Thinking of BBK X-pipe to go with my Borla catback -- any thoughts?

[Venom Lover]

I couldn't resist temptation any more, so I bought the Borla catback system (#14858) yesterday. It sounds great, but the car is still way too quiet -- plus I'm interested in the extra ~15 rwhp from an X-pipe system.

So I'm looking at the Bassani prices of ~$600 vs. $420 that BBK quoted me for their X-pipe. I know the BBK system is not stainless, but why would I care? I'm not going to spend a lot of time looking at my X-pipe. Unless there is some quality issue, I think aluminum is fine. Also, BBK quotes 17 rwhp gain with their X-pipe (with stock catback), so I'm guessing I'm looking at around 20-25 rwhp gain including my catback.

Any thoughts or anyone with experience with BBK X-pipe? (I'm thinking of doing the version with hi-flow cats as opposed to offroad -- that's the one they quoted the dyno numbers for.)

Also, any alternatives I should be considering other than BBK and Bassani?

 

[fangstang]

I have an Off-road BBK X-pipe on my 2001 cobra. It really woke up the motor! The car revs quicker, pulls like a mother from 4k to redline! It sounds great with my stock catback too! It'll definately sound good with the Borlas, but if you want it louder, then you will need an Off-Road X-pipe.

 

[Venom Lover]

Thanks for the response, fangstang. So, you don't think the Cobra will be any louder with X-pipe with hi-flow cats? You think you need cat-less offroad setup to get louder?

 

[Sonic03]

Call Dr.Gas, he has O/R pipes and catted X's, 299 w/out- 400 w/cat...

 

[forane2001]

Your exhaust

I have the magnaflow x pipe with cats and steeda's(borla) cat back in my garage to put on my car. I went with the steeda setup. Most people on here think that the cats are what are muffling our cars down so much. Personally i dont know. One guy said that his car was no louder without the stock mufflers on than with. So that leads u to believe that the cats are really restrictive. So how do your borla's sound? Any louder than stock?

Thanks
gw

 

[Venom Lover]

forane2001,

I would believe that it's the cats that are restricting the sound, because my '03 is not much louder with the Borla setup, until you really get on it, and even then it's a minimal difference in loudness.

That being said, the sound quality is much much better. You get a much deeper, meaner, more muscle-car sound. Also, Borla claims the catback is good for 10-12 rwhp. I'll let you know when I dyno again, but I believe it. Add another 15 or so hp from X-pipe with hi-flow cats, and that sounds right in terms of overall gains, based on what others are reporting.

So, if it's the cats that damp the sound, then with hi-flow cats or offroad setup (i.e., with a lot more decibels), I believe the sound will be great with the Borla catback.