Ok so at some point in 2014 I hope to fitting a complete new shiny stainless steel exhaust system on my Stilo - Yey .... So I've been hitting the interweb and doing some research on exhaust systems for my car - a 2.4 and of course it's come as no surprise to find that no one makes a full cat back system for my car. There's back boxes aplenty but no full system so it looks like it'll have to be a bespoke system made by a specialist such as longlife. Reading their websites, they all say that they can build me an exhaust system to exactly my requirements but this has left me pondering?..... What is the perfect exhaust system for my car? Performance is paramount so I want to drop the second cat but at the same time I don't want to wake the neighbours. I'ld also like to have two back boxes (one on each side) as opposed to a twin back box like i have already but would that arrangement hamper performance? And what about the centre box? Do I need one?

So if anyone's had a full system fitted on thier car and noticed any gains, then please share your story as advice would be greatly appreciated

I have a turbo back on my AGP with sports cat. You notice the difference. I had cat back on my tjet before that, and the difference was minimal. The perfect performance system would be decat and back box. But that can sound intrusive and hars to live with day to day. Get a custom job, much more cost effective! And like you said, you get it made how you want it, check my members thread, i have a small video of mine. Hope this helps mate. :thumbup:

Nice one bud, when you say "sound intrusive" how bad is it? Are loud exhaust really noticeable inside the car? Also how much ( if you don't mind me asking ) are sports cats?

I think your exhaust Gadge will have two cats, a resonator box in the middle and the back box, the first cat has the two lambda sensors so removing that will cause the EML to light up. If what you want is a less restrictive exhaust then the second cat and resonator could be done away with and a backbox added to your own taste? In my opinion if it goes fast then noise isn't a problem

However, my friend used to have a mk4 r32, he had both cats removed (there were sports cats already there) and it had a miltek cat back on it with the resonator too. That thing sounded loud as **** when the cats were removed! The R32 is a lovely sounding engine but the noise when the cats were removed kind of spoiled it.

My 1.2 with tuned manifold and straight through mid and single backbox sounds exactly as it did standard but with a bit more oomfff before I had the new manifold mated to the mid section it sounded insane

Seen this Gadge?

http://www.supersprint.com/en/IT/prod-177-6610-fiat_stilo_abarth_24i_20v.aspx

Thanks Phil!! That's the first time I've seen that site? and it's the first time I've seen a replacement centre section aswell however their a little pricey? About £650 in total?

MarkThompson4 said:

I think your exhaust Gadge will have two cats, a resonator box in the middle and the back box, the first cat has the two lambda sensors so removing that will cause the EML to light up. If what you want is a less restrictive exhaust then the second cat and resonator could be done away with and a backbox added to your own taste? In my opinion if it goes fast then noise isn't a problem

However, my friend used to have a mk4 r32, he had both cats removed (there were sports cats already there) and it had a miltek cat back on it with the resonator too. That thing sounded loud as **** when the cats were removed! The R32 is a lovely sounding engine but the noise when the cats were removed kind of spoiled it.

My 1.2 with tuned manifold and straight through mid and single backbox sounds exactly as it did standard but with a bit more oomfff before I had the new manifold mated to the mid section it sounded insane

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Nice one bud, your almost spot on with your assessment of my system except that the first cat only has one lambda sensor. Dropping the second one is deffinatley on the cards as it's been proved to work. So if I did away with the centre one but added another back box on the other side do you think that would help with performace?

If youve got time have a scan through here 71 pages mind
On alfa forum seems mostly 6 pots but im sure later they start doing 4 pots and dervs.
Had a quick scan end backwards plenty of you tube noise vids.
http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/tuni...unicorse-wizrdovoz-exhausts-for-v6-alfas.html

we had a stainless steel (pipecraft basildon) on our 1.6, tbh its not somethinig i would ever do again, the sound was nice for the first 30 mins but eventually it just becomes a drone and gets on you wick.
the sound is loud, and there is something to be aware of - the mot is changing and if the car exceeds the noise level by too much than what it was at manufactor then it will fail. they are putting noise sensors that will connect to the mot computers so thier will be very little wriggle room.

