SOLO PERFORMANCE - Got a tour, new exhaust, and a big smile on my face...
I've been remiss in writing this up sooner as this happened last week, but I've been very very busy with two car shows and work.
Nevertheless, I called up SOLO asking about the Axlebacks, since I'm lucky enough to live only about 40 minutes from their shop in Mississauga, Ontario.
I work for GM and remember the work they did on the Solstice concept car a few years back, so after a few conversations back and forth, I drove out there to meet the guys at the shop.
Now, because I didn't ask permission to publish names first, I'm not going to do so here (just don't want to be rude), but I will say this:
I got a tour of the whole facility, the new machines that work on the pipes, and the people who design the exhaust systems. Also saw the amount of work that goes into designing one, as well as the work that goes into making them (there's still a very "hands on" approach to making the exhaust systems, it's not all machines in some factory basically).
They offered to install my exhaust for free since I came out there to see the shop, so sure enough, we got the car up on the hoist and began talking about the J-pipe design for resonance in the V8 mode. Looked at the caps, saw the quality of the welds, and then the owner said something to me:
"You sure you don't want the full cat back system?"
Granted it wasn't much more than getting axlebacks, but I was concerned that it would be too loud for my neighbours (tight parking spot) or that it would be annoying if I had to pick up my grandmother.
That's when he said "if you like, and have time, how about we give you a tour while he installs it, you can then drive around the block, and if you don't like it we'll stick with the axlebacks. Sound fair?"
You want to talk about customer service? They ARE customer service. I agreed, and let the installer (also the designer of the system) get to work. As I walked past the lounge area, there were people who were elderly getting I believe their van done with a normal replacement, and as I walked by they said "we've been coming here for years... are you getting your exhaust fixed too? We like them here". Heh.
Here I noticed the small connecting pipe between both sides. This is both for increased structural strength, as well as a balancing of the exuahst flow/sound:
This is where the stock sensors will go into. When they took them out of the stock exhaust, they actually were really delicate with the removal, and didn't just have them drop/dangle harshly when removed, keeping the wires in good shape:
Bolting up:
Once the system was installed, the main installer took good care to set the pipes up evenly before tightening some bolts. He also showed me how easy it would be to adjust the resonance from the J-pipes using the cap that can slide in and out:
We both talked about how it's not too dissimilar in principle as an old AM antenna or CB radio antenna. It wasn't so much the length that was the issue of the overall antenna being used, it's the amount of wire, the length of the wire, that is coiled up that makes the difference. If you want to pick up a certain frequency, you need a certain length of wire, too much or too little, and you may not get the station clearly. This works here too, because the exhaust will be pumping out at a certain rate. The J-pipe will cause a change in the pressure, which in turn changes the sound and pitch. Moving the cap in and out is no different than someone playing a trombone moving the slider in and out.
Personally, I think that's genius.
I drove it home and had an awesome drive... the sound is what really surprised me. I had tried (embarrassingly) the washer mod. I had even huge washers on there to make a more deep and guttural sound, and to a degree the washers certainly worked. However, there was so much noise in the cabin, so much bad drone, bad unbalanced pitches of noise that even I got a headache (let alone my passengers). This was surprisingly quiet inside. Actually, I really didn't notice much of a difference unless I was really on the throttle, but even then it was a pleasing tone and not an annoying one, it actually reminded me very much of the Corvette ZR1 from inside the cabin. Same kind of notes under high acceleration, and it was music to my ears!
In the city, at normal cruising speeds, just humming along, it is exactly like stock for tone inside. From the outside, you hear a deep burble from the V8, however, so there's no ambiguity to those around you that you've got a 6.0L V8 under the hood (-;
When starting the car however, there's such a beautiful, raw, visceral BRAWWWWERRRRP that is worth the price of admission.
(watch in HD for better quality sound)
Sadly, most modern microphone systems on cameras (even the studio mic i brought) can't pick up the really low tones, so you have to take my word on it that it sounds great.
I had a short trip, a start up, shut down. Idle for another few minutes, then shut down, etc for about an hour. Poor car had a hard time at the show being moved a few feet and such, there was a lot of condensation buildup as it never actually got to full temp, so ignore the water droplets.
So, bottom line is this... If you're thinking of an affordable, well made, well designed exhaust system from a company that stands behind their product, is genuinely proud of their designs, and have fantastic customer service, you MUST consider SOLO Performance in your shopping.
It's been a little over a week now, and I'm still absolutely in love with this system... a sales consultant from a nearby dealer wanted to hear my system since he was considering a magnaflow. I took him for a spin in the car, and within three days he was at SOLO getting the exact same exhaust installed on his G8.
It's addictive.
I love it.
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