busy weekend exhaust building

[rburnham11]

hi all
let me first say- i am by no means a pro welder, mechanic or a exhaust builder, i am just a sparky with a keen interest in car modifying and doing as much of it myself as i can, i dont think there is much achievement in just paying somebody else to do the hard work for you, plus its nice to challenge yourself to do/learn new skills.
anyway, as title suggests i spent this weekend building a new exhaust system for my chimaera. its all made from mild steel not stainless, i know people will say it will rust and all that but for me this was the best option as my hobby mig welder is a gasless one so welding stainless would have been too much cost in welding equipment and pipework (nearly double the price!). also i believe mild steel is stronger than stainless and with my car being low its bound to scrap sometime and stainless will just dent. i have had stainless systems on other cars and i think this mild steel setup sounds less tinny.
so here is a few pictures and a link to the youtube video of the first start up. (hope these links work as im new to posting pictures on here)

http://s1294.photobucket.com/user/rburnham11/media...
http://s1294.photobucket.com/user/rburnham11/media...
http://s1294.photobucket.com/user/rburnham11/media...
http://m.youtube.com/?reload=2&rdm=ticq77jr#/w...

i am aware that a professional would obviously do a better job than i did so please dont just comment to p*ss on someones fire however and feedback will be appreciated. also if you are curious and want to know more info on it then ask away.

Rich

[phazed]

There you go,







http://m.youtube.com/?reload=2&rdm=ticq77jr#/w...

So what's it sound like?

[rburnham11]

thanks for posting those pictures for me, like i said im new to this.
there should be a link to the youtube video there as well. granted its only a short video but gives you a idea. its not actually much louder than the standard system, just deeper and rumblier. i like the sound of it, next job is to build a manifold, again custom design, still toying with the idea of building a unequal length one as i reckon it will sound more burbley (even tho most on here on PH dont agree...) it will have a easily bolt in-able cat for mot time too.
have a quick look at the video link and tell me what you think, remember thats with pre cats and main cat in place still.
cheers
Rich

[Pupp]

Looks good to me, nice and simple, and should certainly be lighter - for some reason the YouTube link won't open on my PC but maybe a Win 8 issue

Assume the tea tray will still be used (this is supposed to afford some cross-bracing effect)? Also, I'd be looking to use something a little more sturdy that the perf strip for the rear tie/hanger point - I've broken a few of them over the years (sorry if it's beefier than it looks)

[mgjc]

try this link... http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ztci80xtA_c

[rburnham11]

At the moment what you see is how its installed. Can you explain a bit more about the tea tray please. I assume you mean where the old silencer box was? Does this need to go back on? Or can it be braced with something else? Does it really need to go back on? I was planning to sell the standard exhaust as I've seen s few go for a decent price on ebay. Open to offers there....
Yes the perforated strip isn't particularly strong, maybe I should strengthen it up. Didn't think about that too much thanks. I need to adjust it a little anyway as one of the cans is slightly lower than the other think it twisted slightly as I put it on or maybe the roll bar is affecting it. We learn as we go hey.

[phazed]

Yes, the tray braces the chasis rails so you should replace it with something similar.

If you loosen the front clamp, you can level the tailpipes by twisting the system.

[SILICONEKID343HP]

I wonder how it effects the sound having the silencer on the rear.

[rburnham11]

I guess I will have to brace it back up then. I like the silencers at the rear, I think it makes it rumble more with less of a raspy sound. Before building this I listened to the act stainless cherrybomb someone put on YouTube it sounded nice but a little tinny and raspy where as this sounds more like standard but deeper and a bit louder. Cant wait to hear it decatted too. Im going to try to twist it at the weekend. Did the YouTube video work? If not search "first start of diy cherry bombs, tvr chimaera" hopefully you'll find it.

[Barreti]

The "Tea Tray" carries the weight of the exhaust and gives you the ability to align the exhaust ends by tightening or loosening off the rubber bobbins the exhaust connects to the Tea Tray with.

You've got a hell of a lot of weight slung between the two ends of the exhaust without it too. I'd worry about a weld cracking due to the flex.

You've done a nice job for a DIYer. Better than I could do with my measly welding skills, so well done.
It would be interesting to hear it against the ACT.

[clive f]

SILICONEKID343HP said:

I wonder how it effects the sound having the silencer on the rear.

the further away from the engine that you can position the silencer then the quieter it will be.

[rburnham11]

Does anyone know the dimensions of the standard y piece? ie the size of the v bands, the actual y pipe size and I know that the bottom bit of the y piece slides inside a 3 inch pipe but I dont know the exact size of it. Lots of you have probably got a spare y piece in the garage ready to swap on come mot time, if so would one of you very kind guys have a quick measure up for me please????