Fitting a new exhaust

[johncam]

Neil,
If you have not ordered the exhaust yet I'd suggest you phone Darren @ MMC - I got the Janspeed Roadsport for £325 inc. Vat for my S2 111s. Not even Janspeed themselves were cheaper as its an official Lotus part through the main dealers. Its called 'Sports Exhaust - Level 2' in the Lotus parts book, make sure you order the round tailpipes set to go with the exhaust itself.

Cheers,

John

[Neil72]

Plan B, in case I get a sudden dose of cannae-be-arsed-itus, how much does Ali charge for an exhaust swap, does anyone know ? Think I'll have a go at it by the DIY route though

You sound exactly like me back at Easter time. Was looking forward to doing this myself (Janspeed Supersport on my 111S) but plan B very quickly came in to play!

As others have said, dead easy job if you can get the 3 nuts off. After two nights under the car - scraped knuckles, rust in eyes and hoarse from shouting lots of sweary words - I eventually got 1 nut off, rounded another and the 3rd wouldn't budge.

Best £20 I spent was a backhander at my local national tyre and exhaust garage who officially only fit their own exhausts. They had to burn the other 2 nuts/bolts off with a gas blowtorch thing, although my car is a few years older than yours.

Like MacK, happy to offer help if you want to try the DIY route. I can't be too far away either. Can supply the garage name by PM too if you take the CBA route !

Thanks DJ, appreciate the offer. I'll wait until the exhaust arrives before I decide exactly what I'm going to do with it. I have access to a Dremmel so I might just get this and cut off the old bolts to save pfaffing around with the old ones. I've since found out that it comes supplied with nice shiny new bolts too

Neil,
If you have not ordered the exhaust yet I'd suggest you phone Darren @ MMC - I got the Janspeed Roadsport for £325 inc. Vat for my S2 111s. Not even Janspeed themselves were cheaper as its an official Lotus part through the main dealers. Its called 'Sports Exhaust - Level 2' in the Lotus parts book, make sure you order the round tailpipes set to go with the exhaust itself.

Cheers,

John

That's a great price John, I wish I had know about this sooner. Is that price for mild steel or stainless steel ? I'm pretty sure that the standard Lotus stage 2 is mild steel, but I'm guessing this one must be s/s. I ordered mine yesterday from PTP who have an offer on at the moment so I managed to get it for £337 with free delivery. Would have been handier to collect it in person from MMC though.

John & DJ......how do you rate the roadsport ?? I read some pretty good write ups on it before I placed my order but it would be interesting to hear about the experience you guys have had with it

[DJ]

John & DJ......how do you rate the roadsport ??

I've got the Supersport which I think is a bit louder , slightly heavier and for some reason about £75 more expensive

Really like it though and definitley worth buying. Car now sounds like you think it should. I tend to only do short trips and weekend blasts in my car though. Might start to grind on me on a long haul or if doing a lot of motorway miles in the car everyday.

[campbell]

Interestingly the Janspeed temporarily fitted to my S1 probably makes the car sound "like it should" however it is too boomy / resonant at cruise speeds to be bearable long term for me!

I also note that it *feels* like it's made the car quicker, particular on pick-up and in the mid-range (4.5k ish). I know the noise may have something to do with that, but I do reckon it breathes a bit better than my ill Blueflame stainless...which has a can 3 times the size of the Janspeed, so maybe therein lies my answer!

[johncam]

Neil72 wrote:
John & DJ......how do you rate the roadsport ??

Neil,
I have to say its just right. It may sound a little timid to begin with (before the packing beds in) but it’s been fitted for a year now and it sounds spot on. We did 4000 miles in a fortnight last summer driving to Tuscany and back and it didn't get on my (or my wifes)nerves on the motorways but it still puts a big smile on your face when you drop a gear going through a tunnel.

Had my car serviced by Ali on Tuesday and he came to pick me up from Newcraighall Station in it - that must be the first time I've heard my car driven from the outside - its been said before but it sounds like a proper sports car - as it should do.

My only complaint is my nearside tailpipe does not sit quite straight - no amount of tinkering will stop it rattling on the rear grill. It’s the stainless steel one - 25 year guarantee I think... Enjoy.

[Neil72]

Well the Janspeed arrived today from PTP. Top service considering I only ordered it yesterday and ticked the £0.00 5 day delivery option Quality seems good and it looks the part too.

So late afternoon I thought I'd go out, remove the rear diffuser, then give the bolts a good overnight soaking with WD40 so that I could tackle the job in the morning.

