Flummer1

I have a 1996 C4 Corvette automatic with the LT1 in it. It is completely stock in every way (exhaust, intake, cam, etc). I am not planning to upgrade for any kind of power gain in anyway. I am looking to add a different exhaust setup for a better sound using mufflers or a cat back with my original headers. I would like to be louder than stock, but not have so much drone and exhaust noise that it is unbearable. I have heard so many different things about the many different options out there, but the two that sound best to me are Corsa and the B&B Fusion.

Some questions I have though are
- Does the B&B fusion actually produce any kind of drone or resonance that would make a long drive impossible?
- Is the B&B loud at low rpm, high, or both?
- Does the B&B Fusion sound similar to stock or is it higher or deeper sounding?
- Do both tips of the Corsa Mufflers work or is one just for show?

Overall, I want a louder system that still has a good sound and can be driven around town and on long drives with little to no drone or resonance issues.

QCVette

I have a Borla catback on my '96 LT4 6M, and a Corsa catback on my '95 LT1 6M.

I am not sure what the term "fusion" refers to since I do not see that term used on the Borla site for C4's.

My Borla is a well constructed catback that has a deep tone and is louder than stock at all rpm's. To me it is not too much drone and I like the sound of it as I work through the gears. At highway cruise speeds it does not bother me and we can still talk without the exhaust interfering.

My Corsa is also a well constructed catback. The tone is not as deep as the Borla. To me it seems very quiet inside the car, however my wife has told me that it is quite loud outside the car. I like the looks of the tips much better on the Corsa. The tips are all functional. However the tips toward the inside of the car are a straight through the muffler (you literally can stick a broom handle straight through the muffler) and those tips get most of the flow and they turn dirty. The tips towards the outside also have flow, but not nearly the same amount. The muffler serves as a resonance chamber that gets little flow, but some goes out the outboard tip. I do not get any drone with this system and it is quiet at cruise on the highway. Sometimes I think I would like the system to be a little louder since I enjoy listening to the motor, Although I did not measure it, I feel like there was an improvement in performance (probably a bad butt dyno) and there was a slight increase in mileage.

Overall, my choice would be the Corsa. Slightly better construction, better looking tips, no drone, and still an improvement in sound over stock.

Good luck with your choice.

edit:
I see it is your first post on the forum. Welcome!

We also like pictures, so feel free to show us.

edit 2:
I just realized you were looking at B&B while I thought you were looking at Borla. Sorry for the confusion, but my comments still show what I think about Borla.

Flummer1

When saying B&B I refer to the Billy Boat Fusion exhaust, not Borla. Also thanks for your greetings.

​​​​Here some pictures of my car:

grandspt

Hi Flummer1, I got your email but I will answer your questions in this post.
The Fusion is B&B's dual mode muffler system. The mufflers have a section that is straight through and a section that is muffled slightly.
It has a valve in the muffler that opens and closes with a wireless key fob. The valve is normally open (straight through muffler very loud). When you press the key fob the valve closes in the straight through section of the muffler and the exhaust goes through the quieter section of the muffler.
On first start the muffler is always in the loud straight through mode.
The valve is vacuum operated but uses an electronic solenoid valve to turn the vacuum on and off . You will have to use a Tee to tap into manifold vacuum. It also comes with a small vacuum canister to store vacuum as well as the wiring harness and brackets.
Installation was not bad but it depends on your skill level.
As far as drone, I do have some with my setup. But my engine is not stock. I have full length ARH 1 3/4" long tube headers, catalytic converters, X pipe, a cam, etc.
If you drive down the highway in quiet mode valve closed drone is not bad at all. But if you accelerate the noise goes up considerably.
The sound is very nice but on a long trip I close the valve as it becomes annoying.
The drone is not a shake you car apart level it is more of a bass low frequency noise. When not accelerating in the quiet mode the drone is not there at all (say 6th gear cruising 5-10 percent throttle).
Overall I like the setup, it would be nicer if the quiet mode was a bit quieter.
As far as looks from behind the car, go to the the B&B website and look at the yellow C4 they are using to advertise the exhaust with. Look carefully at the outside tailpipes. They are tilted. Mine were too. The vacuum diaphragms hit the chassis when you try to straighten the tips. The diaphragms need to be located lower.
I had to modify my diaphragms by relocating and rewelding them so I could get the tips nice and straight. For the kind of money B&B is asking it should be perfect.
I would have looked at Corsa because everyone praises the sound with no drone but I wanted 3" not 2.5" pipes (the stock LT4 is 2 3/4").
Good luck with your choice, hope this helps!

