Borla Axle Back Options - Yes Another Exhaust Thread
05-13-2018, 12:59 PM
#1
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Borla Axle Back Options - Yes Another Exhaust Thread
All, WARNING: MORE WORDY THAN I EXPECTED
Currently in the market for a new axle back system for the Z06. I've narrowed my selection to Borla S-Type vs. ATAK.
Yes, all things sound related are subjective so it is hard to have truly meaningful discussions as everyone hears sounds differently and have different goals (i.e. overall loudness, old-school style sound vs. more exotic sound at high RPM's, raspy or not etc).
My goal is a little more rumble at idle and a mild to medium improvement (lower frequency with some raspy sound) at normal daily driving RPMs (say up to 3000RPM). Beyond that up to redline I'm looking for less exotic and more old school sound than stock NPP. I don't want it too extreme as the red Z06 already draws the popo's attention as it is. I don't want them to hear me from miles around like my full bolt on C5 above. I just want to step it up a notch. I am not looking for performance improvement as this beast is crazy as it is for a 365 daily driver and not tracked.
As a frame of reference I've been around the block with the following Vettes:
1) Put flowmasters on my '93. All I remembered is that it rattled my teeth, nasty drone. Never, ever buy flowmasters again.
2) Heads/cam/long tubes and GHL exhaust on my 2000....really nice idle, loud and freaking screamed (exotic, high pitch sound) at WOT. Police could hear me from miles around. GHL's were awesome.
3) 2008 with LG long tubes and NPP. Really nice exhaust note but obviously voided warranty and got the undesired sewing machine valve train sounds that you get with long tubes (annoying to me).
4) 2014 with NPP with Borla X-Pipe. Really nice sound improvement for reasonable $$ but most certainly voided the warranty.
5) 2017 Z06....told myself I wouldn't mod it....haha. Well, I made it a little over a year and now I have the "exhaust" SOUND itch. I want to minimize GM's ability to deny my warranty (not guaranteed with axle-back of course) so I'm steering away from the x-pipe (at least until out of warranty).
I've settled on Borla S-Type or ATAK. I see that 99% of the folks that post about their exhaust go with ATAKs. Obviously each of those individuals had various goals but I think most of you guys are looking for the loud/screaming exhaust option (regardless of brand) but I could be wrong. Also, most folks only know what they personally bought except for those that have tried multiple setups. : )
I'm leaning towards S-Type to be a little more conservative in the beginning (having gone too far from my perspective in the past) with x-pipe option in the future.
I've seen a post or two about people going the S-Type route, and even some for ATAK, that were underwhelmed although I'm not sure what their goals were.
Anyone who has experience (your perceptions with the various sound characteristics) with either or both of the Borla Axle-Back options (especially if Z06) I'm all ears. I'm not interested in "add x-pipe, headers etc as I'm fully aware of those options".
And yes, I've watched every cold start, revving and WOT video out there but videos are kind of useless especially since people aren't using quality recording equipment. The Borla videos are interesting but they may be playing games with choosing mic locations and or manipulating the sound data itself to make it more appealing....who knows.
All input is appreciated and as many other civil discussions there is no right or wrong answer.
Currently in the market for a new axle back system for the Z06. I've narrowed my selection to Borla S-Type vs. ATAK.
Yes, all things sound related are subjective so it is hard to have truly meaningful discussions as everyone hears sounds differently and have different goals (i.e. overall loudness, old-school style sound vs. more exotic sound at high RPM's, raspy or not etc).
My goal is a little more rumble at idle and a mild to medium improvement (lower frequency with some raspy sound) at normal daily driving RPMs (say up to 3000RPM). Beyond that up to redline I'm looking for less exotic and more old school sound than stock NPP. I don't want it too extreme as the red Z06 already draws the popo's attention as it is. I don't want them to hear me from miles around like my full bolt on C5 above. I just want to step it up a notch. I am not looking for performance improvement as this beast is crazy as it is for a 365 daily driver and not tracked.
As a frame of reference I've been around the block with the following Vettes:
1) Put flowmasters on my '93. All I remembered is that it rattled my teeth, nasty drone. Never, ever buy flowmasters again.
2) Heads/cam/long tubes and GHL exhaust on my 2000....really nice idle, loud and freaking screamed (exotic, high pitch sound) at WOT. Police could hear me from miles around. GHL's were awesome.
3) 2008 with LG long tubes and NPP. Really nice exhaust note but obviously voided warranty and got the undesired sewing machine valve train sounds that you get with long tubes (annoying to me).
4) 2014 with NPP with Borla X-Pipe. Really nice sound improvement for reasonable $$ but most certainly voided the warranty.
5) 2017 Z06....told myself I wouldn't mod it....haha. Well, I made it a little over a year and now I have the "exhaust" SOUND itch. I want to minimize GM's ability to deny my warranty (not guaranteed with axle-back of course) so I'm steering away from the x-pipe (at least until out of warranty).
