While still not drone, the volume of noise in the car can become a little much.
The stock Ti did not have the usual low frequency drone but did have a loud-ish resonance at 2000-2500rpm. Amazing for highway cruising and to tame LT's+cam.
Th PRT's DO have a notable drone at 1500rpm. At 2200-2500 rpm the overall sound level again increases in the cabin but is not a deep drone, it is a higher resonance. These are an interesting catback design. They are much quieter at cold start than Corsa Sports probably due to the deeper tone they make despite the much smaller muffler case size.
I always wonder what makes things tick so I took some pictures of them before cleaning them up. Some interesting use of baffles/diverters to control the sound.
The tips have oval baffles:
Looking at the inlet side, there are some cut/bent diverter tabs to direct some flow to go into the muffler case. If you look close you can see daylight through the tip:
I like the oval tips more than I thought I would. They fill up the rear bumper nicely.
Overall these are a good sound. They offer a much deeper tone than I thought they would given the design compared to Corsa (which is very raw/high pitched). They don't go from a deep tone to a high pitch tone in the upper RPM's They maintain a linear tone as RPM climbs. I would like to try Corsa Extreme to have a apples to apples comparison in terms of drone to the PRT's.
Just thought I would share my experience with them.
Last edited by smitty2919; Nov 28, 2023 at 08:35 AM.
You've spent more on exhaust systems then the car is worth lol. I'd like to get a new system but I just have an issue with what they cost. I know nothing's cheap anymore but these vendors sure are proud of their systems.
Long tubes with catted X pipe and the Extremes have zero drone.
That's what "they say" about PRT's . I would like to ride in a car or put Extreme on my car for a comparison. Knowing the PRT is known to be a deeper tone, I'd expect the Extreme to be ungodly loud. Hell even when I had Corsa Sport, the drone was gone but just the overall sound of the car could get annoying. I think the higher pitch of Corsa makes them "louder".
Originally Posted by RC81
You've spent more on exhaust systems then the car is worth lol. I'd like to get a new system but I just have an issue with what they cost. I know nothing's cheap anymore but these vendors sure are proud of their systems.
It's a problem I admit and have come to accept lol...to me the exhaust is THE defining factor of a car aside from the overall look/stance. I get a kick out of people snapping their necks when the car starts or sits at idle with a good exhaust and the cam. Hell, I have had a cop cruise next to me and give me thumbs up when he caught up to me pulling out of a paking lot.
Plus, the only exhaust I bought new was the Corsa in 2020. Ti I bought for $300 from a friend of mine years ago also. Since then EVERYTHING new/used has gone up.
I have a simple decibel app on my Iphone. I decided to try and quantify this.
2nd gear as rpm climbs through 1500rpm peak 82dB at 117Hz - this is the low boom drone range.
3rd gear as rpm climbs through 2500rpm peak 81dB at 170Hz - while it's still the same relative volume, the higher frequency is much more tolerable.
[QUOTE=smitty2919;1607280773]That's what "they say" about PRT's . I would like to ride in a car or put Extreme on my car for a comparison. Knowing the PRT is known to be a deeper tone, I'd expect the Extreme to be ungodly loud. Hell even when I had Corsa Sport, the drone was gone but just the overall sound of the car could get annoying. I think the higher pitch of Corsa makes them "louder".
Yes, I agree that the PRT has an irritating drone. I had the PRT on my 1998 Corvette C5, and the drone was irritating at 50 MPH. However, I now have Borla S-Type II on one of my silver 2000 Corvette and Borla ATAK on my magnetic red 2000 Corvette. Both of these Borla exhausts have NO drone at any speed. Although the Corsa Extreme also has no drone, I chose the Borla ATAK because I prefer the deeper, muscle car tone of the ATAK over the higher-pitched, Euro tone of the Corsa. I recently purchased another barely used Borla ATAK exhaust, so I will soon replace the Borla S-Type II exhaust on my silver Corvette with the newly acquired ATAK. When that happens, I will be putting my Borla S-Type II exhaust up for sale, if anybody reading this is interested. Although I like the S-Type II, I prefer the louder ATAK, so that's why I'm making the change.
