GT500 Mufflers on 2011 GT 5.0
11/19/10, 07:11 AM
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GT500 Mufflers on 2011 GT 5.0
I just got back from my Ford dealership, where I had them install my axle-back exhaust from the GT500 onto my 2011 GT 5.0. Here are my impressions on the stock exhaust for the 5.0, followed by my impressions of the GT500 mufflers.
STOCK EXHAUST
To give you a bit of background, I used to own a 94 Camaro Z28 with flowmaster 40 series exhaust, and while I found it was too loud for me, I absolutely loved the sound of a traditional pushrod V8.
When I got my 2011 Mustang GT, one of the first things I noticed is that this V8 came with a different exhaust note than any Mustang or Camaro I had seen before. It sounded much more refined and much more restrained to me. It sounded more like a European V8 than an American V8 to me. I wanted that traditional muscle car sound and knew I'd have to add an after-market exhaust.
I spent the last 4 months listening to every sound clip and every youtube video showing a 2011 GT with an aftermarket exhaust. I had narrowed my choices down to the Borla Sport (or possibly Touring) or the Roush axle-back. I love the sound of the Roush on all the YouTube clips, but every review I read said that they were very loud. I knew from my old Camaro that I did not want an overly loud exhaust again.
I was left with the Borla exhaust. One of the guys on this board was nice enough to let me drive out to his place and hear his S-Type exhaust on his 5.0 convertible. My first impression was that it was very LOUD on cold start-up. Probably too loud for me. I live in a subdivision where the houses are fairly close together and there are lots of little kids and babies in the area. I did not want to worry about pissing off my neighbours every time I fired up my car. The Borla S-Type offers a great exhaust for someone wanted a very aggressive, loud exhaust. It's the type of exhaust that will get people to turn heads before your car is even near them. Aside from the volume, the S-Type did not give the exact sound I was looking for. In my opinion, it still had a tone similar to that of a European V8, but much more aggressive.
About a month ago, I started to see people pop up with the GT500 axle back installed on their cars. I listened to all the YouTube clips of them (there are only a handful) and in my opinion, they sounded great, but I wasn't sure if they had enough volume for me. I decided to take the plunge and order these for $269 US. I'm in Canada, so when it was all said and done with shipping, taxes and brokerage, it came out to about $400 US.
The exhaust arrived this week and this morning I took them to Ford to be installed.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS OF GT500 Axle-Back
I was sitting at Ford, on my iPad looking through this forum. One of the other members had asked if I could post a review of the exhaust once it was installed. I was in the middle of typing a reply (saying I was at Ford getting it done) when I heard the sound of a V8 fire up and begin rumbling. Could this be my car, I thought? The mechanic started reving the engine, and the exhaust sounded amazing to my ears (from inside the waiting room). I felt like a little kid and my heart was beating faster. About 3 or 4 min later, my car is pulled back out into the parking lot and before the mechanic gets out, I ask him to rev the motor for me. He did! I swear in my mind I started giggling like a school girl and jumped up and down, and immediately had thoughts of Tim Allen in Home Improvement doing his man-grunt!
As you may be able to tell by now, I love the exhaust! In my opinion, it sounds very similar to a stock Shelby GT500 in both volume and tone. This should really be the stock OEM exhaust for the GT. At idle, it sounds the same as the stock exhaust, but as soon as you give it any gas, you notice the difference. It no longer sounds like a European engine, it now has that CLASSIC MUSTANG SOUND. Earlier I described the stock exhaust as feeling restrained...no longer. This exhaust totally opens up the sound to what a V8 should sound like. It will turn heads as you pass by people, and will definitely get some attention, but it won't annoy anyone. To those wondering about drone, there is ZERO DRONE with this exhaust. The only room for improvement in my opinion is that I wish the tone were a bit warmer/deeper, but I will defer final judgment until after I break it in as I remember my stock exhaust note warmed/deepened after driving it for a week or so.
I will try to get a YouTube clip up later today and post it here for those interested.
Thanks for reading.
-Chris
STOCK EXHAUST
To give you a bit of background, I used to own a 94 Camaro Z28 with flowmaster 40 series exhaust, and while I found it was too loud for me, I absolutely loved the sound of a traditional pushrod V8.
When I got my 2011 Mustang GT, one of the first things I noticed is that this V8 came with a different exhaust note than any Mustang or Camaro I had seen before. It sounded much more refined and much more restrained to me. It sounded more like a European V8 than an American V8 to me. I wanted that traditional muscle car sound and knew I'd have to add an after-market exhaust.
I spent the last 4 months listening to every sound clip and every youtube video showing a 2011 GT with an aftermarket exhaust. I had narrowed my choices down to the Borla Sport (or possibly Touring) or the Roush axle-back. I love the sound of the Roush on all the YouTube clips, but every review I read said that they were very loud. I knew from my old Camaro that I did not want an overly loud exhaust again.
