NEW EXHAUST

[haggis catcher]

Well whats the saying? It never rains, but it pours???????? I am looking to buy a new exhaust in stainless steel. I would like a nice note from it, but nothing that would !!!!!! of the next door !!!!!!! AS its very quiet where i live. Not really bothred about performance, just lasting , and anti wife nagging material. Spotted a Christopher Niel exhaust on ebay. Is it any good?

[Gareth]

Larini sounds good on the S1.
Sure the C.N. ones are loud.

[Rich H]

Larini with a cat purrs away but delivers a fair roar when provoked. De cat and it's an animal!

[campbell]

Chris Neil are loud I think. My Motobuild is perfect, sadly they don't make em anymore Wonder if we could track down who they were made by though?

The Lotus Show is but 2 weeks away...hang on until you get there, that's where the first batch of Motobuilds came from courtesy of Lawrence's uber negotiation skills

OK so he may not be there to do the talking but we can all try to pitch in to help you

[haggis catcher]

Good idea guys. I will hang on for the show. Looking forward to the run down, and a blast in Robbies Exige around the track. Should i bring some sick bags !!!!!!!!!!!

[simon]

Wonder if we could track down who they were made by though?

I believe motobuild passed off Larini exhausts as their own for a while, might be that it's what you have.

[LotusLee]

My fave exhaust for the S1 is the stainless Brooke Kensington, nice deep burble without being too loud or too raspy , sounds a bit like the stage 2 on the 'yota Elises but better.

[Stewart]

My fave exhaust for the S1 is the stainless Brooke Kensington, nice deep burble without being too loud or too raspy , sounds a bit like the stage 2 on the 'yota Elises but better.

Yep, I quite like it on my car, but still have the cat on after it's MOT last month. Thinking about putting the decat pipe back on though as it just doesn't sound the same.
I always worry about what would happen in an insurance claim. Would the insurers refuse to payout if they realised that the car was non-standard? Would they even bother to check something like that? Probably not, but would I want to take that chance? Mmmm .........

[Rich H]

My insurance docs say exhaust/manifold non standard. Should be ok.

There was a huge bun fight on SELC*CK as to weather running without a CAT was legal or not and what you could be charged with. The outcome seemed to be yes it was technically illegal but no they couldn't actually do you for anything significant. More like a rectification chit at best for failing emissions.

What your ins co would say if you haven't declared it I don't know...

[campbell]

I believe motobuild passed off Larini exhausts as their own for a while, might be that it's what you have.

When I bought mine, Motobuild tried to "sell me up" to their premium stainless unit, which I could imagine was a Larini from their description and looking at the pics. However mine has "slashcut" tailpipes which don't look anything like the Larini models I've viewed online, so I doubt I have one of those.

Indeed, in Googling for "motobuild exhaust", I just found it!! Made by "Blue Flame"...http://www.moto-build.com/mainsite/lotu ... mk1ex.html. Tracked them down here - http://www.blueflameperformance.com/, and have emailed them to find out if they are one and the same, and if an S1 exhaust could still be sourced.

Fingers crossed...as IMHO, this is THE BEST S1 exhaust upgrade if you want a nice burble on throttle and no change when cruising, ie the ideal combination

Campbell

[campbell]

My insurance docs say exhaust/manifold non standard. Should be ok.

There was a huge bun fight on SELC*CK as to weather running without a CAT was legal or not and what you could be charged with. The outcome seemed to be yes it was technically illegal but no they couldn't actually do you for anything significant. More like a rectification chit at best for failing emissions.

What your ins co would say if you haven't declared it I don't know...

I removed my de-cat pipe and put the cat back in when I fitted my Motobuild SS exhaust in 2001, because I was getting a lot of fumes coming over the rollbar upon deceleration. Made me feel pretty sick - good ol' CO. Felt the same in Ian's car when he bought it, and it too has a decat in place. He also is thinking of reverting.

Maybe not so much of a problem in an S2, or maybe just some feature meant these two cars seemed to fall prey to it...but not pleasant on long runs and downright dangerous when it starts making you sleepy

A sports cat will be next on my list when the current stock cat starts spitting out bits of platinum mesh I'm lucky though, I'm happy with the sound of the car with the cat in place. Realise many like it better without.

Campbell

[Rich H]

Have had the odd problem with fumes, but only a couple of times. More dependent on wind direction in my experience. No probs with long journeys (Ear plugs are a must though especially now its CR too!) Haven't done much driving with the rear screen out though, dunno what that would do...

[MacK]

Spotted a Christopher Niel exhaust on ebay. Is it any good?

I've got one.

It's not the loudest exhaust, so the neighbours haven't complained about it.

[DaveG]

I also had the Brooke Kensington exhaust on my S1 with standard air filter and cat still in place. Quite a deep, rorty sound, which turns into a magnificent howl when you boot it!

I loved the fact it was quiet at a subdued driving pace, not that much louder than the standard exhaust in fact, but made a great noise when you wanted it to.

D