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Borla Exhaust. Worth it, sound?

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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 04:27 AM
  #1  
VermontRX7's Avatar
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Borla Exhaust. Worth it, sound?

Been looking for a nice exhaust system and Borla has never let me down. I saw one I believe for the 2nd gen rx. Its pricey, but had on my 02 mustang gt, with all stock exhaust besides the catback. Stock y pipe, cats, piping. Rea aggressive sounding. Anyone have this on there rx? Sound clip?
My mustang clip with the borla stinger catback
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw1Wl2wrvCA

Obviously it wont sound like my modular v-8, but will the rx7 give quality sound and last?
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 09:34 AM
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I am getting a set of borla 14" stainless steel cans for my 7 for christmas. I am running a cat and straight out the back and the rotary has a tinny/farty sound to it at around 3500rpm. Stainless steel packed silencers do a good job of removing that.

I'd suggest just getting the borla cans and having an exhaust shop weld your stuff up. MUCH cheaper than if you buy their bolt on stuff.
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 12:46 PM
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ColinShark's Avatar
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That does sound very good.
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 01:34 PM
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13" Borlas are on all Fomula Mazdas and they still have to use a Super Trap to get the noise down. I have a stainless 3 chamber Flowmaster and it's too loud. I think you need the long 16" oval cannister Borla.

GD
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 02:35 PM
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i used to have borlas on the old fc. sounded great before the exhaust leak lol. but it had a deep rumble at idle which i loved. high rpms sounds almost like the racing beat exhaust.
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 03:30 PM
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I've been using a borla cat back for 3 years now on my TII, very happy with the quality and sound. If your car is NA I advise you to run a pre-silencer with it otherwise you'll get some annoying droning when just cruzing around. With a turbo you don't need anything, I run a RB 3in DP and no cat.

Here is a video from my last autocross if you'd like to hear it inside and out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MwEH3X5akk
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Old Nov 22, 2010 | 09:12 PM
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I have lots of exp with Borla products on many cars, and I have to say Borla sounds the best on a V8, I have never heard a 8 or 6 cyl with borla catback, or custom exhaust with their mufflers that didnt sound f'en sweet! 4 bangers and other small engines.....is another ball game, the quality of the system is still amazing, but on some 4 cyl's it can sound twangy, on some honda's they just sound wreched... havent heard a Borla on a rotary in person but the youtube vids sound nice
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Old Nov 23, 2010 | 12:51 AM
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I had the Borla cat-back on my first NA from 1998 until 2007, driven though many salty winters. When I parted out the car, I took off the exhaust and it still looked like new. I don't think you can buy a more durable exhaust for the FC, especially if you're driving your car up north in the winter.

I think it sounded very nice, not at all twangy. Had more of a deep resonance to it. But from what I understand the Racing Beat is quieter if that is a concern for you. I had a street port, a custom downpipe to eliminate the precats, and a Bonez main cat and there was a slightly annoying drone at 3100 RPM and to some ears the sound was too loud (my wife, for example). It also tended to set off sensitive car alarms, especially in parking garages. Not sure how much of that was the Borla and how much was attributable to other factors.

Last edited by daviddeep; Nov 23, 2010 at 01:02 AM. Reason: Wanted to specify that I had the "cat-back."
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Old Nov 23, 2010 | 01:00 AM
  #9  
wwest2@stallions.abac.edu's Avatar
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well i have a 12a and thinking bout going with the borla, i dont care how loud it is, cant get any worse, just as long as doesnt sound like a bumble bee
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Old Nov 23, 2010 | 09:15 AM
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Originally Posted by wwest2@stallions.abac.edu
well i have a 12a and thinking bout going with the borla, i dont care how loud it is, cant get any worse, just as long as doesnt sound like a bumble bee
Nah, it gets rid of that bee noise, but lets all the low pitch noise through.
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Old Nov 24, 2010 | 02:47 AM
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Originally Posted by Hecubus84
I've been using a borla cat back for 3 years now on my TII, very happy with the quality and sound. If your car is NA I advise you to run a pre-silencer with it otherwise you'll get some annoying droning when just cruzing around. With a turbo you don't need anything, I run a RB 3in DP and no cat.

Here is a video from my last autocross if you'd like to hear it inside and out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MwEH3X5akk
what kind of bov do u have?
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Old Nov 24, 2010 | 10:08 AM
  #12  
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I have a downpipe => mid pipe => borla on my MS3 and it sounds great. Not ricey in the slightest. My friend has Borla on his WS6, also a good sound. Although my experience is very limited, I have seen or heard nothing that would make be believe that they make a product that doesn't sound as good or better (or is manufactured as well) than most their competitors on any platform.

I think the bigger question is, do you like appearance?
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Old Nov 24, 2010 | 11:59 AM
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Unless they've changed the appearance since I bought mine in '98, the appearance is one of very understated quality. The tips have those trademark Borla cooling vanes inside and are polished which I think is cool looking. The rest of the system is very stock-looking and completely unpolished. Much like the Racing Beat, I found that it was very tough to get the Borla tips to line up evenly with the bumper with one side tending to be about 1/2" lower than the other. I was able to tweak this a little with different sized exhaust hangers, but it was never perfect.

Bottom line: if you're looking for low profile, the Borla is great. If you want bling, look elsewhere.
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Old Nov 24, 2010 | 12:02 PM
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Had Borla cat-back systems on my 99 and my 04 Miatas and they sounded great.

If someone that owns a Borla cat-back system for an FC would mind to look under their car, I'd love to know what the model number of the muffler is that's stamped into the muffler casing.
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