I have searched for an answer but haven't been very successful.I was curious if it would be possible to cut the exhaust in front of the mufflers and remove it without removing the rear bumper cover.Everything I find says to remove it as the first step.I have a Borla to install for a friend after he damaged one of his mufflers and I am not concerned about reusing any of the factory exhaust.Any obvious reasons why I couldn't do this?Any and all suggestions are appreciated

 

Never done it myself, but every install I've seen at Carlisle involved removing the lower diffuser. Also, no need to cut, the factory clamps are by the rear dif

 

Yea,I am not too concerned about the front clamps.My concern was with cutting right in front of the mufflers and remove the mufflers and over axle pipes seperately.I can remove the bumper but would rather not.I'm just lazy that way

 

Got it. Looking at mine, yes, theoretically you could cut and pull. What about the reinstall of the new? I have my factory NPPs, no aftermarket. Does the Borla come in pieces you can assemble as you install?

 

To remove the existing OEM exhaust (without removing the lower diffuser), you will need to cut the pipes directly in front of the mufflers. Because the pipes & the tips are welded to the mufflers, it will be virtually impossible to remove the mufflers without cutting those pipes.

You can then probably install the aftermarket exhaust without removing the diffuser, but it will be a PITA. It requires quite a bit of pushing, pulling, and wiggling to get everything to fit correctly; and you'll probably bang the mufflers & your hands against the diffuser several times in the process.

On the Borla system, the mufflers & pipes are separate. It should work.

 

I have never heard of anyone every removing the bumper cover to install exhaust. What do they do at Mid-America and Corvettes in Carlisle? I wouldn't think you would have to remove the bumper cover if you cut the pipes. Following....I have the NPP performance factory exhaust.

 

Here's an excellent installation video by Corsa on how to install one of their exhausts on a C7. Borla is virtually the same.

 

You do not remove the rear facia (bumper cover). You only remove the lower diffuser

 

Good luck - let us know how it works out if you do it the way you propose.

 

So I've lost count of the number of C7 exhausts I've personally installed at this point, so I'll chime in and hopefully shed some light here with sharing the process that I do myself. First step? Yes, remove the lower valance. To be honest, it's less work than wrestling everything around with it on and cutting. Here's a quick list of what's done to do this:

• Remove license plate
• Remove two 10mm bolts behind plate
• Remove two 10mm bolts above the tailpipes
• Remove ten 7mm bolts from the bottom of the valance
• Release three tabs on outer edge of valance screens connecting to the fascia (these can be a little tricky the first time)
• Pull valance away from the car at the bottom to reach in and release the middle tab holding the reflectors on
• Remove two 10mm bolts from behind each reflector (now it just tabs holding it to the car at the top)
• Reach up to each top corner to release the connector tab holding the valance to the car and it will pop free to remove

Once you know how it goes together, it's really very simple. From the time I get the car in the air, I can have the lower valance and factory exhaust off in ten minutes after having some practice over the years. Now, the trickiest part in putting it back on is just getting the top edge of the valance to tuck under the rear camera and back up a little higher where the tabs need to go. That being said, even that isn't that difficult with a little patience the first time.

I made a quick reference image highlighting everything I mentioned above that's included below along with another image that better shows the location of the bolts behind the reflectors. The circles show roughly where the tabs are that need released and the arrows are of the bolts to remove. The three outer 7mm bolts on each side are roughly in the area I pointed out, hard to show directly on that image but they're clustered together in the bottom corners, can't miss them. If I missed anything or I'm off on the number of tabs in some places, my apologies, I'm writing this up from memory at my desk.

One thing to keep in mind that sometimes isn't referenced in instructions. When removing the driver's side factory muffler on a C7 with an automatic transmission, you will have to set the parking brake and move the shifter all the way back to the M position for the paddle shift option. This will raise the shifter linkage up high enough for the over axle pipe to clear and be removed. Otherwise, the linkage sits too low and you will not have enough room to remove the pipe/muffler as it will get hung up on the linkage.

The time spent cutting and fighting everything out very well could be longer than just taking the valance off. The only points of care where things can be easily broken if you're not careful the first time are the tabs for the valance screens.

I hope this helps! Happy to answer any questions anyone may have!

-Nick

 

Generally, most any aftermarket exhaust will have the mufflers and over axle pipes separate as opposed to one piece like the factory. So yes, with the Borla system it could likely be done by cutting the factory over axles at the muffler and wrestling them out, but for me, the five or so minutes to pull the valance is easier than working with more obstacles in the way. Especially for getting underneath to disconnect the AFM valves on each factory over axle pipe. Corsa is one example of an exception though as a majority of their systems require cutting off the factory over axle pipes in a specific location to be reused with the new mufflers. There are also aftermarket examples of systems that do retain the factory NPP and AFM valves for full functionality as well.

-Nick

 

I appreciate the responses.The info and video from MAM has convinced me to just go ahead and remove the valance.Just kind of intimidating as it isn't my car but mine will be next.

 

Trust me, it's not as bad as it seems once you get started! I was intimidated the first time as well when we started offering exhaust installations here, but they're able to take some manhandling and aren't as delicate as you'd think. Just be patient the first time and take your time and you'll have no issue. Like I said, just be mindful of the tabs for the valance screens, those are the only things that can be stubborn sometimes. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

-Nick

 

This is outstanding! Thanks for taking the time to post the details and pictures, very helpful.

 

Happy to help! There are a ton of great videos out there and more detailed write ups, but there's always room for a down and dirty quick guide for reference. Always glad to help any answers I can!

-Nick

 

ive got a 19 stingray non npp car i have a set of npp mufflers only i want to install they were cut off doner car in fron of the muffler. cant it just cut my exisitng muffler s same place , then install npp mufflers rite back in without removing the black rear bumper cover from car, it appears the 2 bolts in between mufflers can be got to easily and the hangers just pull from the gromets