But impatience/curiosity kicked in and next thing I know, I'm whipping out the socket set and away I go The 3 bolts holding the back box to the cat were badly corroded and siezed absolutely solid. Tried everything - more WD40, extension bars for extra leverage, running the car to heat the exhaust. Still not budging.

So to cut a long story short (a 4hr story) I had to remove the cat+back box together, disconnect the lambda sensor, pull them away from the car then attack the bolts with an angle grinder. Finally got the cat and the back box apart then decided to call it a night. So hopefully in the morning it will just be a case of bolting it all back together again with nice shiny new bolts.

MacK and DJ.....don't feel obliged to but you're welcome to pop round in the morning if you like. Drop me a PM and I'll give you my address/phone number. You've probably missed most of the fun though - I reckon 30 mins tops and it will be re-assembled again. Thanks again for your offer to help.

Moral of the story is.....if you're fitting a new back box to your Lotus, pay someone else to do it for you

[Neil72]

John & DJ......how do you rate the roadsport ??

I've got the Supersport which I think is a bit louder , slightly heavier and for some reason about £75 more expensive

Really like it though and definitley worth buying. Car now sounds like you think it should. I tend to only do short trips and weekend blasts in my car though. Might start to grind on me on a long haul or if doing a lot of motorway miles in the car everyday.

Neil72 wrote:
John & DJ......how do you rate the roadsport ??

Neil,
I have to say its just right. It may sound a little timid to begin with (before the packing beds in) but it’s been fitted for a year now and it sounds spot on. We did 4000 miles in a fortnight last summer driving to Tuscany and back and it didn't get on my (or my wifes)nerves on the motorways but it still puts a big smile on your face when you drop a gear going through a tunnel.

Had my car serviced by Ali on Tuesday and he came to pick me up from Newcraighall Station in it - that must be the first time I've heard my car driven from the outside - its been said before but it sounds like a proper sports car - as it should do.

My only complaint is my nearside tailpipe does not sit quite straight - no amount of tinkering will stop it rattling on the rear grill. It’s the stainless steel one - 25 year guarantee I think... Enjoy.

Sounds good guys - can't wait to hear mine on the car now

[DJ]

MacK and DJ.....don't feel obliged to but you're welcome to pop round in the morning if you like. Drop me a PM and I'll give you my address/phone number.

Moral of the story is.....if you're fitting a new back box to your Lotus, pay someone else to do it for you

hehe - as i said, getting it fitted by someone else was the best £20 I spent, however well done for sticking with it and getting all nuts off eventually. Will give you great satisfaction once you do the easy bit of bolting the new one on and hearing that wonderous noise knowing you did it all yourself.

You also have PM.

[campbell]

Hats off to you Neil!

I know of a few people who have changed their exhaust on axle stands or regular wheel-ramps, I have to say unless your exhaust bolts shift easily it's a job better left to someone with proper lift and all the medical equipment to hand...

[Neil72]

Hats off to you Neil!

I know of a few people who have changed their exhaust on axle stands or regular wheel-ramps, I have to say unless your exhaust bolts shift easily it's a job better left to someone with proper lift and all the medical equipment to hand...

Done it all with the car on the ground Campbell. My slender physique allowed me to move about under the car no problem

It did occur to me at one point maybe that's why I was struggling to shift the bolts but I didn't see anything to be gained in terms of access/leverage by hoisting it up onto axle stands. I managed to shift 1 bolt with the exhaust in situ, the other two needed the angle grinder even when I had the exhuast/cat out and away from underneath the car.

[Edin430]

Taking mine to Ali to get the 2bular fitted....

Holy sh!t it looks loud (as stupid as that sounds )

[Neil72]

Taking mine to Ali to get the 2bular fitted....

Holy sh!t it looks loud (as stupid as that sounds )

Good move Wish I had done the same thing.

Well, the Janspeed is on my car now and I'm really pleased with it. Fitting it was a doddle once the old box was removed. As has been mentioned already, the car now sounds exactly as it should sound. Not too obtrusive when cruising, but nice and raspy when pressing on. Pipes look good too.

[Rich H]

Good work.

Now you need a decat... That is loud...

[MacK]

MacK and DJ.....don't feel obliged to but you're welcome to pop round in the morning if you like. Drop me a PM and I'll give you my address/phone number. You've probably missed most of the fun though - I reckon 30 mins tops and it will be re-assembled again. Thanks again for your offer to help.

Moral of the story is.....if you're fitting a new back box to your Lotus, pay someone else to do it for you

Just logged on today for the 1st time in more than a week, so never saw this.

But glad you persevered and managed to do it yourself. Sounds like you had the same problems as me with taking the complete exhaust off to grind the nuts off the cat etc.

I'll keep a look out for you in the area. Hopefully hear you before I see you.