On page 158 of the August 2004 issue of Motortrend, I noticed a Borla advertisement with a black Crossfire Coupe. It had a new muffler. I'm thinking that this is the new Cat-back system for the Crossfire. I went to their website, and nothing was availible for the Crossfire. Any help?

 

I've been on the phone with them a few times and all I got was a "Future" part # 140083. But, no pricing or delivery date. I may just take a drive up there next week since they are only about 50 miles from me... I'll inform...

 

I'm looking at the magazine right now but... I'm not too sure about how those tips are looking...

 

I looked at the magazine ad to and have mixed feelings about it. I would probably have to see it in person and hear how it sounds to decide if I want the Borla or not.

 

I agree.... For what I'm hearing Borla wants for their system, I too want to see it, touch it and hear it before I spend $900+ on it.

 

MB Parts are expensive and your looking at low production numbers for the X-fire.

Was in the Auto parts business some years ago, New & recromed bumpers, fenders and the like. I remember a one Front bumper that fit both Olds and Cady, $350.00 for the Olds & $750 for the Cadys - exact same bumper.

 

Hi Jimbo....now that has nothing to do with low production numbers then ...does it. If you produce say 5000 of the Olds bumpers and 750 of the as you say identical Caddy bumpers, the production cost would be based on a total production run of 5750 vs cost of tooling ;-) The price difference is marketing.
I remember the same thing from the Audi/VW dealer where my buddy worked back in good old Germany. The Audi customers got to pay 25% more for the same part out of the same parts bin :-)
Not to mention that my buddy got really good at "costume changes" when going from "Specialist Technician VW" to "Specialist Technician Audi". He still is the best I know and the only one besides me allowed to touch my Alfa GTV 625 3.5

Even if Borla were to manufacture the exhaust with tips more like the stock ones the difference in tooling would be small.
But it was always a little more expensive to have something special.

The $900+ would be acceptable to me if:

1. Looks exactly like stock XF
2. Looks exactly like stock XF <-- really important :-)
3. Improves performance even if only slightly but definitely no loss allowed.
4. Gives a slightly more aggressive tone without being unnerving on a longer drive.
5. Is made out of stainless material so the investment lasts a while.

Based on my list of 5 you can easily see that this would be a purchase I would only make after being able to lay hands and ears on it. :-)

 

I purchased a "Borla Prototype" on e-bay, see my album. its still in the box I will be installing it soon. When I do Ill post some picks and a sound file - if I can figure out how to upload the file.

 

I have been in communication with Borla since early in the year. They have always stated that the catback exhaust is forthcoming in a few weeks. I have been patience during this period, but the latest word,direct from Borla (2 days ago), is that the drawings and final design are NOT finalized and it WILL BE A FEW MORE WEEKS!!!

After putting the Crossfire on my lift and examining the OEM exhaust, I have decided that it is a very simple job to modify the exhaust system. I have ordered the Magnaflow muffler (Part number 14220) along with the double wall tips ( P/N 35157) and will do it myself for less than $200.00. I recognize that this will be testing in place and that I might encounter a resonance problem. But if this occurs, I will add, upstream from the muffler, a short straight through muffler to dampen the vibration. Stay tuned for further details!!

 

So you will be keeping the factory cat? If it's at all possible while you're doing this, see if you could get a picture looking down the tube at the cat??? My tuning guy would like to replace the factory exhaust on my car, but would like to get a look-see at how restrictive the factory cat is without having to cut my pipes just to look.

 

Yep, I will be keeping the factory cat. I want to keep this simple. I will attempt to get a photo looking forward from inside the flange toward the cat, but I am not certain that the camera will focus or the flash will work looking inside a pipe. There is a flange located aft of the cat converter. You just remove the exhaust pipe at this flange(3 bolts), release the pipe and muffler from their rubber hangers and the OEM catback pipe, muffler and tips are on the floor. Start fabricating! For those without a shop and a mig or tig welder, any respectable muffler shop should be able to accomplish this in about an hour or so. AJUSA.com has the Magnaflow muffler in stock and the p/n is 14220, price is $128.38 with no shipping charges.

 

Maybe shine a flashlight down the pipe and shoot without flash?

 

Checkout my photo album - "Borla Prototype" I got on ebay installed today.

I actually like the round tips and it Sounds good - a little louder than the stock system, but not too loud, lets you know its there but you can still hear.
Now I need to get it Chiped.

 

Any possibility of doing some 0-60 runs?

 

Jimbo hows the performance FEEL?!?!? its gotta be somewhat different!

 

The most notable differnce is the sound - A deeper tone. Not loud but you know its there. Sounds more like a sports car now. The car seems to excelerate faster, but I haven't measured the difference. Haven't driven it much either, just in town - in traffic.

 

Have only driven it in town - traffic so don't know about performance.
After I get it chipped maybe I'll beable to get some performance info.
But, it would probabley be useless as I didn't check performance before the mods.

Another point is I don't know who actually made the thing, it says Borla on the muffler & tips, but I didn't get it from Borla. I was waiting for Borla to release their system, but got tired of waiting, Plan on getting it chipped real soon and wanted to change the exhaust before I got it chipped.

 

Thanks Jim !

 

I have installed the Magnaflow muffler on my wife's Xfire. It was several hours of work as she wanted to retain the OEM exhaust tips and to keep it looking stock from the rear. (Note: If it had been my choice, knowing what I know now, I would have bought some aftermarket stainless tips from Magnaflow that were staight, as the OEM's are on "S" curved pipes. This added a complication to the cutting and fitting.) I made a short test flight on the car after the installation and the sound is sweet. In my opinion, this is how the car should have sounded new from the factory. Not loud, but with a low rumble, that says, "IT'S ALIVE!!!". I was pleasantly surprised that there was no resonance or drumming inside the car that I could detect even up to the max speed that I went, about 90 mph. We live out in the country and running it through the gears (Yes, she wanted a six speed.), nighttime with the windows up or down, it has a wonderful exhaust tone.

It was a little labor intensive, but after laying the OEM pipe and muffler out on a large piece of butcher paper and tracing it on my shop floor, it was easy to decide where to cut, section, and reweld the exhaust pipe to attach the Magnaflow muffler in place of the original muffler. I tryed cutting the pipe with a metal cutting blade in a SawsAll, but it became quickly apparent, that was not going to work. The pipe is very hard. Out came the Plasma Cutter which made quick work of the job. A few tack welds to temporarily hold it together to allow fitting back under the car to check alignment (Yep, had to make some minor adjustments). When the alignment was satisfactory, it was removed for the final mig welding and installation. I fabricated the rear hangers from 3/8 inch steel rod bent to the proper shape to hang from the OEM rubber hangers under the car body.

The wife is as happy as a "little meadow lark" now that her car sounds like it should.

 

we are 4 for 4 on people happy with the magnaflow sound now...

I have looked at the aftermarket tips.. because of the trapezoid shap of the surrounding area square, oval and round tips don't seem to blend very well. The only thing that looks like it might work is a oblong shape. it is flat on the top and bottome (to match the squareness at the top) and oval on the sides - kid of like this:
.____ . .____.
(____) (____)


I had thought about picking up a set but it is another $100 and you will still have to mess with the pipe agles to make it sit correctly due to the magnaflow outlet locations....

Comparied to the price the borla is going to cost I may join the group on this one, but I will paint the muffler black... I think it looks funny to see one muffler behind the tips rather than wondering if it is a dual exhaust or not. I also worry that my local muffler shop won't figure out how to get the angle of the stock tips back on to make them look correct. Not all of them are as patient as it might take to accomplish the job.

-marc