Think twice about purchasing borla atak

[aleccolin]

Interestingly enough, the revised Ford Performance by Borla exhaust X-pipe is now stamped...not sure if thats better or worse. I didn't take a pic but the inside if it was definitely cleaner than what you have pictured.

I was a little surprised to see that when I got mine, but after looking it over I was happy about it because it looked like it would flow well and it should be stronger or at the very least less susceptible to fatigue cracking of the welds because there aren't any. Better way to skin a cat IMO, makes a ton of sense from a mass production standpoint.

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[Bcobb85]

I was a little surprised to see that when I got mine, but after looking it over I was happy about it because it looked like it would flow well and it should be stronger or at the very least less susceptible to fatigue cracking of the welds because there aren't any. Better way to skin a cat IMO, makes a ton of sense from a mass production standpoint.

Yea, its definitely more open and cleaner than the previous x-pipe design. However, I'm still unsure if its better from a flow/scavenging standpoint. I called Borla and spoke to someone who didn't give much info as to why it was changed but assured me that it wouldn't affect the performance gains. Perhaps someone with more knowledge on the subject could chime in? I am very curious as to why it was changed only on the Ford Performance unit and not on the Atak.

 

[aleccolin]

Yea, its definitely more open and cleaner than the previous x-pipe design. However, I'm still unsure if its better from a flow/scavenging standpoint. I called Borla and spoke to someone who didn't give much info as to why it was changed but assured me that it wouldn't affect the performance gains. Perhaps someone with more knowledge on the subject could chime in? I am very curious as to why it was changed only on the Ford Performance unit and not on the Atak.

Changing anything costs money, the only thing that makes it worth doing is if there's a cost savings resulting from the change. I'm sure it's faster and easier to use a prefabbed, stamped x-pipe, and they're pretty cheap (less than $50 for universal units) so there's probably a net savings in labor right there.

FRPP may have demanded a lower price point for the system, or maybe there was a quality issue (unpossible) and they dictated the change. Dealer-installed stuff tends to fall under OE like scrutiny as far as quality and longevity, if they had doubts about the welds on the x-pipe that would be a good reason to spec the change.

 

[Bcobb85]

Changing anything costs money, the only thing that makes it worth doing is if there's a cost savings resulting from the change. I'm sure it's faster and easier to use a prefabbed, stamped x-pipe, and they're pretty cheap (less than $50 for universal units) so there's probably a net savings in labor right there.

FRPP may have demanded a lower price point for the system, or maybe there was a quality issue (unpossible) and they dictated the change. Dealer-installed stuff tends to fall under OE like scrutiny as far as quality and longevity, if they had doubts about the welds on the x-pipe that would be a good reason to spec the change.

Yea, those two scenarios (cost and/or quality control) make the most sense to dictate a sudden revision like that. Hopefully we aren’t sacrificing performance for it.

 

[wildcatgoal]

The Corsa exhausts I've seen installed were always misaligned at the tips. Could be installer error, but I tried my hardest to fix it for one person and only made it... better. For the price they charge, I'd expect adjustable tips like Solo Performance offers... for almost half the price, at times. Solo's piping is not stainless all the way though. Or at least my early version isn't. But nobody sees the pipes so I don't really care.



Borla has never been a consideration for me.


Stainless Works makes an interesting exhaust I recently heard and liked a lot.


MBRP Street sounds great, looks good when installed properly, too.


Steeda/Magnaflow exhaust (the whole catback for 15-17s) is a nice kit, IMO. I have not really seen a single flaw with the few people I've seen with a Magnaflow.



Just foods for thoughts...

 

[Hollywood]

I have the Borla Atak exhaust on my R and honestly never looked inside the pipes when we put it on. The only place I can see is the tips now that it is on my car. Honestly, if it looks like that I could care less. The sound is amazing, no drone and makes the car sound like it looks. Not to mention it sounds better than stock to me.

 

[Niz55]

This exhaust will be killer combo with shiftek x pipe. I wonder if they would sell the mufflers and mids separate.

 

[swedensky]

I never looked inside of it * Guess I should, but like you said - pain to remove it and what not

 

[Hi-PO Stang]

Nothing Extrude hone cant take care of.

 

[galaxy]

Interestingly enough, the revised Ford Performance by Borla exhaust X-pipe is now stamped...not sure if thats better or worse. I didn't take a pic but the inside if it was definitely cleaner than what you have pictured.

That and the ATAK are two completely different systems. Mufflers are different. I would take a guess that the x pipe is a combination of cost and design to work with the mufflers of that system.

