Ok, so I had a shop install my Db Performance Corsa #24310 today because I literally could not find any of my tools. Cost was $125 for the install while the tools would have came out to around $75 or so. So I basically got the install done for about $50 more tha if I had done it myself.

Anyways, the kit. When I first turned on the truck I was a little disappointed since I could not really hear anything. I was hoping for a relatively loud idle but was suprised to not really hear anything. My initial reaction was .."Ughh...what did I do?". I got on to the main street and applied the gas...woah nilly! The truck woke right up. Acceleration yielded a very deep and loud growl (even inside the cab). I rolled down the windows while I was accelerating and immediately noticed the same growl but of course on a much louder scale. lol Only difference being the outside sound also seemed to contain an almost jet engine like sound.

I headed for the freeway and was amazed at how quiet it was. At 40+ mph it was almost dead silent. At 80 mph a low and deep growl returned but it was quite subdued. I tested at rpm rages of 1200, 1500, 1800, 2000, and 2200. Drone at highway speed was non-existent. There was literally NO drone.

Overall, I am pretty happy. I do wish I could keep that aggressive growl going for more than just when I am accelerating, but I could see that sound (no pun intended) getting annoying if I had to hear it all the time. One thing is for sure, people around me notice it. While I was going to pick my son up from preschool I had two people try to race me. Apparently, having a loud truck means I want to race whatever moron that is next to me.

After I paid the shop that did the install, I asked the mechaic how easy it was to install. He said it was pretty simple. Removing the old exhaust and installing the new exhaust took a total time of 40 min from start to finish. As he was walking away, he mentioned, "easy to install and it SURE does sound good." I guess the wall pounding I heard earlier in the shop was from them revving the engine to make sure everythig was up and running correctly. lol Asthetically, the system looks great. The tip is a 4" Slash-cut with a laser etched logo on the top. I was orignally worried that the tip was going to look too small, but after seeing it I think it is perfect.

If I could describe the perfect buyer for this kit, it would be somebody looking for aggressive growl and great sound that also uses their vehicle for commuting/trips. It has a very clean sound to it. If you are looking for an exhaust that is going to rattle all the windows in the neighborhood and let everybody know you are coming at all times than this exhaust is not for you. If you are the type that is looking for a classy and clean muscle car sound with an exotic car tone to it than this the kit might be just the ticket.

*EDIT* A few videos. Sorry for the sound and video quality. My camera phone just doesn't do the exhaust justice.

Warm Start
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjCbmqMputQ

Normal Acceleration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8SzzgfCNnM

Freeway Driving
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXsr85ZhCRs

 

Year model, engine?

 

^ X2. hi flow cats is what you want.

 

Good review. Glad you are happy. But judging by your review it sounds like the Corsa kit would not be for me, unless I added LTs & hi-flow cats.

 

I have a 2010 FX4. It's a 5.4l (I thinly that's the only engine size for the FX4).

Darren, maybe not. It is more tame loudness wise but very aggressive sounding if that makes sense.

 

Ok, so I had more time to drive it around today. Cold start is definitely nice. The closest sound I can compare it too is UNC_Lariat's XR-1 video where he compares it to his 18" Magnaflow (the Corsa sounding like the XR-1).

Still, acceleration sounds fatastic. Very deep and throaty sound (like the truck is angry, lol). Once the truck gets into the higher gears the sound disappears. I don't mean it gets quiet...I mean it disappears. I am pretty sure at about 2000 rpms on the freeway, the Corsa may be quieter than stock. There is this very subtle purr sound but it is hardly noticable. 1800 rpms, where other Corsa owners have also indicated, seems to sound the best. If somebody does a lot of freeway driving this may the perfect choice for them.

