southerncarparts

We all have read the posts asking "which is the best exhaust system to have on my Vette?" Well I am not going to ask this question, but rather share with you my opinion. Being in the Corvette Parts business, I have the luxury of being able to try different systems on my car and evaluate the exhaust note, build quality, and attention to detail. I have personally installed the Corsa C6 Z06 system, the Borla Stinger C6 Z06 system and now the B&B Fusion system.

Let me also preface this opinion with the assumption that all the three systems I tested have equal performance gains as I do not have a dyno to test differences, but I would be willing to bet they are all within a few HP of each other.

All three systems had excellent build quality, but with the Corsa there were some installation enigmas that had me wondering "why in the heck did they engineer a band clamp there, could it not be the worse place to try and tighten". The Corsa sounded good, but the difference was not different enough from Stock at all RPM's to really give me what I was looking for. It also took away the multi mode exhaust function.

The Borla C6 Corvette Z06 Exhaust system installed pretty easy and sounded awesome at idle and driving around town. But damn, the highway was a different story. I had Borla stingers on my C5 Z06 and there was some drone, which I could live with. Maybe I have just lost my tolerance too it, but the drone on the C6 Z06 with Borla's was unbearable (for me and just about any other passenger I took for a ride). I had to get them off the car.....Take a look on any forum at the C6 Z06 parts for sale...You will see C6 Z06 Borla's used for sale on every forum. I think I am not the only one that had this issue. Also, like the Corsa, no more multi mode exhaust.

I had never heard the BB Corvette C6 Z06 Fusion System nor had I had any experience with Billy Boat Systems. I figured I would give it a try, but really did not think it was going to be what I wanted, but I did like the idea of keeping my multi mode exhaust. Upon opening the box, I was very impressed with the quality of the parts. Installation was a breeze, very logical engineering. Everything was easy to access and tighten down. The sound at idle is a bit more aggressive than stock, on acceleration and when you pass the magic RPM point for the Multi Mode to kick in, Oh my god.....the perfect sound. Just what I was looking for. Toss in a Mild to Wild switch, so that I can control the Multi Mode and finally, exhaust Nirvana.

The cool thing is that you can control the exhaust note. So if you are cruising down the highway, you can shut the baffles in the exhaust and enjoy quiet drone free driving. Open the baffles, and Bam, the thrill of driving a muscle car is back in your face (and ears). Not an obnoxious sound, but a throaty muscle car sound.

Anyway, trust me....If you have a C6 Z06 and are considering an after market exhaust the B&B Fusion Corvette Z06 system is worth a look. I know this sounds like a sales pitch, but I sell all of the above mentioned systems. I just am that excited about the fusion system that I thought I would share my thoughts with the board.


Pictures below are some shots of the B&B Fusion system on my car...





Thanks,

Jim

DrtyHarry

Nice write up Jim! B&B rocks, amazing quality IMHO. I lean more toward the bullets though. But for those who can't handle the bullets, fusions are the way to go.

jschindler

Great write-up. I've had several B&B exhausts and love them. I've also had fantastic customer service from Mike and the folks at B&B

Turbooo2u

I saw these at Carlisle and almost had them installed for $1530 if they could use my car for Demo purposes. I passed because I didn't like the looks of the bland tips.

zo6_q8

is it true that there are 2 kinds of fusions and that the new version is a bit louder ?

ProudZowner

I LOVE mine. No drone with valves closed at highway speed and great sound at all speeds with valves open.
I give them 2 thumbs up!!

OneBadZ06

Thanks, but I'll keep my Borla!!

Bill's ZO6

I got one of the first sets of BB Fusions. I have been a satisfied customer ever since. I get comments all the time about how good they sound.

Zlicious

Does anyone have a soundclip of this exhaust with the baffles open / closed?

Oh, and great write up, btw.

Red Cell

pm sent.

I would be very interested in a sound clip as well!!!!!!!!!

Red Cell.

southerncarparts

It is all right here....Bottom of the page is the B&B...First baffles are closed, you will here them open about 20% through the video, rev a bit, and then close and rev a bit.

Corvette C6 Z06 B&B Fusion Sound Clips

Give it a try....

Jim

obzidian

sounds fantastic.. Since I'm going with headers before I do an exhaust, I'm worried about how loud the car will eventually get. I really don't want it that much louder, though if it sounded like that Katech exhaust, well, I guess I can live with it.

I agree, the B&B seems to be the best of the three. Would be my choice as well.

4wheels

To play Devil's advocate here, there's a good & bad side to the Fusions... I looked at all the exhausts I could find & settled on the Fusions since they were the only ones that retained the dual mode function. So I bought a set about 3 months ago & installed them a few weeks later. My left valve started sticking closed shortly after running it, and I've tried the cleaning, lube, and linkage adjustment. My next fix was going to be replacing the valves with the factory GM ones... I also had to do some "adjustment" to the hangers to get them to sit properly. The way the exhaust was shipped, the "over the axle" pipes hung too low & banged on my transaxle. Also, I have the current "short can" (aka Gen 2) system, and it drones like a SOB on the fwy. I've spoke with Mike Boat & they were gracious enough to offer a replacement system, so I've been waiting for a replacement from B&B for a few weeks now.