@galaxy what kind of mod was made to the shifteck? Shorten up or???

Luckily the ShifTeck pipe is longer, but the diameter is smaller. I cut it off to match the length of the Borla x-pipe and then took it to my local muffler guy who expanded the ends enough to math the diameter of the Borla x-pipe. Now it will slip inside the Borla tail pipe just like the x that came with it. And at least in my gearhead brain, the ShifTeck x-pipe maintains the same pipe diameter as the header/cat pipes, thus should help with low end torque a bit longer, but that would just be a guess on my part.

Oh, I also did the homework on this too...The Lethal Performance x-pipe is an even better option if you're going to buy one anyways. It's already the same diameter as the Borla x-pipe. One could get that one and cut the length and be ready to go; no trip to the muffler shop. If for some reason my ShifTeck doesn't fit or look right when I install, I'm going to roll the dice and go this route. It's a gorgeous piece like the ShifTeck.

I don't understand why some of you that have purchased this exhaust didn't make a thread to warn other members about this? Yes it can be sent back for a full refund but taking off the factory exhaust and re packaging everything is such a hassle .

A couple of us did. I mentioned it in my thread and Epiphany (I think) mentioned it in his. In the end, and even though the look of that x-pipe makes me lose sleep at night, I don't think returning the whole system is worth the effort. See Hollywood's quote at the bottom; it's still a pretty bad ass system. And to have the ability to install yourself at home and fit this good is a selling point also.

Who said some of us that have this exhaust have the same problem you have????:headbonk:

You do. They're all this way.

BTW, built date on my Bora was 05/08/2018.

Mine was Jan '18

Yea, its definitely more open and cleaner than the previous x-pipe design. However, I'm still unsure if its better from a flow/scavenging standpoint. I called Borla and spoke to someone who didn't give much info as to why it was changed but assured me that it wouldn't affect the performance gains. Perhaps someone with more knowledge on the subject could chime in? I am very curious as to why it was changed only on the Ford Performance unit and not on the Atak.

Yea, I agree. I'm no fluid dynamics engineer or anything, but even if that small of a hole is beneficial and does it's job, that buggered up job cannot be good for airflow design...but who am I? With my gearhead university degree, it sure doesn't look like it has good flow or scavenging characteristics to me. But, they did back it up with numbers and dyno, and I know I didn't put as much R&D into it as they did (or should have).

I have the Borla Atak exhaust on my R and honestly never looked inside the pipes when we put it on. The only place I can see is the tips now that it is on my car. Honestly, if it looks like that I could care less. The sound is amazing, no drone and makes the car sound like it looks. Not to mention it sounds better than stock to me.[/QUOTE]

Fact! But at least I'm not alone and completely agree with niz55...that ugly ass job drives me bonkers. And since my ShifTeck pipe is already adjusted to fit, this thread was the motivation I needed to install it, even if only as a placebo to make me sleep better. I wonder if anyone at Borla that got my pics actually looked at it and went "wow, that's pretty". But, now you're talking mass production vs one at a time. But then I guess you could also argue I doubt GT350 systems are rolling out the door by the dozens either.

 

[jefc73]

[MENTION=33934]galaxy[/MENTION] Let us know how the shifteck mod works? Sound power etc. I may do the lethal 350 Res delete X pipe when they have a discount going on and use my points as well.

 

[1mic]

Interestingly enough, the revised Ford Performance by Borla exhaust X-pipe is now stamped...not sure if thats better or worse. I didn't take a pic but the inside if it was definitely cleaner than what you have pictured.

My brother taught himself how to weld, when he's in a hurry thats what his welds look like. LOL That is shoddy work, I thought borla was a good company.

But after posting here & svt (since 04) I've learned the exhaust systems to avoid are the cheap no-name ones, stainless works (nightmare fitment on s197 5.0) and now Borla. I would stick with American Racing Headers. Theres a reason the US mfg use them. ARH makes racing exhaust for the Viper race cars too.

 

[galaxy]

Meh, IMO, I don't that's a fair statement. Borla is far from a shoddy, cheap, no-name company just because this one x-pipe looks like complete shit. I would not add them to the avoid list. True, we're bagging on this one weld, but the system is awesome. The fit is awesome. The sound and the quality of everything else is awesome.

 

[jefc73]

If ARH made a system that retained the active exhaust function I would have called Nick and got that for sure.

 

[TheDeadCow]

Borla is an OEM for Ford...

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