Esprit v8 sports exhausts

[tony adams]

I'm thinking of fitting a 'sports exhaust' to my v8 esprit. has anyone any experience of fitting / using one. in the lotus catalogue it states 'not for road use' so i'm not sure how loud they are either, loud is ok but i don't want to be blowing peoples windows out.
Has anyone got one?

[kmaier]

I had the Sport Exhaust on my V8 recently. Didn't really notice any difference. Also, my V8 is already on it's 3rd exhaust system with a fourth coming in. Problem is, they all crack at the welds (the pipes are cracking) and is apparently a vendor problem (crap workmanship). Granted, all of this is being covered under warranty, but due to the "track record" thus far, I simply can not recommend buying an Exhaust from Lotus as it's doubtful you'll get a good one. Either look at Tubi or Moto-Concepts as both offer stainless exhausts (the original Lotus is steel) and Tubi offers a lifetime warranty (not sure about Moto-Concepts). Rob has installed the Moto-Concept and last I heard is happy with it.

Regards, KM
2000 V8 (exhaust-challenged)

[rob.e]

Tony - your in the uk right? The sports exhaust is well worth doing. I had one on my car for over a year. Its a much better sound than the stock exhaust and you get pops and crackling on the overrun, which is nice.

You won't regret it.
Rob

[vws]

I have a sport exhaust too since 4k kms, the sound is really great but the quality...really bad.

john.

[rob.e]

vws said: I have a sport exhaust too since 4k kms, the sound is really great but the quality...really bad.

john.

Yeah, i've had two of them fail, but you can re-weld them when the break, usually. The lotus exhaust is cheaper than the aftermarket systems unless you want straight pipes.


The alternatives to the lotus sports exhaust:

Quicksilver (or similar) straight pipes, ie no silencer. Cheap, but too loud in my opinion, also aerodynamic issues and ride height changes if you do this mod. Reduced back pressure does mean the turbos spool much quicker which is nice.

D&T (Australia). Very expensive in my opinion, but looks like a good system. My friend Bernard has one on his 99, including the D&T hi-flow cats.

TUBI Style(Italy). Excellent quality, the ferrari guys swear by these. Good reports from some Esprit owners with these, but very expensive. Lifetime guarantee which is nice.

Stebro (Switzerland). No experience of these, but the guys who have this system on the 4 cylinder esprits say its great.

SW European (Arizona). Not sure if these guys are in business still.. as their web site is not there anymore. They made a "cross-over" system that sounded great on the mpeg i had. Looks like great quality but again very expensive.

Yoshimura (Japan). Super-dooper expensive, and they will only make on the car, which is a problem for anyone who doesn't live in Tokyo.

Moto-Concept (Germany). These guys make two systems, i went for the "super sound" version. Good quaility system. Had it on the car for a couple of months now. The sound is great, better than the sports exhaust but it is a more expensive system. The design is very similar to the Tubi.

Hope that helps.
Rob