Jared_J
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2016
- Threads
- 13
- Messages
- 160
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- Location
- San Diego, CA
- Vehicle(s)
- 2015 Mustang V6
- Thread starter
- #1
I recently purchased the Borla S-type. After realizing my Jack stands won't give me enough space to do the installation myself, I took the car and the parts to a shop I trust and paid for installation. After driving with the new exhaust for a few miles, I hugely regretted this upgrade. The car vibrated when idling in gear, especially when AC was on. The exhaust sounded like a fart can at low engine speed, and there was a huge drone at 2200-3000rpm. It sounded so ricey that I felt embarrassed to drive it.
Because I don't find other Borla S-type owners complaining same thing, I thought it was either an installation issue or a defective part I received. Before making a complaint to Borla, I gotta make sure it was installed properly. So I went back to the shop, and let them check the installation. They said all parts were correctly installed. I then asked, did you tighten all the bolts to the torque required by the manual? The mechanic said yes. But that confirmation did not sound very solid to me.
Being skeptical to his word, I jacked up the car this afternoon and got underneath it. NONE of the 8 bolts were tightened to the required torque!!! The manual require 32-35 ft-lbs on the clamps, most of the bolts were not even 30, and there was one bolt so loose like only 20ft-lbs torque was applied. So I re-tightened all the bolts to 34 ft-lbs, in the sequence as instructed by the manual.
After I put down the car and fired it up. MAGIC happened! No vibration at all! When driving it, the noise is day and night difference! The exhaust is quiet under normal driving, and is almost silent when cruising on highway. Exactly as described by other owners and exactly as I wanted. Very little drone happen at 2500rpm, but totally bearable. And consider this exhaust has only 300 miles on it, I expect that minor drone to diminish over time.
Lesson learned here, if you want quality work, it may still be best for you to do it yourself, or at least keep an eye on the mechanic. But for the exhaust installation case, unless you have some tall enough jacks, it is really painful to work in that tiny little space underneath the car. And though my car is just one year old, the stock exhaust is already all rusted. It can be very hard to take it off. It may still worth it to pay for the work, but just make sure they do quality job.
Because I don't find other Borla S-type owners complaining same thing, I thought it was either an installation issue or a defective part I received. Before making a complaint to Borla, I gotta make sure it was installed properly. So I went back to the shop, and let them check the installation. They said all parts were correctly installed. I then asked, did you tighten all the bolts to the torque required by the manual? The mechanic said yes. But that confirmation did not sound very solid to me.
Being skeptical to his word, I jacked up the car this afternoon and got underneath it. NONE of the 8 bolts were tightened to the required torque!!! The manual require 32-35 ft-lbs on the clamps, most of the bolts were not even 30, and there was one bolt so loose like only 20ft-lbs torque was applied. So I re-tightened all the bolts to 34 ft-lbs, in the sequence as instructed by the manual.
After I put down the car and fired it up. MAGIC happened! No vibration at all! When driving it, the noise is day and night difference! The exhaust is quiet under normal driving, and is almost silent when cruising on highway. Exactly as described by other owners and exactly as I wanted. Very little drone happen at 2500rpm, but totally bearable. And consider this exhaust has only 300 miles on it, I expect that minor drone to diminish over time.
Lesson learned here, if you want quality work, it may still be best for you to do it yourself, or at least keep an eye on the mechanic. But for the exhaust installation case, unless you have some tall enough jacks, it is really painful to work in that tiny little space underneath the car. And though my car is just one year old, the stock exhaust is already all rusted. It can be very hard to take it off. It may still worth it to pay for the work, but just make sure they do quality job.
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