Considering swapping Roush for GT500 ABs...couple questions

matt5058

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I've had Roush ABs on my 2014 for the past five years or so. I love the way it sounds, but I'm probably getting old because the loudness is starting to wear on me. After long trips, I can still feel the droning in my head for a while.

I was thinking of picking up something that is a little more tame/quiet at idle and low speeds but still sounds louder than stock and still rips at WOT. After some forum reading, it seems the GT500 mufflers might fit the bill but just wanted to see if folks could weigh in who have had both or made a similar switch - OR if the GT500s are louder than I'm understanding, is there something else that meets what I'm searching for (but doesn't cost upwards of 800-900 dollars)?

Also, I'm curious about the weight difference between the Roush ABs and the GT500 ABs. I recently picked up my stock mufflers for the first time in a while and was surprised being reminded how heavy they are.

Cheers
 

nate714

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I had GT500 mufflers, then deleted resonators, then switched to Roush still without resonators. If you want something quieter the GT500 are better on long trips. You may miss the screaming but the tone is a little better for what it lacks in volume. I honestly hate cruising extended periods at 85-90mph, just sounds like drone.
 

FJohnny

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'14 GT manual here as well. I switched to the '13-'14 GT500 rear valance and quad exhaust. Easy to do with lots of video available for the rear valance install. Looks great!

Sound overall is much quieter than Roush but also much louder and deeper tone than stock. On the throttle it's plenty loud enough that I've never felt the need to remove resonators. Decelleration while in gear you will hear burbles and pops and muted shots fired. Coast out of gear and it's dead silent.

Highway cruising is good for sound level. Deep tone not over loud but noticeable. You will have to turn th music up a bit from stock mufflers. Some drone when going up even small inclines that need a bit more gas than flat or downhill.

Overall probably the best bang for buck mod I've made. Many compliments on sound and the wife and Mom can still enjoy the drive.

If you haven't yet, you should consider adding a blower at the same time just to round out the overall package. You know you want to.
 

matt5058

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I had GT500 mufflers, then deleted resonators, then switched to Roush still without resonators. If you want something quieter the GT500 are better on long trips. You may miss the screaming but the tone is a little better for what it lacks in volume. I honestly hate cruising extended periods at 85-90mph, just sounds like drone.

I haven't done the resonator delete....just the Roush ABs and I still get what I think can be best described as drone, cruising along at pretty much any speed 70 and above.
 

matt5058

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'14 GT manual here as well. I switched to the '13-'14 GT500 rear valance and quad exhaust. Easy to do with lots of video available for the rear valance install. Looks great!

Sound overall is much quieter than Roush but also much louder and deeper tone than stock. On the throttle it's plenty loud enough that I've never felt the need to remove resonators. Decelleration while in gear you will hear burbles and pops and muted shots fired. Coast out of gear and it's dead silent.

Highway cruising is good for sound level. Deep tone not over loud but noticeable. You will have to turn th music up a bit from stock mufflers. Some drone when going up even small inclines that need a bit more gas than flat or downhill.

Overall probably the best bang for buck mod I've made. Many compliments on sound and the wife and Mom can still enjoy the drive.

If you haven't yet, you should consider adding a blower at the same time just to round out the overall package. You know you want to.

I really want to do the rear valance with the quad tips but don't know if I can swing that cost at the moment. If the tips on the GT500 mufflers aren't easily changed out, maybe I'll stick with the Roush until I can do the whole rear conversion.

A supercharger is on the list but I don't see that happening any time in the immediate future, unfortunately.
 

tones_RS3

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I really want to do the rear valance with the quad tips but don't know if I can swing that cost at the moment. If the tips on the GT500 mufflers aren't easily changed out, maybe I'll stick with the Roush until I can do the whole rear conversion.
A supercharger is on the list but I don't see that happening any time in the immediate future, unfortunately.
That's how I would do it. All in one shot.
 

nate714

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I haven't done the resonator delete....just the Roush ABs and I still get what I think can be best described as drone, cruising along at pretty much any speed 70 and above.

Yeah Roush drone at highway speeds. It sounds amazing when you're getting on it but that consistent drone on the highway gets old. I was considering swapping to longer gears like 2.7x or something so it cruises at a lower rpm. Eventually want a PD blower anyway so I think the less aggressive gearing would eventually be offset by supercharged torque.
 

matt5058

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Yeah Roush drone at highway speeds. It sounds amazing when you're getting on it but that consistent drone on the highway gets old. I was considering swapping to longer gears like 2.7x or something so it cruises at a lower rpm. Eventually want a PD blower anyway so I think the less aggressive gearing would eventually be offset by supercharged torque.