Another aspect I noticed was my increase in gas mileage. When I got in the truck today, my dash gauge read 13.9 mpg. I did quite a bit of city driving today with almost no time on the freeway (maybe a mile or 2 on the freeway), driving my normal way (I don't gun it at stop lights to race past the 1,935,207 lowered Chevys in my town). Upon returning home, my dash gauge read 15.0. Now, I know the dash gauge is considered pretty inaccurate, however, I don't think I have seen the gauge at 15+ mpg after a day of city driving. I certaily did not expect to see ANY gains after driving today. It is tough to feel if you are leadfooting with the Corsa because the thing is DEEP and LOUD during acceleration. Normal accleration with the Corsa sounds aggressive inside and like hell is breaking loose outside. lol

I think a large part of my concern from how quiet it is comes from the fact that the later model Fords seems to be inherently quieter inside. I asked my Wife and Mom if they could even hear a difference outside or if it just sounded like a louder version of the stock exhaust. My wife just looked at me and asked if I was kidding and my Mom asked me if I was going through a mid-life crisis. haha I think the only way around it would be to swap out the Corsa muffler with a Magnapack or something along those lines. The cabin of this 2010 just seems really well "sealed". Certainly not a complaint! It does seem to affect ones ability to hear the exhuast, but outside of that I can't really complain.

I do wish I could hear it better in the cab when not acclerating, but I think the only option would be a muffler swap and I have no idea how to go about that since I have a kit installed. I certaily would not want to mess up the Corsa kit in case the muffler swap just wasn't what I thought it would be. Any ideas, or am I just being silly?

 

^ 94106 cats.

 

x2 on the 94106s.

 

I live in California so high-flow cats are not an option. Besides, the stock cats on 2010s are already very close to the high-flows.

Any other ideas outside of LT headers...which would be 3x the cost of the kit with installation? lol

*Edit* On a side note, it seems to be getting louder. I am guessing the truck is reprogramming itself to the new hardware?

 

Glad to hear you like it for the most part. I'll say my XR-1 has gotten quite a bit louder since I installed it. Don't be surprised if your exhaust gets a little louder after it gets a couple thousand miles on it.

 

Give it a few thousand miles... depending on what the inside is constructed of, it may get louder. Mangaflow uses rock wool on the interior of their mufflers so they break in as the packing gets pushed up to the walls. Mine got considerably louder. Your Corsa system may do the same. In all honesty, I think Lt's would be your only way to make it louder... Hi flows don't make sense as they 09's+ are nearly high flow as your correctly noted.

 

Thanks for the comments, guys. Yeah, I do like it. The sound is pretty crazy and the startup is throaty as all get out. Still wish I could hear it inside a little more though.

It's funny, I am complaining about what most people look for...no drone and a quiet inside. lol

It is interesting since it seems like once you get up to speed there doesn't seem to be any sound outside either. Sort of strange. The muffler is noticably larger than what one sees most around here like the Magnapacks and whatnot. It certainly doesn't look like a carpet rolled up like the stock exhaust, but it isn't "small" either.

Choosing a exhaust really is a gamble for the most part I guess. You never know until you go for it. Can't really say I didn't know better since Corsa really pushes there "no drone" technology. I must say though, when you are accelerating and the drone/noise kicks in it is sort of nice to hear, defiitely a feeling of driving somehting powerful. I am not sure how nice it would be after a few hundred miles though. haha

I was wondering, if I ever wanted to try a Magnapack or XR-1 with this exhaust system....how hard would be to just replace the muffler and clamp in the other exhaust...what exactly would that entail? I wouldn't mind just hearing what the other options sound like on my truck, but I would definitely want the option to go back to my Corsa muffler if I wasn't happy. Is this eve possible?

Thanks for the help all!

 

Its definitely possible and easy for a shop to do. All they have to do is remove your old muffler (should be attached with clamps). Then either weld or clamp on the new muffler. They may need to add or remove pipe before/after the muffler depending on the length of the new muffler compared to the Corsa.

When I added my XR-1, I just replaced my old Magnaflow muffler with it and reused the rest of the pipe from the catback kit that came with the old Magnaflow.

 

Thanks, UNC. I figured it would not be that big of a deal.

 

Sounds pretty good to me. Sounds like a diesel!