Exhaust talk.

[Grumps]

As some of you will know Reggie has failed the mot this year on emissions. Having a right mess around trying to get the right cat and failing to do so without replacing the whole system @jue1 has said why don't I replace it with a stainless steel system. Well as you can imagine I tried my best to fight her off saying what a ridiculous idea and a complete waste of money! . At the moment it has a system (don't know what) with a stainless back box which I love the sound of. I'm thinking of going for a powerflow, there's a powerflow dealer just up the road from us. I'd like a nice sounding system but not a brain rattler!
The Zed's a 2.8 so if anyone has experience of these or could recommend something else and what sort of price I'd be looking at please let me know. I realise they can vary dramatically in price and being a poor lorry driver would be looking at the lower end rather than the full blown custom systems. I'm leaving the car off the road as we're away in a couple of weeks so will be looking to get it sorted when we get back.
Thanks all
Grumps.

 

[ZTec]

As some of you will know Reggie has failed the mot this year on emissions. Having a right mess around trying to get the right cat and failing to do so without replacing the whole system @jue1 has said why don't I replace it with a stainless steel system. Well as you can imagine I tried my best to fight her off saying what a ridiculous idea and a complete waste of money! . At the moment it has a system (don't know what) with a stainless back box which I love the sound of. I'm thinking of going for a powerflow, there's a powerflow dealer just up the road from us. I'd like a nice sounding system but not a brain rattler!
The Zed's a 2.8 so if anyone has experience of these or could recommend something else and what sort of price I'd be looking at please let me know. I realise they can vary dramatically in price and bring a poor lorry driver would be looking at the lower end rather than the full blown custom systems. I'm leaving the car off the road as we're away in a couple of weeks so will be looking to get it sorted when we get back.
Thanks all
Grumps.

Be interesting to see what you achieve on your budget.

 

[billz]

Dave i would expect no change from above the £500 mark i would guesstimate at around £750

 

[GazHyde]

Peeps I know who have gone power flow off the top of my head are @David, @Ashbandicoot, @TaffZee & @HornelZ3M.

Its next on my list too!

 

[Brian H]

I'm fairly sure with power flow exhausts the sound can be tailored to your needs and the systems are usually guaranteed for the lifetime of the car, good luck with your search.

 

[MAURICE THE MARTIAN]

You could always buy Taffzees zed an use it for spares.got a nice exhaust on his..
Ooooo wot av I just said.
[emoji6] [emoji89]

 

[Grumps]

Dave i would expect no change from above the £500 mark i would guesstimate at around £750

Ouch!

 

[Rha]

Hi Grumps, I had a power flow fitted nearly 7 yrs ago and obviously prices have gone up, it is the cat back system and they allowed me to try two different boxes for a small extra charge, the first being straight through and boomed all the way home, on the phone to them to ask to change it and went straight back for more sedate sounding box. You say you already have nice sounding S/S back box so why not ask them to incorporate it into your new system, might save you a few pennies too. At this moment in time mine has got a little louder and a might bit boomy, but with the top down its bearable if it wasn't I'd go straught back to them for another, they will build to your requirement plus advise you, so for me there's no other choice. Hope this helps, good luck. Roy.

 

[Grumps]

Hi Grumps, I had a power flow fitted nearly 7 yrs ago and obviously prices have gone up, it is the cat back system and they allowed me to try two different boxes for a small extra charge, the first being straight through and boomed all the way home, on the phone to them to ask to change it and went straight back for more sedate sounding box. You say you already have nice sounding S/S back box so why not ask them to incorporate it into your new system, might save you a few pennies too. At this moment in time mine has got a little louder and a might bit boomy, but with the top down its bearable if it wasn't I'd go straught back to them for another, they will build to your requirement plus advise you, so for me there's no other choice. Hope this helps, good luck. Roy.

Thanks Roy, Excuse me for being thick! Cat back system? Is this favourable over other options?

 

[Dobbo]

Thanks Roy, Excuse me for being thick! Cat back system? Is this favourable over other options?

Grumpy

Cat back is exactly what it says on the tin. It's from the CAT converter back!

