Lexman
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- 2016 Ruby Red Mustang GT Premium
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I thought I would do a write up on my experience with the Solos Mach XV and the Corsa Sport catback exhaust. Be warned it is a bit long!
Both are great exhausts and have good reason to be liked as well as they are on these forums. I will give a review of each and a comparison/summary at the end.
Solo Mach XV
Solo’s own description of their exhaust is pretty much spot on. Deep, raw, rich, mean. Like most exhausts, there is a break in period where you need to put some miles on the exhaust to get the tone and overall sound to its final tone.
Initially I was asking myself “where is the deep tone?” A quick 100 miles or so answered that and a nice deep, rumbly exhaust emerged. Other initial impressions were that it was louder than I expected. I even checked to make sure I had the Mach XV mid-section (18” Resonator) and not the Mach Thunder Exhaust. I quickly grew used to the volume and really enjoyed the sound. There is a reason the main Solo Exhaust thread has over a 1000 posts. It has a lot of old school sound and has a bit sharper bass than some other old school sounding exhausts out there. I prefer the Solo as others can sound muffled our bloated IMHO.
Part of what makes the Solo loud is the interior volume of the exhaust. You definitely have presence of the exhaust in the cabin and you have a full V8 Mustang experience with the Solo. It is loud, deep, and mean sounding and not shy or apologetic about it. Many longing looks at gas stations after filling up and starting the car up. Poor guys driving something mundane looking over and giving a nod or thumbs up from other Mustang owners.
Corsa Sport
Corsa has a loyal following and the more I drove the car with the exhaust I understood why. Total discloser it did take time for me to fully appreciate the exhaust coming from the Solo. They are similar and yet very different. The differences is what took time to adjust to.
The sound gets deeper and louder as the exhaust breaks in. It isn’t as deep as the Solo, but does have similar tone at lower RPMs but is different. The best way I can describe the Corsa exhaust is it is a jack of all trades and a master of some.
Where the Solo is mean, loud, and unapologetic type of exhaust. The Corsa has an aggressive, very clean and distinct sound to it. It is as if it’s articulating the full engine noises cleanly and distinctly. All while paying homage to the Mustang’s old school roots with good bass tones but also displaying the best parts of the Modern V8 Muscle car that it is. It has a very sharp, authoritative/aggressive, and good muscle car sound to it. I coined it “Modern Muscle Car” exhaust.
It’s been noted a million times, but I will add the Corsa has zero drone and has less interior volume than most exhausts (Including the Solo). This is not saying you don’t hear the exhaust in the cabin. For the most parts gears 1-5 I still get good volume, but what sells many people on this exhaust is you put it in 6th and “BAM!! Stealth Mode Engaged”. No joke, it gets quiet and becomes a distant sound you can hear but is nowhere intrusive. Outside of 6th there is good volume and it has gotten louder the more miles I put on it.
Conclusion
Again both are great exhaust, but there are some things that might be more important or preferable by an individual. The Solo is for someone looking for an old school sounding exhaust that holds back the sounds of a modern multivalve V8. Driving with the Solo exhaust will give you the full V8 experience and if this is what you are after it will definitely satisfy!
For the Corsa, it is a more refined exhaust. I know that can come off as counterintuitive to what you want in an American V8 Muscle Car. But the Sport strikes a balance of providing a solid bass tone while at the same time articulating the sound of a modern V8 engine. If you drive on the highway or plan to drive long distances with you Mustang, the Corsa is there to make the drive enjoyable and less interior volume that can wear on you during longer drives.
In essence, an exhaust is EQ'ing your sound for you. It can't change what the soundtrack of the engine is, it can only amplify or remove frequencies to create a distinct signature sound.
Winner by Category
Cold Start – Hands down Solo. Mean and deep! Corsa is alright but not nearly as good as Solo. Warm start I’d say dead even.
Interior Volume – Corsa. Just less volume in 6th.
Construction – Tie, both well made
Quality - I’d give Corsa the edge with the full 304 Stainless
Looks - Tie, both have very similar exhaust tips and both look aggressive
Overall sound - For me Corsa. If I bought this exhaust first, I would not have looked at another. It’s not to say Solo is bad. If it had the magic of 6th gear that Corsa has it would still be on my car. I’m afraid it is the tradeoff of deep/louder exhausts is that you just get more interior volume. Bass travels omnidirectional and will radiate through just about any material no matter what. Corsa gives you just enough deep tone without become intrusive in the cabin. For some, it’s not enough volume so again it’s up to the individual. I think some deeper exhaust get around this by having lower overall volume resulting in less interior volume as well. At the volume level of the Corsa and Solo, I’m not sure if that is possible.
Volume Control - Corsa. I know every exhaust thread says that you can control the volume of the exhaust, but Corsa really shines in this area between the two. I guess you can properly call it better dynamic range. Corsa is quiet with light throttle and does directly increase volume with pedal travel. Solo does similarly, but it starts out louder but ends up at a similar volume under full throttle (hence less dynamic range).
One last thing, I’d like to thank [MENTION=9610]jayman33[/MENTION], [MENTION=10281]BmacIL[/MENTION], and [MENTION=18539]SoCalTim[/MENTION] for their help the weekend I made my decision. Almost went AWE, but was worried I’d be back to too much interior volume (for me) and got the Corsa. It didn’t hurt that I got an amazing deal from Jayman in the process either!
