engine and drivetrain new to me 02 and muffler opinion

[PabloM]

I have headers going into a straight pipe center section followed by an Ansa muffler. Cruising on the highway at around 70 mph you have to shout to have a conversation however some of that is due to my missing carpet and insulation and bad window seals. I don't mind the loudness, my car sings the symphony of destruction. If you ever plan to get sidedrafts it won't matter what exhaust you have because they will be louder! Ask me how I know =)

[RandyMolson]

If you ever plan to get sidedrafts it won't matter what exhaust you have because they will be louder! Ask me how I know =)

Ruh roh. I am putting sidedrafts on my 02 motor swap as we speak and I hate carpets...floors are herculined. Oh well, I sense that I am going to enjoy those sidedrafts immensely anyway.

[Bill_Riblett]

Hi,

Looking for advice- from what I've read, there are no performance gains from upgraded exhaust unless the engine is pushing over 140hp. Any truth to this?

What nobody ever addresses about "performance" exhausts is whether they actually improve performance. All anyone ever discusses is how loud or quiet they are.

Back in the 70s, when the cars were fairly new, someone (I think it was a BMWCCA Roundel magazine article) actually tried several different aftermarket exhaust systems by timing acceleration. None of the aftermarket systems, like Supersprint, Stebro, Daytona, or Ansa did any better than the stock system and some not as well.

I like my engineer brother's favorite saying: 'one test is worth more than a thousand expert opinions'.

This didn't stop me from putting a Supersprint on my 74tii! I liked the sound.

[Slavs]

Stock is best !

Ansa makes a "Sport" version and a "Stock Replacement" Version.

Their "Sport" muffler is too heavy and loud, while their "Sport" resonator is light, but also on the loud side. Along with the noise there is also a noticable loss of Hp or Torque at lower RPM. I ran an Ansa "Sport" resonator with a stock muffler on one of my cars, and I feel that it is too loud. Furthermore, when I replaced the "Sport" resonator wit a stock resonator, the extra back pressure really helped in the bottom end department, especially on an incline or uphill. Your mileage will also improve with the stock system.

If you purchase the Ansa "Stock replacement" system, get it all at one, resonator + muffler, because the outside diameter of the pipes seems a bit oversize and and therefore uncomatible with others. This was my experience at least. I purchased ther stock replacement resonator and my stock muffler couldn't fit over it.

Furthermore, beware of headers. They may work well on a race engine, but you will loose power at the bottom end with them.

Slavs