I had mine done by Custom pipes in Doncaster while I waited. Took them about 2 hours. They use Proflow exhaust. Got to choose my tip which means it looks great in the bumper opening.
All original hangers etc used so if I wanted I could buy a standard system and bolt it straight on again.
They charged me £275 for cat back.
Mine is a bit to boomy really. They say I have the largest back box so quietest it can be?! Not sure if could be bit quieter with different make back box.
Encourages sporty driving I'm afraid, ha.

By the sounds of it you will need a CAT also as this is the reason for doing it. I bet if you went to see him he would make the pipes and fit one of their Cats for you using your existing back box to keep costs down.

 

[roadvoyager1]

You have a stainless back section and seem happy with it, so why change it? From what you have posted previously I think you tend to take your Z3 for a decent run when you use it. This being the case the front section will get hot and dry out the condensation, which is one of the main causes of corrosion. To keep your costs down you could buy a mild steel front section with new CAT and fit it with your existing rear. Europarts did pipes with a few different. grade of CAT when I checked a few months ago. I understand the cheaper ones are just that and the CATs are prone to break up, so a better choice would be one of the higher spec versions.

Be interested to hear if some of our more knowledgeable member would agree with this approach or advise otherwise. I am still running the original 16 year old system on my 2.8 so expect to face similar decisions to yours sometime soon.

 

[Kevlaar]

i have just had a cat back system on my c4 by loeb.had it done at mij systems in wallsall.had a mid sport system from cat back all in 295 quid.well impressed its got that sporty note on throttle but isnt too intrusive cruising at motorway speed.life time guarentee too.took about 2 hours to make.as said very impressed.

 

[Bozzy]

You have a stainless back section and seem happy with it, so why change it? From what you have posted previously I think you tend to take your Z3 for a decent run when you use it. This being the case the front section will get hot and dry out the condensation, which is one of the main causes of corrosion. To keep your costs down you could buy a mild steel front section with new CAT and fit it with your existing rear. Europarts did pipes with a few different. grade of CAT when I checked a few months ago. I understand the cheaper ones are just that and the CATs are prone to break up, so a better choice would be one of the higher spec versions.

Be interested to hear if some of our more knowledgeable member would agree with this approach or advise otherwise. I am still running the original 16 year old system on my 2.8 so expect to face similar decisions to yours sometime soon.

Hi excuse me for asking but do you live near Wirksworth ? its just that i think i saw you about 3 or 4 weeks back as passed through there on my way home after a run out in the Derbyshire Dales,i was in blue Z3. Steve.

 

[oldcarman]

My 97 1.9 seems to be stainless on the front cat and part way back with steel the rest of the way. Looks like crap on the outside but sounds okay. What you want to avoid is a drone monotone sound at cruising speeds. JIM

 

[Rha]

Choice is yours Grumpy, I found Powerflow very obliging, take your motor down to them and tell them exactly what you need and ask them to price various fitments.They make their pipes up to fit existing hangers so no probs there, they'll have a cat to fit as well if you need it, as for the other sections they'll connect up to anything that's still serviceable if you ask, mine is a 99 2.8 and still has original front section and cat so maybe they'll put a cat into your old system. Might even be cheaper to go new all through. No harm in asking, you won't be the first. They build systems from scratch so they should be able to help you. Roy.

 

[oldcarman]

What I like about the stainless systems are they are easily polished by the average enthusiast and that looks great under a car. Mufflers, cats,etc usually are done already so only a few pipes to do!! JIM

 

[Bozzy]

Interesting reading all these things about exhausts cus i'v been thinking about doing some thing on my Z,the powerflow sounds a good choice so i googled it to find a local dealer and there's 2 of them near me so i might just mozey on over there tomorrow to get some advise

 

[t-tony]

If it were me in Grumpy's shoes I would look into having a new cat welded into the original front pipe.

Tony.

 

[oldcarman]

If it were me in Grumpy's shoes I would look into having a new cat welded into the original front pipe.

Tony.

I totally agree if that's the problem and the rest of your system is solid. Save some $$ at the same time for your trip and have a few glasses of white for me. JIM

 

[t-tony]

Plus the added bonus of not having the noise that you get from a stainless system, personally I don't like it and prefer a mild steel system for a better exhaust noise. IMHO.

Tony.