Anyone ever had a 'Longlife' exhaust fitted?
Discussion
My dad got them to fit a full system to his Subaru forester. He used the forest hill branch and it was actually one of the few times a mechanic has done a decent job for him. The boss is a young Asian guy, seems really into his cars and showed me the Porsche boxter he was fixing up for his brother whilst I was there.
Had one fitted to a Gti-6.
Didn't keep the car long enough to make an assessment as to how long its life really was but it was well put together from what I could see and it fitted well.
The issue with it was that despite asking for as quiter system as possible it was loud. Irritatingly loud.... and tiring at motorway speeds. They made numerous attempts to quiten it down but with limited success. Good service though. I used the Leeds branch... We're talking 6 or 7 years ago now.
Didn't keep the car long enough to make an assessment as to how long its life really was but it was well put together from what I could see and it fitted well.
The issue with it was that despite asking for as quiter system as possible it was loud. Irritatingly loud.... and tiring at motorway speeds. They made numerous attempts to quiten it down but with limited success. Good service though. I used the Leeds branch... We're talking 6 or 7 years ago now.
I've used the one in Cardiff/Caerphilly 3 times.
Astra GTE was slightly louder than standard - sounded nice under heavy throttle but quiet at light throttle.
Clio 172 - I went for mild sport which was too loud really. Sounded great at idle but droned at cruising speeds.
Focus ST - I asked for slightly louder than standard. Pops and bangs on lift off but not massively loud. Fairly quiet at idle but louder under acceleration.
The standard of fit and quality of exhaust has been great for all 3. They'll also swap tailpipes for £20 if I fancy a change.
Astra GTE was slightly louder than standard - sounded nice under heavy throttle but quiet at light throttle.
Clio 172 - I went for mild sport which was too loud really. Sounded great at idle but droned at cruising speeds.
Focus ST - I asked for slightly louder than standard. Pops and bangs on lift off but not massively loud. Fairly quiet at idle but louder under acceleration.
The standard of fit and quality of exhaust has been great for all 3. They'll also swap tailpipes for £20 if I fancy a change.
I had one on a previous 1999 BMW E36 323 Convertible. I used the Carshalton branch. I asked for something slightly louder through the revs than standard, but quiet at cruising speeds and with round turned tail pipes. I booked the car in for a few days hence, a saturday, the guy who ran the show seemed very nice and helpful and I was quite impressed as he said he would open up especially to do it for me...
..When I arrived with the car for the fitting on a Saturday morning, the workshop was closed up and I waited there for a couple of hours, leaving numerous messages on the owners phone. One morning wasted. Few days later I managed to get it fitted, but felt the chaps attitude somewhat different and he intimated the 'mix-up' with the date/time was down to me! I let that one go and let them do the work. Anyway, I got a very loud and boomy system that was annoying at low revs, but screamed like a race car at full chat. Also the tail pipes were just cut with no nice rounded finish. I had to book the car in again for it to be sorted. The chap grudgingly fitted a quieter, smaller box and some turned tail pipe caps. I was finally happy with it but it was a bit of an unnecessary. I couldn't escape the nagging doubt that it wasn't an accident. Despite subsequently being very happy with the exhaust I doubt I would use the same fitter again..
..be VERY clear what you desire..and then RE-EMPHASISE AGAIN!! I thought I had been very clear throughout, but had no end of problems!!
..When I arrived with the car for the fitting on a Saturday morning, the workshop was closed up and I waited there for a couple of hours, leaving numerous messages on the owners phone. One morning wasted. Few days later I managed to get it fitted, but felt the chaps attitude somewhat different and he intimated the 'mix-up' with the date/time was down to me! I let that one go and let them do the work. Anyway, I got a very loud and boomy system that was annoying at low revs, but screamed like a race car at full chat. Also the tail pipes were just cut with no nice rounded finish. I had to book the car in again for it to be sorted. The chap grudgingly fitted a quieter, smaller box and some turned tail pipe caps. I was finally happy with it but it was a bit of an unnecessary. I couldn't escape the nagging doubt that it wasn't an accident. Despite subsequently being very happy with the exhaust I doubt I would use the same fitter again..
..be VERY clear what you desire..and then RE-EMPHASISE AGAIN!! I thought I had been very clear throughout, but had no end of problems!!
I used Longlife Carshalton in 2024 and it got a very similar experience as the post above 10 years earlier! All seemed like dream, very knowledgeable and courteous then on pick up it was very lacking, couldn't care, hadn't done what i asked and no care top rectify anything afterwards.
Geekman said:
My dad got them to fit a full system to his Subaru forester. He used the forest hill branch and it was actually one of the few times a mechanic has done a decent job for him. The boss is a young Asian guy, seems really into his cars and showed me the Porsche boxter he was fixing up for his brother whilst I was there.
What kind of Asian?I've used the Cardiff/Caerphilly branch a few times, often when the price of an OE system is stupid and the aftermarket stuff looks crap.
Would recommend for service and price, although there is a lot more to exhaust tuning than messing around with bits of pipe and generic silencer sections so in terms of sound and droning all bets are off.
Would recommend for service and price, although there is a lot more to exhaust tuning than messing around with bits of pipe and generic silencer sections so in terms of sound and droning all bets are off.
Allwhitegal said:
I used Longlife Carshalton in 2024 and it got a very similar experience as the post above 10 years earlier! All seemed like dream, very knowledgeable and courteous then on pick up it was very lacking, couldn't care, hadn't done what i asked and no care top rectify anything afterwards.
Funnily, my experience of them/him has been the same about 10-12 years ago. I felt very unwelcome, like he was doing me a favour after I'd burgled his home.If you're in the area, I recommend heading out towards Reigate as there's an excellent indie there. Observing the team is like watching surgeons in action.
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