Greetings all! Does anyone run a Borla cat-back system? Does anyone have an idea of how much extra HP a Borla cat-back system will give me on a 2.5L V6 PGT? I've heard 10-15 hp is possible. Also, how much of an increase in noise does one of these systems produce over a stock PGT exhaust system? Thanks again, Chris

I know this isn't an answer to the question but, in my opinion it isn't worth the 600 dollars or whatever the obserd price is. I don't think it'll give you 10-15hp on a PGT. As for the sound, it'll probably be a lot louder than the stock system if its anything like my custom flowmaster system.

a realistic hp gain, with headers, a COLD AIR intake, underdrive pulleys and a high flow cat might be 6 or 7 hp to the wheels.  Is it worth the 600 bucks? HELL NO.  I had a 93 Se, i got my header for 300, gutted my cat for maximum flow and had oversized stainless catback piping with a highflow SPW canister muffler w/removable silencer... and all together for the piping to be made, the header, the muffler, welding and the piping itself was 715 bucks.  so catback alone for 600 is horrid...anything more than 300 for catback ( 450 or so with muffler) is absurd.  trust me, a local monroe or meineke or any other exhaust place that has a custom exhaust bender ( mandrel OR press bender ) will be much cheaper...just remember, if you go with press bent as i did go with a 1/4 inch larger than you want, i wanted 2 1/4 so i went with 2 1/2 due to the smaller size in bends. 
hopefully i helped...and by the way the loudness depends on the restriction in the exhaust...header back unrestricted with high flow or gutted cat and a canister muffler will rumble real nice...some people like flowmaster or magnaflow mufflers and such, but a few reasons i tend to disagree is = they clash with the style, it's like wearing zoot-suits to a club lol.  number two, they just dont flow as good as canister mufflers, period.  thats a proven fact.  number three, canisters almost ALWAYS have a larger opening at the end which provides a deeper, more mellow but still loud exhaust note, making it not so "ricey" and more "powerful" sounding. 
just my 2 cents...
once again, Jeremy

Thanks Gary.

is dymen back any better? noise wise and power?  

wtf is dymen? never heard of it in all of my "probing" and i looked everywhere for shyt.  link me or somthin i wanna check it out

my spelling is not that great. but my friend that was on my ship is on the Enterprise cvn 65 had them on his neon. diamond back exhaust.  i am not shure if their is one. but he got his neon to move like a fire bird. john

Chris, if you'd like a second opinion, I plan on putting a Borla cat-back system on my 2.0 Probe as soon as I find the right price (got outbid by 3 damn dollars on one tonight on ebay). As far as it costing $600, perhaps Gary is confusing it with the Bosal/Brospeed. That system runs $459-$560. The Bosal catback retails at around $389-429. I'm looking to get one for around $300-350, or just the muffler and then get custom 2.5" piping. As far as 10-15 HP, that's very unlikely. I think a more realistic number with no other mods with be around 5 HP. As far as the sound: in my opinion and the majority of people on probetalk, the Borla is the best sounding muffler for the Probe. It's not raspy like the pacesetter, and not hella loud like the Greddy. On most 2.5's you'll find a Greddy or a Borla. Hope that helps. MULTI 97GL

Many thanks for all of the input on the "meats" and the exhaust. I'll likely go with the Kumhos on everyone's advice. Regarding the Borla, I'd love to know where to get one for less than the $429 quoted by MULTI. The price the mech I'm working with on the project quoted was $590 + $60 in labor. I believe Borla actually quotes it at $650.... Also, what is the best type of ignition set up for the 2.5? I've been looking at Magnecors but - damn - they are really expensive for a set of wires. I saw that Accel makes an 8.5mm wire for well under half the cost of the Magnecors. Anyone had any experience with them? How about plugs? Are all platinum plugs created equal? I thought I saw someobne mention on here awhiel ago that platinum plugs were actually the wrong way to go. Any suggestions on the best way to go? Oh yes - for all of you who store your Probes in a garage for the winter - be sure to line them with mothballs. I had a field mouse chew into mine this winter. It shredded half of the firewall mat in the engine compartment and built a nest in my duct work. When I turned on my vents, I got a face full of debris and the blower fan was striking debris. Fair warning!! Thanks again! I'm looking to some feisty summer cruisin' soon! Chris > >