Oh I see? I knew there were noise levels to bide by but I never knew they were going to that extent? ...... That may well sway my thinking?

gadge said:

however their a little pricey? About £650 in total?

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Agreed - but they are top notch quality. For what it's worth, I had my second CAT removed and a stainless centre section with muffler installed by Longlife:

http://www.longlife.co.uk/

And no droning issues. I didn't feel the need for a full system as the Schumi comes with an excellent stainless back box as standard of course.

When you had the centre section done did you get like for like or a smaller one? Did you notice any power gains or improvements in torque?

Yellow Peril said:

Seen this Gadge?

http://www.supersprint.com/en/IT/prod-177-6610-fiat_stilo_abarth_24i_20v.aspx

Click to expand...

I bought directly from supersprint. Was given a direct 15% discount aswell, VAT removed (as I live in Norway) and very fast shipping.

M.

gadge said:

When you had the centre section done did you get like for like or a smaller one? Did you notice any power gains or improvements in torque?

Click to expand...

If I'm honest, didn't notice any performance difference...but the sound was much nicer. Longlife do three sounds: 'OEM'; 'Sports' and 'Your Mother Wouldn't Like It'. I went for Sports. Main reason for going stainless was because I bought the Schumi as a 'keeper' and wanted an exhaust I wouldn't need to replace.

Hope that helps...

Ok I see so I wonder if its possible to get a performance inhancing exhaust that's not too loud?

im gunning for a twin exit on mine come next year... ill be buying either Powerflow (various dealers up and down the country) or Blueflame (Skelmersdale)

ive had good experiences with both although the Cat-back Powerflow took a little longer (+8hrs) to build onto my Celica than the initially thought 4hrs by the dealer in Cov and the Blueflame was on my Bandit 600 so not strictly comparable.

Powerflow boast lifetime warranty if you return it to get the book stamped every year. As for Blueflame... ive not asked the question.

Powerflow also boast the 'customisation' of the exhaust note. you can have it standard, low tone, loud or straight through. the power gains were minimal, for my set up around town, but when you hit ACIS (Toyotas variable length intake system) the damn thing used to kick HARD which was something i never remembered from the standard exhaust. i opted for the 'low tone' option, like a nice deep burble on tickover. at low RPM you could roll both windows down and revel in the resonance that rattled round some of the narrower streets around here. it was a sound ive gradually come to miss.

the Blueflame, i can only assume, will have the same level of customisation. i had just the can on my bandit as the collector and downpipes were already free flowing enough but the change from standard can to Blueflame was very noticeable. she used to pop and bang on overrun, and burble like the biggest fattest burbley thing you could imagine on tick over, throttle response improved and mid range picked up significantly, there was also the choice of 2 baffles for it, needless to say after the first week they were both nowhere to be seen

anyway there's a couple more companies for you to look into
http://www.powerflowexhausts.co.uk/
http://www.blueflameperformance.com/

gadge, you will only notice a difference if you remove both cats, they can be replaced with 200cell sports cats.

For me the perfect exhaust is just a 3inch pipe from the Manifold to the rear with some Custom tips, on the 20v engine it sounds AMAZING, but as I proved with my Marea 20v you wont be making friends with the cops anytime soon

My Bravo 16v has a resonator and a 4inch back box but NO catalytic converter and the power has shot up from 132bhp to 143bhp ant the torque has improved.


if i were you i would just remove the Cats, fit sports cats and get a custom cat back made up with the Twin Exits that you want, shouldn't be sooo loud, but will give a nice burble

That's the kind of thing I'm after it's the power increase that I want as I'm trying to tune my engine up and there gains to be had from a decent exhaust system.

ive seen theres 100cell cats available if you feel a 200 cell would be too restrictive

Actually I have a good question for those who know their exhausts, does the system need to be just a little restrictive? I.e back pressure? I always hear this term and wonder what it means exactly?