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Take 2: Cheap Exhaust or Bite the Bullet?

I worked for the Forest Service (USDA) as an officer and NEVER wrote a ticket for someone using a glasspack. Now my boss did write two for people running straight pipes (no Spark Arrestor Tickets)
That is strictly information coming from the VA/NC area for the rest of the country i have no clue how anal they are about it but if its a newer stock fuel injected engine with a Catalytic converter I cant imagine them blowing flame out the exhaust.

I run a Thrush Glasspack on my jeep with my big USDA FOREST SERVICE sticker on the back window party1:


ps... Kids can be pretty scared of smokey the bear
40355_413317177956_556537956_4798150_599328_n.jpg

for the record i didnt ever wear the costume.. im too short LOL
 
favaguitars said:
I have heard the glass packs are not allowed on some trails because there is no spark arrestor. Could be wrong.
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I've heard the same. I seem to recall someone posting the verbage of the regulation as well. It may not be enforced very strictly, but just something to keep in mind.
 
chedisme said:
one the side topic of where the exhaust dumps out.. I crumpled up my tail pipe on a stump so as a trail fix I just cut it after the muffler. after my 3+ hr ride home I found it had almost melted completely through my gas tank.

some body mentioned glass pacts, Ive got one with a down turn welded to the end. Im pretty happy with it. cheap too. like 13$
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Idk how they will sound but I might do the same thing, cheap is my favorite word lol
 
I'll be honest: the Borla is sexy and higher build and sound quality than 98% of all other brands. I bought the header and cat-back new for ~$700 back in the day. If you plan on owning an XJ for 5+ years, get them. Unfortunately, I blew mine up when post-stroker, the stock pcm was learning the ~25.5# injectors(rated 24#@43.5psi/3 bar but higher on the 96+ 49psi rail), and sent too much fuel in the exhaust and melted the 3-mo old magnaflow cat. I then ran catless for a bit and the accel coil decided it wanted to skip a couple cycles and then when it fired, it blew up all the unburnt fuel in the borla muffler(louder than a gunshot) and that was that. I still use my Borla header from 8+ years ago and have the 2" mandrel-bent SS Borla tail pipe in the shed(the muffler was/is 2.25"in and 2"out fyi--it keeps the energy in the exhaust as the heat dissipates), if anybody is interested. Anyhow, I run a 2.5" 3-chamber Magnaflow muffler at the moment and ran a YJ Corsa cat-back for a month--it was on par with Borla for build quality, but not the sound I wanted from my stroker(the Corsa on my M3 is amazing, so I had an itch to scratch). I will give a 2.5" Borla XS a chance in the near future. That said, I have installed 3 or so Dynomax systems on brother's, friend's, and stranger's XJs and they are a good bang for the buck(esp with rebate) and sound better down the road when they are broken in.
 
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I went Borla a few years ago and I'm pretty pleased with the header, although I did manage to dent it with the front u-joint when flexed out. :( The hanger on the pipe from the header to the cat broke off, but Borla replaced it free, although I did have to pay shipping to send the broken pipe back which wasn't cheap because of the box size and going completely across the country.

The cat back part...not so much. It has a goofy bend at the end that required cutting off and adding a straight piece. Maybe on a stock XJ it would work, but not with extended shackles or a shackle relocation.

The build quality of the header itself was great, but the hanger that broke was very poorly welded.

It sounds pretty good, especially around town at low RPMs. On the highway with 4.56s and AX15 (~2700 RPM @ 70 MPH) it's a little louder and ricier than I would like, but I'm sure I would have loved it in my younger days. :)

If I had it to do again I would probably get the header, but definitely pass on the cat back.
 
