New Exhaust Advice

[pjksutherland]

I posted in the wanted section the other day for a drivers side silencer for my 323, however.... a big section of the exhaust dropped on the road on the middle of High Wycombe this afternoon!! It turns out the drivers side branch of the middle section has rusted through too.

So I'm now in need of a drivers side silencer and a middle section at the very least, but before I just order stock parts and get the exhaust system repaired I'd like to hear people's views on whether to go for for a stainless system or not.

The car is running a standard 2.3 with K-Jet and Mark's already said that it's not worth going too expensive with the engine I've got, but I'd like to hear from anybody using a stainless system with K-jet.... what are the benefits / differences? .... what should I look to pay?

Any advice would be great, cheers.

[keitht]

I was quoted £600 for the middle and both back boxes by Longlife for a SS system.

My local BMW dealer listed the O/S box as N/A at present.

In the end I ordered the parts from Walloth u. Nesch, costs was approx 400 euros inc fitting kit & delivery.

Arrived in 4days and fitted perfectly with the exception of one of the back box hangers, which was far to big. I just used the original.

Hope this info helps.

K

[MRE21]

I had my oem backbox replaced with a custom stainless steel backbox from Longlife. I asked them to keep it looking similar to the oem box but wanted a bit more noise and a slightly larger bore. I was happy with the result and they charged me £190 incl fitting. I wish I had the centre section done by Longlife also but ended up with the oem section. I suppose the benefits of going custom are that you get to choose the style and acoustics of the silencer?

[pjksutherland]

I was quoted £600 for the middle and both back boxes by Longlife for a SS system.

My local BMW dealer listed the O/S box as N/A at present.

In the end I ordered the parts from Walloth u. Nesch, costs was approx 400 euros inc fitting kit & delivery.

Arrived in 4days and fitted perfectly with the exception of one of the back box hangers, which was far to big. I just used the original.

Hope this info helps.

K

I had my oem backbox replaced with a custom stainless steel backbox from Longlife. I asked them to keep it looking similar to the oem box but wanted a bit more noise and a slightly larger bore. I was happy with the result and they charged me £190 incl fitting. I wish I had the centre section done by Longlife also but ended up with the oem section. I suppose the benefits of going custom are that you get to choose the style and acoustics of the silencer?

Thanks for the info - I'm going to give longlife a call tomorrow and have a chat with them.

I had an email back on Saturday from Zero Exhausts who gave a rough quote of £800, which is getting a bit steep, especially when I'd like to do other work to the car too

[MRE21]

I was quoted £600 for the middle and both back boxes by Longlife for a SS system.

My local BMW dealer listed the O/S box as N/A at present.

In the end I ordered the parts from Walloth u. Nesch, costs was approx 400 euros inc fitting kit & delivery.

Arrived in 4days and fitted perfectly with the exception of one of the back box hangers, which was far to big. I just used the original.

Hope this info helps.

K

I had my oem backbox replaced with a custom stainless steel backbox from Longlife. I asked them to keep it looking similar to the oem box but wanted a bit more noise and a slightly larger bore. I was happy with the result and they charged me £190 incl fitting. I wish I had the centre section done by Longlife also but ended up with the oem section. I suppose the benefits of going custom are that you get to choose the style and acoustics of the silencer?

Thanks for the info - I'm going to give longlife a call tomorrow and have a chat with them.

I had an email back on Saturday from Zero Exhausts who gave a rough quote of £800, which is getting a bit steep, especially when I'd like to do other work to the car too

No worries mate. Speak to a guy named Shahid he is a sound bloke and maybe mention my name and see if he gives u a discount? Or tell him you are mates with me etc and demand a discount! LOL I hope he is cheaper than £800 ask him if he will beat this quote? Cheers Ally

[pjksutherland]

I actually gave longlife a call yesterday and got a quote of £599 for the centre section and 2 back boxes fully fitted, so the price is heading in the right direction.

As a price comparison I've worked out I can get the the parts from BMW and ebay and fitted by my local mechanic for around £230 all in (this would only include replacing the middle section and one damaged back box).

So all I've got to do now is decide if the extra £350+ for the stainless system is worth it.

[MRE21]

Although it will cost an extra 350 it will last you a lifetime? I wish I had a straight through stainless pipe with no box as it does sound good! If I have the money in the future I may pay another visit to Longlife!

[pjksutherland]

Trouble is I'm emigrating to Canada next year and I'm not sure if the car is coming with me - so I could be spending the money for someone else's benefit!

[MRE21]

Trouble is I'm emigrating to Canada next year and I'm not sure if the car is coming with me - so I could be spending the money for someone else's benefit!

Ha ha ha, funny you should say that. My gfriend is badgering me about moving to Austria/Slovakia. I said "as long as I have a garage for my 21" oh and a decent job/business. She just rolled her eyes at me

[pjksutherland]

Went out to see a Top Gear Racing in Aylesbury today to look at stainless exhausts. They are a powerflow stockist - I was pretty keen until I saw the minimum size of thier tail pipes - big enough to fit easily over my standard exhuast, including the chrome tips it has fitted! I'd like to keep the look pretty standard and he said that was the smallest tail pipe he can offer. So I've decided to keep it OEM, this will save me about £350 which isn't a bad thing.

I'd like to say the 20 odd mile drive out there through the buckinghamshire countryside was enjoyable, but with half of the exhaust having fallen off I had a pretty good headache by the time I got home!