I've settled on Borla S-Type or ATAK. I see that 99% of the folks that post about their exhaust go with ATAKs. Obviously each of those individuals had various goals but I think most of you guys are looking for the loud/screaming exhaust option (regardless of brand) but I could be wrong. Also, most folks only know what they personally bought except for those that have tried multiple setups. : )
I'm leaning towards S-Type to be a little more conservative in the beginning (having gone too far from my perspective in the past) with x-pipe option in the future.
I've seen a post or two about people going the S-Type route, and even some for ATAK, that were underwhelmed although I'm not sure what their goals were.
Anyone who has experience (your perceptions with the various sound characteristics) with either or both of the Borla Axle-Back options (especially if Z06) I'm all ears. I'm not interested in "add x-pipe, headers etc as I'm fully aware of those options".
And yes, I've watched every cold start, revving and WOT video out there but videos are kind of useless especially since people aren't using quality recording equipment. The Borla videos are interesting but they may be playing games with choosing mic locations and or manipulating the sound data itself to make it more appealing....who knows.
All input is appreciated and as many other civil discussions there is no right or wrong answer.
Last edited by SnowyATX; 05-13-2018 at 01:00 PM.
06-02-2018, 01:00 PM
#2
Instructor
All, WARNING: MORE WORDY THAN I EXPECTED
Currently in the market for a new axle back system for the Z06. I've narrowed my selection to Borla S-Type vs. ATAK.
Yes, all things sound related are subjective so it is hard to have truly meaningful discussions as everyone hears sounds differently and have different goals (i.e. overall loudness, old-school style sound vs. more exotic sound at high RPM's, raspy or not etc).
My goal is a little more rumble at idle and a mild to medium improvement (lower frequency with some raspy sound) at normal daily driving RPMs (say up to 3000RPM). Beyond that up to redline I'm looking for less exotic and more old school sound than stock NPP. I don't want it too extreme as the red Z06 already draws the popo's attention as it is. I don't want them to hear me from miles around like my full bolt on C5 above. I just want to step it up a notch. I am not looking for performance improvement as this beast is crazy as it is for a 365 daily driver and not tracked.
As a frame of reference I've been around the block with the following Vettes:
1) Put flowmasters on my '93. All I remembered is that it rattled my teeth, nasty drone. Never, ever buy flowmasters again.
2) Heads/cam/long tubes and GHL exhaust on my 2000....really nice idle, loud and freaking screamed (exotic, high pitch sound) at WOT. Police could hear me from miles around. GHL's were awesome.
3) 2008 with LG long tubes and NPP. Really nice exhaust note but obviously voided warranty and got the undesired sewing machine valve train sounds that you get with long tubes (annoying to me).
4) 2014 with NPP with Borla X-Pipe. Really nice sound improvement for reasonable $$ but most certainly voided the warranty.
5) 2017 Z06....told myself I wouldn't mod it....haha. Well, I made it a little over a year and now I have the "exhaust" SOUND itch. I want to minimize GM's ability to deny my warranty (not guaranteed with axle-back of course) so I'm steering away from the x-pipe (at least until out of warranty).
I've settled on Borla S-Type or ATAK. I see that 99% of the folks that post about their exhaust go with ATAKs. Obviously each of those individuals had various goals but I think most of you guys are looking for the loud/screaming exhaust option (regardless of brand) but I could be wrong. Also, most folks only know what they personally bought except for those that have tried multiple setups. : )
I'm leaning towards S-Type to be a little more conservative in the beginning (having gone too far from my perspective in the past) with x-pipe option in the future.
I've seen a post or two about people going the S-Type route, and even some for ATAK, that were underwhelmed although I'm not sure what their goals were.
Anyone who has experience (your perceptions with the various sound characteristics) with either or both of the Borla Axle-Back options (especially if Z06) I'm all ears. I'm not interested in "add x-pipe, headers etc as I'm fully aware of those options".
And yes, I've watched every cold start, revving and WOT video out there but videos are kind of useless especially since people aren't using quality recording equipment. The Borla videos are interesting but they may be playing games with choosing mic locations and or manipulating the sound data itself to make it more appealing....who knows.
All input is appreciated and as many other civil discussions there is no right or wrong answer.
Currently in the market for a new axle back system for the Z06. I've narrowed my selection to Borla S-Type vs. ATAK.
Yes, all things sound related are subjective so it is hard to have truly meaningful discussions as everyone hears sounds differently and have different goals (i.e. overall loudness, old-school style sound vs. more exotic sound at high RPM's, raspy or not etc).
My goal is a little more rumble at idle and a mild to medium improvement (lower frequency with some raspy sound) at normal daily driving RPMs (say up to 3000RPM). Beyond that up to redline I'm looking for less exotic and more old school sound than stock NPP. I don't want it too extreme as the red Z06 already draws the popo's attention as it is. I don't want them to hear me from miles around like my full bolt on C5 above. I just want to step it up a notch. I am not looking for performance improvement as this beast is crazy as it is for a 365 daily driver and not tracked.
As a frame of reference I've been around the block with the following Vettes:
1) Put flowmasters on my '93. All I remembered is that it rattled my teeth, nasty drone. Never, ever buy flowmasters again.
2) Heads/cam/long tubes and GHL exhaust on my 2000....really nice idle, loud and freaking screamed (exotic, high pitch sound) at WOT. Police could hear me from miles around. GHL's were awesome.
