Having issues with Borla S-Type

[roconnor2012]

I have a little bit of a story here, so grab a drink and take a seat.

Vehicle: 23 SCrew FX4 5.0 with 3.31

Back in January, I decided to do exhaust on my new truck. I waited until well after the break in period (around 2k miles) to pull the trigger. I knew a borla cat-back would be the best way forward, but my arrogance got the best of me. “I can find a good exhaust shop to do just as good!”, said the ignorant new 5.0 owner. I had a shop install a y-pipe, removing the stock muffler, but keeping the stock resonator. “Throw it away, it’s trash now!”, he continued.

The custom set up droned so bad and caused so much pressure in my ears, I had to change it.

Fast forward to this past weekend when I installed my new borla S-Type cat-back exhaust. The first day was awesome and everything was fixed. The top end sounded amazing - crisp, aggressive sound and very quiet on the low end.

Then, after a day or two, the pressure on my ears feeling returned. When in eco mode or lower than ~1800-1100 RPMs, there’s a strong resonance pressure inside the cab. It feels similar to when you open one window on the Highway - that “wop wop wop wop wop” feeling. It’s not loud, it simply makes it feel like you want to pop your ears. After 30 minutes, it gives you a headache. I’ve had multiple people ride/drive the truck to confirm it’s not just me.

I called borla to troubleshoot. They assured me that’s not supposed to happen with their products. I have an oil change this Saturday and the Borla rep wants me to have the techs look over the installation, just to be sure.

I know the Touring is also an option; however, I’m not convinced that would remove the issue. This isn’t a “loudness” issue, but a ‘pressure’ issue. I also don’t have the original exhaust anymore (because I’m an idiot). If I could go back, I would’ve never messed with it to begin with.

So, what do you all think? What are some questions I can ask back to Borla? Should I give up and try to find a used stock exhaust?

Where should I go from here?

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[Je1279]

Have you confirmed that it wasn't the cylinder deactivation that was causing this? On my 2015 Silverado with a Magnaflow exhaust, I could tell you that it was in V4 mode without looking at the dash because of the different exhaust sound. Here is a video that may be helpful.

 

[JExpedition07]

Run the truck in sport mode for a day and if it goes away it may be the cylinder deactivation as sport mode does not allow CD to kick on. You can’t really blame it on it, GM has no issues with aftermarket exhaust on CD trucks. The question is did Borla design this Ford system with CD in mind? Ford changed their stock muffler a bit to deal with the harmonics changes that it presents.

 

[roconnor2012]

Have you confirmed that it wasn't the cylinder deactivation that was causing this? On my 2015 Silverado with a Magnaflow exhaust, I could tell you that it was in V4 mode without looking at the dash because of the different exhaust sound. Here is a video that may be helpful.

That video was definitely helpful. One main difference to me though, is he’s talking about sound. It doesn’t sound any different to me or annoy me. However, it does make my ears (or anyone in the truck) hurt from a noticeable increase in pressure.
I think I can tell when it’s in CD, but this happens more than just that.

I could be over thinking it at this point, too.

 

[My 2ND Ford]

I have a little bit of a story here, so grab a drink and take a seat.

Vehicle: 23 SCrew FX4 5.0 with 3.31

Back in January, I decided to do exhaust on my new truck. I waited until well after the break in period (around 2k miles) to pull the trigger. I knew a borla cat-back would be the best way forward, but my arrogance got the best of me. “I can find a good exhaust shop to do just as good!”, said the ignorant new 5.0 owner. I had a shop install a y-pipe, removing the stock muffler, but keeping the stock resonator. “Throw it away, it’s trash now!”, he continued.

The custom set up droned so bad and caused so much pressure in my ears, I had to change it.

Fast forward to this past weekend when I installed my new borla S-Type cat-back exhaust. The first day was awesome and everything was fixed. The top end sounded amazing - crisp, aggressive sound and very quiet on the low end.

Then, after a day or two, the pressure on my ears feeling returned. When in eco mode or lower than ~1800-1100 RPMs, there’s a strong resonance pressure inside the cab. It feels similar to when you open one window on the Highway - that “wop wop wop wop wop” feeling. It’s not loud, it simply makes it feel like you want to pop your ears. After 30 minutes, it gives you a headache. I’ve had multiple people ride/drive the truck to confirm it’s not just me.

I called borla to troubleshoot. They assured me that’s not supposed to happen with their products. I have an oil change this Saturday and the Borla rep wants me to have the techs look over the installation, just to be sure.

