Borla Exhaust

[von_zoom]

I am considering the Borla system. Has anyone had any experience, or have comments? Appreciate any info. Thanks
vz

[JeffC]

I found this a while back ago. Made my decision to get something like the Vanguard much easier. Drone was my main concern.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...&postcount=112

[J08M3]

There was a thread and a bunch of excitement going on about Borla when they were first developing the system. It was exciting due to it's low cost. But quickly after a couple installs the thread died off right after a couple people had it installed and weren't too impressed. it's the thread JeffC mentioned.

[von_zoom]

Thank you all for the info. Unless something happens tonight, I think that I will order it tomorrow.
Stay tuned.
vz

[omegatlc]

Von Zoom, do it! My Borla arrived yesterday morning, I installed myself yesterday afternoon and I love it. There are several posts endorsing the Borla on this site. And it appears those not endorsing are doing so because of past experiences with different a car. The fit and finish is very good (had a Riss Racing exhaust that was poorly constructed, didn't fit my e90 and just plain loud/drone-by the way Riss, still waiting for my &@$!?&@ refund if you're lurking!)

Sounds aggressive at start up with a deep V8 sound. Some drone up to 2k rpm, but not enough to be an issue. Heck, if I'm cruising at 2k or less, it's in a parking lot...and then I want people to hear me coming considering the soccer mom on the phone, yelling at the kids and backing her mini van up in the Walmart parking lot! At cruising speed I can still use my Bluetooth (could not do so with Riss Racing) as it's just a bit more agressive than stock.

Wide open throttle is kinda aggressive...not quite as aggressive as I anticipated from some posts. But that's ok with me.

To further endorse my decision, my 70 year old father-in whose visiting this week said the car sounds like a sports car should (hint-hint BMW M Division). He said the car was too quiet before... But what would you expect to hear from a old muscle car/Nascar fan?

[Nawaaz]

Originally Posted by J08M3

There was a thread and a bunch of excitement going on about Borla when they were first developing the system. It was exciting due to it's low cost. But quickly after a couple installs the thread died off right after a couple people had it installed and weren't too impressed. it's the thread JeffC mentioned.

+1

That's what I ran into when I was researching a while back.

Originally Posted by omegatlc

Von Zoom, do it! My Borla arrived yesterday morning, I installed myself yesterday afternoon and I love it. There are several posts endorsing the Borla on this site. And it appears those not endorsing are doing so because of past experiences with different a car. The fit and finish is very good (had a Riss Racing exhaust that was poorly constructed, didn't fit my e90 and just plain loud/drone-by the way Riss, still waiting for my &@$!?&@ refund if you're lurking!)

Sounds aggressive at start up with a deep V8 sound. Some drone up to 2k rpm, but not enough to be an issue. Heck, if I'm cruising at 2k or less, it's in a parking lot...and then I want people to hear me coming considering the soccer mom on the phone, yelling at the kids and backing her mini van up in the Walmart parking lot! At cruising speed I can still use my Bluetooth (could not do so with Riss Racing) as it's just a bit more agressive than stock.

Wide open throttle is kinda aggressive...not quite as aggressive as I anticipated from some posts. But that's ok with me.

To further endorse my decision, my 70 year old father-in whose visiting this week said the car sounds like a sports car should (hint-hint BMW M Division). He said the car was too quiet before... But what would you expect to hear from a old muscle car/Nascar fan?

Well, if you say it's good, then maybe it's worth a shot for the OP.

[von_zoom]

Thanks all for the info. I ordered my system yesterday, and should have it on the car in a week or two. I am happy to hear that it is not all that loud if driven under sane conditions. I have always had good sounding cars, even my 750i had minor muffler work done to increase the V8 sound. And my track car has a great sound - M3 - E36 modified engine. I have not had the same luck in convincing my wife that I can improve the sound from her 550i. She prefers the quiet.
vz

[gemini330zhp]

Originally Posted by omegatlc

Von Zoom, do it! My Borla arrived yesterday morning, I installed myself yesterday afternoon and I love it. There are several posts endorsing the Borla on this site. And it appears those not endorsing are doing so because of past experiences with different a car. The fit and finish is very good (had a Riss Racing exhaust that was poorly constructed, didn't fit my e90 and just plain loud/drone-by the way Riss, still waiting for my &@$!?&@ refund if you're lurking!)

Sounds aggressive at start up with a deep V8 sound. Some drone up to 2k rpm, but not enough to be an issue. Heck, if I'm cruising at 2k or less, it's in a parking lot...and then I want people to hear me coming considering the soccer mom on the phone, yelling at the kids and backing her mini van up in the Walmart parking lot! At cruising speed I can still use my Bluetooth (could not do so with Riss Racing) as it's just a bit more agressive than stock.