> Regarding the Borla, I'd love to know where to get one for less than the $429 quoted by MULTI. The price the mech I'm working with on the project quoted was $590 + $60 in labor. I believe Borla actually quotes it at $650.... > If you wanna pay retail, try doing a search on yahoo. Here's one of the first ones I found: http://www.proficientperformance.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Stor e_Code=PP&Category_Code=bor_catbacks_ford_probe MULTI

1st of all do you have a GT or SE? anyway the Borla alone maybe will give you like 4HP, i know this cuz with intake, exhaust, header and hi-flow cat i only managed to dyno an extra 13HP at the wheels, with each mod comes more noise so just the borla won't be very loud but once you add header and swap out the cat it starts to get loud. oh and about your tire question, i have the Yokohama AVS ES100 tires on my car and they are awesome! better than the Kumho 712's. i highly recommend them -Kwok '94 Probe SE

The borla website has the exhaust listed at $560 and $580. My $600 was just a guess, but yeah, the Brospeed is more. I'm sure you can pick it up somewhere else cheaper.

Kwok, Thanks for the input. Did you run the Kumhos before? Just curious as to why you didn't like them. Chris '97 PGT > >

Gary, I stand corrected - and happily so. Thanks for the info. Chris > >

yeah i had the Kumhos a few years ago. the Yokohamas are not as stiff as the Kumhos which gives it more grip in the corners IMO, the Kumhos you kinda have to underinflate them a little for it to stick to the road better. both are good in the rain and treadwear is about the same.. i just feel that the Yokohamas stick to the road better. it can handle almost any curve, of course it also helps if you have eibachs and tokicos. i think the Kumhos actually look better than they perform, but that just my opinion. for the price you really can't go wrong with either tire -Kwok '94 Probe SE

actually...platinum isnt the best...regular plugs are better, they make some real nice ones ( dual and triple prong )that work very well...platinum lasts longer but isnt the best for performance...at least thats always been my findings...never had any luck with platinum shyt in any of my cars.
jeremy

Kwok, Are you running a GT or an SE? I'm about even right now with folks stating that the Borla will either give about 4-5 HP or 10-15 HP. Thanks again, Chris 97PGT > >

i have an SE, even with a GT i don't think you'll get 10HP unless you have other mods

Kwok, Ok. Thanks. The only mod I have so far is the K&N air intake filter kit. I'll be putting on some hi-performance ignition parts too. I talked to a guy I work with, who drag races semi-pro (has his own rod and everything) and he said he highly doubts a simple cat-back would result in any discernable HP gain at the wheels. He did say that it might if one would also replace the headers and put a high-flow cat on it. I think I'm going to skip that mod for now and get a JET chip instead. Sounds like a better bet without the uncertainty of actually HP gain and noise levels.... Thanks again, Chris

a chip wont do much either without room for more intake and exhaust flow.  its all in the tuning...you have to "prep" a car before you tune it and then get some noticable power gains...remember, its painstaking...go with the exhaust...it will, 1=  make the car look better 2= make it sound better 3 =replace old stinky factory bs exhaust 4=set it up for big gains 5=not necessarially ADD power, but rearrange your powerband slightly so you have power more towards top end and more torque at bottom end...trust me, the exhaust is a much better choice bro.
hope i was of help.
jeremy h.  p.s..after header(s), exhaust, cold air intake, possibly cams and or cam gears, a chip will really help by remapping the fuel mixture and things like that, with stock parts the chip will barely bo anything.  speaking from a friends experience.