Top Gear Exhausts?

[red996]

Hello. I came across this.....

https://www.topgear.co.uk/aston-martin-v8-vantage-...

Does anyone have any experience with Top Gear Exhausts in general? What are your thoughts? Very reasonably price on these manifolds.

Thanks!

Edited by red996 on Wednesday 15th November 00:05

[Jon39]

The manifolds, in conjunction with our 200 Cell Sports Cats, boast (extremely conservative) dyno-tested gains of 49BHP with an accompanying 13-15% of additional torque.

A gain of 498HP ?

Does that mean 420 + 498 = 918 bhp?

Even if the do not mean 'gains', but instead 420 to 498, that seems to be a bold claim.

[xjay1337]

Jon39 said:

The manifolds, in conjunction with our 200 Cell Sports Cats, boast (extremely conservative) dyno-tested gains of 49BHP with an accompanying 13-15% of additional torque.

A gain of 498HP ?

Does that mean 420 + 498 = 918 bhp?

Even if the do not mean 'gains', but instead 420 to 498, that seems to be a bold claim.

I guess your calculater hasn't woken up yet?

My friend had a Top Gear exhaust on his car. He had no issues with it. I would imagine if suitably tuned you'd gain some power.

[M5MarkM]

Jon39 said:

The manifolds, in conjunction with our 200 Cell Sports Cats, boast (extremely conservative) dyno-tested gains of 49BHP with an accompanying 13-15% of additional torque.

A gain of 498HP ?

Does that mean 420 + 498 = 918 bhp?

Even if the do not mean 'gains', but instead 420 to 498, that seems to be a bold claim.

I did the same thing and read 498... then second glance realised the "8" was actually the "B" so the are actually claiming 49 bhp increase. Even so does look to be a lot of gain from headers and cat deletion, be interesting to see if it is right though I'd like to know the outcome!

[Jon39]

Thank you.
Yes, how silly if me.
B and 8 makes a big difference to the power increase.

[leerandle]

I'd be very surprised if a gain of 49 BHP could be achieved by those mods alone.

The OEM exhaust is very restrictive, but claiming 49 BHP, I wouldnt believe that in a million years..........

I'm sure the Bamford Rose exhaust solution only claims max. 41BHP and that's the complete system with tuning etc. I'm sure if there were more gains to be had, then BR would have found them.

Without real back to back testing to compare results, then its a bit of the Emperors new clothes to me,

[PatCub]

I have fitted both their headers and 200 cell cats to my V8 Vantage, both seem good quality and fitted easily, only downside is the engine warning light comes on quite regularly but that doesn't bother me to much as I can reset it quite quickly with my OBD reader. I'm presuming the light is coming on because of the reduced number of cells do not clean the exhaust as efficiently or I have a faulty lambda probe. Funny thing is when it does happen the fault codes always say both sides are at fault at exactly the same time.
Bought mine on their ebay site £650 for headers and £999 for cats.

[V8V Pete]

PatCub said:

Bought mine on their ebay site £650 for headers and £999 for cats.

£650 for manifolds is an absolute steal. Never had a warning light with my BR manifolds/cats/remap combination which is nice but, as you say, not a huge deal as long as it will get through an MOT without having to rip it all off each year.

[leerandle]

V8V Pete said:

£650 for manifolds is an absolute steal. Never had a warning light with my BR manifolds/cats/remap combination which is nice but, as you say, not a huge deal as long as it will get through an MOT without having to rip it all off each year.

Pete, I'm sure that BR reprogram/re-map the ECU (Or equivalent) so that the emission warning light doesn't keep coming on.

With anyone just installing themselves, I assume the sensors detect a change and the warning light pops on.

