AndyDove

In the market for a new exhaust for my near-stock '99 C5 Coupe. When I picked up the car from Buds last year it had Corsa Bulletts and I really hated the noise (too loud, too 'tinny'). They took it off and put stock back for a $1k discount.

So, I've been looking at Borla for months now, but I'm confused. What is the difference between:

S-type 'classic' and S-type 'II'. The II is clearly some kind of redesign, so does that mean the 'classic' was a dud, hence the redesign. But then they still sell the classic, so what's the difference?

What is a 'Stinger'. Everybody talks about Borla Stinger, except (weirdly) the Borla website. Is Stinger the 'S' in S-type? Or does S mean the serpentine shape?

Hope you can help :-)
/Andy

AndyDove

Anybody? More confusion, when searching for answers on this topic, quite a few people call it a "Borla Stinger S-Type", so presumably the S means something else (the shape?). Hoping for some clarity - hate to drop $$$ on something I wasn't looking for because of Borla's opaque naming and numbering system.

dbgoodwin

From what I understand:

Stinger is like a code name for the s type exhaust. They resesigned the stinger exhaust to reduce drone, not sure if that's the difference between the classic and the s type 2. I'll do a little more looking.

dbgoodwin

Alright so what it looks like is the s type 2 is more of a traditional muffler exhaust whereas the classic uses the bullet style exhaust.

That said, the classic will be louder and give you potential for a little more drone. A quote from a borla rep (well, paraphrase): "we redesigned our s type exhaust to reduce drone..... Still have the s type classic to give drivers the option to have the classic "stinger" sound while still reducing drone from the original s type"

If you didn't like how loud the corsa exhaust was, I would avoid the classic.

QCVette

I wish I had an answer for you, but I see the same confusion in naming the Borla exhausts.

I have the 140039 set which I have seen advertised as "stingers" and as "s type classic".

I see a lot of people reference "bullets" and "stingers" as interchangeable terms meaning no muffler but only the straight through piping to the tips. I have also heard "s type" used meaning without muffler and others meaning with muffler.

The non specific naming and how people refer to the Borla systems makes it very confusing as to which one they are talking about. Because of this I try to use the part number along with any "name".

Good luck sorting out the names. If you find a consensus, please post what the names mean.

CQRT

Please consider the BIlly Boat exhausts . . .here's a link to the C5 applications--if you have good computer speakers, you can click on the links and hear what their Route 66 - - > PRT---> and Bullet systems sound like.

http://www.bbexhaust.com/car/corvette/c5/

I've put Route 66s on both my C5 & C6 with a Bassani cross pipe.

Sounds great - - very little drone. It's what a Corvette should sound like.

You might also find a local Corvette club (put your location in your profile) and attend a club meeting or car show to hear exhaust notes first hand.

Good luck - - -

AndyDove

I think you're right CQRT, the only way to really get an impression about sound is to attend some kind of meet. Not really explored local clubs here in MI to be honest, maybe I should. Hearing youtube vids of exhaust is a frustrating experience for sure. Watch on my iPhone - sound tinny, watch on my home PC with an enthusiastic subwoofer - sounds great! I will look again at Billy Boat though.

/Andy

AndyDove

Yes, could they make it more opaque? A certain popular online shopping site simple gives names like "Borla Exhaust', and that's it!

Like you say, the Classic looks more like a straight through, system. Must be quite noisy? Drone bad?

QCVette

Like mentioned already, the best way is to hear the exhausts in person. The sound clips just don't seem to really show enough to make a good decision.

I have had two systems.

The Borla 140039 which I had with a Corsa X-pipe on a stock '99. This set up had a deep sound at idle and working through the gears. It was a lot like the old muscle car sound. I liked it, but it was pretty loud and although I didn't mind it, my wife noticed some drone on the highway.

The other system is LG longtube pro's with a 3" catless X-pipe with B&B Route 66 mufflers on a mostly stock '99. The Route 66 mufflers are more to the quiet side although louder than stock. With this system, there is a noticeably non stock sound and it sounds good both at idle and working through the gears. It is not as deep a tone as the Borla system and maybe has a little rasp to it. Although I can hear the exhaust while driving there is very little to no drone on the highway. For a comparison, after a 1700 mile trip in it my wife commented that it was not as loud as most of my other cars for a trip and she could listen to the radio or talk easily. I am quite pleased with this system.

Good luck in picking a system.

Rsharpatx

I have the borla Stype - dubbed the stinger borla part # 140017. Running that with 1 7/8 American racing headers x-pipe catless.