That's what "they say" about PRT's . I would like to ride in a car or put Extreme on my car for a comparison. Knowing the PRT is known to be a deeper tone, I'd expect the Extreme to be ungodly loud. Hell even when I had Corsa Sport, the drone was gone but just the overall sound of the car could get annoying. I think the higher pitch of Corsa makes them "louder".
Yes, I agree that the PRT has an irritating drone. I had the PRT on my 1998 Corvette C5, and the drone was irritating at 50 MPH. However, I now have Borla S-Type II on one of my silver 2000 Corvette and Borla ATAK on my magnetic red 2000 Corvette. Both of these Borla exhausts have NO drone at any speed. Although the Corsa Extreme also has no drone, I chose the Borla ATAK because I prefer the deeper, muscle car tone of the ATAK over the higher-pitched, Euro tone of the Corsa. I recently purchased another barely used Borla ATAK exhaust, so I will soon replace the Borla S-Type II exhaust on my silver Corvette with the newly acquired ATAK. When that happens, I will be putting my Borla S-Type II exhaust up for sale, if anybody reading this is interested. Although I like the S-Type II, I prefer the louder ATAK, so that's why I'm making the change.
The new Borla systems have caught my eye. Specifically the S-Type II. I rode in a 2000 auto coupe with stock manifolds, catted X and S-Type II and it was louder in the car than I thought it would be. Being a coupe is tricky too since you can’t have the divider like I can in my FRC. It did sound good though.
I have LT’s, catted X, and billy boat bullets, put those on, you will love it. I love showing those ricers what a man’s exhaust sounds like at full throttle, when there window is down. I actually made someone spill there drink on themselves just by hitting the go pedal. It’s wonderful when I can’t here the wife complaining on a road trip. Get those billy boat bullets.
I drove a total of 7 hours in the car yesterday to buy a different catback (Corsa Sport). That trip confirmed that PRT's needed to go...Got the Corsa put on when I got home and it is a NIGHT AND DAY DIFFERENCE. The Corsa is 10x better at 1500/2500 rpm range
On my way to work this morning with Corsa: 2nd gear 1500rpm 176Hz ~70dB 3rd gear 2500rpm 186Hz ~69dB That makes a ~10dB reduction in both areas that the PRT's were annoying....that is HUGE. Keep in mind decibel readings are not linear. Meaning 10dB is not half as loud as 20dB. The higher frequency also helps to not be the low frequency "boomy" tone.
I drove a total of 7 hours in the car yesterday to buy a different catback (Corsa Sport). That trip confirmed that PRT's needed to go...Got the Corsa put on when I got home and it is a NIGHT AND DAY DIFFERENCE. The Corsa is 10x better at 1500/2500 rpm range
On my way to work this morning with Corsa: 2nd gear 1500rpm 176Hz ~70dB 3rd gear 2500rpm 186Hz ~69dB That makes a ~10dB reduction in both areas that the PRT's were annoying....that is HUGE. Keep in mind decibel readings are not linear. Meaning 10dB is not half as loud as 20dB. The higher frequency also helps to not be the low frequency "boomy" tone.
Agreed. Having read people say PRT's and Corsa does not drone...I can not without a doubt say PRT's DO drone and Corsa (comparatively) do NOT.
Now, some people might not care. Like @Beast suggesting I go to BB Bullets, which are across the board noted to be ungodly loud in/out of the car (as he points out to having people spill their drink). I can listed to videos online and gather if they drone or not just by how deep of a tone they offer...I will absolutely NOT be putting bullets on LOL.
Sounding like you have 800hp with Bullets in a car making 400 is typical "bark is bigger than your bite" lol. I prefer the more civil/authoritative/elegant exhaust note vs just "being loud".
Out of all the combinations I have done, LT's catted x pipe and Corsa Sport are THE Jekyll and Hyde system. You would never think how loud the car is outside compared to what you can hear inside.
Last edited by smitty2919; Nov 30, 2023 at 01:58 PM.
[QUOTE=smitty2919;1607288857]Agreed. Having read people say PRT's and Corsa does not drone...I can not without a doubt say PRT's DO drone and Corsa (comparatively) do NOT.
Now, some people might not care. Like @Beast suggesting I go to BB Bullets, which are across the board noted to be ungodly loud in/out of the car (as he points out to having people spill their drink). I can listed to videos online and gather if they drone or not just by how deep of a tone they offer...I will absolutely NOT be putting bullets on LOL.
