Borla Touring Cat-Back Exhaust (140858BC)

[thepiombino]

Recently purchased a CPO '21 Yukon Denali. Absolutely LOVE the truck. Only complaint is that it looks like a bad-ass truck, but sounds like a kitten. So 1st thing I did was install the S&B Filters Cotton Filter Cold Air Intake Kits (75-5128-1) [before and after HERE for those keeping score at home]. While that drastically improved engine sound, especially at WOT, it did nothing to address exhaust note - as expected to be fair.

Short of the long, I initially did a muffler delete (including removing both active exhaust flaps) -- here is the BEFORE / AFTER. At 1st I was in awe of the sound -- it finally sounded how I thought it should. Then, as time passed, it became painfully obvious that the sound was entirely too loud and unrefined. This was only confirmed by my family who, when we went for a ride, were very vocally displeased lol

So I went down the internet rabbit hole trying to figure out the best muffler upgrade and finally decided to bite the bullet on the Borla Touring CB system. Was between this and the S-Type and finally decided that if I need to please my family, especially with this being a daily driver, I should just go with the tamer of the two. Just placed the order. Will update this post as the project progresses.

 

[thepiombino]

Just received delivery of my order, only three days after placing it! Bad news is the box was beat to shit on arrival. Good news is it looks like Borla did a pretty good job of packaging. May not be able to get around to this for a minute, but will update this thread once I do.

 

[thepiombino]

Expletives were dropped. Lessons were learned. But in the end, the exhaust has been installed!

Where to begin? So I decided to start removal of the factory exhaust (+muffler delete) last night. Despite knowing better, I did this in my driveway (on a grade) without ramps or jack lifts; also decided not to remove the spare tire or heat shield. I figured I would be cutting most of the old unit out so I didn't need to bother with any of that until the next day when I would be doing the installation. Welp, by the time I realized I couldn't get any further without at least removing the spare and heat shield, I had run out of daylight. By then, I had removed everything other than the Y-pipe that goes over the rear axle - but not before fighting with it for about an hour. The following morning I decided to work smarter, not harder. I removed the spare and heat shield (3 15mm screws) and the Y-pipe slid ride out without any resistance! At this point, the OE exhaust was 100% removed from the cats back. Onto installation...

At first, things were going silky smooth. I was able to get front pipe assembly on without issue. Muffler was next and that went on, but had to install sideways as the chassis got in the way otherwise. No issues so far. Notice I said SO FAR. Next came the Y-pipe assembly. Once again, the damn Y-pipe did me dirty. But having learned from my earlier lesson, instead of fighting with it for long, I decided to pull the car out of my (graded) driveway and pull onto the street and throw the back end on jack stands. Welp, no luck. All it really did was move the problem higher off the ground, I was still hitting the sway bar. So I disconnected the sway bar and swung it down. Y-pipe slid right in. Another lesson learned. At this point, everything slid on pretty easily -- R/H tailpipe assembly, crossover pipe, L/H tailpipe assembly, and the L/H & R/H tips. There was some adjustments required, but all in all it was fairly painless.

Once all the above was adjusted and the respective clamps tightened, I fired it up listening for leaks, rattles, etc. All sounded good, so I started putting everything back together - sway bar, heat shield, spare tire and put her back on the ground. Fired her back up and went for a quick ride around the neighborhood and I had to say -- initial thoughts are VERY positive. Still has a nice start-up growl and you can hear it during WOT, but it's fairly muted when cruising and there is ZERO drone. Also don't have to put it in L9 to avoid the dreaded "helicopter" effect. I'm glad I went with the Touring. I do think maybe S-Type would have been OK, but I suspect the "perfect" solution would fall somewhere in between. That said, no regrets and two very enthusiastic thumbs up. With the lessons learned, I could prolly knock this out in under 90 minutes next time.

Video to follow...

 

[thepiombino]

 

[jrgenna]

Did you notice any performance improvements? HP, torque, gas?

 

[thepiombino]

Did you notice any performance improvements? HP, torque, gas?

There is a definite sound improvement over stock; however, I can't honestly say I notice a "performance" improvement, but I also haven't put it on a Dyno or anything to confirm either way. Too early to tell MPG, but it looks like there will be a slight bump there.

 

[jrgenna]

There is a definite sound improvement over stock; however, I can't honestly say I notice a "performance" improvement, but I also haven't put it on a Dyno or anything to confirm either way. Too early to tell MPG, but it looks like there will be a slight bump there.

Thanks. Been kicking around Borla vs Corsa for a while. I like the deeper tone of Borla so now its just Touring vs S-Type.

 

[thepiombino]

Thanks. Been kicking around Borla vs Corsa for a while. I like the deeper tone of Borla so now its just Touring vs S-Type.

I kept going back and forth between Touring vs. S-Type. I think the muffler delete scared me into the more tame Touring. Good news, from what I can tell, is the only difference is the muffler so if you get one and regret it, you theoretically can just get the other muffler and do a quick swap.

 

[SSGUNNER]

sounds good. I got the S type and love it.

 

[NextGenTahoe]

sounds good. I got the S type and love it.

Do you need to drive in L9 to avoid the chop chop sound ?