I was left with the Borla exhaust. One of the guys on this board was nice enough to let me drive out to his place and hear his S-Type exhaust on his 5.0 convertible. My first impression was that it was very LOUD on cold start-up. Probably too loud for me. I live in a subdivision where the houses are fairly close together and there are lots of little kids and babies in the area. I did not want to worry about pissing off my neighbours every time I fired up my car. The Borla S-Type offers a great exhaust for someone wanted a very aggressive, loud exhaust. It's the type of exhaust that will get people to turn heads before your car is even near them. Aside from the volume, the S-Type did not give the exact sound I was looking for. In my opinion, it still had a tone similar to that of a European V8, but much more aggressive.
About a month ago, I started to see people pop up with the GT500 axle back installed on their cars. I listened to all the YouTube clips of them (there are only a handful) and in my opinion, they sounded great, but I wasn't sure if they had enough volume for me. I decided to take the plunge and order these for $269 US. I'm in Canada, so when it was all said and done with shipping, taxes and brokerage, it came out to about $400 US.
The exhaust arrived this week and this morning I took them to Ford to be installed.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS OF GT500 Axle-Back
I was sitting at Ford, on my iPad looking through this forum. One of the other members had asked if I could post a review of the exhaust once it was installed. I was in the middle of typing a reply (saying I was at Ford getting it done) when I heard the sound of a V8 fire up and begin rumbling. Could this be my car, I thought? The mechanic started reving the engine, and the exhaust sounded amazing to my ears (from inside the waiting room). I felt like a little kid and my heart was beating faster. About 3 or 4 min later, my car is pulled back out into the parking lot and before the mechanic gets out, I ask him to rev the motor for me. He did! I swear in my mind I started giggling like a school girl and jumped up and down, and immediately had thoughts of Tim Allen in Home Improvement doing his man-grunt!
As you may be able to tell by now, I love the exhaust! In my opinion, it sounds very similar to a stock Shelby GT500 in both volume and tone. This should really be the stock OEM exhaust for the GT. At idle, it sounds the same as the stock exhaust, but as soon as you give it any gas, you notice the difference. It no longer sounds like a European engine, it now has that CLASSIC MUSTANG SOUND. Earlier I described the stock exhaust as feeling restrained...no longer. This exhaust totally opens up the sound to what a V8 should sound like. It will turn heads as you pass by people, and will definitely get some attention, but it won't annoy anyone. To those wondering about drone, there is ZERO DRONE with this exhaust. The only room for improvement in my opinion is that I wish the tone were a bit warmer/deeper, but I will defer final judgment until after I break it in as I remember my stock exhaust note warmed/deepened after driving it for a week or so.
I will try to get a YouTube clip up later today and post it here for those interested.
Thanks for reading.
-Chris
11/19/10, 10:25 AM
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Here's a couple pics and a few videos. I almost didn't want to post the videos because in no way do they do justice to the true sound. IMO the videos sound very close to stock, but in reality its a very big difference over stock. I'm going on vacation for a week today but when I get back I will try and do a couple vids from outside the car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqcXgFRXOts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCUSI..._order&list=UL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEz2H..._order&list=UL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn_fq..._order&list=UL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqcXgFRXOts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCUSI..._order&list=UL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEz2H..._order&list=UL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn_fq..._order&list=UL
11/19/10, 10:57 AM
#6
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I had my SVT mufflers installed yesterday and love the sound they produce as well...While the 4 inch tips are impressive in size, they look rather crude as compared to the original muffler tips. And watch out when you go to clean them...the metal is sharp and will cut you.
Like Chris mentioned, it does offer a deeper sound without the dreaded drone...once the car warms up, there's really no difference at idle...but once you stomp on the gas, OH YEAH....Sweet V8 music...The rumble these mufflers produce is why I bought a V8!!
Here are two very short video clips:
Stock mufflers - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RICEd-QkEnc
SVT mufflers - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8MEu0giDTM
Anyway, I'm not much of a writer, so I leave it that for now...hope the clips help...Lou
Like Chris mentioned, it does offer a deeper sound without the dreaded drone...once the car warms up, there's really no difference at idle...but once you stomp on the gas, OH YEAH....Sweet V8 music...The rumble these mufflers produce is why I bought a V8!!
Here are two very short video clips:
Stock mufflers - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RICEd-QkEnc
SVT mufflers - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8MEu0giDTM
Anyway, I'm not much of a writer, so I leave it that for now...hope the clips help...Lou
11/19/10, 11:37 AM
#8
Cobra Member
Question if i bought and installed Magnaflow Tru-X pipe
3" behind cats and the installation of the gt500 mufflers would there be any increase in hp/tq?or is it a waste of $ for the Tru x- pipe#16398?
