EDIT: VIDEO ADDED!!! SEE BELOW!!!

Video of Borla Stock vs. Borla w/X-Pipe



Hey Guys,

After probably two years of somewhat seriously thinking about hacking up my Borla CB, I did it. Anyone who has a sedan with a Borla knows that it drones a lot between 2-3k rpms, the prime cruising range for the daily driver grind. I didn't mind too much, but I got bored of the 'boomy' sound down low. My G also just rolled over 120k miles, so I decided to give it a little love.

I got the inspiration for this mod from Jeff92se. We exchanged PMs when he posted his original thread. Here's a link to it:
https://g35driver.com/forums/intake-...ow-x-pipe.html

Installation

The x-pipe mod is when one removes the large 'suitcase' resonator located right after the y-pipe section on the Borla.

This is what the stock setup looks like:



Jeff92se replaced his resonator with a resonated Magnaflow X-Pipe, but I chose to replace mine with with a non-resonated Magnaflow X-Pipe. My main goal with this experiment was to make my car sound more like the 350z/G35 coupe stock exhaust + the bass of the Borla. The Borla is not a high pitched exhaust. It had a lot of bass and drone, but I wanted something closer to a high rpm whine, thus I opted to get the plain x-pipe.

I let Pops get to work on the x-pipe installation, and this is what it looked like when it was all done:



It took the tech about 45mins to do the whole thing, and they charged me $150 total. This included the labor and the x-pipe, but a word of advice to those interested in this mod, buy the x-pipe yourself. I was charged $107.x for the part from the exhaust shop, but I could've had it for $67.86 before shipping from performancepeddler.com. Lesson learned... Either way, this shop is known as one of the best exhaust shops in CT, so they didn't charge me much for labor, and I'm happy. If you plan to use the resonated x-pipe, expect to pay about $20-25 more.

I also retained the slip-fit capability on the y-pipe to mid-pipe connection.

Here are the part numbers for the x-pipes:

Resonated Magnaflow X-Pipe (Jeff92se)
Part# 11385

Non-resonated Mangaflow X-Pipe
Part# 10790

Impressions

As soon as I started my car after the x-pipe mod, I could tell a difference. It was noticeable and wonderful, exactly what I was looking for. The sound was different in a couple of ways. Without the resonator, it was much louder at certain rpm points, yet it also droned much less between 2-3k.

Here are my impressions in an easy to read list:
-Noticeably less drone from 2-3k rpm
-When not on gas, actually noticeably quieter between 2-3k
-Between 3-5k (3200-4800 to be exact), the exhaust has a loud 350z, yet bassy, sound, it's spectacular. Nail it at around 3k, and compared to the stock Borla CB the lack of a resonator is obvious, yet very welcomed. Sounds great, a massive improvement.
-At either full or part throttle, 2-3k for def. quieter, yet 3-5k sounds great, a perfect compromise.
-After 5k it quiets down to redline, yet still sounds aggressive
-The loud portion of the rev range has now moved out of DD rpm levels
-In terms of power, I haven't really noticed anything. It's very hot and humid outside, and I haven't had the chance to make an honest assessment. Maybe a little bit of low end gain, but we will see what happens as time passes. I did not reset the ECU after the x-pipe install.
-No rasp that I can hear
-Expect to pay more for gas b/c you will become addicted to the 3-5k rpm blast, it's truly spectacular

Overall, I am incredibly pleased with the x-pipe. It's a great improvement in sound, and it's a pretty inexpensive mod. Make sure you take it to a reputable exhaust shop so your welds do not leak later on.

Let me know if you have any questions! I'll get some videos up soon.

 

Great review. I'm glad you got some use out of my threads. I'm glad you ended up with what you were looking for. I'm pretty sure the X pipe helped you pick up some torque down low. I too noticed that exhaust pitch got higher (as in more exotic) after the X pipe install. It's supposed to be a characteristic of an X pipe. I guess that's why the muscle car guys like the H pipe. It gives more of a lower muscle car tone.

 

Thanks for breaking new ground for the sedan Borla owners, hahah. Maybe I'll be able to do the same with my Hyptertech experiment. I'm about to post a thread up about that.

One thing I did not like is the slight reduction in the pipe diameter b/c the shop slip fit one set of pipes into another instead of welding the pieces flush. You'll see if right after the exhaust brackets on the after pics. I'm sure it doesn't really make any difference, but I'm ****. Otherwise, I love it!

 

Bump for the video, with more clips to come!

 

Sweet! The gains down low aren't high enough to feel, but it's there.

Gotta love performance peddler. Awesome prices and they shipped fast!

 

The borla has no x over or H at all. So I think most would feel the increase in torque. Or at least notice that the torque comes in a few hundred rpm sooner. Which with an auto is sorely needed.

 

UPDATE:

I had the car up on a lift, so I decided to snap a pic of the welds about 8 months after I did this "mod".

Take a look:


Welds are still clean, no exhaust gases are leaking out, perfect.

 

i should do this, great vid and write up

 

No problem! Jeff92se inspired me a few years ago. I'm very happy I went with the unresonated x-pipe.

I also re-read my original write-up, and I sound like an idiot. I'll have to edit my sentence structure at some point.

 

hahaha i wonder how it will sound once i get and install my ART pipes

 

I'm sure it'll sounds great.

I'm assuming you have a sedan with a Borla? If so, you might wanna consider getting an XYZ pipe go to with the ART pipes. You'll obviously have to find a y-pipe back exhaust to go with the XYZ, but the ART pipes might get choked by the relatively small size of the Borla duals. I'm not even sure if the ART pipes fit the Borla's flanges...

 

I wonder if you guys could pick up even more torque by cutting out about 10" pipes just aft of the X and adding 10" coming off the cats. Basically making an HR y-pipe setup.

 

Moving the X location does affect where the torque occurs I think. From what I remember, it's in pretty much the ideal position. Moving it to make a difference might mean moving it pretty far down. IMHO, closer to the front, the better.

 

Yes i do, ill ask Tony about the pipe size

 

If you go with Tony's products, the Borla won't do IMHO. Borla's pipes are 2.25. Stillen is 2.5".