Borla Catback Review

[Havok1327]

I received my IOM 2SS/RS 6M a few days back and knew one of the 1st things I wanted to do was put an exhaust system on it. I know the choice of an exhaust is all about personal preference and I'd narrowed my options down to the Borla, SLP Loudmouth II and the MBRP. I listened to each video clip about 5000 times, talked to as many people as I could and in the end I ended up ordering the Borla "S" catback system. So here is my review of the product so far....

Order and Shipping - A+
I placed my order on Monday around 10am CST with LMPerformance. I talked to them a few times and they said that the ship Borla out the same day. So when I got the order tracking email on Tuesday I was suprised to see that it was already on the truck out for delivery. It shipped from KS, which is only 250 miles from me. I got a call around 1PM from my brother, I shipped it to his place, that it had just been delivered. I'm sure your mileage will very with shipping.

Product - B+
The kit itself is nice, but I will say that for the money there wasn't a lot there 7 pieces and some clamps. I also was expecting the pipe itself to look like the pictures in all the advertising you see. Mine didn't, it was stainless, but it didn't look nearly as clean as they show it on the pictures. But hey its going to be under the car getting road dust on it daily.

Installation - A-
My brother is a mechanic and owns his own Garage so I had an advantage that he has all the equipment to do the installation. I drove out to his place, put the car on the lift and went to change in to some work cloths. By the time I was back he had the stock exhaust unbolted and unclamped. We just pulled it out the back and set it aside. We opened the kit and had it assembled and on the car in about 10 minutes. Its nice to have a few stands to hold it all in place. We tightened everything up, made a few adjustments and tried our best to center the tips in the outlets. Here is where it lost some points. Having the tips welded on is nice, but it didn't allow for enough play to get them perfectly centered. We spent about 35-40 minutes with the install from start to finish, if you had to do this on the floor in your garage it will take a lot longer. I'd say 1.5 hrs or more.

Price - C+ B-
As I mentioned early it's just 7 pieces of stainless pipe. I know there is engineering involved and its bent stainless. But my brothers comment was that he installs 5" exhaust on diesels all the time that cost less than this kit. So the laws of supply and demand definitely apply here. IMO the price could be lower and they would still sell a ton, if not more, of them.

Sound - A
I'm still smiling when I hear this exhaust. I had my brother drive it up and down the street just so I could take it all in. This is exactly the sound I was looking for. My wife's comment was "Now the car sounds like it looks." And I agree 100%, this is what the car should have sounded like from the factory. Its not overly loud or aggressive sounding. Just a nice deep tone when you get on it and has a nice tone when idling. I will say for those concerned it sounds much quieter inside the car, and yes there is some drone at about 1800-2200 RMPs, but its not bad and I actually like it because its so quite at other times in the car.

Overall - A-
Overall I'm very happy with the results. Even though I rated the Product and Cost a bit lower, in the end it was the sound that I was after and I had to pay a bit more to get it. Now could I have gotten the same sound from the axle backs, possibly. I'll say again its a personal preference so listen to as many of them as you can. I'd be more than happy to met up with some people in the area if you want to hear what mine sounds like. When we pulled it out of the garage one of my brother's friends pulled up and they have a 2SS as well and he really liked it.

I'll also add that I have no intention of really racing the car other than a Dyno run here and there and maybe a few times down the 1/4. Had I did, I would have gone with a different system. I'm going to try and get a few videos of it and see if I can capture and accurately represent the sound.

Here's a clip that we took today. The sound isn't 100% accurate. Its really hard to get the lows in on the video camera we have.

[Doc]

Good review! It's nice to see genuine, honest information like this. I've been debating between Borla and Zoomers. I look forward to your video clip.

[DDustiNN]

Nice review

I just ordered the SLP LoudMouth II from LMPerformance this morning... I'm hoping I get just as good of a delivery time as you had

[ffrcobra_65]

Very nicely categorized and written review. Thank you!!!

[POWERFREAK]

Nice review...I assume you got the "S" series borla...correct?

[Baughman]

Very nice review. I'm pretty sure I'll be purchasin the Borla S cat back as well. Thanks for the time you put into your write up.

[mlee]

I'm assuming this is an LS3,,,

[Havok1327]

Thanks for catching that guys, Yes I forgot to mention it is the "S" series catback and I also have the 6M LS3.

I've updated my OP.

[DZbob]

I ordered the Borla "S" Cat Back this past Sunday from LMP and received it today. I have to wait till Saturday to install at a friends muffler shop. I have been studying the forums for a couple of months and went with the Borla. I will surely have more input next week.

Great detailed review, by the way LS3

[Silver Ice Man]

Originally Posted by DZbob

I ordered the Borla "S" Cat Back this past Sunday from LMP and received it today. I have to wait till Saturday to install at a friends muffler shop. I have been studying the forums for a couple of months and went with the Borla. I will surely have more input next week.

Great detailed review, by the way LS3

Sorry if this has been asked before but what is the main difference between the "S" type and the main type of the borla exhaust systems.
I am right on the edge of pulling the trigger to buy a system, and it could come down to this answer.
Thanx for any help guys.

[HeavyD]

There is "S" and "Touring". The S is a little louder, a little "sportier". I don't think I have come across a video or sound clip comparing the two.

[Paperer]

Nice review man, I just might maybe reconsider my choice of exhaust.

[Watchamacoolitt]

Nice review, I've been debating between the corsa and borla for 2months now and still haven't decided which one I'd go with.

[Silver Ice Man]

Well with this review, I will be going with the BORLA "S" system.
Thanx for the detailed report.
I think the Borla is a little deeper sounding over the corsa systems.
I am sure we are all waiting for a drive by video, or some start up and reving.