3) 2008 with LG long tubes and NPP. Really nice exhaust note but obviously voided warranty and got the undesired sewing machine valve train sounds that you get with long tubes (annoying to me).
4) 2014 with NPP with Borla X-Pipe. Really nice sound improvement for reasonable $$ but most certainly voided the warranty.
5) 2017 Z06....told myself I wouldn't mod it....haha. Well, I made it a little over a year and now I have the "exhaust" SOUND itch. I want to minimize GM's ability to deny my warranty (not guaranteed with axle-back of course) so I'm steering away from the x-pipe (at least until out of warranty).
I've settled on Borla S-Type or ATAK. I see that 99% of the folks that post about their exhaust go with ATAKs. Obviously each of those individuals had various goals but I think most of you guys are looking for the loud/screaming exhaust option (regardless of brand) but I could be wrong. Also, most folks only know what they personally bought except for those that have tried multiple setups. : )
I'm leaning towards S-Type to be a little more conservative in the beginning (having gone too far from my perspective in the past) with x-pipe option in the future.
I've seen a post or two about people going the S-Type route, and even some for ATAK, that were underwhelmed although I'm not sure what their goals were.
Anyone who has experience (your perceptions with the various sound characteristics) with either or both of the Borla Axle-Back options (especially if Z06) I'm all ears. I'm not interested in "add x-pipe, headers etc as I'm fully aware of those options".
And yes, I've watched every cold start, revving and WOT video out there but videos are kind of useless especially since people aren't using quality recording equipment. The Borla videos are interesting but they may be playing games with choosing mic locations and or manipulating the sound data itself to make it more appealing....who knows.
All input is appreciated and as many other civil discussions there is no right or wrong answer.
06-02-2018, 03:58 PM
#3
Safety Car
Thread Starter
I ended up going with the tamer Type-S Borla with NPP. I didn't want to go too loud as this car gets enough attention as it is? It sounds better than stock but if you want LOUD this is not your system.
06-06-2018, 11:44 AM
#5
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by TriPinTaZ
Borla Catless X + Borla S-Type is amazing. It doesn't void your warranty either. Not sure why you commented that the X pipe would void the warranty.
FWIW, I had a catless xpipe on my Stingray but decided to not risk it on this beast. (I would like the sound though!!).
Last edited by SnowyATX; 06-06-2018 at 11:46 AM.
The following users liked this post:
Maxie2U (10-24-2018)
06-06-2018, 01:59 PM
#7
Safety Car
I could see them saying they won't cover the AFM or NPP valves, but that is even far fetched. I've never heard of anyone being denied warranty work for catback exhaust.
06-06-2018, 02:32 PM
#8
Safety Car
Thread Starter
The dealer has to PROVE that the part caused the malfunction/damage. There is no way an aftermarket X pipe would damage your drive train. Therefore no tech could prove that an X pipe caused your engine to blow.
I could see them saying they won't cover the AFM or NPP valves, but that is even far fetched. I've never heard of anyone being denied warranty work for catback exhaust.
I could see them saying they won't cover the AFM or NPP valves, but that is even far fetched. I've never heard of anyone being denied warranty work for catback exhaust.
p.s. I even sold my existing Borla catless when I brought home the Z06.
Last edited by SnowyATX; 06-06-2018 at 02:32 PM.
06-06-2018, 10:34 PM
#10
Instructor
06-06-2018, 10:59 PM
#11
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Borla clamps into xpipe, stock in my case.
Last edited by SnowyATX; 06-06-2018 at 11:09 PM.
06-07-2018, 02:42 PM
#12
Safety Car
I have the Catless Borla X pipe, Borla S-Type NPP, and ARH midlength headers. All of it is bolt on, no cutting factory exhaust. I did this specifically so that I could go back to stock when I trade up to a Z06 in the future.
Last edited by Internets_Ninja; 06-07-2018 at 02:43 PM.
06-08-2018, 12:34 AM
#13
Le Mans Master
The dealer has to PROVE that the part caused the malfunction/damage. There is no way an aftermarket X pipe would damage your drive train. Therefore no tech could prove that an X pipe caused your engine to blow.
I could see them saying they won't cover the AFM or NPP valves, but that is even far fetched. I've never heard of anyone being denied warranty work for catback exhaust.
I could see them saying they won't cover the AFM or NPP valves, but that is even far fetched. I've never heard of anyone being denied warranty work for catback exhaust.
Last edited by Kent1999; 06-08-2018 at 02:00 AM.
The following users liked this post:
Maxie2U (10-24-2018)
06-08-2018, 10:33 AM
#14
Safety Car
GM has to prove that your Catless X pipe caused the A/C to stop working. What I'm saying is they can't just void your warranty all together.
06-08-2018, 10:44 AM
#15
Le Mans Master
I was responding to that saying your “friendly” dealer is cut out of the decision process on claims of any substantial amount.
Also, it won’t be good enough just to shout “Magnuson-Moss” at your Service Advisor and then sit back and wait. GM denies coverage, and then YOU have to take them to court and try to prevail against their legal team.