2011 gt500 exhaust options

[Cornbuyer]

current setup
2011
Larger pulley
Jlt intake

Live in Ks so no strict exhaust/emission laws that I am aware of.

I am taking the car to get tuned next week, but have an exhaust purchase on the list of things to do. Does the stock exhaust have an x pipe, h pipe, or neither? If it will need retuned after adding exhaust I may as well do the exhaust now. So I have included the 3 options below, feedback would be appreciated.

Option 1: Borla atak cat back. I believe this system comes with an x pipe. Also difficult to find.
Q: will this set up provide any hp or torque benefit?
Q: will the vehicle need tuned? I assume so.


Option 2: borla atak axle back.


Option 3: borla atak axle back and borla x pipe. This route may be slightly cheaper than option 1 and easier to find.
Q: will the borla x pipe fit right into the stock pipes without any cutting?
Q: how does the x pipe fit with cats or will it eliminate the cats? If so does it come with everything needed to elongate the cats?
Q: will the vehicle need tuned with this set up? Again I assume so if it eliminates the cats.
Q: is the x pipe more for sound than performance?
Q: open to suggestions on better x pipes that fit better or may have shown to perform better.

Option 4: go with cervini side exhaust. Although I hear it is tough to get around with this set up.
Q: does it provide any performance gains?

Thanks for any and all help or suggestions,
Andrew

 

[RedVenom48]

current setup
2011
Larger pulley
Jlt intake

Live in Ks so no strict exhaust/emission laws that I am aware of.

I am taking the car to get tuned next week, but have an exhaust purchase on the list of things to do. Does the stock exhaust have an x pipe, h pipe, or neither? If it will need retuned after adding exhaust I may as well do the exhaust now. So I have included the 3 options below, feedback would be appreciated.

Option 1: Borla atak cat back. I believe this system comes with an x pipe. Also difficult to find.
Q: will this set up provide any hp or torque benefit?
Q: will the vehicle need tuned? I assume so.


Option 2: borla atak axle back.


Option 3: borla atak axle back and borla x pipe. This route may be slightly cheaper than option 1 and easier to find.
Q: will the borla x pipe fit right into the stock pipes without any cutting?
Q: how does the x pipe fit with cats or will it eliminate the cats? If so does it come with everything needed to elongate the cats?
Q: will the vehicle need tuned with this set up? Again I assume so if it eliminates the cats.
Q: is the x pipe more for sound than performance?
Q: open to suggestions on better x pipes that fit better or may have shown to perform better.

Option 4: go with cervini side exhaust. Although I hear it is tough to get around with this set up.
Q: does it provide any performance gains?

Thanks for any and all help or suggestions,
Andrew

Factory setup in 2011 is an H pipe.

Id go with this if you like a nice rumbly classic muscle tone:

Lethal Performance 2011-2014 Shelby GT500 T304 3" Stainless Steel Offroad H-pipe

Install it and drive it THEN determine if you need more. Do it in steps or you'll spend an ass load of cash and you may hate the outcome.

FWIW the factory GT500 mufflers 11-14 sound bad ass with an off road mid pipe or headers.

 

[Andrew33]

I don’t think axle/catback will make any difference HP or torque wise at your power level. The stock catback is pretty free flowing.

I initially went with a lethal catless H pipe and left everything else stock. I switched to a SW headers and I had to switch to their H pipe to fit. Keep that in mind if you ever want to switch to longtubes that you will need a new H or X pipe. Stock manifolds are like mid length I believe so when you go to long tubes you need a shorter H pipe.

You shouldn’t need a tune if you put on Just the cat back. I would get a tune if you go with a catless H pipe. Others can chime in on that with more knowledge.

I’ve heard that X pipes perform slightly better but I went with a H pipe because everyone says they sound better. It’s a deeper and more “muscle car” Tone to it. I’ve never really heard a x pipe car in person so I can’t really tell you.

Borla ataks with an off road pipe is going to be very loud. My car with the headers and the Off road H pipe with stock over the axle pipes and axle back is very loud. I didn’t really get much louder with the headers but it sounded a bit different.

I’d look into buying just a Off road H pipe and then see how you like it, Add a catback later. I have my lethal catless h pipe sitting in my garage with 3500 miles on it. It’s off a 2012 if you’re interested in that I’ll sell it to you for dirt cheap


Also what are your goals here? Are you looking for a performance increase or do you just want it to sound better?

 

[Cornbuyer]

Factory setup in 2011 is an H pipe.

Id go with this if you like a nice rumbly classic muscle tone:

Lethal Performance 2011-2014 Shelby GT500 T304 3" Stainless Steel Offroad H-pipe

Install it and drive it THEN determine if you need more. Do it in steps or you'll spend an ass load of cash and you may hate the outcome.

FWIW the factory GT500 mufflers 11-14 sound bad ass with an off road mid pipe or headers.

