BorderJustice
Enthusiast
Thinking of buying the full Belanger system for my 2009 this year, headers to tips. It's pricey, a hair less than $4,000. Anyone have it? If so is it worth the extra money over the competition?
Belanger Exhaust
- Thread starter BorderJustice
- Start date
I had the complete Belanger system on my 2006. Way too LOUD. I had to wear ear plugs, and the drone was unbearable, communication inside the car was a full voice shouting match (. I finally found that the Belinger Headers & cats plus Corsa mufflers (with anti-drone technology) work well together. EXPENSIVE - and no one will except your returns if you do not like them. The smaller (single) cats per side are much cooler than the stock 2 per side cats
OP
OP
BorderJustice
Enthusiast
Wow, that's good to know. Thanks for the feedback!
kssssnake
Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2010
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This old thing has headers and mini cats with the side pipes. Deafening. Annoying to drive further than the next car show. Listen to a set first. Is cool when you start it up or when it backfires and flames come out the pipes.
What is anti-drone technology, please elaborate as I'm not familiar
Also when you refer to the smaller cats being cooler you mean running cooler or looking ?
Is Gen IV Belanger same as for Gen III
Thanks
anti-drone technology
https://www.corsaperformance.com/pages/rsc-technology
running cooler
Is Gen IV Belanger same as for Gen III? - unknown - check out their website
https://www.corsaperformance.com/pages/rsc-technology
running cooler
Is Gen IV Belanger same as for Gen III? - unknown - check out their website
DJ'sviper
Enthusiast
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I have headers and exhaust. Really loud, but bearable. I put extra sound deadening under the carpet which helped in heat and sound. Side pipes are still hot and blister paint but way cooler than before.
Gen 1
Gen 1
James Karchner
Enthusiast
I have the full Belanger set up on my Gen III. It is definitely loud and some would probably consider it obnoxious, but I liken it to street race car. I love it! My wife does not! The backfires and gurgles that come out of it when I let off the gas are intoxicating. Everyone's personal preferences are different. The videos on YouTube are good but nothing beats hearing it in person.
Daniel SRT-10
Enthusiast
The full belanger is exstreamy loud, as far as the drone it only occurred when I was around 1,500 RPM’s just drop down a gear or increase speed and it will go away. As far as the noise, my decibel readings inside the car were, 78 at idle out of gear, 87 in gear at idle 94 bellow 1,500 rpm’s 110 at 2,500 rpm’s and high speed close to redline 130 decibels. With that said anything over 82 with in 5 feet you should have hearing protection. If you don’t ware it your ears will get damaged, besides if you drive high speed with high RPM’s you literally can’t see straight, pretty much how things would look if you are completely drunk. But I love mine, nothing beats blowing the doors off some hater that’s messing with you on the road.
I had the Belanger headers & cats installed on my 2005 SRT-10. We kept original exhaust with tips. It's louder than the original exhaust but more than bearable. Gen III cars developed a crack in the weld on the underside of the headers. That sends a cat error code. My choice was to buy a factory exhaust or buy the Belanger. I went with Belanger because I didn't want to replace the factory exhaust again later. The only 1 who complains about the exhaust noise is my girlfriend and that's only on engine startup and hard acceleration.
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BorderJustice
Enthusiast
Thanks everyone! Good feedback. Not sure if I'm closer to the decision to pull the trigger, but I want to. LOL
kssssnake
Enthusiast
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Parting thought; there was a family in our town that owned a Busch racing team back in the day. They took the car to car shows and local events. When we drove by it at a show I racked the pipes. They had to start the race car. It may have been a little louder, but not much.
