The Borla Stinger S-Type cat-back should appeal to the 2011 through 2014 V6 owners out there
who want to grab a premium cat-back right around that $1,000 price point, and would
like one to deliver plenty of volume in the process.
Now, the installation is going to get a rather simple one out of three wrenches on the difficulty
meter from me.
Now, Borla is definitely one of the heavy hitters in the aftermarket exhaust category
and is oftentimes a favorite with Mustang owners out there, thanks to that premium build
we already mentioned, in addition to having a few different offerings for just about anybody.
On the low-end side of things here, guys, you have their Touring system, which will
definitely be the milder of the three.
The Stinger, or the S-Type, that we have in this video is going to be in the middle of
the road, followed by the ATAK, which is most certainly going to be the company's most aggressive
offering.
But for the purposes of this video, again, we are focusing in on the S-Type, or Stinger,
here from Borla, obviously, the cat-back version, as you can see.
As you heard earlier with our sound clips, this sucker is loud.
I mean, for their middle of the road offering, I'm still going four out of five on my patented
one to five, or one to Wake the Neighbors scale.
[00:02:19] [sound clip]
[00:02:25]
Now, that ATAK, well, that's going to get a five out of five from me every day of the
week and twice on Sundays.
But the S-Type is certainly no slouch in the volume category.
Keep in mind here too, guys, that this is still with those factory manifolds and cats
still in place.
So eliminate those from the equation, and you will peg that Wake the Neighbors scale.
For as loud as this thing is, I'm happy to say it does maintain that nice deep tone with
the 3.7 that a lot of us really like.
I'm also happy to say that this thing stays relatively drone-free while cruising, and
that is something Borla has been very good at over the years with their more premium
system.
Now, don't get me wrong.
You're certainly going to hear it coming out the back, of course.
But I wouldn't categorize it as drone, and it certainly won't drive you crazy on long
trips.
Now, one thing I did really enjoy about the S-Type, both the cat-back and even the axle-back,
is that you're getting some of those pops and crackles, and backfires in between shifts
and coming down off the revs.
Personally, guys, I always thought that sounded really cool.
Maybe you agree with me.
If you don't, well, at least now you're aware of it.
Another good way to get some ideas about how this thing might sound or perform on your
Mustang, check out the Customer Review section.
A lot of good feedback about the S-Type on the product page, and again it's a good way
to get some real-world feedback from 3.7 owners out there.
Well, let's talk about how the Stinger or the S-Type gets its aggressive tone.
Like any other aftermarket exhaust system out there, it all starts with the muffler.
Right?
You're looking at Borla's patented S-Type muffler here, straight-through by design,
even though it takes a small turn.
There's no baffles or anything getting in the way, allowing for all that flow, and of
course increasing your flow over the factory cans you will be replacing.
In addition to those S-Type mufflers, just premium quality throughout, guys.
That's Borla's MO, and it certainly is apparent here with the S-Type.
I'm talking 304-grade stainless steel, the benchmark material in the aftermarket exhaust
world, two and a quarter-inch mandrel-bent tubing, keep in mind, this is the V6 system,
all exiting out the rather large, four and a half-inch, slash-cut tip, embossed with
that Borla logo.
But with anything in life, if you want that high-quality build and nice materials, oftentimes,
you have to pay for it.
Right?
It's not free, and that is the case here with the Borla stuff.
You're looking at right around $1,000 for the S-Type cat-back.
Keep in mind, if you wanted to grab just the axle-back system itself, you can on the site.
It's still going to give you plenty of volume, and it's only going to cost you about $800.
So a small difference between the cat-back and the axle-back here, simply because of
those over-axle pipes.
Ultimately, you have to decide if it's worth it or if it fits in your budget.
But let's quickly touch on some of the big points of the installation here with this
cat-back.
Guys, it is a cat-back.
It's a very straightforward.
Anybody should be able to tackle this one.
So let's call it one out of three wrenches on the difficulty meter, maybe 30 minutes,
an hour, even two hours, depending on your expertise and how fast you like to work.
Most of your job will be done using a basic socket set.
I always like recommending having a little spray lubricant on hand, WD-40, PB Blast,
whatever, just to help you with some rusty bolts, in addition to the rubber exhaust hangers.
Last, but not least, all of your work will be done underneath the car.
So have a lift read, jack, jack stands, race ramps, a strong uncle, whatever.
You just simply need to know you need to get the car in the air.
Getting started, you will need to remove that factory system first.
So go ahead and grab your 15-millimeter socket and first loosen up the two band clamps closest
to your X-pipe, getting them ready for removal.
At this point, you can now move to the clamp closest to the muffler.
Remove that from the system as well.
At this point, you can totally drop those factory over-axle pipes from the car.
Now, the only thing hanging from the car should be those factory mufflers.
So remove the hanger using your socket set, removing the actual physical hanger from the
car, and then remove the hanger from the factory muffler once it has been uninstalled.
With those hangers transferred over to the new mufflers, go ahead and hang them from
the car, loosely tightening some of the bolts on the hangers.
But don't overtighten them yet, as you will need to make some small tweaks.
Now, you can go ahead and install the over-axle pipes from Borla using those two band clamps
that you removed in the very first step, and then secure the clamp closest to the muffler
using again the factory clamp you already removed.
Now, with the entire system hung and everything still kind of loose, at this point, I like
to recommend grabbing a buddy.
Have them help you hold those tips in place in the openings in the rear bumper, as you
tighten down all of the clamps.
This way, they stay nice and square, and even for you.
Once everything is tight, your installation is complete.
The Borla Stinger S-Type is a tried and true system with a number of different Mustangs
out there, and will give you plenty of volume, along with a high-quality build for right
around $1,000, which you can grab right here at americanmuscle.com.
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