11/19/10, 11:49 AM
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I think exhaust depends preferense. I like it but not for me. Not ******* it at all. The SVT version did sound a little deeper but video was way short. Mine is still stock so both sound way better than what I got. It's gonna be hard because I spend 24/7 listening to every YouTube exhaust just like you but can't pull the trigger on one. Borla sport and Roush are my top two just like it was for you but I haven't had the privilege to here any 5.0 exhaust in person. So lucky you. Well wish me luck and hope I make the right choice for me because I have played this game before and bought 5 different mufflers before settleing with the one I liked.
11/19/10, 12:19 PM
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11/19/10, 01:14 PM
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Ok i was thinking today (and promtly got a headache) Not to hijak the thread if i am i'll delete this one and start a new one.
Does the Boss 302 use the same GT500 mufflers or are they different ? Love the sound of the gt500 but if the Boss has a deeper sound i may hold off till spring ...
Does the Boss 302 use the same GT500 mufflers or are they different ? Love the sound of the gt500 but if the Boss has a deeper sound i may hold off till spring ...
Last edited by rodmoe; 11/19/10 at 01:15 PM.
11/19/10, 01:20 PM
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fossy207
Thanks for the review. That's the sound I'm after. I really don't want to wake up any of my neighbors, but the GT needs a little more "muscle" sound over stock.
Thanks for the review. That's the sound I'm after. I really don't want to wake up any of my neighbors, but the GT needs a little more "muscle" sound over stock.
11/19/10, 03:16 PM
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I think exhaust depends preferense. I like it but not for me. Not ******* it at all. The SVT version did sound a little deeper but video was way short. Mine is still stock so both sound way better than what I got. It's gonna be hard because I spend 24/7 listening to every YouTube exhaust just like you but can't pull the trigger on one. Borla sport and Roush are my top two just like it was for you but I haven't had the privilege to here any 5.0 exhaust in person. So lucky you. Well wish me luck and hope I make the right choice for me because I have played this game before and bought 5 different mufflers before settleing with the one I liked.
In the videos it kinda sounds like stock ( im sure in real time it sounds better) Im looking for a deeper sound. I too am looking at the Steeda axel backs (made by borla) i think they are the borla -S or the Roush Im hoping to have this done before the holidays. Oh and on a side note... I heard the steeda exhaust in person and wet my pants.
Last edited by Jcint; 11/19/10 at 03:18 PM.
11/20/10, 05:22 AM
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Chris - I'm glad you found the sound you were looking for. I may drive up to hear your car some time. There are times when I think the S-Type are just a touch too loud. (but those times are getting fewer and farther between).
Last edited by magnatic; 11/20/10 at 06:01 AM.
11/23/10, 12:13 AM
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Still undecided and looking as well... I know that videos do no justice to the actual exhaust! That's why I wish you could actually stop by some place and hear different exhaust systems in person...
As so many of you, I am also looking for a more aggressive, deeper sounding muscle car tone. Don't mind if it's loud, just shouldn't have any drone associated with it, as I use my Stang as daily driver and will also go on vacation with it.
Narrowed my selection down to the following axle back systems:
Ford Racing Sport Exhaust
Borla (either S-Type or Atak)
Steeda
SLP Loudmouth (complete muffler delete)
Don't know if the neighbors would agree with the SLP's however...
As so many of you, I am also looking for a more aggressive, deeper sounding muscle car tone. Don't mind if it's loud, just shouldn't have any drone associated with it, as I use my Stang as daily driver and will also go on vacation with it.
Narrowed my selection down to the following axle back systems:
Ford Racing Sport Exhaust
Borla (either S-Type or Atak)
Steeda
SLP Loudmouth (complete muffler delete)
Don't know if the neighbors would agree with the SLP's however...
11/23/10, 02:03 AM
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wow...you can really tell the difference between the stock GT and the GT500 mufflers...
As an owner of two GT500 Mustangs...I can tell you that stock for stock,.,., the 2011 GT500 mufflers sound a lot better than my 07 GT500 stock mufflers. . .
As an owner of two GT500 Mustangs...I can tell you that stock for stock,.,., the 2011 GT500 mufflers sound a lot better than my 07 GT500 stock mufflers. . .
11/28/10, 01:59 PM
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Chris, I think your S-Types sound great and they are awesome for where you live. Lots of open roads and open land, not too much traffic, a loud exhaust is perfect for that. But for where I live, it just isn't practical.
For those interested, here's an updated video I shot today showing some drive bys and stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD58WGi6mMo
For those interested, here's an updated video I shot today showing some drive bys and stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD58WGi6mMo