Borla Exhaust Sound, 3-Year Ceramic Coating Cost, and Rooftop Tents: 7 Questions I Get Asked Every Week

Nine years handling aftermarket parts and accessory orders for dealers, installers, and detail shops. In that time I've personally made (and documented) 31 significant mistakes, totaling roughly $41,000 in wasted budget. I now keep the checklist that stops our team from repeating them.

Below are the seven questions that come up most often — exhaust, coatings, paint care, rooftop tents — answered the way I'd answer them on the phone. Each one starts with the short answer, so if you only read two lines, you're still covered.

1. What actually determines how a Borla exhaust system sounds?

In my first year (2017), I made the classic assumption error: I figured louder meant better, and sold 14 systems on that logic without asking a single question about how the customer used the truck. Nine were fine. Five came back as complaints about highway drone on long tows. (Should mention: we ate the labor on all five.)

Sound comes from a stack of things — engine displacement, whether it's turbocharged, pipe diameter, resonator placement, and the muffler's internal design. Borla's lines sit at different points on that scale: ATAK at the aggressive end, S-Type in the middle, Touring at the quiet end. Same truck, three completely different cabins.

So "what does a Borla exhaust system sound like" isn't really answerable in the abstract. It's answerable per vehicle, per driving style, per passenger tolerance.

2. ATAK, S-Type, or Touring — how do I pick without annoying the customer?

The question I should have asked back in 2017: who else rides in this truck, and how far do you drive it?

My rule now — daily driver with passengers, start at S-Type and let the customer talk you up. Weekend toy, ATAK is usually the no-brainer. Tow rig running 400 miles a day, Touring, and don't apologize for it.

Two things people forget. First, new systems change tone as the packing settles — the first few hundred miles are not the final sound. Second, most exhaust retailers can't take back an installed system, so the wrong pick is a real cost, not a swap. Bottom line: the money you save by choosing on price alone and then swapping later is the most expensive savings in this business.

3. Does a Borla performance exhaust actually add horsepower?

Sometimes. That's the honest answer.

On a naturally aspirated V6 with an otherwise stock tune, you may never feel it — gains are small and mostly up top. On a turbocharged truck with a tune, a good cat-back can free up real flow and you'll notice. On anything, you're also dropping weight versus stock.

What I won't do is promise a number. When a customer asks for a guarantee, I send them the dyno chart for their exact year, model, and engine — or I tell them we don't have one.

Per FTC advertising guidance (ftc.gov), claims must be truthful and not misleading, substantiated with evidence, and clear about endorsements and testimonials. "Guaranteed horsepower gains" for every vehicle doesn't survive that test.

And no, OEM systems aren't junk. They're engineered around noise regulations and mass production. Different design priority — not a quality failure.

4. What does a 3 year ceramic coating cost, and why do quotes swing so wildly?

Ballpark, based on publicly listed prices as of January 2025: a professional 3-year coating install on a mid-size vehicle runs about $700–$1,500. Full paint correction before the coating adds $500–$1,500 depending on how bad the paint is. Full-size trucks and SUVs sit at the top of both ranges. Verify current pricing — these move.

Here's my September 2022 mistake. I quoted a coating package off the vehicle's size and never looked at the paint. The truck had two years of automatic car wash swirls. Correcting it ate my entire margin plus $1,100. Since then: no coating quote without a paint inspection. Ever.

And this is where price-only thinking really bites. A $450 quote usually means no decontamination, no panel wipe, no correction — just coating over whatever's there. It fails in 8 months. The $900 quote with prep is the cheaper coating. That's not a sales line, it's arithmetic.

5. What's the difference between car polish and car wax?

They're not the same step, and they're not interchangeable. Polish is abrasive — it removes defects. Wax is a protectant — it sits on top of the paint and does nothing for what's underneath.

The order is: wash, decontaminate, clay, then compound or polish, then protect. Compound cuts heavier, polish refines, wax or sealant or a coating protects. If a customer waxes over swirl marks expecting them gone, they'll be disappointed, and it'll be your fault for not saying so up front.

I mixed this up early on. A customer asked for "a polish and wax" and I priced it as one line item — or rather, I priced it like one step. It's two, plus the wash and decon. That quote was short by about $180 and I did the work anyway. Cheap version: one-step cleaner wax, done in an hour, looks great for three weeks.

6. Cinch rooftop tent — what do I check before I sell one?

Dynamic weight rating. Not static. Dynamic.

Many factory roof rails and aftermarket crossbars land in the 130–165 lb dynamic range. A hard-shell rooftop tent like a Cinch unit can weigh 130–190 lb on its own, before two adults get in. So you can be at or over the rack's moving capacity before anyone climbs the ladder. Static ratings are much higher and that's the number people quote — but the failure mode happens at highway speed, not in the driveway.

What I check before quoting a Cinch rooftop tent: crossbar spread and channel compatibility, dynamic rating versus tent weight, closed height versus the customer's garage door, ladder length on a lifted truck, and whether they actually want the annex or just think they do.

My 2021 mistake: sold a tent onto factory crossbars with a lower dynamic rating than the tent itself. Caught it at install. Ate the return freight and a very awkward phone call. It's now the first question I ask.

7. What's the one thing that stops these mistakes from happening?

A pre-check list. Boring answer, but it's the only one that's worked.

Here's the actual list we run before any special order leaves the desk:

1. Fitment verified against VIN or exact trim — cab, bed, drive, and year break
2. Sound level or spec confirmed in writing by the customer
3. Weight and dynamic rating check on anything roof- or rack-mounted
4. Quote includes the prep steps, not just the product
5. Lead time quoted as a range, and the customer knows it's a range
6. Return policy stated before payment, not after

We've caught 47 potential errors with it in the past 18 months. The list costs us maybe an hour a week. Not having it cost me $41,000.