[leerandle]

PatCub said:

I have fitted both their headers and 200 cell cats to my V8 Vantage, both seem good quality and fitted easily, only downside is the engine warning light comes on quite regularly but that doesn't bother me to much as I can reset it quite quickly with my OBD reader. I'm presuming the light is coming on because of the reduced number of cells do not clean the exhaust as efficiently or I have a faulty lambda probe. Funny thing is when it does happen the fault codes always say both sides are at fault at exactly the same time.
Bought mine on their ebay site £650 for headers and £999 for cats.

Was it an easy fit or does the engine have to be moved to get them in ?

Always wondered if it could be a home installation or leave to the professionals (Especially in Pete's case where you get the re-map as well)

[red996]

PatCub said:

I have fitted both their headers and 200 cell cats to my V8 Vantage, both seem good quality and fitted easily, only downside is the engine warning light comes on quite regularly but that doesn't bother me to much as I can reset it quite quickly with my OBD reader. I'm presuming the light is coming on because of the reduced number of cells do not clean the exhaust as efficiently or I have a faulty lambda probe. Funny thing is when it does happen the fault codes always say both sides are at fault at exactly the same time.
Bought mine on their ebay site £650 for headers and £999 for cats.

This is exactly the information I was looking for. Thank you!

[AdamV12V]

Jon39 said:

Thank you.
Yes, how silly if me.
B and 8 makes a big difference to the power increase.

Hehehe - classic case of "Should have gone to Specsavers"!

[PatCub]

I must admit I did start by removing the wheels, inner wheel arches and left hand manifold, but for the life of me could not remove all right hand bolts, I blame my large hands so I sent the car and all bits to Stratton motors who got the whole job completed in a day, I suppose when you do these jobs regularly you know all the tricks. You do need to raise the engine on the right hand side an inch or two by disconnecting the engine mount and jacking the engine up.
When I bought the heads on ebay they were in a auction rather than buy it now and nobody else bid so I got a great bargain!
They sound amazing with the baffles open, I have a remote for the rear silencer which is better than just pulling the fuse because if you still want a bit of peace and quiet a press of a button and they are not much nosier than the original setup. Must get a video of them and post it on youtube!

Edited by PatCub on Wednesday 15th November 19:46

[telum01]

I installed mine with the car on jack stands in my garage. Not for the feint of heart or large of hand. You'll need a variety of swivels and extensions. Mid-depth sockets are your friend (short sockets aren't deep enough for the studs, long sockets are too long to fit in some places). Heat shield on one of the manifolds is a huge pain (RH side for US cars, not sure if it's the same for you guys). Spray everything down with PB Blaster/WD40/HRH's sweat to help break the nuts loose. Remove the fender liners to get access from the sides - you'll be reaching nuts from below, the sides, and above. Be ready to swap extensions for just about every nut as you'll need a different approach for each one. You can unbolt the engine mounts from below, which will let you raise the engine ~3/4". That helps with pulling the manifolds out, but is all the extra you'll get before the intake manifold hits the section of frame under the windshield (can't remember what it's called).

PatCub said:

Must get a video of them and post it on youtube!

Here's my grey one (4.3L). VelocityAP headers (along with high-flow cats and muffler, and many other things lol) which look to be a similar design.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMfgtcmE9Yo

[PatCub]

Just uploaded video of my v8 Vantage fitted with Top Gears exhaust manifolds and 200 cell cats.
Tried to get a bit of everything accelerating, down shifts and general cruising.

https://youtu.be/HOsiq9_1QWQ

[eolix]

PatCub said:

I have fitted both their headers and 200 cell cats to my V8 Vantage, both seem good quality and fitted easily, only downside is the engine warning light comes on quite regularly but that doesn't bother me to much as I can reset it quite quickly with my OBD reader. I'm presuming the light is coming on because of the reduced number of cells do not clean the exhaust as efficiently or I have a faulty lambda probe. Funny thing is when it does happen the fault codes always say both sides are at fault at exactly the same time.
Bought mine on their ebay site £650 for headers and £999 for cats.

Are you missing a 1 in front of that 650? it would be consistent with the prices I've seen from them (1600-1700), but 650 is a steal!