I find it hard to believe that Borla is really inferior due to the fact that TEAMLEXUS uses Borla exhaust for their IS. so i think if they feel confident in it, then we could. i'm actually looking into getting the Borla for mine.

 

Borla first designed and manufactured exhaust systems for imports( starting with Rolls Royce and Ferrari). 20+ years and mulitple design patents later they are now involved with all aspects of racing (street/off-road/drag), imports and export street vehicles and OEM manufacturing.

Borla systems are individually designed, fabricated and tested on the vehicle (including multiple dyno runs and CFM test) until the best balance of HP - TQ - CFM - Weight - Sound level is achieved. FUNCTION = FORM


I can't speak for Carson or Hiper but Borla manufactures nothing but top notch products.

 

I highly agree that Borla makes great exhausts which is why they are a team sponsor for many teams and why they are equipment manufacturers for many vehicle brands. Yes they do make/test/and engineer their products for each specific vehicle like any other good exhaust manufacturer does. I particularly don't care for the exhaust drone Borla exhausts give out on some vehicles...but they do sound nice when you're outside of the car.

As like HKS, Greddy, Apex and etc, they do make quality exhausts as well and do make several models for each specific vehicles. I think many people here and especially IS300.net would prefer a Japanese made exhaust rather than it's US made counterparts. I'm not speaking for all but most people find more quality and value in a Japanese made manufacturer rather than an American one unfortunately. I have the Carson Tuned because it is made exclusively for the IS300 and versions for the GS as well. Carson Tuned exhausts are made exclusively by Kimura in Japan. Construction of this exhaust is far more superior than a Borla exhaust and even some of the other Japanese made ones. Superior in a sense of craftsmanship and detail (welds and materials) are there whereas the others are just assembly line units that are put together in a short amount of time.

 

thanks for all the info, guys!! like i said, i don't know much about borla, so i was questioning why DAG stated that they were inferior to HKS, etc. btw, thanks DAG, tanin, flipside, amy for your responses! i was just curious...you learn something new every day...

 

Do any of the other exhausts offer a lifetime warranty like the Borla does? I've got Borla on my GS and have been very pleased with it... no droning, great look and sound. Stainless steel, have had it for four years. Biggest drawback I've heard on the Borla is the hangers it comes with - inferior to some other brands.

It all comes down to preference in looks, sound and cost. None of them are going to give you big HP gains.

 

The main fact motivating Jason's statement to stay away from Borla is probably because he doesn't sell them. Obviously Team Lexus forgot to ask for Jason's opinion before they fitted their race cars with Borla exhausts.

 

Hey this is a great thread, but let me ask yall this, is the Borla worth the $500 and is it a catback?

 

None! Not even Borla itself has a lifetime warranty. It does have a 1 Million mile warranty though. Not quite lifetime.

 

Whether it's worth $500 or not is an individual decision, in my case I thought it was. To answer your second question, yes, it is a full cat-back system.

 

I'm glad to hear it has worked well wjbertrand. Did you dyno after the Borla install and do you have any sound clips? Just what does the Borla exhaust have that the other exhausts don't have? (other than the warranty) Thanks.

 

No I didn't do a Dyno run but the guys at Borla and some of their dealers calim 5 - 15% increase in power. Worst case at 5%, that'd be around 10 hp if you believe what they tell you. From the seat of the pants it feels more powerful but mostly at higher RPM. Thankfully I didn't notice any low end losses. I don't have any clips but I love the sound. It's very mellow under normal driving conditions but snarls pretty good when you open her up. The reasons I went for the Borla were:

-Good reputation
-Team Lexus uses them
-All 304 stainless construction with that million mile warrantee.
-They use all stainless interior and ceramic packing that won't blow out over time
-Had some of the higher horsepower gains (on paper anyway)
-I really like the looks of the system, the oval tip with the rolled end looks great to my eyes and I wanted to avoid the big fart can hanging out the back. The Borla system tucks up nice and tight and doesn't cause any ground clearance problems.
-Borla is a local business here to me as they are in Oxnard, close to me in Ventura. I was impressed with their facility and knowledge
-They have a dyno there and they tune every system specifically for each application.
-They were only about $100 more than some of the other popular systems out there.

 

Sounds great about the Borla. I'm sure some of the members here are pretty well convinced to get the Borla. At least I am, but i already have a pro1 axleback. Thanks wjbertrand.

 

As far as the issue with droning is concerned, I believe it is more specific to the type of vehicle the exhaust is placed on. I have Borla both on my Corvette, and my wife's Escalade. Neither have excessive resonance or noise levels above stock. I attribute that to the quality of the system, and the insulative properties of the vehicles. I also was rewarded with ample power gains over factory restrictions before the other modifications. Lexus cars are among the best insulated vehicles on planet, so I'm going with Borla once again, although the recommendations for the HKS/Carson system have been strong and plentiful.

 

I just ordered Carson Tuned yesterday after a lot of research, both here and .net (when its up!). My main concern was noise, I did not want to sound like a Civic buzzing down the ave. I was able to get a couple of clips of the Carson and I liked the muted, low growl. It sounded real nice on the Flipside clips. I too was torn between Borla and The carson mainly because in my opinion they both offered the two things I was after most, quality and semi-stealth sound. I ultimately went with Carson because of the uniqueness factor, quality and build, and sound. I don't think you can go wrong either way. I will let you know when I hang it how the sound really is. I am not expecting to be dissapointed.