Wide open throttle is kinda aggressive...not quite as aggressive as I anticipated from some posts. But that's ok with me.

To further endorse my decision, my 70 year old father-in whose visiting this week said the car sounds like a sports car should (hint-hint BMW M Division). He said the car was too quiet before... But what would you expect to hear from a old muscle car/Nascar fan?

LOL Soccer Mom in a minivan and cell phone. Most dangerous combo!!!!! By the way do you have any pics of your car with the Borla??

[gemini330zhp]

Originally Posted by von_zoom

Thanks all for the info. I ordered my system yesterday, and should have it on the car in a week or two. I am happy to hear that it is not all that loud if driven under sane conditions. I have always had good sounding cars, even my 750i had minor muffler work done to increase the V8 sound. And my track car has a great sound - M3 - E36 modified engine. I have not had the same luck in convincing my wife that I can improve the sound from her 550i. She prefers the quiet.
vz

Post pics when you get it!!

[von_zoom]

Post pics when you get it!!

I will take pics and make a video. Will be a couple of weeks, but I will get them up.
vz

[TOOMANYCARS]

Here's my thoughts on Borla axel back exhaust, since I did the install with my friend this afternoon on my service lift. The material is good stainless, all the welds are air tight and they look they can withstand the harshest environment, finish is ok which I will get on that in a sec. For $1,3xx, you can't really expect anything better, with that being said, thirteen hundred is still a lot of money for a pair of mufflers & tubings, and you would think all the needed hardware would be provided, not in this case, as a couple people put it, 4 nuts were missing to bolt the ground wires onto the mufflers & to secure the long bolt for the main muffler hanger. On the other hand, I guess my passenger side muffler was made on a Friday afternoon, so it sits abit tilted, which I will work on that either tomorrow or Sunday. Overall, for a fame company like Borla, I'm a little disappointed, but again, for $1,3xx, I guess this is the best they can do.

Now, onto the good stuff, which is how they sound and perform. There's a bit of drone in low rpm range, but as the rev climbs, the drone slowly disappears, wot is nasty, but in a nice way. The car actually feels better, tip in response is much sharper, they just transform the feel of the car. I'd only put about 20 miles on the car since installation, I will post another report when I feel the car had re-learned.

At the end, this is a pretty fun experience, not that this is the first time I'd had installed an exhaust on a car, but a fun way to kill an Friday afternoon.

[Nawaaz]

Thanks for the review!

I was considering the Borla in the very beginning since I was in shock upon viewing the prices of all the other exhaust choices for the M3. After doing a whole lot of research, I chose the Gintani and just called it a day.

[von_zoom]

Thanks for the info. " My system is in the mail," so I hope to have it on by the end of next week. Will post my impressions.
vz

[TOOMANYCARS]

Passenger side tilting muffler problem fixed, thanks to the wife and housemaid pulling down on the long muffler hanger while I tighten down the clamps. Now both sides look very even, but Borla could have done it right the first time when putting the welds together, hopefully someone from Borla will see this and address it accordingly.

[JCtx]

All 3 Borla systems I have bought in the past had terrible fit (and drone), so never again. They used to be the only name in town back in the day, but glad there're tons of much better options now. They still have the same mufflers of decades ago .

[TOOMANYCARS]

If you had posted earlier about your experience with Borla, I might not have gotten mine. LOLZ!!! Rest assure, this is my first, last, and only experience with Borla.

[JCtx]

Originally Posted by TOOMANYCARS

Rest assure, this is my first, last, and only experience with Borla.

Glad you arrived at that decision by experimenting yourself on your M3 , and not by my experience with other V8 cars.

But once you get around the fit issue, the real problem for me was the drone; it was unbearable below 3K rpm. Wonder how bad it is on the drone-prone M3. It'd be nice if you could post a review so other potential buyers know what they'd be getting into. Probably not any worse than other non-Helmholtz-chambered systems out there . Take care.

[TOOMANYCARS]

I'm going to post a video on youtube after I get it back from service tomorrow.

[von_zoom]

Installed the Borla exhaust today. At highway speeds, sound is not all that different than stock, until you get on it. Starting off it is louder than stock, but not all that bad. Of course, the faster the start, the louder the growl. Drone is light, liveable, but present. I will try an post vids later.
vz

[von_zoom]

Here is a video shot today. Various takes so you can get an idea on the inside sound, rather than just the exterior. I purposefully attempted to create the dreaded drone by "dragging" the accelarator during cruise, which kept steady power on the engine. Also, I used normal power application, and you can see the drone is not that noticable - radio and telephone can be heard with no trouble.
vz

Just in case the U2B does not work.

[montreal red]

nice video! very accurate representation of the inside sound ...

[Edman951]

Good video showing different driving rpm/gears, well done