I like this idea. I believe it is said an x pipe give a little more mid to top end performance. While the h is for lower end. The x pipe is a little more raspy where as an h is deeper.

Is there a performance gain to be had if I went with the kooks x pipe(I think it is catted) vscthe lethal which I’m assuming is not not catted?

Will the lethal fit with stock headers and cat backs? What about the kooks?

I don’t think axle/catback will make any difference HP or torque wise at your power level. The stock catback is pretty free flowing.

I initially went with a lethal catless H pipe and left everything else stock. I switched to a SW headers and I had to switch to their H pipe to fit. Keep that in mind if you ever want to switch to longtubes that you will need a new H or X pipe. Stock manifolds are like mid length I believe so when you go to long tubes you need a shorter H pipe.

You shouldn’t need a tune if you put on Just the cat back. I would get a tune if you go with a catless H pipe. Others can chime in on that with more knowledge.

I’ve heard that X pipes perform slightly better but I went with a H pipe because everyone says they sound better. It’s a deeper and more “muscle car” Tone to it. I’ve never really heard a x pipe car in person so I can’t really tell you.

Borla ataks with an off road pipe is going to be very loud. My car with the headers and the Off road H pipe with stock over the axle pipes and axle back is very loud. I didn’t really get much louder with the headers but it sounded a bit different.

I’d look into buying just a Off road H pipe and then see how you like it, Add a catback later. I have my lethal catless h pipe sitting in my garage with 3500 miles on it. It’s off a 2012 if you’re interested in that I’ll sell it to you for dirt cheap


Also what are your goals here? Are you looking for a performance increase or do you just want it to sound better?

Thanks for your for your thoughts. Kind of leaning towards an x pipe and getting the tune then if I want a different/louder tune I can get axle backs.

 

[RedVenom48]

I like this idea. I believe it is said an x pipe give a little more mid to top end performance. While the h is for lower end. The x pipe is a little more raspy where as an h is deeper.

Is there a performance gain to be had if I went with the kooks x pipe(I think it is catted) vscthe lethal which I’m assuming is not not catted?

Will the lethal fit with stock headers and cat backs? What about the kooks?



Thanks for your for your thoughts. Kind of leaning towards an x pipe and getting the tune then if I want a different/louder tune I can get axle backs.

All of the Kooks stuff for the GT500 are for running their long tube headers. Wont work with the factory log manifolds. Assuming you made the Kooks catted X fit and work on the car, youd be better off with the factory catted mid pipe anyway.

The Lethal pipe IS offered as an X pipe, as well as an aluminized X version to cut some of the cost out of using stainless.

Lethal Performance

They are designed to work with the factory over the axle cat back systems too.

Realistically you might see a small HP improvement with the X over the H, but honestly its a negligible difference. At this point Id focus more on the exhaust tone you want. Both H and X Lethal off road mid pipes are not catted and are intended for off road use only.



Hope this helps sir!

 

[OldYeller]

Factory setup in 2011 is an H pipe.

Id go with this if you like a nice rumbly classic muscle tone:

Lethal Performance 2011-2014 Shelby GT500 T304 3" Stainless Steel Offroad H-pipe

Install it and drive it THEN determine if you need more. Do it in steps or you'll spend an ass load of cash and you may hate the outcome.

FWIW the factory GT500 mufflers 11-14 sound bad ass with an off road mid pipe or headers.

I would agree-the stock mufflers with headers and high flow or catless mid pipes sounds awesome. It is what I am currently running, after trying several different axle backs the stock mufflers sounded the best in my opinion. Nice deep aggressive tone, but mellow while cruising .

 

[Andrew33]

I would agree-the stock mufflers with headers and high flow or catless mid pipes sounds awesome. It is what I am currently running, after trying several different axle backs the stock mufflers sounded the best in my opinion. Nice deep aggressive tone, but mellow while cruising .

Sneaky and quiet when you want it to be and loud when you get on it. No drone either. Stock axleback is pretty cool

 

[GT Premi]

I would agree-the stock mufflers with headers and high flow or catless mid pipes sounds awesome. It is what I am currently running, after trying several different axle backs the stock mufflers sounded the best in my opinion. Nice deep aggressive tone, but mellow while cruising .

I have a set of Corsa Sport axle back mufflers on mine. I plan on some day going back to the stock mufflers. The Corsas are loud and a bit raspy. The tips are also more restrictive than the stock mufflers. I'm pretty sure I actually lost some mid/top end power after installing them.

 

[Cornbuyer]

Thanks all for your thoughts and opinions. I ended up ordering the lethal off-road x pipe and I am very pleased with the sound difference both tone and volume.

Super easy install once I had the right tools. Only hang up was getting the top passenger side o2 sensor unplugged during removal of stock pipe and plugged back in during installation of new x pipe.

 

[Totalpkg]

I use Corsa Sport... No drone...