Exhaust manifolds

Exhaust manifolds

Author
Discussion

mack

Original Poster:

268 posts

258 months

Sunday 10th November 2002
quotequote all
I've just become the lucky owner of an '89 registered Griff 500,ex-factory development car,which is crying out to be legally de-catted!!I've been told that it's probably better for gas flow,to replace the original manifolds/Y piece and keep the original exhaust.I've seen Peninsula's manifolds-which looked good value for the money-and wondered if anyone has had experience of these,or can suggest any alternative ones
Cheers

angusfaldo

2,791 posts

275 months

Monday 11th November 2002
quotequote all
I'm truly impressed you have an 89 Griff 500 as it was only launched in 1993. As a development car it must have been really early in the cycle. Any chance of some pics/words showing the differences? Does it look anything like the original Speed 6 Griff in Steve's book?

AF

>> Edited by angusfaldo on Monday 11th November 09:25

mel

10,168 posts

276 months

Monday 11th November 2002
quotequote all
I saw that car advertised and it look very special indeed, well done and yes de cat it.

mack

Original Poster:

268 posts

258 months

Monday 11th November 2002
quotequote all
No it doesn't look like the Speed 6,although,it does have the same wheels as the '97 show car on page 7 of steve's book.Basically,my car was registered in march'89 and was one of the 3 cars used for the '90 motor show(anyone got any pics?)Since then,the factory has kept the car for developing modifications to the production Griffs and Chimaeras.During 2000,it was uprated to the latest specs and had a new engine,T5 box,BTR diff,brakes,suspension,wiring loom,alarm,radio,
complete interior retrim,etc.The car was also used for developing the spec for the last 100 Griffs and, consequently,has all of the latest goodies-bigger front lights,revised rear lights,clear indicators, Tuscan mirrors,Cerbera seats,16" front wheels,ali dash and switchgear,round vents,pas and aircon.It now looks like one of the last 100 Griffs-though not quite as new!!The other bonus is that the car is the same colour as my last Griff,formula red,although I don't think any colour would have put me off the car!(it's a lot of car for the money)I'll try and post some pics when I get to grips with the technology



snap

36 posts

264 months

Monday 11th November 2002
quotequote all
Having had the Peninsula ones fitted I can strongly recommend them. The sound is transformed to what it should be
On dyno testing carried out by V8 developments they also gave the biggest power increase of all the manifolds tested and this is definitely noticed when driving the car

silverfox

164 posts

285 months

Monday 11th November 2002
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Another well respected alternative is ACT who I believe can supply what you're after - I think.

Good luck

PlenumPete

96 posts

265 months

Monday 11th November 2002
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mack

Have you tried sourcing original pre-cat manifolds and Y piece from the factory? There were some delays getting new manifolds a few years back and I ended up getting a Peninsula S/S system fitted, which seemed good value. However, one of the manifolds developed a split after a few thousand miles, which has been replaced under warranty but not without problems.

mack

Original Poster:

268 posts

258 months

Monday 11th November 2002
quotequote all
Thanks for the replies,guys.I asked the factory how they used to convert the cars for the channel islands-apparently they used exactly the same manifolds/Y piece
(obviously without the cats)with an ECU chip,new tune resistor and fuel filler neck.Presumably,this setup worked well and the total cost of parts is only £73(if you modify your own manifolds)The only thing is, I seem to remember someone mentioning on here that it wouldn't sound right-has anyone done anything similar?
Obviously,I don't want to fork out for new manifolds if it doesn't need it-especially seeing that I've just treated her to a new hood-but I want to make sure that the car will run and sound ok.As the factory/dealers/
exhaust manufacturers all seem to offer conflicting info-would I be right in assuming that the factory know their stuff?

2 sheds

2,529 posts

285 months

Monday 11th November 2002
quotequote all
You can de-cat the 500 type manifolds, imo they sound a bit hollow, but at least you get more noise ! for little outlay, the smaller bore after market manifolds offer slightly better performance.
Look forward to seeing some pics of this monster.
Tim

Dave Marett

68 posts

264 months

Tuesday 12th November 2002
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mack said: Thanks for the replies,guys.I asked the factory how they used to convert the cars for the channel islands...The only thing is, I seem to remember someone mentioning on here that it wouldn't sound right


Well, living in Jersey sort of qualifies me to answer, but it's not a *really* helpful answer! I drove a 98 "decatted for Jersey" Chim 4.0 and have been a passenger in a 95 "decatted for Jersey" 4.0 Chim. They both sound ok but my only comparision is my own (originally uk) 4.3 pre-cat Griffith which IMHO sounds much better, but then everyone says that about the 4.3's anyway. I know it's very subjective, and i drove the chim nearly 2 years ago now, but to me they both sounded a bit muted note-wise compared to mine and certainly didn't have the *roar* that mine's got at higher revs. However, I have no idea how a Jersey car compares to it's direct uk equivilent

See, I said it wouldn't be helpful

IPAddis

2,471 posts

285 months

Wednesday 13th November 2002
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mack said: No it doesn't look like the Speed 6,although,it does have the same wheels as the '97 show car on page 7 of steve's book.Basically,my car was registered in march'89 and was one of the 3 cars used for the '90 motor show(anyone got any pics?)Since then,the factory has kept the car for developing modifications to the production Griffs and Chimaeras.During 2000,it was uprated to the latest specs and had a new engine,T5 box,BTR diff,brakes,suspension,wiring loom,alarm,radio,
complete interior retrim,etc.The car was also used for developing the spec for the last 100 Griffs and, consequently,has all of the latest goodies-bigger front lights,revised rear lights,clear indicators, Tuscan mirrors,Cerbera seats,16" front wheels,ali dash and switchgear,round vents,pas and aircon.It now looks like one of the last 100 Griffs-though not quite as new!!The other bonus is that the car is the same colour as my last Griff,formula red,although I don't think any colour would have put me off the car!(it's a lot of car for the money)I'll try and post some pics when I get to grips with the technology




How on earth do you get it insured?

Insurance muppets: What model of TVR is it?
You: Griffith 500
Insurance muppets: What year?
You: 1989
Insurance muppets: No, you don't have such a car as it doesn't exist. Must be a ringer.

Insurance muppets: Has the car got any modifications
You: Err, well...

Ian A.

mack

Original Poster:

268 posts

258 months

Wednesday 13th November 2002
quotequote all
Initial response from my existing insurance company(Mannings) wasn't very helpful-'you can't insure Griffs for an agreed value,only the purchase price' (unfortunately,I'd already mentioned that to him,doh!)Spoke to the MD and she was more than helpful in arranging an unrestricted agreed valuation policy for me.I had to fax 13 pages of history,estimates,
parts lists and letters from the factory though. Still,if the unthinkable happens,I should be able to buy a decent Griff and stick the goodies back on.Just goes to show that things can be done,even if there isn't a box for the monkey to tick on the computer!