Plain and simple, you should be looking into the ATAK from Borla if you're after one of the
more aggressive systems available for your Coyote-powered S197, and you don't mind throwing
down a decent chunk of change to get all of that sound from a premium brand or system
like Borla.
Now prospective buyers can look forward to 304 grade stainless steel throughout here,
including the sound shaping X-pipe, all for just south of the $1,600 price tag.
The bolt-on, no modification install will get a simple one outta three wrenches on the
difficulty meter from me, and we will have more on that later on in the video.
Now for those who don't know, ATAK stands for Acoustically-Tuned Applied Kinetics, and
it's Borla's patented tech that basically allows for plenty of volume, but without any
of the distortion that can sometimes dirty up the tone a little bit with an aggressive
system like this.
And as you guys heard with our sound clips, this thing certainly doesn't disappoint in
the volume department.
As I mentioned earlier, you're getting boatloads of both volume and tone here with the ATAK,
and that's certainly going to be one of the most aggressive systems for your S197 GT.
So breaking out my tried and true wake the neighbors scale here, guys, I'm going full
blown five out of five here with the ATAK, and it was an easy one for me because this
is Borla's most aggressive system, and is easily on par with other heavy hitters in
the category, such as your Corsa Extreme, or even your Flowmaster Outlaw.
Now one thing that stood out to me about the ATAK is that below 4000 or so RPM here, this
system doesn't really blow you away, but once you get above that, the boiler really comes
to life and at that point it starts screaming.
I noticed a lotta popping and backfiring also with this system coming down off the rev,
in between shifts, things like that, in addition to all of that volume, which is something
that I really enjoy, hell, maybe you guys do as well.
But moving inside the car on the other hand, you do hear this system when hammering on
it, but at the same time the typical problem areas or drone areas didn't really produce
anything worth mentioning.
But moving on to the construction and materials here with the Borla, and again, nothing but
the best, the cream of the crop, I mean Borla, they've been doing this a long time, and it
really does show with the quality of their build.
This does include 304 grade stainless steal throughout, including the two and three quarter
inch mandrel-bent tubing, the X-pipe of course, and the straight through ATAK series mufflers
here, all exiting out the category leading four and a half inch tips, which do do a great
job of filling out the voids in the rear bumper.
Now this probably goes without saying, but the Borla stuff doesn't exactly come cheap,
in fact far from it.
Case in point here, guys, the ATAK cat-back for the S197 is gonna hit you for just south
of 1,600 bones, making this one of the more expensive systems in the category, along with
the Corsa systems, but for the owners who really do appreciate that quality or craftsmanship
here, it is a worthy investment.
But switching gears, let's quickly talk about the install, and since you are looking at
a 100% bolt-on job, expect a rather easy one outta three wrenches on the difficulty meter
here, and maybe an hour or two of your time, depending on your setup and just how fast
you like to work.
Tool wise, you're really looking at a basic socket set, maybe some spray lube to help
you with some rusty bolts and rubber exhaust hangers, and then last but not least, you
do need to get the car up in the air, whether it be a lift, jack and jack stands, or race
ramps, whatever you have access to.
Getting started, you'll obviously need to remove that factory system first.
Now this can be done by removing the clamps nearest the engine and the clamps closest
to the muffler, you'll also need to remove the hanger securing those mufflers to the
car.
With the factory system out of the way, you can move those hangers over to the new Borla
ATAK mufflers here and prep the rest of the system for the installation.
I always recommend starting from front to back here, so get that X-pipe in pace first,
followed by the over axle pipes.
Now at this point you can get to work on installing the mufflers, getting them in place of course,
and securing them to the car with the hangers you removed from the factory mufflers, along
with those bolts in the very first step.
Now move on to the clamps closest to the muffler but don't fully tighten those things down
quite yet because you wanna make sure you have these massive four and a half inch tips
positioned perfectly in the bumper openings.
Now once you have everything in place, go ahead and torque down all of your clamps and
bolts, and your installation is complete.
Wrapping things up here guys, if you want one of the most aggressive systems from one
of the most trusted names in the world of aftermarket exhaust, you'll have to check
out the ATAK right here at americanmuscle.com.