Tipping the scales at 75 pounds (34 kilograms), the NPP exhaust system of the C8 Stingray Z51 doesn’t sound half bad when the V8 idles or redlines. Made by Tenneco for GM, the quad-piped exhaust does play second fiddle to a cat-back setup like the one we’ll talk about today.
Produced from T304 stainless steel, the 3.0-inch system developed by MBRP for the eighth-generation Corvette features mandrel-bent pipes that spew the exhaust gases out with the help of carbon-fiber tips. The 4.5-inch finishers add visual drama without looking garish, and of course, this system uses the bone-stock catalytic converters to pass emissions testing.
The factory mounting locations are retained as well, along with the AFM actuators that are located near the flanges. Covered by a lifetime warranty, the aftermarket system also happens to be a straightforward bolt-on install.
MBRP founder Martin Barkey demonstrates the aural qualities of the X-pipe exhaust in the following video, and the differences over the NPP exhaust are pretty obvious. The bellowing idle, mellow cruising revs, crisp upshifts, and downshift pops are to die for. Even with half of the cylinders doing nothing, the small-block V8 sounds pretty good in V4 mode thanks to the aftermarket solution that doesn’t have a price at the time of reporting.
MBRP didn’t mention what kind of gains we can expect from the LT2 either, which develops 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet (637 Nm) of torque in the case of the Stingray Z51. Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, for example, promises up to 19 rear-wheel horsepower and 15 pound-feet (20 Nm) of rear-wheel torque for a $3,599 cat-back exhaust.
Corvette loyalists will soon be able to experience an even louder ‘Vette as GM prepares to roll out the Z06 for the 2022 model year. Based on the LT5 flat-plane crankshaft V8 of the C8.R endurance racer, the all-new LT6 flat-plane crankshaft V8 of the road-going car is expected to churn out 617 horsepower and rev higher than 8,000 rpm, maybe up to 9,000 rpm.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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