That's an interesting idea. I had never thought about the idea of going even lower on the gears (I have the 3.31s). Discounting the supercharger for a moment, would having 2.7x gears have any impact on gas mileage?
 

nate714

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Don't know haven't done it, in theory you'd get better mileage coasting I think - which was also a consideration. You'd also have less mechanical advantage accelerating though. I know in automatic cars 1st gear is very short so effectively making it longer may actually be useful. You could probably find somebody's 3.15's out of an automatic cheaper than 2.7x (I'm not sure the exact ratio). I think v6's and shelby's might both have gears approximately 2.7. Not certain on that though.
 

biminiLX

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Stock GT500s are a great sound.
I had an email started to both Stainless Works and Corsa for a dual mode S197 muffler that would work with new Mustang electronics.
We’d be on our own to wire them in, but anyone else interested in a dual mode S197 muffler?
-J
 

Coz

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but anyone else interested in a dual mode S197 muffler?

I'd be interested. Roush came out with one for the S550. I contacted them and they had no plans to develop an S197 version. Other than the pipes bent different ways it's probably the same.
 

Malern28us

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MRT H pipe, Borla resonator deletes [basically GT500 pipes], GT 500 mufflers. Absolutely think it sounds perfect....
Quiet around town and when cruising until you put your foot in it. Then, it just sounds mean.
 

matt5058

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Stock GT500s are a great sound.
I had an email started to both Stainless Works and Corsa for a dual mode S197 muffler that would work with new Mustang electronics.
We’d be on our own to wire them in, but anyone else interested in a dual mode S197 muffler?
-J
Uh...absolutely. You should get a kickstarter campaign going
 

matt5058

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Don't know haven't done it, in theory you'd get better mileage coasting I think - which was also a consideration. You'd also have less mechanical advantage accelerating though. I know in automatic cars 1st gear is very short so effectively making it longer may actually be useful. You could probably find somebody's 3.15's out of an automatic cheaper than 2.7x (I'm not sure the exact ratio). I think v6's and shelby's might both have gears approximately 2.7. Not certain on that though.

Ever since I returned from a trip to Portugal where we drove a surprisingly fun 1 series Bimmer almost 800 miles on a single tank, I've been trying to think of magical solutions to make my Mustang more fuel efficient but still enjoyable to drive. :eek:
 

Riddick

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If all you have is the rousch axle back, it may be to quiet with the gt500 mufflers. I would at least delete the resonators if you make the switch. I'm running kooks headers, off road x, borla axle pipes, and quad tip gt500 mufflers. To me it has the perfect tone, you can hear it when accelerating but it far from obnoxious. Under wot it really opens up and sounds incredible, I wish I had a video I could show you.

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SVTStampede

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I'm running Borla x-pipe(with factory cats), Borla over axles(no resonators) with single tip Gt500 mufflers and love the setup.
 

matt5058

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Finally sold my Roush ABs this week. GT500 ABs arrived today. Excited to get these on asap, particularly after driving the car around on the stock exhaust for the last almost 4 months, lol.

IMG-2704.jpg
 

matt5058

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Got them installed last night and took it for a spin. It definitely sounds louder and better than stock but I was expecting it to be a little bit louder at wide open throttle. I’m happy with the low volume at cruising speeds and having no drone though.

I was reading back through some of the earlier comments in this thread and after checking out some more sound clips, I’m thinking about eventually doing the resonator delete. It seems that one could just order the OEM over axle pipes from a 13-14 GT500 and that would serve the function of getting rid of the resonators and also not be as expensive ( I saw $260 for both pipes on Tasca and another site) as some of the aftermarket over axle kits ($360ish for Borla, Lethal, etc.)

Any thoughts on that? For those that have the resonator delete and GT500 ABs, did the resonator delete make the car significantly louder at highway cruising speeds or add any drone?
 

Riddick

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I am running the Borls OAPs and they made the car slightly louder. No highway drone what so ever, I am even running catless long tubes. Deleting the resonators is a good call with the gt500 mufflers.

Although the price may seem cheaper to order the gt500 pipes wait until you see what it costs to ship them. In my case it was cheaper to order the borla pipes. Another option to consider is the lethal pipes or just take your car to a muffler shop and they can cut your resonators out. Any chance your near Louisiana? I'll basically give you my stock pipes with 10k miles on them and you can have the resonators removed.

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