Exhaust-modify or not?

[TonyL]

@Jazzy: I received an email from admin telling me you'd sent me a message (& your message was included in the email). When I logged in to lotusexcel.net, there was no message to reply to.

Maybe you could try to get in touch with me via TLF (I have the same user name) or just send another message with your email, & if this is forwarded by admin again, I'll be able to email you.

[Oldtimer_Basis]

Generally speaking, Stainless Steel is a very hard material, that doesn´t soak up high pitch Noise. That generates a kind of "Trumpet Sound" at high revs, but it doen´t sound very well at low revs. Mild Steel is comparatively soft, so it absorbs high pitch Noise, which results in a more bassy growl through the rpm-range. Using Cherry-Bomb-Style-Dampers instead of the normal ones is a good Way to make your Car loud and filtering out high pitch Noise. Standard Cast-Steel-Manifolds are comparatively quiet and are filtering out a lot of bass, so a stainless-Steel-Header would still be better than that - soundwise.

Oh, by the Way:
I´m driving around for quite some Time now with my "DIY-All-Mild-Steel-Exhaust", with the Header still wrapped in this Copper-Heat-Wrap - an I still haven´t got any Problems with rust...

Greetz,
Raf

[TonyL]

It's a long way for me too. I placed my order with LB today. I'll report back here when the work's all done....

2 years later: The work's all done. I only just got my car back 3 days ago. The exhaust is horribly loud. It really spoils my enjoyment of the car. I've filled the car with old curtains & blankets, & this has given a marginal improvement - I can hear the doors rattling again now, but the lovely induction sound is still completely drowned out by the exhaust. I'm going to fit some inserts in the tailpipes. @Jazzy, I sent you a message.

[KevW]

Not much help to Tony but I'll add my experience with stainless steel exhausts fitted to the standard manifold.

Larini - Three box system fitted by the previous owner of my current Excel. It lasted for 16 years and was quite quiet. The back boxes were clearly made from a higher quality stainless steel than the front part of the system. It was also expensive.

Powerflow - Three box system fitted brand new by the dealer who sold me my first Excel. I ran it on that car for 7 years, stored it for 9 years and then fitted it to my current Excel 2 years ago and the system is still in excellent condition. It's very slightly noisier than the Larini it replaced but is by no means intrusive and is suitable for long motorway runs. The Powerflow also sounds great outside of the car, so much so that people often comment on what a lovely sound it makes.

If I needed a new exhaust I'd opt for Powerflow again.

[TonyL]

You're right Kev - this doesn't help me, but it may help others that come to this thread in future, so well done for posting.

According to Mike from LB, the exhaust will be quieter once it's done a few hundred more miles.