Hey all, I just wanted to share with you all my experience with Solo from start to finish. I know a lot of you have had questions about my changes and a lot are confused on what to get.
I haven't had the opportunity to test others so this article is to address my experience and thoughts on the Solo Performance Mach Shorty and CAT.
The following is a copy of
my CarDomain Page which has images/videos so you may just want to read it over
there instead of below. But for those of you who can't deviate from this site because you are at work or something... read on.
Link
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Solo Performance CAT-back replacement - Mach Shorty and High Flow catalytic converter
One of the major modifications on my Solstice was a replacement catalytic converter and performance exhaust. The first few months in my Solstice were great but I felt that the car was being held back in terms of performance and the sound had a lot to be desired. I spent about a month or two seriously looking at my options. I had read about others experience with different performance exhausts but the one that stood out was the
Solo Performance line. Solo Performance has been in the business of satisfying Solstice drivers for over 2 years but their team has a combined total of over 200 years experience! They make performance exhausts and they make them well.
Solo offers a few kinds of kits for the Solstice GXP model; the GXP Street Race System, GXP Race System and the GXP Mach System. Each system offers an incredible and unique performance boost as well as a great look and sound. I was torn on the exact system I wanted.
The performance boost each system had to offer was great. The Street Race System and Race System both offered the same gain in HP with a smidgen more torque but were both a little too loud for me. The Mach System offered the best performance if coupled with the 3” high flow cat but the sound was a bit too quiet for me. The following information was taken directly from the Solo Performance website and shows what each system can do;
System || HP at the flywheel || Torque || HP at rear wheel
Stock GXP 260 235 216
Race and Stock Cat 287 245 239
Mach and Stock Cat 279 242 232
Mach and 3" Cat 294 243 244
As you can see, making this decision was very hard to do! I started to feel like Goldilocks and the three bears but without the pleasure of finding the system that was “just right”. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place… or to better fit the topic… I was stuck between Mach and Race.
I really couldn’t decide and felt the need to enlist the help of thousands of Solstice users. I created a thread on
solsticeforum.com in the hopes to help settle the score and make my decision a little less difficult. I received a lot of responses from those who have seen, used or heard what Solo had to offer but the most interesting reply to my post there was from Jeff at Solo Performance. One part of his message that piqued my interest was “If I can be of any help in your decision please let me know. There is one other option that we haven't promoted that you might be interested in.” I gave him a call and he told me about their “Mach Shorty” system, basically it’s a shorter version of the Mach system so it may be the sound I was looking for. This would solve my conundrum over sound.
The difference between Mach and Mach Shorty? The muffler for the Mach is a 4X9 body and is 14” long. The muffler for the Mach Shorty is a 4X9 body and 11” long. He also let me know that it had only been installed in one other Solstice and the owner loves it. Jeff was very knowledgeable and had me sold on the system before he even finished talking about it. I asked him to build me one and ship it on over, I was sold.
I received the exhaust just before Christmas and waited until after the holidays to get it installed. I checked out a few different places and decided to work with Meineke Store #185. The guys there have a lot of experience installing high performance exhausts so I felt comfortable.
The mechanic was kind enough to wait until I got back to the shop to start the car for the first time. The install instructions mentioned the tone of the exhaust at first startup was unique and “the worst sound the car will ever make”. It wouldn’t have been as fun if I didn’t get to turn the key and hear it for the first time. I remember sitting in the car and turning the key and hearing that sound. I looked up at the installer and he looked back at me and made the “sour pickle” face. I laughed and told him it was supposed to sound like that! He just shook his head and walked away. Three minutes later the interesting noise was gone and it sounded great! The installer walked past me and said “Now that’s more like it!”
My Experience
First off, let me start by saying "Wow". I can't find enough words to explain my feelings. I really love my car even more after adding a little Solo Performance to it. I would highly recommend getting in touch with Solo to find out what fits you best. I had a lot of questions and concerns as stated before but I have no more, Solo answered them all. Their final goal was to make me happy and that is a rare thing to find these days.
How about that added power?
The added power is amazing; it feels like the car had been released from its chains. When I step on the gas it takes off in style and feels really good. It feels as if the turbo is spooling up a bit faster and there is a definite difference in throttle response.