I know the Touring is also an option; however, I’m not convinced that would remove the issue. This isn’t a “loudness” issue, but a ‘pressure’ issue. I also don’t have the original exhaust anymore (because I’m an idiot). If I could go back, I would’ve never messed with it to begin with.

So, what do you all think? What are some questions I can ask back to Borla? Should I give up and try to find a used stock exhaust?

Where should I go from here?

So the big question here is why the pressure went away for one day? Did the packing in the muffler blow out? OEM manufactures go to great pains to eliminate resonance in the cab. Aftermarket , not so much because if you are changing your exhaust it is because you want more noise and unfortunately resonance is a part of it. Borla is one of the better companies that has decent R&D. Does your exhaust exit from the rear or the side? I see from the pictures on Borla's website that the S-type uses a very small muffler while the touring uses a std looking muffler. That small muffler may be causing the wop wop sound. I'm sure your local muffler shop can put together a std system because I'm not sure how easy it will be to find a used one. Good luck.

 

[roconnor2012]

It exits straight out the back. I’m not sure if the packing was blown out either. I’ll check back in with Borla.

 

[Bcb6272]

I am nearly certain what you are describing is the cylinder deactivation of the 5.0. When my truck was stock, I couldn’t tell when it would switch to 4cyl mode. Then, like you, I had a shop install a muffler and axle dumped exhaust instead of springing for a Borla or Corsa right off the bat. That setup droned so bad when it would switch to the 4 cylinder mode it felt like my head was going to explode from the resonance pressure in the cab. I swallowed my pride a few weeks later and bought the Borla s type, like you thinking it would fix the resonance issue. I was thrilled at first, and then the dreaded wop wop wop sound was back when it would switch to 4 cylinders and I was really dissatisfied.
I did some research to see if I could get rid of the cylinder deactivation without an 800$ tune, and for the hell of it I put the truck in sport mode on my drive one morning and magically - no more resonance or pressure. I will say in sport mode it will be louder regardless of cylinder deactivation, but the resonance will go away. It just may take some adjusting to the higher revs between shifts and more aggressive shifting. Tow Hall mode also won’t go into cylinder deactivation I believe.
Also for what it’s worth, Livernois and 5 star can both remove the cylinder deactivation with their tunes, and I plan on purchasing one of them in the near future.

 

[Graygoose2021]

amen @Bcb6272

Id pay $400 for CD and tranny tune only!

 

[jorligan]

Same setup. No issues. I have Livernois tune with a Whipple

 

[MJG44]

I went 20k+ miles on my truck using Tow/Haul mode.

Just got the Livernois tune and I can tell you, the fact that I don't need to flip drive modes every time I hop into the truck is a huge relief. No C/D, no speed limiter and the shifts are very nice. The Tow/Haul mode shifts didn't bother me until I got the tune and a major difference for the better. The truck just drives so much more "complete". Yes, There's also a bit more jam when you press the pedal, as well.

I was skeptical at first for the tune on an N/A but I believe it's worth it.

 

[Beef_Stew]

Like others said, it’s the cylinder deactivation for sure. I hear it with my MBRP but it’s not that distracting. I want cylinder deactivation without having a tune! I wish Range would make a product like they have for the GM products to delete it.

 

[Je1279]

Like others said, it’s the cylinder deactivation for sure. I hear it with my MBRP but it’s not that distracting. I want cylinder deactivation without having a tune! I wish Range would make a product like they have for the GM products to delete it.

I had the Range AFM for my '15 Silverado. Worked great to disable cylinder deactivation, but completely drained my battery if the truck wasn't used for 2-3 days.

 

[Graygoose2021]

I had the Range AFM for my '15 Silverado. Worked great to disable cylinder deactivation, but completely drained my battery if the truck wasn't used for 2-3 days.

heck, thats all F150s now LOL
jk

 

[Beef_Stew]

I had the Range AFM for my '15 Silverado. Worked great to disable cylinder deactivation, but completely drained my battery if the truck wasn't used for 2-3 days.

My buddy has it in his 18 sierra and he’s left it for weeks at a time without a dead battery… wonder why it was so hit and miss

 

[Je1279]

My buddy has it in his 18 sierra and he’s left it for weeks at a time without a dead battery… wonder why it was so hit and miss

Maybe I had an earlier version or a defective unit. However, the annoying exhaust sound was ultimately less annoying than regularly dealing with a dead battery.

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