Quote:
Originally Posted by Vmax911
I'm sure the build quality of the Borla is inferior to nameless or perrin, I was curious what those who have heard the exhaust in person thought of the sound.
|
DISCLAIMER: I have not heard any Nameless or Perrin products in person. This is my impression of the Borla - I have driven the FRS as my daily driver with the stock exhaust, Works muffler delete, and now the Borla exhaust (which I have now and have no plans to replace after having it since March 2013).
I have the Borla cat back and I think it's great. I would recommend this to anybody looking for something more aggressive without going overboard - deeper/bassy-ier/louder than stock without getting unwanted attention from cops or being ricey/obnoxious.
Tone is definitely deeper and bassier than stock - I like it lot. It has some rumble/growl to it but very little - don't buy the Borla expecting a lot of growl. Definitely less burbles compared to other exhaust videos I've heard. Works muffler delete had tons of growl/burbles - it was really raw and aggressive. The Borla actually has a deeper/bass-ier tone than the muffler delete.
Zero drone - nothing annoying driving on the freeway or on surface streets.
Volume wise, highway driving and cruising is just at tad louder than stock. Works muffler delete was also just a step above the Borla cruising. I play music and talk to my passenger like normal when cruising. At wide open throttle, the exhaust is plenty loud - maybe about 60% the volume increase from stock to muffler delete, if that makes sense.
NOTE: I have blocked off the sound tube from the engine bay so that also affects the amount of noise I'm hearing in the cabin - but that is more from the intake rather than the exhaust sound.
This is my DD and only car - I drive it every day to work through both the city streets and highway (I commute from outside San Francisco into the heart of SF). But, I drive this car for fun too. I run it to redline whenever I can (merging onto an wide open freeway ramp for example)- I look for twisties, etc..
I wanted something that was more aggressive and more fun than stock without getting on my nerves every day, worry about waking my neighbors, etc. I think the Borla accomplished these goals perfectly.
As for the comment about the Civic.. I have to disagree. I owned a 2000 red Civic SI - fully riced out in my college days. Cheapo carbon fiber hood that peeled, ebay fog lights that were unevenly bright, and best of all... a fart cannon exhaust. It droned and it was loud. I had a lot of fun with that Civic back then but now that I'm older and more mature, my tastes have changed (for the better I think).
The Borla exhaust is nothing like what my Civic SI was. If you search in the classified section, there was some guy selling his Borla because it was actually too quiet for him. I thought Borla isn't really known for making loud exhausts anyway?
As for build quality - I'm gonna be honest with you. I know nothing about welding so I can't tell you if the welds or really shitty or not. But, I believe the steel used by Borla is the same quality steel as Perrin/Nameless etc. I also do know that Borla has a million mile warranty (essentially lifetime) that they stand behind.
There was a fiasco with the UEL headers from Borla warping or something - I believe everybody has gotten it replaced or is in the process of getting it replaced. Thread is here:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?p=684321
Every company will make a mistake eventually - it's how they rectify it that matters. Borla seems to have pretty good customer service about their mistakes if the UEL headers issue is any indication.