It's loud and sexy, sounds like a muscle car should to me. At speeds over 100 and WOT it has a slightly higher pitch.

Drone - it has some hella bass to hit especially at the 1200-2000 rpm. Personally I enjoy it. At highway speeds you can hear the exhaust but does effect conversation at all.

If you are looking for quiet then don't do catless LTs and borla stingers.

David Shiel

Borla S Type II with Kooks headers and x pipe. Great sound, little drone and lots of compliments.

Wylie1

Borla S-Type I aka "Stinger(s)" were the 1st Gen S-Type. VW had a trademark on "Stinger" so Borla got away from using that term. The S-Type I had a drone and resonance that folks complained about which the S-Type II has rectified.

Running S-Type II on my 02 C5 LS1 Coupe and couldn't be happier. Sounds like the inboard of a large boat at idle!

Borla Part #140427

avigar

I have the S-Type I that was installed by the previous owner. It's the original design with the straight flow-through mufflers, so it's a tad bit loud. The S-Type II uses mufflers where the inlet and outlet are on the same side of the mufflers to help reduce drone. However, upon talking with a Borla factory tech, he also mentioned that the resulting sounds from both systems are slightly different. Some people still prefer that S-Type I sound and it's still in demand. That's why S-Type I is still being sold. Coming from a C4 that had a Corsa system, I've grown to love the S-Type I sound with my C5 and wouldn't change it.

David Borla

If you guys have any questions please send me an email at davidb@borla.com or call the direct line to my office at 805.246.6067

AndyDove

Thanks Dave. Update from me is that I did buy the Borla S-Type II, and absolutely love it. Whether trickling around town or opening it up a little, it's great.

Only two things less than stellar:
1. Smells pretty bad for the first hundred miles or so. Gone now.
2. Just occasionally I'll accelerate really hard (rare), and on two occasions, having done that and driving normally again there's a weird rattle-y resonance from the exhaust system. Quite unpleasant, but then it goes again and it's hard to reproduce. I'll have to take a look underneath and see if anything looks untoward. Any experience with such a resonance?

Fast Cars & Horses

I just had a Borla Type S (classic) cat back installed on my C6 Z06. I listened to many types before I decided on this one, it has a real throaty bad a$$ sound. Yes, there's drone through the lower gears, but at cruising speeds, it's more than tolerable, and I'm picky. I actually love the sound in the lower gears myself, it's what muscle cars are all about. The 4.25" tips are awesome looking. I have a Magnaflow on my C5 with a more mellow sound and I wish I had went with the Borla on that, but several years ago, I was coming off of a C3 with very loud annoying side pipes and it affected my choice.

I've accelerated very hard (autox'd it twice with the Borla) and absolutely no rattle at any time.

David Borla

Call me or email me if you want to go over this. davidb@borla.com or 805.246.6067

Sounds like a particular frequency may be rattling something inside the cabin or a body panel. Can you tell where the rattle is coming from?

David Shiel

on sound and no rattly resonance out of mine. I did tighten all the clamps and mounts after a few hundred miles of my ownership of the car. I think they had a few thousand miles on them. Just P Mantenance due to heating annd cooling cycles. Love them!
Dave

dbayton

These pics should answer any questions...

Evil-Twin

What I find interesting in this thread is the fact that the Borla Representative said they tried to redesign to reduce drone... For 15 years I havce been saying that Borla's Drone. People who had them said No. But here is the Borla rep trying to find a way to reduce drone and redesign their exhaust because so many people complained about drone.. One of Dave Hill's mandates was not to have any drone at any rpm.

BTW there is no such thing as Corsa Bullets. You are talking about B&B Bullets

These B&B bullets offer a raspy drone filled note in the 1500 to 2000 rpm range. When GM was looking for and exhaust for the Indy Pace car, three manufacturers were in contention... GM settled on Coras because the manufacturer was the only one to deliver a throaty, no drone at any rpm exhaust note.
None of Corsa's exhaust are tinny sounding. Corsa indy pace car was the only after market exhaust to be granted a GM part number. They now offer an extreme exhaust which still does not drone .

I could afford to buy anything, but Ive had my Corsa Indy pace car exhaust with X pipe for 15 years, it owns me nothing, I could sell them tomorrow for 700/800 dollars. but then what would I get... For me.. they are perfect. But then I'm not one to embrace those farts cans that are so popular with the kids. Ive even had some people here say, the more drone the better... Drone is not the measure of loudness, or deep throaty tone. It is a condition of harmonic resonance that creates vibration, and harsh over tones. A headache in the maki9ng when on a long trip in cruise at 70 mph. Drone is pure crap in a modern day exhaust system.