gradon said:
I'll be honest: the Borla is sexy and higher build and sound quality than 98% of all other brands. I bought the header and cat-back new for ~$700 back in the day. If you plan on owning an XJ for 5+ years, get them. Unfortunately, I blew mine up when post-stroker, the stock pcm was learning the ~25.5# injectors(rated 24#@43.5psi/3 bar but higher on the 96+ 49psi rail), and sent too much fuel in the exhaust and melted the 3-mo old magnaflow cat. I then ran catless for a bit and the accel coil decided it wanted to skip a couple cycles and then when it fired, it blew up all the unburnt fuel in the borla muffler(louder than a gunshot) and that was that. I still use my Borla header from 8+ years ago and have the 2" mandrel-bent SS Borla tail pipe in the shed(the muffler was/is 2.25"in and 2"out fyi--it keeps the energy in the exhaust as the heat dissipates), if anybody is interested. Anyhow, I run a 2.5" 3-chamber Magnaflow muffler at the moment and ran a YJ Corsa cat-back for a month--it was on par with Borla for build quality, but not the sound I wanted from my stroker(the Corsa on my M3 is amazing, so I had an itch to scratch). I will give a 2.5" Borla XS a chance in the near future. That said, I have installed 3 or so Dynomax systems on brother's, friend's, and stranger's XJs and they are a good bang for the buck(esp with rebate) and sound better down the road when they are broken in.
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My Ford blew up one of it's mufflers when the coil started getting week. Scared the hell out of me! :D

My Dynomax has a nice raspy sound, but hasn't broken in yet. I've only had it for a month or so.
 
I've had my Dynomax for about 6 months and its been great! You can't beat the system for the price. It bolts up nice and easy, sounds great, and is cheap.

Borla is nice but very expensive. Not worth it IMO for exhaust. You won't see amazing power gains on a Cherokee, and with a cheap exhaust system you won't cry when it gets ripped off by a rock. :laugh:
 
Tacedaddy said:
I worked for the Forest Service (USDA) as an officer and NEVER wrote a ticket for someone using a glasspack. Now my boss did write two for people running straight pipes (no Spark Arrestor Tickets)

I run a Thrush Glasspack on my jeep with my big USDA FOREST SERVICE sticker on the back window party1:
Click to expand...

That is rather interesting. I notice plenty of people on this forum speak about putting straight pipe and or glass pack in their XJ to go off road.

A few years ago here in South Florida in the Everglades National Park, a guy with a swamp truck/buggy had a straight pipe on his truck which caused a fire that took days to put out after it raveged the half dried saw grass and every other thing in it path. The last thing I heard was that the NP Rangers were going to charge him for the 100+ firemen it took to put out the fire. That was when I found out it was ilegal to be in the forest without a fire arrestor on your vehicle.

:twak:
 
SolarBell said:
IIRC, A catalytic converter is effective as a spark arrestor. So if you have a cat and a glasspack you are ok. No cat, no glasspack.
Click to expand...

No my friend. A cat converter is not a spark arrestor. Any exhaust or part of an exhaust that you could look into one end and see through to the other end is not a spark arrestor. A spark arrestor is supposed to trap hot pieces of carbon, metal or anything else that is hot inside and not let it pass to the outside.

It is very interresting that Tacedaddy knows better,... do not use a spark arrestor on his XJ then come on here boasting he do not run one.

:huh:
 
Mea Culpa. I did some research and found this from the forest service: http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/html/03511306/03511306.htm

Motor trucks, truck tractors, buses, and passenger vehicles, except motorcycles, are exempt from the spark arrester requirement provided that the exhaust system is equipped with a muffler, as defined in the Vehicle Code.

The exception for passenger and transportation vehicles is granted because they generally are not driven in close proximity to flammable vegetation. Although mufflers and catalytic converters can help reduce the problem of spark emissions, they are not spark arresters. Catalytic converters also pose a special fire threat as they generate temperatures in excess of 2,000 °F that can ignite wildland vegetation.
Click to expand...
 
My brother's old 86 F350 with 460 and a likely plugged cat lit the brush on fire under his truck when stuck in the mud. Luckily it was in a soggy "dry" lake bed and only burned the area 6" around the cat before succumbing to the mud.
 
Another vote for Borla!, gotta love the fact that it's got a lifetime warranty and it's constructed out of 304 stainless, It also has a nice mellow deeper tone to it, not loud but a tad louder than stock. I just had to mad the end of it, but it comes with band clamps apposed to the regular ones.
 
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