Hope this is helpful and if you have questions let me know!
Both are great exhausts and have good reason to be liked as well as they are on these forums. I will give a review of each and a comparison/summary at the end.
Solo Mach XV
Solo’s own description of their exhaust is pretty much spot on. Deep, raw, rich, mean. Like most exhausts, there is a break in period where you need to put some miles on the exhaust to get the tone and overall sound to its final tone.
Initially I was asking myself “where is the deep tone?” A quick 100 miles or so answered that and a nice deep, rumbly exhaust emerged. Other initial impressions were that it was louder than I expected. I even checked to make sure I had the Mach XV mid-section (18” Resonator) and not the Mach Thunder Exhaust. I quickly grew used to the volume and really enjoyed the sound. There is a reason the main Solo Exhaust thread has over a 1000 posts. It has a lot of old school sound and has a bit sharper bass than some other old school sounding exhausts out there. I prefer the Solo as others can sound muffled our bloated IMHO.
Part of what makes the Solo loud is the interior volume of the exhaust. You definitely have presence of the exhaust in the cabin and you have a full V8 Mustang experience with the Solo. It is loud, deep, and mean sounding and not shy or apologetic about it. Many longing looks at gas stations after filling up and starting the car up. Poor guys driving something mundane looking over and giving a nod or thumbs up from other Mustang owners.
Corsa Sport
Corsa has a loyal following and the more I drove the car with the exhaust I understood why. Total discloser it did take time for me to fully appreciate the exhaust coming from the Solo. They are similar and yet very different. The differences is what took time to adjust to.
The sound gets deeper and louder as the exhaust breaks in. It isn’t as deep as the Solo, but does have similar tone at lower RPMs but is different. The best way I can describe the Corsa exhaust is it is a jack of all trades and a master of some.
Where the Solo is mean, loud, and unapologetic type of exhaust. The Corsa has an aggressive, very clean and distinct sound to it. It is as if it’s articulating the full engine noises cleanly and distinctly. All while paying homage to the Mustang’s old school roots with good bass tones but also displaying the best parts of the Modern V8 Muscle car that it is. It has a very sharp, authoritative/aggressive, and good muscle car sound to it. I coined it “Modern Muscle Car” exhaust.
It’s been noted a million times, but I will add the Corsa has zero drone and has less interior volume than most exhausts (Including the Solo). This is not saying you don’t hear the exhaust in the cabin. For the most parts gears 1-5 I still get good volume, but what sells many people on this exhaust is you put it in 6th and “BAM!! Stealth Mode Engaged”. No joke, it gets quiet and becomes a distant sound you can hear but is nowhere intrusive. Outside of 6th there is good volume and it has gotten louder the more miles I put on it.
Conclusion
Again both are great exhaust, but there are some things that might be more important or preferable by an individual. The Solo is for someone looking for an old school sounding exhaust that holds back the sounds of a modern multivalve V8. Driving with the Solo exhaust will give you the full V8 experience and if this is what you are after it will definitely satisfy!
For the Corsa, it is a more refined exhaust. I know that can come off as counterintuitive to what you want in an American V8 Muscle Car. But the Sport strikes a balance of providing a solid bass tone while at the same time articulating the sound of a modern V8 engine. If you drive on the highway or plan to drive long distances with you Mustang, the Corsa is there to make the drive enjoyable and less interior volume that can wear on you during longer drives.
In essence, an exhaust is EQ'ing your sound for you. It can't change what the soundtrack of the engine is, it can only amplify or remove frequencies to create a distinct signature sound.
Winner by Category
Cold Start – Hands down Solo. Mean and deep! Corsa is alright but not nearly as good as Solo. Warm start I’d say dead even.
Interior Volume – Corsa. Just less volume in 6th.
Construction – Tie, both well made
Quality - I’d give Corsa the edge with the full 304 Stainless
Looks - Tie, both have very similar exhaust tips and both look aggressive
Overall sound - For me Corsa. If I bought this exhaust first, I would not have looked at another. It’s not to say Solo is bad. If it had the magic of 6th gear that Corsa has it would still be on my car. I’m afraid it is the tradeoff of deep/louder exhausts is that you just get more interior volume. Bass travels omnidirectional and will radiate through just about any material no matter what. Corsa gives you just enough deep tone without become intrusive in the cabin. For some, it’s not enough volume so again it’s up to the individual. I think some deeper exhaust get around this by having lower overall volume resulting in less interior volume as well. At the volume level of the Corsa and Solo, I’m not sure if that is possible.
Volume Control - Corsa. I know every exhaust thread says that you can control the volume of the exhaust, but Corsa really shines in this area between the two. I guess you can properly call it better dynamic range. Corsa is quiet with light throttle and does directly increase volume with pedal travel. Solo does similarly, but it starts out louder but ends up at a similar volume under full throttle (hence less dynamic range).
One last thing, I’d like to thank [MENTION=9610]jayman33[/MENTION], [MENTION=10281]BmacIL[/MENTION], and [MENTION=18539]SoCalTim[/MENTION] for their help the weekend I made my decision. Almost went AWE, but was worried I’d be back to too much interior volume (for me) and got the Corsa. It didn’t hurt that I got an amazing deal from Jayman in the process either!
Hope this is helpful and if you have questions let me know!
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