Just installed the Mac 3" yesterday. Had Borla Stingers before and loved them but was trying to reduce the drone a bit so I decided to try the Mac 3".
Overall I am really happy with the Mac. The Borla sounded sick as well but around town driving when you are not looking for attention the Borla was just a little too much given the car also has LTs and O/R X.
Old Setup: Mac LTs, O/R X, Borla Stinger
New Setup: Mac LTs, O/R X, Mac 3"
Quality of System - Fit & Finish
Borla wins hands down. From the moment you take the exhaust out of the box you can see the Borla is 10x nicer setup. All the pieces fit perfectly and the whol exhaust is lighter weight and beautifully welded. The Mac 3" looks more like a bunch of sewer parts with flanges connecting them. And we had to modify at least two pieces (grind out one of the hanger holes and tweak one of the flange bolts) to get the system to fit.
Overall Sound Quality
Highly subjective category as we all know from the various polls on the forum. My opinion is they both sound amazing but in different ways. The Borla is in your face pretty much all the time. At 1/8 throttle the Borla is putting out a lot of sound decibels and at WOT it sounds like the world is ending in a very good way. The Mac is a bit more mild at partial throttle applications and similarly amazing at WOT. I was actually very surprised to hear how similar the exhausts sound in general given they are completely different setups (straight through vs chambered and different diameter pipes).
Drone / Rasp
The main reason I wanted to try the Mac was because I heard there is less drone on the chambered exhausts vs the straight through design. I only drove on highway for about 10 mins yesterday and I had the top down (always less drone with top down vs up) so I will update after more driving but I was driving at 1800 to 2100 specifically to try and make the Mac drone and I really couldn't hear much drone. On the Borla setup there was no avoiding the drone between 1800 and 2100 rpm. Both systems have a lot of rasp, the Mac might have even more right around 2500 there is this crazy wave of sound that comes on with both systems even at very light throttle and then it sort of fades away around 2800. With this open exhaust setup its almost like playing a musical instrument the way the sound comes on and off.
Overall Opinion
I loved the Borla Stinger and I also love the Mac, maybe even a little bit more. Borla is definitely for those who want the loudest exhaust with great build quality. The Mac is for those who want similar sound at WOT but slightly more relaxed anywhere under 4000 rpms. The Mac is by no means quiet (far from it) but it is not as loud through the entire RPM range like the Borla. Its a tough call for those deciding but I give a slight edge to the Mac, at least on my setup, based on sound alone. If fitment / quality of materials matters more to you - Borla all the way.
Videos - not great quality but very much apples to apples comparison since these videos were shot in same location on same day right before and after Mac install. You will probably agree its surprising how similar they sound in this vid.
Skip to about 0:55 on both videos to get to the higher revs.
Borla Stinger
[youtube_browser]GVrolGkXEeU[/youtube_browser]
Mac Catback 3"
[youtube_browser]sA6yeQ2kj3k[/youtube_browser]
Overall I am really happy with the Mac. The Borla sounded sick as well but around town driving when you are not looking for attention the Borla was just a little too much given the car also has LTs and O/R X.
Old Setup: Mac LTs, O/R X, Borla Stinger
New Setup: Mac LTs, O/R X, Mac 3"
Quality of System - Fit & Finish
Borla wins hands down. From the moment you take the exhaust out of the box you can see the Borla is 10x nicer setup. All the pieces fit perfectly and the whol exhaust is lighter weight and beautifully welded. The Mac 3" looks more like a bunch of sewer parts with flanges connecting them. And we had to modify at least two pieces (grind out one of the hanger holes and tweak one of the flange bolts) to get the system to fit.
Overall Sound Quality
Highly subjective category as we all know from the various polls on the forum. My opinion is they both sound amazing but in different ways. The Borla is in your face pretty much all the time. At 1/8 throttle the Borla is putting out a lot of sound decibels and at WOT it sounds like the world is ending in a very good way. The Mac is a bit more mild at partial throttle applications and similarly amazing at WOT. I was actually very surprised to hear how similar the exhausts sound in general given they are completely different setups (straight through vs chambered and different diameter pipes).
Drone / Rasp
The main reason I wanted to try the Mac was because I heard there is less drone on the chambered exhausts vs the straight through design. I only drove on highway for about 10 mins yesterday and I had the top down (always less drone with top down vs up) so I will update after more driving but I was driving at 1800 to 2100 specifically to try and make the Mac drone and I really couldn't hear much drone. On the Borla setup there was no avoiding the drone between 1800 and 2100 rpm. Both systems have a lot of rasp, the Mac might have even more right around 2500 there is this crazy wave of sound that comes on with both systems even at very light throttle and then it sort of fades away around 2800. With this open exhaust setup its almost like playing a musical instrument the way the sound comes on and off.
Overall Opinion
I loved the Borla Stinger and I also love the Mac, maybe even a little bit more. Borla is definitely for those who want the loudest exhaust with great build quality. The Mac is for those who want similar sound at WOT but slightly more relaxed anywhere under 4000 rpms. The Mac is by no means quiet (far from it) but it is not as loud through the entire RPM range like the Borla. Its a tough call for those deciding but I give a slight edge to the Mac, at least on my setup, based on sound alone. If fitment / quality of materials matters more to you - Borla all the way.
Videos - not great quality but very much apples to apples comparison since these videos were shot in same location on same day right before and after Mac install. You will probably agree its surprising how similar they sound in this vid.
Skip to about 0:55 on both videos to get to the higher revs.
Borla Stinger
[youtube_browser]GVrolGkXEeU[/youtube_browser]
Mac Catback 3"
[youtube_browser]sA6yeQ2kj3k[/youtube_browser]
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