Borla Exhaust (Review)

Instructions

Not all the mods you buy come with a good set of instructions, but Borla included a decent packet of the appropriate disclaimers, stock exhaust removal, and Borla exhaust installation. Included were some drawings, pictures, etc.. These were helpful for me, but I think I was able to expand on the instructions significantly in my write-up.

Easy Assembly

The kit goes together fairly easy. The most difficult part of the process is pulling the stock muffler down. All the parts seemed to fit ok and fit within the constraints of the vehicle.

Sound

This is one of my reasons for buying this system. The Borla dual exhaust gives the 350z engine a very deep rumble similar to a v8 engine. It sounds powerful and gets the attention of bystanders often. At about 90mph on the highway it starts to drone very loud.

Lighter Than Stock

There is definite weight savings here. I was not able to weigh the exhaust system, but from some research there is approximately 20+ lbs to be lost. Not as light as titanium, but that choice comes with a price. Compared to the Stillen true dual which is heavier than stock this is the better choie.

Looks

The exhaust tips are BIG and shiny giving the ass of the z a very agressive and powerful look. This is a definite plus.

True Dual

There are not many true dual exhaust offerings on the market right now. Most of the JDM exhausts are single pipe back from the y-pipe. There are exceptions however.

Nothing is perfect, so here are my few but valid complaints about the Borla true dual system.

Too many pieces
My first complaint about this exhaust system is that it has too many pieces. This was probably done for several reasons. First would be shipping and packaging is easier with a bunch of small components. The other reason is cost. It is most likely cheaper to bend a bunch of small pipes rather than a few long ones. Having so many parts, it doesn't look "well thought out". It is as if they grabbed a short pipe and bent it to fit around the axle, then took another pipe and made if fit around the floor board, and then another to match the catalytic converters. In other words, built pieces rather than a full system.

Clamping system
Rather than the typical flange connection method used by most of the JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) exhaust systems (and the Nissan OEM system), Borla uses slip-together pipes and clamps to bind all of the parts together. I don't like these clamps for a few reasons. The first is that there is no way of telling how the pipes are supposed to match up. I found you could spin some of the pipes and they fit in various positions, but then another pipe may not match up later (because of the bends). Are they sealed? It was hard to tell if things were sealed up. I took extra precautions by using high-temp sealant on all of the joints. I will not fully know if it worked until I get my test pipe replaced.

Sloppy tolerances
Once i got everything bolted up the muffler sat back about 1" too far. I could not for the life of me get it to go back into the rubber hanger grommets. I had to unbolt a lot of the pipes and try to squeeze things together tighter. This kind of reflects on the poor design of the clamping system.

Test Pipes
When used in conjunction with test pipes (resonated or not), there is annoying hissing sound that develops. This has been confirmed with many owners and could be enough to turn people off from this exhaust system.

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