Highs and Lows of the JBA Exhaust - 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Highs and Lows of the JBA Exhaust - 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com's long-term 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 has an aftermarket JBA exhaust system. Sounds great most of the time, but at certain rpm, it's annoying.

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kirkhilles1

Oh, you've haven't heard of JBA Exhaust? But they are the 30th ranked listing in Google, behind those "small" companies like Flowmaster, Magnaflow, Borla, etc. LOL. No longer being a teenager, I'm not interested in an aftermarket exhaust unless the goal is the utmost quality and just a SMALL extra noise. It shouldn't sound aftermarket, it should sound sporty. I drove my brother-in-law's mustang with a straight through exhaust and while it sounded cool starting up, it was unbearable to drive. Literally did my best not to accelerate.

fordson1

The dirty little secret is that for performance models, most aftermarket exhausts don't add any, or much, additional power. For a garden-variety hemi Charger, maybe...but for the SRT8, they did not leave much on the table in terms of breathing enhancements. If it's a full manifold-back system, with some expensive high-flow cats, maybe there is some extra power or more area under the curve, but if we're talking a cat-back, maybe a couple-five-eight hp at best.

texases

I assume it's just a 'cat back' system, probably gets you next to zero hp for all that noise...

ps - I never heard of them, either.

sxty8stang

@fordson1 and @texases are right, but that's not the point anyway - more sound is what tons of buyers are after, but they don't want drone, which is what you're referring to Mike, and I'm surprised you don't know that term?

Cheap aftermarket exhaust does that - Flowmaster being a prime example. Higher-quality exhaust like Borla doesn't. You get what you pay for. I didn't ever understand why Borla costs 30-50% more than Flowmaster until I put Borlas on my Mustang. Now I know and it was worth every penny.

allthingshonda

The best exhaust systems are usually only found as OEM equipment. The Jag and the Corvette, for example, have bi-modal systems so you have quiet during normal operations or you can unleash the beast.

ctpaul

"You just can't win with these Edmunds nutballs. First they complain the 2015 Ford Mustang is too quiet, now they say the Charger is too loud?" yup

s197gt

exhaust set ups are more art than science, that is, when it comes to personal preference. guys on the mustang forums spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars trying varying setups to find the perfect sound for their taste. hours spent on youtube listening to videos of different setups.

and your taste can change over time. you think you got the perfect setup and then 6 months later you want to try something different.

fordson1

I buy for go, not for show. A high-flow cat will always make it somewhat louder, and in conjunction with the factory cat-back, makes more power.

misterfusion

Buying for noise over power is just silly to me. I don't know, I guess I've never had that "bro" mentality about noisy things -- cars, motorcycles, speakers, leafblowers, etc., etc.