Its been a long time in the making, now finally the power curve graphs here proves that the best things come to those who wait….!
6.0L V12 upgrade exhaust system….. Done…
Finally, Bamford Rose has finished development of the V12 Exhaust manifold and Catalyst upgrade equipment which is now ready for release (Sorry Lewis, but the crown of fastest gun in the west is a short lived affair…!)
This post details just the exhaust system, in around 2 weeks there will be a further update and we will report the results of the power test with the engine upgraded with high lift cams and freer flowing inlet manifolds – she is already a weapon, but what we will create with this ultimate package can only be imagined…..!
A story you are all familiar with I’m sure….
We take one pretty horrid pair of exhaust manifolds and catalysts and throw them in the place they were destined for – the scrap bin.
Replace with craftsmanship befitting one of the world’s finest sports cars…..
Wave of a magic wand, and out pops this;
Graph 1 shows AML published torque and power data compared with what was measured on Lewis's DB9
Graph 2 shows Lewis DB9 Vs DB9 with Bamford Rose V12 exhaust manifold and catalyst upgrade - torque curve
Graph 3 shows Lewis DB9 Vs DB9 with Bamford Rose V12 exhaust manifold and catalyst upgrade - power curve
The improvements translate into significant, noticeable and useable low speed torque gains. No longer is it necessary to drop down a cog for fast progression at lower engine speeds.
A much steeper torque curve gradient between 3000 and 5000 rpm is returned which makes the engine rev to the redline SOOO MUCH faster.
And breathing modifications that instead of the engine dying and wheezing its way past 5750 rpm , make the engine take a DEEEEEP breath and produces peak power at 6750rpm – a whole 1000 rpm higher than standard. This charectoristic is amazing because instead of changing up a gear at 5750 rpm and dropping into part of the torque curve between 3000 rpm and 5000 rpm where the gradient is shallow and slow, the up-shift at 6750rpm now drops the engine revs higher up the rev range where the torque curve gradient is now much steeper making progression through the gears FURIOUS.
The vital stats:
Peak torque is up from 570Nm to 590 and through most of the rev range an increase of 20Nm is held
Peak power is increased by a delta of 44BHP from 450BHP to 494BHP – Lewis car was a little low to start with at 448 BHP taking his headline to 492BHP
Noise; The standard rear silencer is kept making use of the bypass valves which makes quiet the exhaust note when either working off original ECU control or when forced open or closed by the control switch we fit as part of this upgrade. The quality of the exhaust note is just incredible. Lewis has likened the note to somewhere between Lambo and classic V12 Ferrari. I can describe the exhaust note of the V8 well, but words escape me to explain and give proper justice to the quality of this sound. There were a number of Bamford Rose upgraded cars at Hever meeting last week, and together with Lewis car, whenever one of those started-up, they were distinctly different to a standard car – its best described as the sound of an engine blurting out power – which to the discerning ear is distinctly different sound to simply blurting out noise.
The exhaust note is louder than standard car with bypass valves open, but it’s a much better quality sound and because it is not raspy or very high pitched, is not overly loud. However, for those customers who want noise level neutral, resonator boxes are fitted to soften just a touch. Personally, I would not fit the resonator boxes, because when performance is wanted, switch the valves open and enjoy the glorious roar, but when quietness is needed, flick the switch and driving around with bypass valves closed returns the car back to standard noise levels. We will update with db results in the next update, but for those who ultimate noise levels are important because of track day limits, a solution will be provided to pass whatever restriction limit is required.
Construction of the V12 exhaust system is tenfold more complex than V8, and for those who have seen our V8 system in the flesh will now appreciate why we use the supplier we do for V8 – The V8 was / is practice for V12..! At Hever one guy was in disbelief when I explained the joints were hand welded, he could not believe the work wasn’t from a machine weld because it was so neat and uniform. Supplier selection was absolute key to this project and after we experienced the quality of what they could do for V12 our V8 systems had to be made by them also. So, BR is very proud to announce that RS fabrications are the fabrication artists that make our designs a reality.
Well done Russell and Shane….!
http://www.rsfabrications.com/The gains in peak power performance at very high rpm and not a loss (which is normally the case), but yet an increase in low speed torque is due to precise design and uncompromised attention to detail in terms of both manufacturing materials and quality. There are 4 (2 per side) race quality 3 into 1 collectors and 2 (1 per side) race quality 2 into 1 collectors. Unlike some pipes and bends that can be bought in pre-made sections from supplier, due to the uniqueness of what we are doing here on V12, all these parts are made from scratch and are a work of art in their own right.
The primary pipe lengths are significantly longer than V8 (needed to get the peak power speed to increase by 1000 rpm) and there are an extra 4 of them compared with V8. This means that the sum in parts of the V12 system and the time taken to fabricate the complete kit with supreme levels of craftsmanship, means the final price of the system can not robustly be measured against V8 as a yard stick, and the cost will be significantly more than the Bamford Rose exhaust upgrade system for the V8 engine. Once the system is passed to car there is then around a 10 hour task to fit it together with vehicle based installation kit of parts.
This means that when the bill of materials is totaled together with installation costs, the price is higher than what we would have liked to have offered the equipment out at. We investigated reduction in cost, but it would have meant a reduction in quality and performance. For example, we could have pressed and formed the collectors, which for our V8 system works without any performance loss or reduction in quality or durability. But for V12 and the quite intricate design and shape, would have meant we would have compromised gasflow which would have reduced performance. Simply, the price we have ended up with is a straightforward calculation of the bill of materials, time to fabricate and install. Part way through the project, we realized the costs were higher than we would have liked, we did think about not continuing the project, but, the total transformation of engine performance and increased driving pleasure and enjoyment prompted us to carry on and let customers decide if it is a price worth paying. I have no doubt that after a few owners take the plunge and purchase this product, the reviews will confirm that it is game-changing and a valuable upgrade - Bamford Rose would not put its name to it if it was not..!
So, final vital stat is the supplied and fitted price;
£6500 + VAT
As the case with V8, this comes with a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty of all parts and workmanship,
and a guarantee that the upgrade behaves fault free in terms of driveability error states.
The same torque increase and power increase reported here over std car applies to all Gaydon V12 engine cars.