2002-GTS-FINAL-ED
VCA Member
I installed the complete exhaust 3 inch Bellanger Hi Flo Ceramic Cats & Cat Back system bought thru Viper Parts Rack & it sounded phenomenal but overall was too loud for my taste. My ears would ring after i drove it & I felt like a tool driving in & out of the hood. It was just to much for me! I called Bellanger direct & spoke w/ Mr. Bellanger & he gave me a great solution. He sent me a section of 2.5 inch pipe that bolted into my system & amazingly it made a huge difference & toned it down just enough. It's still edgy which I like but not over the top for my taste. My point being that if you call them direct & discuss your preferences they could give you options for a custom exhaust for you. My car is a 2002 GTS Final Edition
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Again, I had the 2.5" system on my 2006 and it was way too loud! (see the above post on the sound pressure level measurements - those are correct imho). Then I talked with Mr. Bellanger. (Mr. Bellanger called me because JonB had alerted him that he had a dissatisfied customer, after I had talked with JonB about a refund - JonB offered me $250 minus shipping btw). Mr. Bellanger spent 1.5 hours jawboning at me about how it was my; engine, timing, fuel, computer, my driving style, etc - basically it was anything but his system -- He was desperate to blame anything. He even told me that my car had a bad engine and was a lemon so I should sell it and get another Viper (all because my exhaust was too loud through his system). Personally, I will be avoiding Mr. Bellanger and his products in the future.
Frank Parise
VCA Venom Member
With all due respect, headers are for increasing performance, not improving sound. Belanger made the biggest performance gains and were used extensively on the race cars in the Viper Days race series. We saw upwards of 40+ HP gain at the rear wheels. That's phenomenal. A cat-back exhaust system may be a better solution if you simply want more sound than OEM exhaust. Job Brobst at Parts Rack would be an excellent consultant in this regard.
OK, if you mostly race your Viper (and wear hearing protection or are, or want to be, deaf) fine - use a full Belanger system. Also, I did say that the Belanger headers & cats work well with the Corsa mufflers (they have a nice "ring" at a "street-able" volume). However, it was a lot of money & trouble to do this experiment (and I would like to pass-on my experience here). Moreover, I was not pleased with my overall experience, or with Mr. Belanger's excuses. Therefore, I am suggesting that for a mostly street viper, the stock headers & Corsa mufflers is the way to go. (Do what you want with the cats). PS. I am a loyal and long-time customer of JonB.
2002-GTS-FINAL-ED
VCA Member
My experience w/ Mr. Bellanger was outstanding. I was pleased that he immediately took my call & spent a lot of time discussing options for me. He offered me solutions to try in stages & the 1st stage got me right where I wanted to be. He fabricated the part & I had it in my possession in less than a week. Outstanding responsiveness & service
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BorderJustice
Enthusiast
a lot to think about
John333
VCA Member
When I purchased my 2001 GTS/ACR almost two years ago, it still had the factory SS headers, but the cats had been replaced by straight pipes. A 3" Belanger cat back exhaust finished the system. Outside, I loved the sound, but inside it was a tad loud and the drone was hard to bear. Called JonB and he sold me a folding carpeted panel w/Sneaky Pete logo to cover the rear area. The panel looks factory, hides whatever is in my trunk from prying eyes (Yes, I use my Viper for awesome shopping trips.), quieted down the exhaust noise and killed the drone. Totally satisfied with that accessory! I also purchased high flow cats to get rid of the stink. Thankfully, they didn't quiet the exhaust nor reduce performance in any notable way.
That's a cool touring accessory no doubt but only good for muffling a rear exit exhaust
John333
VCA Member
For sure, it would be useless for side exhaust.
KC4SSD
Enthusiast
My opinion on Belanger is great but maybe not the same application. My 05 Gen 3 SRT 10 truck has Belanger headers, 3 in high flow Belanger cats and mids with 3 in Magnaflows out the back. Fantastic power and sound. My 09 ACR has belanger from stock headers back also great. No drone on either. Loud but not overwhelming until I get on it hard then it sings a beautiful note on both vehicles.
On the Gen 4/5 cars we typicaly keep the stock mufflers with the Belanger system, power gains are almost the same and the system is not too loud.
Keep what Dan Cragin at the front of your mind, as there is really no other Viper Tech in the United States with as much experience as he has. He is not that far from you ( over in the LA area ) that it might even be a solid idea to drive over and have him install a full system for you. Woodhouse had access to virtually every header system available ( many were sent to us to try out for free ) and like Frank Parise mentioned earlier , this system was producing the best power of any. We used the Belanger system almost exclusively over the years and it is still a stellar system.
