Just had a local muffler shop cut off my jerry can's.
Total Cost 108.00 with labor.
Time: 1 hour
Initial impression.... was jaw dropping. THIS is how my car should sound. My friend who drives a full bolt on (minus LT's) GT500 was also picking his jaw up off the ground.
Basically the entire shop, plus anyone who was waiting for their cars came to listen. Everyone was impressed. I had the tech rev it up to about 4k and it sounds nice and throaty, with a slight pop as the RPM's fall.
The shop employees asked me if they would hear my car as I drove off... I happily obliged them. Pulling onto a 55mph road I let it rip and WOW the car sounds like an animal. I had expected it to sound rough and raspy. Not the case. It growled up to 5k rpm, shifted to 2nd, got on it again and still roaring. Hopefully they got an earful, because working on the car seemed to be the highlight of their day.
I had a 60 mile drive home, both highway and some in town driving. On 55mph highways I hover around 63 mph. (slightly over 2k rpm in 5th gear) The in cabin sound was slightly louder than normal, but not unpleasant. I bought this car for a total experience and that includes the sound. At interstate speeds (cruise set to 75mph, 6th gear, slightly above 1500 RPM) I could not discern any difference from the sound of the stock mufflers in comparison to my muffler delete. VERY impressed. Oh, and no drone to report as of yet.
Decel popping:
Yes, there is significant decel popping, especially in town when there is a large amount of stop and go. I actually enjoy the rough popping sound, it reminds me of an old school hotrod however I can see how some folks would be annoyed by it.
I have a feeling my fiancee will hate the decel popping so I will likely do what I can to avoid it when she is in the car (which is not that often.)
The best part of this mod is the sound under hard acceleration, startup, and idle. It just sounds mean. Not obnoxiously loud, but definitely mean. The plus side: At low rpms (I.e. driving down my street at 1 AM, or highway cruising) the car purrs like a kitten, and is not offensive in any way.
Appearance:
I will post pictures a bit later. Things to note: They did a very nice, clean job with the cuts and welds. They took their time and double checked the fitment and placement. It was obvious to me that they cared about what they were doing. I had them use the stock tips, and they look great. Even better: No more unsightly "gas can" mufflers visible behind my diffuser. Now just clean pipe and suspension. I LOVE IT.
Weight savings: probably about 40lbs.
HP/TQ increase? I don't have access to a dyno, nor am I inclined to visit one until I do further modifications.
Butt Dyno: Completely anectdoal, and means nothing to anyone but me really........it felt faster LOL probably my ears playing tricks on my perception of speed, but hey, I don't drag race, nor street race. If I percieve it to be faster......good enough for me. For now.
The downsides:
It may not pass inspection in NYS. However I did leave the resonators intact, as well as the rest of the exhaust from the axle forward. I have heard that the resonators can "qualify" as a muffler. However it seems to be a stretch. We will see how it goes in a year or so when I have to go for inspection. In the meantime, I did save my stock mufflers just in case.
The decel pop definitely isn't for everyone. I don't mind it. At some point (when my warranty goes poof and I do a tune/LT's) I plan on doing a catback anyway.
Yes, it was inexpensive. I know it's a thirty thousand dollar car. However at this time, it seemed stupid for me to drop 500 to 1000 dollars on an exhaust when all I wanted was the exact sound that I got for 100.00 Save the lectures
Would I like a Borla ATAK catback? Or a SW chambered Catback? Sure! But my 3 kids want lot's of toys, and my fiancee wants our house remodeled. As far as bang for your buck goes, this mod is amazing, and I would recommend it to anyone looking to improve the sound of their SS.