3/5
Installation Time: Shop Install
Installation Cost: $100-$250
April 05, 2016
Very Expensive Upgrade With Little Return On Investment
According to other reviewers on this product (nothing wrong with American Muscle company, they are fantastic), I thought I would be hearing a sound reminiscent of a real old-school, almost straight-pipe set-up, but my expectations were just set way, WAY too high after sifting through the comments here. I really need to learn that most reviewers, reviewing car parts, aren't a very reliable source to base my decision on (and you can say that about my review here, if it makes you feel better).
My previous Mustang was a 2008 GT with stock headers, stock mid-pipe, and the Roush Extreme Performance Catback exhaust. It sounded freaking beautiful. Loud at start-up, loud on Idle, loud in the cabin (but not obnoxiously loud) just beautifully loud all the time. It made its presence known. I suppose I just got so used to its sound, that I was expecting it out of the new Borla Atak exhaust for my 2012 GT.
I knew the straight pipe, catback sound would be difficult to achieve on an axle-back set-up, but I thought by reading these comments for the Borla Atak's, I would be getting the closest to the Roush Extreme Performance that I possibly could. And, the cost of a quality catback set-up for the 2012 GT was way outside my budget.
Keep in mind, I have a bone stock 2012 GT, with only the Borla Atak exhaust. I was excited when I received the exhaust and had them installed by QuickLane. Now after the install was complete, on first start-up my heart kind of sank a little bit. I felt the hurt in my gut. The truth is, the Atak's sound is only marginally louder than stock exhaust. The Atak's sound does have a nice muscle car tone, and like I said, they are just slightly louder than stock, which is no doubt a good thing. WOT sounds good and loud, but it's a 5.0 for God's sake, I wanted that engine to be heard from a block away, and this exhaust doesn't deliver it. Again, I'm so accustomed to my previous 2008 Roush catback's, that the Borla Atak exhaust, for me personally, left too much to be desired. They are very expensive for only a minor change in sound. ONLY UNLESS they are paired with mid-pipes and headers. Then I could understand the potential of the Atak's.
I will give a major thumbs-up to the 4.5" tips , with the embossed Borla logo's! They are really beautiful, and they fit the rear valance just right! But I can't justify the cost for just the appearance.
Simply put, the Borla Atak's are just an expensive muffler upgrade over stock muffler. You interpret this review however you'd like. I feel like I threw a ton of money at a sub-par set-up, and I should've saved up a bit more and sucked up the cost of a proper catback system. I guess I can live with the Borla Atak's for now, but in time, I WILL eventually swap them out for something more respectable to the 5.0.
Year: 2012
Submodel: GT
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