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Thinking about a Borla XR1

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Old May 24, 2010 | 10:27 AM
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Default Thinking about a Borla XR1

Current setup is FM 2.5" downpipe mated to a 3" exhaust with an 18" resonator and an ebay canister.

After listening to some mt exhaust videos, I'm thinking I can get a better quality note out of my exhaust. Idle sounds great, deceleration sounds great, and wot sounds great...but there are a few areas in the exhaust that sound too..."honda-ish" for my liking. I was thinking about pulling the canister and sticking in an XR1 with just a tip on it.

It's not that the exhaust is loud, I just wish it was more mellow sounding is some rpms. Any idea if this would be a waste of time or if there are better options? Also, I don't want to shove the largest straight through muffler posible I can in there...been there and done that, it sounded like ***.
Old May 24, 2010 | 10:38 AM
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this is the muffler I'm installing on June 5th.
Old May 24, 2010 | 11:23 AM
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Originally Posted by Braineack
this is the muffler y8s is installing for me on June 5th.
qft?
Old May 24, 2010 | 11:34 AM
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I'll probably be getting one of these:

http://www.burnsstainless.com/sm-250-350-17.aspx

17" long and weighing under 2.5 lbs... it's like yes.
Old May 24, 2010 | 11:37 AM
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Originally Posted by Pusha
I'll probably be getting one of these:

http://www.burnsstainless.com/sm-250-350-17.aspx

17" long and weighing under 2.5 lbs... it's like yes.
I thought my muffler was expensive. ****.
Old May 24, 2010 | 11:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Pusha
17" long and weighing under 2.5 lbs... it's like pointless and expensive.
qtf?
Old May 24, 2010 | 11:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Turbo_4
Current setup is FM 2.5" downpipe mated to a 3" exhaust with an 18" resonator and an ebay canister.

After listening to some mt exhaust videos, I'm thinking I can get a better quality note out of my exhaust. Idle sounds great, deceleration sounds great, and wot sounds great...but there are a few areas in the exhaust that sound too..."honda-ish" for my liking. I was thinking about pulling the canister and sticking in an XR1 with just a tip on it.

It's not that the exhaust is loud, I just wish it was more mellow sounding is some rpms. Any idea if this would be a waste of time or if there are better options? Also, I don't want to shove the largest straight through muffler posible I can in there...been there and done that, it sounded like ***.
At the end of the day, a perf-tube muffler is a perf-tube muffler, the character of the exhaust isn't going to change all that much. If you are having resonance problems at certain RPMs, I would experiment with adding in an additional resonator to smooth it out before you run out and blow a bunch of cash on another muffler.

Last edited by Jeff_Ciesielski; May 24, 2010 at 11:42 AM. Reason: grammar
Old May 24, 2010 | 11:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Jeff_Ciesielski
I thought my muffler was expensive. ****.
Well, I'll be using the money from selling my HKS Carbon Ti muffler (11 lbs.) for the purchase.

https://www.miataturbo.net/engine-performance-56/hks-carbon-ti-exhaust-muffler-44702/
Old May 24, 2010 | 11:50 AM
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Originally Posted by Jeff_Ciesielski
At the end of the day, a perf-tube muffler is a perf-tube muffler, the character of the exhaust isn't going to change all that much. If you are having resonance problems at certain RPMs, I would experiment with adding in an additional resonator to smooth it out before you run out and blow a bunch of cash on another muffler.
I agree. I went from a FM 2.25 dp into their 2.5" cat/duel exhaust to a full 3" The sound is slightly more mellow, but not as drastic as I thought it would be. The biggest drop in noise comes at cruise (which is what I was hoping) I also agree that you should look into adding a resonator. I will also do this if my wife thinks the car is too loud.

Does anyone have a sound clip of before and after adding a resonator before the muffler?
Old May 24, 2010 | 12:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Pusha
I'll probably be getting one of these:

http://www.burnsstainless.com/sm-250-350-17.aspx

17" long and weighing under 2.5 lbs... it's like yes.
exactly what is your goal?

cuz a dynomax bullet race muffler is about $60 and probably very similar performance-wise.
Old May 24, 2010 | 12:14 PM
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I added one, it barely made a difference. cut out some drone.

the key to win is what I posted.

I mean, look how well it works:

Old May 24, 2010 | 12:17 PM
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Originally Posted by y8s
exactly what is your goal?

cuz a dynomax bullet race muffler is about $60 and probably very similar performance-wise.
Well, my car is a track car that will see light street use. How loud are turbocharged Miatas w/ open downpipes?
Old May 24, 2010 | 12:25 PM
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i've had mine with basically open downpipe that exits just behind where i sit, and after three months of dd its getting a little annoying and ill be putting on a muffler soon. Because im A) scared that i will get pulled over because of the loudness which will lead to them looking under my hood and having to take everything off, and B) its pretty loud
Old May 24, 2010 | 12:28 PM
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Originally Posted by wittyworks
i've had mine with basically open downpipe that exits just behind where i sit, and after three months of dd its getting a little annoying and ill be putting on a muffler soon. Because im A) scared that i will get pulled over because of the loudness which will lead to them looking under my hood and having to take everything off, and B) its pretty loud
Yeah... I know what you mean in regard to the annoyance factor and po-po. I drove around in my S4 with open downpipes for about a week. Popping, gurgling and shooting flames got the attention of LEOs pretty damn quick.
Old May 24, 2010 | 12:37 PM
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I currently having a 4x9x14 muffler, 4x12" resonator, and 3" metal core cat, and it's perfectly loud for a race car.
Old May 24, 2010 | 12:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Braineack
I added one, it barely made a difference. cut out some drone.

the key to win is what I posted.

I mean, look how well it works:

I wouldn't expect it to make a lot of difference in the volume, but the OP's complaint was "sounding too much like a honda" which I take as meaning lots of rasp/drone.

I'm sure the big ZOMFG muffler that you'll be running will be very mellow at cruise and even at WOT, but I bet if you ran it sans resonator/cat you would still get that farting BLAT sound in the midrange.
Old May 24, 2010 | 01:02 PM
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I'm not sure if I have room for another resonator unless I redid the whole exhaust. It current has a fake cat right underneath where the seats are and an 18" resonator right before the trunk. I might be able to squeeze another small resonator underneath the trunk area...just depends.

It doesn't "rasp" like a honda does...it just sometimes has that plain, jane drone sound to it...rather than having any character to it...if that makes sense.
Old May 24, 2010 | 01:07 PM
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1:00, that's the noise I cannot stand, it's LOUD when the wastegate opens.

the dreaded honda WWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Old May 24, 2010 | 01:29 PM
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Originally Posted by Turbo_4
It doesn't "rasp" like a honda does...it just sometimes has that plain, jane drone sound to it...rather than having any character to it...if that makes sense.
That makes perfect sense, and it is exactly why I decided to give an aero-turbine a shot to add some. Cars that have exhaust note 'character' tend to not use strait through perf-tube mufflers, they use a chambered muffler of some sort with resonators to 'shape' the sound. Packed perf-tube mufflers create a very mellow sound, but when our cylinder heads and exhaust camshafts already create a very smooth tone,and IMO it leads to the somewhat flat sound that every miata has.
Old May 24, 2010 | 05:01 PM
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Borla's are quieter than Magnaflows, but not as robust. It shouldn't be an issue on your car.



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