[commonsense]

Ok. I'm getting old. I used to care only about performance. But after getting my Fiat Abarth, which comes from the factory with absolutely NO muffler and sounds like a mini 458 Ferrari......I'm now more interested in the best SOUNDING exhaust for the Solstice GXP. Can I get some feedback here from people who have heard several? Maybe I should just take off the muffler, like the Abarth?! Has anyone tried this? Thx.

 

[Northern Sol]

I have the Solo GXP Mach exhaust and love it. Go to their site and they have different exhaust sound bites. Also, do a search on this Forum. Tons has been posted on this topic.:thumbs:

 

[Sly Bob]

Best sounding? Not a question that can be answered by anyone but you as we all have different opinions as to what sounds the best. Might as well ask what the best wax or oil is...

That said, as Northern Sol says there are a ton of sound bites here and a thread buried somewhere that only has videos of different exhausts. Can't really tell a lot from them though as video cameras have a habit of clipping loud sounds and amplifying quiet ones. Best to listen to them in person.

I would call Jeff at Solo Performance as he manufactures the systems that most of us use and his customer service is second to none.

Choose wisely as what is too loud for you might be to quiet for me and vice versa. I went with Solo's Mach Shorty and found it a little on the loud side. The installation of a pair of resonators brought the sound level to approx the level of the full Mach system. It's not too loud and has a bit of a burble when you set off the throttle. They offer straight pipe systems as well for those that want a system such as that. The addition of a high flow cat will significantly increase the sound level as well and give you more power to boot. I have the high flow cat on my car.

Give Jeff at Solo a call. He won't try to "sell" you anything.

 

[MidniteBlues]

I'll post it here since he posted in SF, here is one solution for a NA... From one of our members
Muffler Delete - Saturn Sky Forums: Saturn Sky Forum

 

[Sting Ya]

I'm new as far as some of these high performance 4 cylinders go (still learning at 63) but I do know that on my muscle cars back in the day you wanted some backpressure through the exhaust plus a balance tube .In the old days we ran a 65 GTO with a 427 corvette motor on the street and ran chevy truck mufflers this was before the days of turbo/flowmaster/magnaflow etc. I just wonder what the effects of running without a muffler has on the overall performance as opposed to running a maganaflow or similar system

 

[LiquidPT]

The LAST thing you want on a turbo car is backpressure. you want the turbo to spool as quickly as possible, and backpressure will impede that

 

[Goat67]

My advice on this subject is worth what you pay for it, so I will not make any recommendations. This is a personal choice you will have to make. I have tried a few exhausts on my GXP. After adding the GMPP tune, I added a solo cat with the stock system. Later I put a magnaflow on it with the HF cat. Last I replaced the magnaflow with a solo Mach shorty. I had planned to buy the street system ( no muffler) but just before ordering the solo system I disconnected the magnaflow muffler and listened to it without the muffler. That sound was too much like a tuner car for me. The deep purr that the shorty gives makes it sound like a thoroughbred. Each of these systems got progressively louder. The loudest you could may it would be to use a cat less down pipe with the street race solo system. I do not know anyone that has done this but I am sure it would be loud. If you can try to listen to some these systems live and in person.

 

[Sly Bob]

Commonsense, where do you live? If you are anywhere near a Solo Performance shop or can make a road trip to one, they will install them all on your car one at a time to see what system works best for you.

Did ya' call Jeff yet?

 

[rob the elder]

Having heard a lot of exhausts, unless you are building your own, Solo is the best in the business in my experience. They offer a range of solutions from race to low rumble and customer service is great.

 

[ChopTop]

As you see, a lot of us recommend Solo, not just because it's highly regarded by several of us but also because they offer different combination in order to help you achieve (or tailor) the sound level you want. Having said that, SB is absolutely correct, there's no way video sound clips are going to be able for you to know absolutely. Hearing different systems in person (along w/being in the car while it's s driving) is going to be the only way to know what system sounds right for you. Along with knowing if the car is an auto or manual, because autos shifts w/the computer tells them to shift, manuals shift when the driver does and directly impacts the sound of the exhaust system while driving.

Kind of goes to the V8 vs 2.0 debate, because while a few of us think a V8 conversion is the be all and end all, others know that 2.0 can be built to perform just as well. Which means its probably more a sound (or nostalgia) thing than a performance thing.

 

[bikerhd]

three of us put billyboat duel exhaust on our base solstices. polished stainless steel looks awesome and sounds like we wanted it to. highly recommend.

 

[IBDRINKEN]

On my old Gxp I had the solo he cat and the race exhaust

 

[rallyracer]

I went with Solo's Mach Shorty like Sly Bob. I agree, that at first it seemed a little too loud. But after several years and about 10K miles, it has mellowed out very nicely. It is throaty, yet mellow and smooth, and rumbles and pops at the right times. When I stand on it, which is seldom, its a different animal.
I continue to get many positive comments about the car, and to my surprise, I get just as many about the exhaust note. This is most important because the last thing I wanted was to have it sound like a kid's ricer.

 

[2KWK4U]

I scored an MBRP while they were still making them, and I love it. That being said, Solo would be my choice today.

 

[FieroVin]

Have you seen the sticky thread? http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/f62/exhaust-sound-clip-page-42548/

I'm not sure how many broken links there are, but I know some of them still work.