You can really feel that added 34 or so horses immediately. Before I would run 0-60 in about 5.4 - 5.5 and now I'm doing at least 4.9, which was run on a cold morning and on a slight incline as I hopped onto the highway. With my new "Solo-roids" I'm sure I can go even faster.
How does it sound?
The sound is deep and throaty at lower RPM’s and starts reaching a louder tone at around 3000 RPMs. With the top up the sound is barely noticeable. Outside the car it’s nice and deep toned and turns heads. Riding through tunnels is rather amusing when I step on it. Now I can give payback to all those Harley riders who had done the same to me many times before.
How does it look
The look of the system is beautiful. The muffler is about ¼ of the size of the stock GM muffler and is a dual in dual out design which is harder to manufacture and design but offers much better flow. The muffler is designed and manufactured by Solo performance. The Mach Shorty is made from muffler and tips are made from T304 stainless ( polished ) and the piping is polished T409. It's a higher quality than the stainless that come standard on some cars and superior to lower grade mild steel systems. Economy performance systems are often made of aluminized steel.
If you appreciate your car like I appreciate mine you will definitely want to treat it to a Mach Shorty.
Some key info;
• All welds are stainless steel welds.
• The front pipe is a full 3” mandrel bent pipe.
• The flair (where it attaches to the converter) is a special handmade flair. Other major manufacturers downsize the tubing to 2½ inches so they can use the automatic tooling to flair the pipe. Solo takes the time to hand flair each front pipe so that the unit doesn’t need to be downsized which would restrict the flow.
• GM’s front pipe is 2½“. They put a restrictive dent in their pipe where it goes around the floor pan. They do this so that the pipe has more room around the floor pan. Solo took the time to design and quality control each pipe so that the full 3” pipe clears the floor pan every time.
Solo’s 3” front pipe sits about ¼” higher than GM’s 2 ½” pipes lowest point.
(Note: I no longer scrape my exhaust when I exit the garage!)
• The muffler for the Mach is a 4X9 body and is 14” long. The muffler for the Mach Shorty is a 4X9 body and 11” long. The mufflers are T304 stainless inside and out and the piping is polished T409. Many manufacturers have the T304 on the outside only. They use the T409 (cheaper) on the inside where the customer doesn’t notice. The muffler is a true X design and is best for flow. It is heavily glasspacked to deaden the noise. About twice as much glasspacking is used.
• Dual in dual out muffler design offers much better flow and aesthetically looks better.
• The T304 tips are a beveled design that has more body than the originals. Extreme care is taken so that they fit the valence perfectly. They are out just far enough so that the soot from the Ecotech engine doesn’t blacken the bumper.
• The heavy duty ½ inch hangers that are welded to the muffler are T304 aircraft quality stainless steel.
• The catalytic converter is constructed using T409 stainless steel with laser cut stainless flanges. It uses a stainless steel wound coil (cat body) that was specifically made for the turbo.
• Solos cat body is 5 inches long. Most manufacturers are 3 ½“ long. Extensive engineering, testing and a long painful process of trial and error had to be done in order to keep the engine light off. We were the first in the world to conquer the engine light problem on the GXP.
• We had moulds opened for us for our special design gaskets that go with our converter. They are our gaskets and not available anywhere else. GM’s gasket wouldn’t work with our cat design.
Read more about the Mach system at the
Solstice Forums and at the
Solo Performance website where you can find Dyno information, images of the Mach and CAT, videos and a ton of information.
In closing; If you're itching for a performance boost, looking for the right sound or both then look no further than Solo Performance. The Solo team have brought back the true definition of customer service. Very friendly, knowledgeable and there for you every step of the way. The quality and craftsmanship is second to none and their products reflect that.
They showed me that I CAN love my car even more than when I drove it home.
The performance gain and tone of the Mach Shorty can be best summed up by saying “It’s the
Yin to the Solstices Yang.”
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Thanks for reading! Keep in mind that this is a living blog/article. Feel free to visit my car domain page for any updates. I will try to update this if I update that.
-----> Vroooom Beep Beep
Solo all the way.