The tips look nice, and the sound is good while cruising with the windows down or WOT. But the FWY drone when cruising between 65-80 was killing me. I had to use 5th gear! My drives to the track range from 3 to 8 hours, and sometimes I have another person with me, and the drone between 1500-1800 RPM would give us a headache after 1hr.

B&B is supposed to be making me the long can/Gen 1 system to get rid of my drone, but I guess I'll need to keep bugging them to see what's up since I haven't heard anything.

ByByBMW

Heber Guy

southerncarparts
I was about to order this system when I started reading about bad fitment of the system and also the flanges on the x pipe hitting the tunnel. Others have also complained about the drone on the fwy with closed baffles. My order was going to be with you. As a forum member dealer I hope you can get to the bottom of this because it will surely cost you sales. Do you have a gen one or two system? What is the difference between Gen one and two? I do not want the DRONE in the closed baffle position.

Zlicious

which system is the lightest over stock?

southerncarparts

That is interesting....I also have the Gen II system and I know the Gen I system was discontinued as customers complained that it was not much louder than the stock system. They shortened the Muffler on the Gen II system and thus increased the exhaust note a bit. I wonder what the difference is between yours and mine. There is not any drone in mine, but when I am at 65 MPH on the freeway I am still in 5th gear as I feel like the engine is lugging in 6th. When you are cruising on the highway, is this with all 4 pipes open or 2 of them closed? I am going to take mine out on the highway (as soon as it dries up here) and see if I can replicate you experience.

Fitment is perfect on mine....Does not touch anywhere.....

Now that is a different story on the BB X-Pipe. The first one I received had a problem with the flanges that bolt to the down pipes being too big and it would hit against my tunnel plate. I took it off and just used a Borla X-Pipe. B&B has told me that the X-pipe flanges have been corrected and they are sending me a new one.

I appreciate your feedback, although 180 degrees different from mine, you got me thinking I should take it back out on the highway and see if I can notice any drone at all while at cruising speeds.

I will report back and let everyone know how it goes...

Thanks,

Jim

southerncarparts

See my post right above this one....

Fitment on my car is PERFECT...No adjustments needed. The X-Pipe did have a flange issue, but it is minor (see above) and supposedly corrected.

By the way, my raving about the system was NOT inclusive of the X-Pipe, just the cat back system. Like I said, I sent the X-Pipe back for this very reason and at this point (until they prove to me the flange is correct) I do not even sell it on my website.

See ya,

Jim

novaz06

I just had my fusion installed and it does not fit right - it is hitting somewhere as there is some serious rattling going on at idle. I'm going to take a look under the car this weekend and try to figure out where it is hitting. At first I thought it was the vacuum diaphragm system that was causing the rattling, but now I think it is fitment somewhere.

Also the sound is great but there is some drone even with the baffles closed.

4wheels

When I spoke with Mike Boat, he told me the same thing about the 2 different generations/versions of can length and it being changed due to customer feedback wanting a louder system. Prior to purchasing my Fusions, I auditioned a Gen 1 system in person (with stock H pipe) and it was only slightly louder than stock (in 2 pipe mode), but did sound better (tone). In 4 pipe mode, it was MUCH louder than stock, again with better tone. Another comment MB made was that between the Gen 1 and Gen 2 system, the 2 pipe mode is louder but the 4 pipe mode sounds pretty much the same, since the secondary pipes are basically "straight through". I got the impression from him that they might be willing to make either Gen 1 or Gen 2 systems upon customer request at time of order, but that Gen 1 systems are a special request since it's not the standard production system anymore.

He also said they've made some minor "adjustments" to where the tips hang & the pipes go to improve fit & looks. Maybe I just have one of the problem child units that caused an adjustment to be made??? But that still doesn't explain my drone & the intermittent valve sticking (you can feel it bind when you work the valve by hand, and you can work/adjust the linkage until it's loose, but it only works for a while before it binds again).

On the street I run the system with the computer controlled valves, so they were closed on the fwy & it still droned. It drones until I get past about 82mph, which I can't always do here in SoCal traffic. And if there was any uphill incline, the pressure waves in the cabin made it a pretty noisy place to be. On the track, I ran it with fuse pulled/valves forced open, just to eliminate any chance of valves sticking closed (and I checked to make sure they were open by hand) and none of us thought it was loud at all (windows down of course). I would be curious to hear if your system drones on the fwy, especially on a slight uphill incline, with windows closed & no stereo.

After my experience, I'm thinking the Gen 1 was better than the Gen 2. I wanted a system that sounds better than stock, but is still fairly quiet in 2 pipe mode (hear the engine, but still be able to listen to the stereo, talk to the passenger, or on the phone, while cruising), and have the ability to get a "let 'er rip" sound when I wanted to open the valves (when cruising or at the track).

BTW, from the pics, your tips are MUCH higher than mine...