Borla mufflers installed.(1 week update)
 

well, I've kept it a 'secret' for long enough that I was going to swap out my stock mufflers for some Borlas. I ordered them last week and got them installed today. I'm not too happy with the sound however. When I installed Borla mufflers on the Riviera they were very deep sounding. The borla's don't sound as impressive on the 3.5 though. at idle they're as quiet as stock and there's a slight drone at around 70 MPH. (highway cruising speed which I do 4 days a week. >:( ) When you gun it it's real loud up until 4,000 RPM then the exhaust falls almost silent again. I don't know if it's the engine displacement that makes it sound like this, or what.. not sure really. I have heard that mufflers have to "break in" and after a few thousand miles will start to sound better. Hopefully that'll be the case here? I was expecting a deeper sound. Luckily these mufflers aren't too loud though.

They're the Borla PRO XS mufflers that retail for $150. I got them on Ebay for $87 each though. The installation ran $40. (they were welded on.) These Borla's weigh about half as much as the stock mufflers and they're basically the same size!

stock mufflers
Attachment 73474

Stock mufflers mounted
Attachment 73475

New Borla Mufflers
Attachment 73476

New Borla's.. they're a straigh-through design. You can see from one end straight through to the other. The stock mufflers have several 180* bends in them
Attachment 73477

Borla PRO XS mufflers mounted
Attachment 73478


http://media.putfile.com/Borlashortstar
In the first clip, I have the windows down and start off at 1/8 throttle. I then gun it to go WOT. In the second clip I'm only going half throttle toward the end. In the last clip of this video, I went full throttle at around 20 MPH. the windows were up. The rattling sound you hear is from the stock mufflers in my trunk..

http://media.putfile.com/auroraborla
This is a video of the exhaust from outside of the car

they sound pretty good

in my experiences, new mufflers have a break in period, give them a couple weeks.

they sound very quiet kinda sleeperish. unlike flowmasters which say "hey look at me".

it's come to my attention that the first videos didn't work for most people. here's the videos again in a different format. Let me know if these ones work for you.

EDIT:
my internet connection is slow enough that my upload timed out during the course of it, so teh video did not completely upload.. I had to split the video into two sections. :roll:
http://media.putfile.com/shortstarborla
http://media.putfile.com/shortstarborla2


EDIT 2:
I found a sheet that came with my mufflers. It shows their construction.
Attachment 73468
3 pounds of fiberglass and .4 pounds of steal wool. hmmm

i love the looks of ur rear suspension...

i thought muffler break in periods usually got quieter? but i dont know..mine is still lood at hell...

i think yours sound AWESOME...

i couldnt see the outside video clip however...

it would have been nice to see a before and after interior noise... but i think it sounds really strong all the way through the powerband

They sound delicious!

I think I actually prefer the sound of this Shortstar vs. other 3800s with aftermarket exhaust products. :)

i agree, much more refined.
that clicking during the first video when you made that turn sounds like you have a lopey cam. 8) anyway, sounds good

unfortunately it doesn't sound very good in person.. at all IMO. :( Under heavy load (IE more than 1/2 throttle) it sounds good but under light load, or when teh engine is revving in park to warm up (cold engine) it sounds ricerish. I'm dissapointed in the low RPM sound. High RPM sounds fine like I said, it's just the low RPM sounds like it has "droan." I don't know what it means..