Which Exhaust Should I Go With?!

[Jazzman22]

Hi all,

This would be my first post because this would be the first mod to my baby!

I took my 98 Coupe in for inspection today and they found a hole in the muffler! No worries, nothing a replacement muffler can't fix, right?

The only problem is that my car has the big round exhaust tips and the previous owner of my car apparently TACK WELDED the exhaust tips onto the mufflers! :(

The problem is that I can't just put new tips on because the old ones are still tack welded to the one good muffler! I can't find matching replacements, and if I figure if I'm going to pay all of this money (replacing the muffler with a gm part was $758!!!) I may as well spend a bit more and get a solid, aftermarket performance exhaust system.

So now I'm going to be ordering a new exhaust system within the next week. I was looking at a few, and I was quite fond of the Corsa Tiger Sharks, but I was told that system is "loud". What I'm looking for a is a similar system in that price range ($900 from mid america) that isn't too different from the exhausts in the corvette now. I like the 4 pipe look, so the big double wide shapes are out.

I was told the Corsa Touring system, the Corsa GT system, and the Corsa Indy system are all really good and don't sound much different than the original exhausts, just a little more aggressive on acceleration (isn't that when you WANT to be heard?).

Now I grew up in a chevy family and everyone always dreamed of owning a corvette. Here I am, 26, and the one in the family to finally get his hands on one. Naturally growing up with these enthusiasts for family members (enthusiasts? Fanatics? Lunatics? All the same and all equally good in my book!) I want to do this right. No cruddy, cheap, loud "fart cannons" for me! If I wanted that I'd buy a honda ;P Nope, I want a good performance exhaust with a similar sound as the stock exhausts, a more aggressive look, and a good reliability rating.

Suggestions? Help? Please! :)
Thanks in advance
Marc

[Bill Burkholder]

Hi Marc, I think that you should listen to the exhaust before you purchase it.. I have B&B PRT's and they are loud. Listen to GHL's. "Yo El" Ellis has them and it is his 5th different set and loves the GHL's. They have a nice old time V8 sound at idle and sound great at open throtle. Before you purchase any exhaust please call me. DO NOT buy them from a catolog. I'll give you the names and web sites that will give you a much better deal. You'll save $100.'s!!!!! Bill

[Jazzman22]

Thanks for the reply :)

How/where do I listen to exhausts? I mean I know how, you turn your ear towards the car, etc etc. :D

I'd be looking to buy within the next 7 to 14 days (yes I know, I shouldn't rush, but there are some special circumstances here, one of which is that I can't pass inspection until this is done, but there are others), so it would need to happen soon.

How do I go about this? This is all new to me, I've never had any aftermarket work done on any of my cars (I've owned 4 in my life... a jeep grand cherokee, a cavalier, I currently have a 96 blazer, and the 98 corvette).
Thanks
Marc

[Glennm27]

Originally posted by Bill Burkholder
Hi Marc, I think that you should listen to the exhaust before you purchase it.. I have B&B PRT's and they are loud. Listen to GHL's. "Yo El" Ellis has them and it is his 5th different set and loves the GHL's. They have a nice old time V8 sound at idle and sound great at open throtle. Before you purchase any exhaust please call me. DO NOT buy them from a catolog. I'll give you the names and web sites that will give you a much better deal. You'll save $100.'s!!!!! Bill

Marc.......
Take Bill's advice. You'll save $$$. And also the advice of listening to a few different exhausts if you have the luxury of time of doing so.
His PRT's sound awesome. The GHL's are awesome too. It's all a matter of what YOU like, but don't make a move until you to talk to Bill for where to go for the best price, he'll steer you in the right direction. ;bc

[VetBoyZR1]

Your post reminds of the day last fall when I was at Eckler's in Titusville, Fl, watching them do new exhaust installs during a Corvette show. All the perfectly good stock exhaust systems were being thrown on a pile for the recycler. I can't help but think a Corvette shop that does exhaust work could hook you up with someone who just got an aftermarket and could get you a stock system for next to nothing.

[Mike Campbell]

By the way, in this same catagory Nick Yoskin, a club member has a set of PRT's for sale. Check it out!

[hcvone]

Be sure to listen to all the systems out there, many Vette owners will be happy to take you for a ride in their car to let you hear their exhaust systems.

[Jazzman22]

Thanks for all of the help so far! Right now I'm leaning towards the GHLs with the pro-3.5 inch tips or the Corsa Touring system with the 3.5 inch TigerShark tips.

I haven't heard either yet (corsa has sound files on their website, but still, that's not the real thing) but I've heard great things about the GHL and the Corsa sounded ok on their site.

I'm a little reluctant about the PRTs because I"ve heard people say they're louder than they expected. I don't want something that is annoyingly loud, but maybe a LITTLE more aggressive than the factory sound.

I'd love to get a chance to hear systems, if anyone is up for it. I'd REALLY appreciate the help.

Also, Bill, you suggested I contact you when I'm ready. How do I do that?

Thanks
Marc

[Bill Burkholder]

Marc...shot you an E-mail. ;bt

[C5pilot]

I had an X-pipe installed last year and the sound of my Corsa Touring changed drastically. However, the stock cats were bad and were replaced at the same time. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the same exhaust can sound different on 2 different cars. Try to listen to as many as you can before deciding.

