Exhaust. Powerflow Vs LongLife

[Thotos]

As most of you know, my car has discarded it's rear exhaust silencer at the last two  3ma meetings  . This year I am determined to get to Germany and back with the exhaust intact so the long overdue fitment of a descent exhaust system  to my car will take place in the next week or so. Today I spent some time getting quotes and ideas from several companies offering systems from Powerflow  and Longlife. The price is the same regardless of the make or the fitting centre so I need to choose purely on system merit. I know Simon's Abarth is fitted with a Longlife exhaust and he is happy with it (and I think it sounds just right!  ) but does anyone else have experience, good or bad, of either make of exhaust?

[MarkoH]

Or maybe a Martelius? I know I am seeing this through blue/white colored glasses because I am Finnish. In my opinion these are THE exhaust systems of the markets. You just tell them what you want and after that they'll make it for you.

I've had few exhaust systems build by Martelius and every single time I've been 100% satisfied. And no - it is not as expensive as you might think...

I have no experience about Powerflow or LongLife so forgive me this OT...

http://www.martelius.com

[Thotos]

Ah! You are probably right but Finland is a bit far for me to go and get an exhaust fitted  

Both Longlife and Powerflow systems are custom made to fit the car. They have a range of silencers and tail pipes and different bore pipes and they bend the pipes to match and make it up "while you wait". I am not going for anything fancy and would like it to look as original as possible with single tailpipe having a roll-out.  And that's not because I want or originality but simply because I like that look and I think it suits the car.



I was thinking of not having a middle silencer at all and have just the rear one but everyone tells me that will be too loud. The car wasn't too loud driving back home in the last two 3mas without a rear silencer so I am not convinced I need two silencers.

[sid131]

Theo i have a powerflow custom made system on the lady, 4 branch mild steel janspeed into 2" stainless  pipe & single back box (no middle silencer) with a nice fat single end piece, not too loud just right imo & its on over 2 years now & still perfect

[simon131]

As you rightly say Theo the system I had made for the Abarth is by Longlife and I had it fitted back in late 2004. It was virtually the first thing I did to the car when I got it home. I had a few initial minor teething troubles but it's done me proud ever since.

It wasn't particularly cheap but wasn't a rip off either. I had a complete system made, including the manifold. GC supplied the manifold flange in stainless (obviously different to the 8v flange) but Longlife designed and installed everything else.

The first system they installed only had one silencer and I tried to live with it, but found it too loud for the sort of driving I do, so I took the car back and they inserted another one at no additional charge to me. I've had two silencers on the system since Jan 2005 and I love the sound the car makes now

I opted for the single tail pipe although I suppose it should really have twin outlets as per the 'factory' system. Still, I don't think anyone has noticed.

In summary then, a good investment and I'm pleased with my purchase.

[sid131]

what sort of money did it cost you Simon? the one i got made was ?250
i will need the same on my own 131 eventually & as i have the 4 branch it will only be manifold back again, so was it really loud with the single box?

[Thotos]

I went for the Longlife in the end. See post at http://131mirafiori.com/smf/index.php?topic=3627.msg27874#msg27874 

[sid131]

Theo 3 questions
why longlife?
how much it cost?
what grade of stainless is it made from?

[Thotos]

Theo 3 questions
why longlife?
how much it cost?
what grade of stainless is it made from?

1. Because they list the 131 in their catalogue (probably because they did Simon's all those years ago  ) and because I knew the fitting centre well (Elite Autos and Design) and because I read a few bad comments about Powerflow on the internet. Admittedly the bad comments were more about the fitting than the exhaust parts but it was one of the centres (RSR in Bromley) that I was thinking of using.  Also Longlife were the first to reply to my web enquiry about the custom exhaust.

2. ?340. For the Powerflow I was also quoted ?340 by RSR and ?350 by A1 Autocentres in Kingsbury.  

3. They claim "best quality T304 Grade Stainless Steel". Have a look on their website at www.longlife.co.uk

Now you should have asked a fourth and more important question: "Am I happy with my choice?"  The jury is still out on that one I am afraid. I don't like the way the rear silencer is fitted at an angle. The standard 131 exhaust has the silencer level and the tailpipe has a kink in it to clear the rear valance but in my case because the tailpipe is straight off the silencer, the silencer has been placed at an angle.  There's also a booming noice and vibration that can be felt inside the car at about 3000 rpm. I've had a look and the exhaust is not touching any bodywork so I am not sure why. I've had a couple of extra hangers put on for the exhaust as the gearbox bracket that normaly connects to the exhaust is broken  so maybe the extra hanger fitted to the bracket under the propshaft is the cause of the vibration.  

[djape1977]

vibrations may be the result of bad construction of the exaust itself. i've had the same problem but at around 4.000rpm and it turned out to be a problem with middle (or front, whatever you call it) silencer. when i changed it for a "brand name" unit vibrations dissapeared.

[Thotos]

it turned out to be a problem with middle

That's not good news if that's the case with my car  I suppose that's when the "lifetime guarantee" will be useful... 

[sid131]

make them fix it Theo there should be no vibes & make them put the silencer on straight, there is no excuse for sloppy work

[Thotos]

 fourth and more important question: "Am I happy with my choice?"  The jury is still out on that one I am afraid.

Well it seems the jury is back in and the answer has to be "yes".  I had a long 150 mile drive today of mixed roads from motorway (M25) to slow motorway (M25 with roadworks) to major A road (A21) to minor A roads, B roads and narrow twisty country lanes through Hook Green. A bit of "3ma practice run" you might say!   The car behaved admirably with no strange vibrations at all! So I have no idea why there was the vibration yesterday, I'd like to think it was road surface related and not the diff !!!!!!  If it was the exhaust I don't understand why there was none of it today. But the exhaust sounds good without being too loud and throttle response is noticeably better and the engine revs more freely without the power tailing off at higher RPM as it used to. Of course the performance improvements might have a lot to do with the carburettor work of last weekend which I only finished adjusting yesterday after the exhaust was fitted.

[theredx19]

Why dont you get a nice Italian exhaust for the car like an Ansa system as they sound proper on the over-run.