Flummer1

B&B sells a setup which is just the mufflers making it only a axle back. Do you think with everything stock on my car, this would would give me a bit of a louder sound, but still not drone etc

grandspt

I am sure just the mufflers will be louder. As for the drone I can't say. I don't know how B&B's other mufflers sound, I can only speak about the Fusion setup.

Hawkeye56

I have 95 coupe LT1 with a LT4 kit cam, heads,intake,throttle body and short tube headers with hi flow cats. When I got the car it had 3” B&B full exhaust. The drone in the car was horrible you could not hear yourself think.
I replaced it with a Corsa and no drone a very pleasant sound inside and a awesome tone outside.
Good luck on your choice
Hawkeye56

RetroGuy

Flummer,
How the heck did you find a 96 C4 with less than 10,000 miles on it? If there was no huge repair needed, did you pay about $12,000 for it???

cadmaniac

I had a 3" B&B exhaust on my C4. no cats. I drove it 10 miles, and took it off. The drone on my modified setup was horrible. I put Corsas on, and NO DRONE. If you don't know what drone is, it's a horrible sound at low RPM's (like 1600-2000 rpms that will make you not want to drive the car.

Bear in mind, that I have a 421 ci engine, no cats, relatively big cam, and headers. That makes the problem much worse that a stock vehicle.

Corsa, Corsa, Corsa. They also seem to have a couple of options, so choose how loud you want the exhaust to sound. Mine is crazy loud, and it sounds like open headers (but kind of in a good way).

Nice Vette by the way. Great find!

grandspt

Quick sound clip of the B&B Fusion in the straight through (loud) mode at idle after a nice drive and a wash:

mtwoolford

I agree with every thing Hawkeye said about Corsa ; I chose Corsa because it was the only ad with the word "quiet" in it and claimed a 47% increase in flow over stock. Very good, well made system which replaced a Flowmaster system (deleted resonator and short, two chamber "40" style mufflers); worst exhaust system ever.

TiIngot

Fifteen years age I put the Corsa on my '96 LT4. Love the looks and the sound. No resonance at highway speed but loud enough when getting on the throttle without being rude to the neighbors like their diesel pickups are. Still have the original cat back exhaust hanging from the roof of the garage. Put the Corsa on myself with the car on jack stands. If you have a convertible you will need to remove the frame x-brace.

novaks47

I went down the exhaust swap path not long ago. '96 auto, LT1, 3.07 rear, bone stock engine. I started with the Magnaflow axle-back. Hated it. Too loud, and unbelievable drone. I am very sensitive to drone, so I know just how horrible it can be. The Magnadrones made me not want to drive the car. It was like being stuffed inside a subwoofer box with a 40-45hz tone being played at high volume. They sounded good, but between the drone and the loudness, they had to go.

I went with Corsa. Best choice ever, I wish I had listened to the Corsa owners here and went with them in the first place. ZERO drone. Even with an auto tranny and going up hill at low RPM, still no drone. They're louder at idle than stock, but not by a lot. They'll bark a bit on cold startup, but still they're still far from obnoxious. Normal/mild acceleration, they're still just a few notches above stock, but not enough to draw unwanted attention, just a nice mellow note. It will get loud(outside the car) under hard acceleration and at high RPMs, other wise they are on the quieter side.

Dredgeguy

Flummer1 I see you are from Maryland, I am in Ellicott City. My 92 ZR-1 has Stainless Works headers and Corsa. Like others said, no drone and sounds great. Love the sound of my car over 3500 RPM lets everybody know it is time to play...
Once things return to normal most Saturdays am at the Hunt Valley cars and coffee and Sunday at Burtonsville cars and coffee. Come see and hear for yourself.
Charlie

KyleF

Corsa