[Jazzman22]

C5Pilot,

How was the corsa touring before the X-Pipe? How did it change after the X-Pipe?

Urrrgh, so many questions to ask! :)
Marc

[Bill Burkholder]

Marc your doing the correct thing, ask as many question as possible before you spend $800.'s + on a system.

[Glennm27]

I have the Corsa Pace Car exhaust. The Touring version are pretty tame.

The Tigershark tips you mention by the way are all four tips together in the center. They really don't look right on a C5 in my opinion. They were really designed to go with the Tiger Shark rear facia that has a much smaller opening for the exhaust exit.

Take a look at this post from the Corvetteforum for pictures of the Tigershark tips compared to the Corsa Pace Cars and Touring with Pro tips.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=753409&postid=1546494516#1546494516

Pace Cars and Touring have identical appearance.

[Jazzman22]

Hmmm, interesting points.

Now that you mention it, I DO like the 2 + 2 pipes instead of the 4 centered pipes. I like the LOOK of the Corsa tips over the GHL tips, but that's only part of the equation.

How expensive is an X pipe? Should I consider one? What will it do for me? What will happen without it?

I guess the keys here right now are that I don't want to go overboard but I certainly don't want to do a half-a$$ed job of it. This isn't some rent-a-wreck we're talking about here, this is my Corvette! ;)

I guess the X-pipe issue depends on the price of the exhaust system.

Thoughts?

[Jazzman22]

Another question... What are your opinions on this article? Just from the way he starts off it sounds like he was on the same track I was... a little more muscular sound, but not annoyingly loud.

[Bill Burkholder]

X pipe will help reduce popping when you let off the gas. here's something to listen too http://www.thx2.net/exhaust.htm

[Glennm27]

I initially instaleld my Corsa Pace Car (aka Indy's) exhaust WITHOUT the X-pipe. It can easily be added after the fact. The exhaust sounded horrible. It gurgled like an outboard Johnson 50 at idle. It was actually embarrassing to listen too. It also popped on decleration waaaaay too much. Both the gurgling and popping were so bad that I didn't even like driving the car and was very dissapointed.

Next, of course, was to get the x-pipe. Installed it and everything was perfect. Popping was gone (95% of it anyway) and the idle motorbaot gurgle was eliminated 100%. I was a happy Corvette owner once again.

The looks are as important to me as the performance so these were the ones for me.

ONE OTHER NOTE: I still have my OEM 2002 exhaust from the H-pipe back. Polished tips and all. If you wanna buy them, I'd sell them. email me if interested.

[Jazzman22]

Hmm, I can hear a definite difference with and without the x-pipe, so that's something for me to consider...

I'm not real keen on the sound of the B&Bs from that site Bill posted, and I'm also a little disappointed with the sound of the Corsa from that site, but it could just be audio quality too... who knows.

Thanks for the offers for the original stock exausts, but if I'm replacing, I may as well go big and get a better sounding exhaust. I also am not real fond of the small little ovals... It looks wimpy :P

[Mike Campbell]

Glenn, maybe you can work something out with Nick Yoskin, since you have exactly what he's looking for. Plus he's trying to sell his PRT's, so maybe the whole thing could work out for everyone.;bt

[C5pilot]

Originally posted by Jazzman22
C5Pilot,

How was the corsa touring before the X-Pipe? How did it change after the X-Pipe?
Marc

If I was still married I'd probably have chosen the Indy's to drown out all the interior noise. But I thought the need might arise to actually have a conversation in the car, so I chose the tamer touring sound. It's more mellow while cruising but almost as loud at WOT.

With my original cats I had a little popping on deceleration which got progressivly worse over time. I started having issues with performance and had the cats tested and replaced. That was when I decided to install the x-pipe since everything would be out. Now, it sounds like a minivan and I don't know why.

[Rick and Arleen Ball]

The GLH-SS sounded pretty good.
But I think the SLP Loudmouths had more of a MUSCLE CAR sound :cool:
Then again theres nothing like the sound of Mid-Year side exhaust :D
Can't wait to finish my 65 BB Coupe with the Big Tube Heddman side exit headers and side exhaust.
I'm thinking it will be a little to noisy for Arleen, ;cs but i'm gonna LOVE IT! ;bl ;bt

[REDGAR]

I am partial to the stock Z06 Ti exhaust. A little more agressive sounding than stock. Lighter. Nicer tips. Cheap, about $400 used. ZERO resonance

[Jazzman22]

Thanks to all who helped out with my dilemma! Extra thanks to Bill for hooking me up with the right dealer.

In the end I decided to go with the GHL C5/Z06 Bullet system with 3.5 inch rolled tips. I'll probably be getting an X-Pipe for the system within a few months time, but one thing at a time...

Thanks again for all of the advice/support
*Corvette Wave* :D

[vette164]

Hi Marc,

I have a Corsa system with Tiger Shark tips and the most aggressive sound. The system also has an x-pipe on it and I would be more than happy to let you listen to it. I currently don't have headers on my vette, but plan on putting them on in the next year. I will be going to Kirban on March 6, if you are going you can listen to it then. I like the aggressive sound and the x-pipe has not stopped the poping in my case and is rather nasty. Exhaust systems are really personal, just like cars and I agree with everyone you should her the exhaust. I have this exhaust on a 2003 50th Anniversary Addition Vette. Send me a e-mail at vette164@comcast .net if you want to listen to the exhaust.