I was just playing around with you Smitty. And you know I was playing around with you. Everyone has there opinions on everything. I was just trying to make you laugh. Come to the western suburbs of Chicago, I’ll show you how loud they are. I do have cats on mine. I have heard, in person, the bullet system, with LT’s, and no cats, and it is ungodly loud. Mine is no comparison to the cat delete system, much quieter, and mellow. I’ve had my system like this since 2006. I do kinda like the high pitch scream of the corsa extremes. I would love to hear that in person someday.
I was just playing around with you Smitty. And you know I was playing around with you. Everyone has there opinions on everything. I was just trying to make you laugh. Come to the western suburbs of Chicago, I’ll show you how loud they are. I do have cats on mine. I have heard, in person, the bullet system, with LT’s, and no cats, and it is ungodly loud. Mine is no comparison to the cat delete system, much quieter, and mellow. I’ve had my system like this since 2006. I do kinda like the high pitch scream of the corsa extremes. I would love to hear that in person someday.
Yep. This isn't a "what exhaust is best" post. Just simply sharing my personal preference and experience while adding in some scientific proof.
It can't be denied that between PRT's and Sports, that the Sports are MUCH quieter in the cabin when tested with the same measurement tool and on the same car doing the same test conditions. What is subjective is whether someone likes/dislikes the 80+dB inside the cabin. I, do not lol.
I have the PRT's and so far I love em. My car has the shorty headers, catted stock H-pipe and its an automatic. To me the drone is very minimal and tolerable. Everyone has different sounds that might irritate them more then others.
Interesting -
I have a built LS2 based 427 (550whp), Kooks LTs and X-pipe, no cats, and PRTs. Overall I like it a lot. It is loud but not crazy. I have not noticed a drone at 1500rpm or 2200-2500rpm. I spend minimal time at 1500rpm (4.1 gears) but significant time in the 2000-2500range, and I would notice a drone there. It is a pretty smooth increase in sound through the rev range. I do also have significant sound deadening materials, plus a 2x10" sub box which may block a fair amount of sound from the back. And I agree the tips fill the area nicely and compliment the oval lights and curves of the car. I suspect the sound/drone is from the 'sum of the parts', not just the exhaust, ie perhaps your catted x-pipe somehow make a resonance with the PRTs. Just spit-ballin here.
I have the PRT's and so far I love em. My car has the shorty headers, catted stock H-pipe and its an automatic. To me the drone is very minimal and tolerable. Everyone has different sounds that might irritate them more then others.
Absolutely. That's why I brought some actual measurements into the mix. Whether people like/dislike 117Hz and 80dB is up to them lol I hate it. Also, I doubt anyone had quantified cabin noise before so...
Originally Posted by acroy
Interesting -
I have a built LS2 based 427 (550whp), Kooks LTs and X-pipe, no cats, and PRTs. Overall I like it a lot. It is loud but not crazy. I have not noticed a drone at 1500rpm or 2200-2500rpm. I spend minimal time at 1500rpm (4.1 gears) but significant time in the 2000-2500range, and I would notice a drone there. It is a pretty smooth increase in sound through the rev range. I do also have significant sound deadening materials, plus a 2x10" sub box which may block a fair amount of sound from the back. And I agree the tips fill the area nicely and compliment the oval lights and curves of the car. I suspect the sound/drone is from the 'sum of the parts', not just the exhaust, ie perhaps your catted x-pipe somehow make a resonance with the PRTs. Just spit-ballin here.
It's possible. We all know exhaust note/tone/drone is fairly subjective in the sense of how people define "drone". It IS possible to put numbers to it, but that would take a lot of effort to define.
By doing the Helmholtz resonator calculation for a NA V8, you get the following tube lengths. When making the "j-pipe" the goal is to make the length according to the 1/4 wave frequency. I extrapolated 1/8 thru 1 wavelength just because. The graph is for 1/4 wavelength.
I will say that under120Hz, things begin to sound like a low boom/base sound.
C5Z Billy Boat PRT experience
. I would like to ride in a car or put Extreme on my car for a comparison. Knowing the PRT is known to be a deeper tone, I'd expect the Extreme to be ungodly loud. Hell even when I had Corsa Sport, the drone was gone but just the overall sound of the car could get annoying. I think the higher pitch of Corsa makes them "louder".
