jerome951

Hey Everyone,

Finally going to try something to make my car a little faster. I have a 3" LR mild steel exhaust that I'm going to put on this weekend. Any first-hand tips for making the install easier?

The stock exhaust is still on the car, though I have removed the downpipe-to-exhaust flange nuts (without rounding any off. Whewww).

BTW, I don't want this to turn into a 'stainless is better' thread. I've already bought the stuff and it's not going back.

I understand I will have to cut the wastegate outlet pipe to install the turndown (I bought the 'dump to atmosphere' (i.e. cheap) option). I've thought of just unbolting the flange at the wastegate outlet and not installing the turndown. Any drawbacks besides cooking the underbody just behind the wastegate?

Thanks for the advice.

kasturbo

My biggest problem was getting the wastegate dump tube to fit on and then get the pipe up to the down pipe. Since your not tying the dump tube into the main section you won't have that problem. Don't tighten down any bolts until you get everything in and in it's proper place. It's a pretty straight forward install and shouldn't take more then a half hour once you get the old exhaust off.

Two notes:

-think about having a o2 bung welded on before you install incase you ever want to do a wideband in the future

-be carefull not to cut your self on the exhaust clamps. They are razor sharp on the edges. I took four stiches to the finger, so I know.

jerome951

Hey Kevin, thanks for the advice. I'm running a stock DME, turbo, etc. (have to for stock-class racing) so don't see a wideband in the future.

I'll be sure to sterilize the band edges first to avoid infection. ;-)

Heard the dump tube connection was is a pain, which gave me another reason to avoid it.

IanS

Tell us how it sounds with the open wastegate. I guess its a track car, so you don't really care if its loud, but still.

TRACKIN951

Yeah I would also like to know how that sounds, prety in your face when you hit full boost! Good luck though, I was looking at getting that exhaust except wastgate dump routed back in.

95Juan

when i originally got my wastegate dumped to the atmosphere, the first time i hit boost, i thought i had broken something, then i proceeded to laugh for a whole minute straight. then i proceeded to make people drop whatever they were holding when i would drive by them on the street. dumped wastegate is only for those select few that absolutely want a race car sound on the street. another advantage is that it lets you know when the wastegate is opening. paired with an aftermarket boost gauge, this is pretty invaluable when trouble shooting.

shortyboy

for those wondering,ive been running my car with the WG dumping to atmos.(thats when my car was running).its not loud at all(well not loud like no exhaust)but its more of a hissing,woooshing sound thats loud.)and yes,when you stomp on the gas,youll definately hear the wastegate start to open.

IanS

Could I stick a small muffler on there and make the sound a bit less extreme?

shiners780

To those that DO tie the wastegate into the exhaust system, it is a known fact that it is a difficult fit. What I did to make it a LOT easier, was I cut about 2" off the wastegate tie-in pipe (the part on the LR exhaust), and everything slipped right together no problem. That was after an hour trying to wrestle it together and realizing that the wastegate tie-in pipe was much longer than necessary. Just a tip for future installations to save others grief.

hally

If you have a cat spend some time making sure it doesn't touch the heat shield as it will rattle. The other issue i had was that the hangers didn't line up and were too short - required some welding

Mike Buck

Aren't there fuel lines running right there?

I think you want to put the whole thing in a vice and kink it at random places. This will speed up the exhaust flow. TRUST ME!

TRACKIN951

If it will fit you could definetly do that. My dad has a little muffler on his 911t that has the wasted dumped to atmosphere, works well.

jerome951

The fuel lines may be nearby, but wouldn't the fuel cool back down by the time it got to the engine bay.

Don't worry, it will probably be beaten up enough from just me trying to install it. No vise needed. I figure a little turbulence in the flow is good. Supposedly works on those intake 'Turbinator' thingies...

phils87951

Ahh starting a fire under the car would be my main concern. Under full load you will have flames coming out your WG.

I would cut the old WG pipe off where it joins the main exhaust. bring it to a muffler shop, have them bend it 90 deg and then cut the bend flush to the bottom of the pipe. Dont forget to mark where the bottom of the pipe is before removing it.

jerome951

Thanks Phil,

That was my weak attempt at sarcastic humor. I haven't looked that closely at the location of the fuel lines yet. I'll likely just cut the wastegate dump pipe short and clamp on the diverter the came w/ the kit. Should deflect the flames and heat downward. I want to be able to re-install my stock exhaust when I have to pass emissions (every 2 years), and bending the wategate pipe would negate that.

I'm going to cut the wastegate pipe short so the weight of the pipe and diverter, coupled with the vibration from the engine and banging over curbs, doesn't flex and crack the pipe over time.