3" Exhaust - Dump Pipe and Cat only

[apalsson]

I wanted to throw up an idea that someone put to me to see what you guys think of and if it has good merits
I'm in the process of getting gauges fitted and because I don't have the tools or facilities to do it myself, I am getting a local mechanic to fit both EGT and Boost gauges for me

In order to fit the EGT gauge, we obviously have to get the heat shield off, remove the dump pipe, drill it and weld a boss to it and re-fit it in the car plus remount the heatshield.
Because I'm aiming to upgrade my exhaust within too long but don't really have the $$$ to do it properly at this stage, it seems to me there is a lot of wasted $$$ in this process

The mechanic has suggested to me that if I simply replace the dump pipe and the Cat with a 3" and a high-flow Cat and adapt it to the rest of the exhaust.
That way, I get a dump pipe that already has the EGT bung and if I want to go for a full end-to-end 3" system, I only have to replace the two rear sections.
He quoted me $500 to supply and fit a Redback 3" dump pipe, Highflow Cat and fit the EGT gauge. He also told me that by keeping the original dump pipe, drilling it and welding would probably come to the same price.

He told me he has done this on a few cars already and the reports have been that you actually get the bulk of the benefits of a larger exhaust this way

Are there merits to this approach? Does anyone have first hand experience with a staged exhaust replacement like this?

[apalsson]

Bump ........
Any of you ladies tried this or have an opinion on it?

[BigRAWesty]

Well to me it makes sense. Just make sure they modify the stock system to the dump pipe and not the dump to the stock.

And once that's done mate the rest of the exhaust from dump back is a simple driveway install with a couple of spanner.

So yea do it I say and save install costs for the rest of the system

[BigRAWesty]

Make sure they use the dump pipe from the system you wish to install later too as I'd say different companies systems are slightly different in flange positions

[apalsson]

Thanks Westy, do you reckon the guy is right in his opinion that the main restriction in the stock system is the dump pipe and the Cat?

[apalsson]

Yes mate, it's a standard 3" Redback part.
The mech said he would weld a flange on front of the original pipe to mate with the new bit

[BigRAWesty]

There are a few manufacturers who runs 3" dump and then reduce to a 2.75 or 2.5" pipe. There theory is the air condenses as it cools so the need for a bigger complete system is void. But not sure how true that is. Sounds like the bloke has his head screwed on so yea id go with it and then when funds permit buy the rest of the kit. As for the cat. Yea the restrict it a bit but I'm pretty sure there a legal piece now. Heaps of blokes don't run them though. The upgraded ones are a higher flow than stock so if I was running a cat is forget the mufflers.

[apalsson]

Yeah, I will have that open to me. Reckon I can decide whether to have a muffler or not later on when I replace the aft pieces
I might go and see him tomorrow morning and ask him to order the bits for me. I'm waiting for the A Pillar Pod to arrive anyway so this whole thing will probably be done next week sometime

[apalsson]

Not a heck of a lot have happened about my new dump pipe and the gauges.
I had collected all the bits including VDO gauges, a boost gauge adaptor, Redback 3" dump pipe and finally an A-pillar pod (which I had to go to hell and back getting posted after I paid for it).
I had booked the car in on Thursday 2 weeks ago but on the Tuesday before that went into see my Cardiologist for a quick checkup which is where it all went to shit.
I got flown to Sydney for an urgent triple-bypass operation and now I'm moping at home and won't even be allowed to drive for 6 weeks.

Guess the upshot is that without that operation, my lifetime expectancy might have been quite short but moping at home and not be allowed to do basically anything sucks!
Patience Garfield, Patience .....

[threedogs]

good to see you're OK the truck can wait get your health back to where you want to be to enjoy life again.

[apalsson]

OK, we are back on the prowl and feeling like a million bucks! :)
Looks like the ticker is in a fine form and I have been allowed to drive again!! :harhar:

I got my mechanic to fit all the gizmos (3" Redback dump pipe with Hi-Flow Cat plus the gauges)
A neat and clean job at a reasonable price.

Anyhow, the outcome is the car feels a lot "lighter" to drive. More responsive generally feels better. This is strictly anecdotal at this stage because I haven't done any checks on torque yet.
EGT sits on 250 - 300 around town
Is that comparable with what you guys are experiencing?

[threedogs]

EGTs are very much the norm , see how it goes .
Good news about the ticker too , stop perving on young chicks eh

[apalsson]

Good news about the ticker too , stop perving on young chicks eh
Yeah mate, only perving on old bags from now on :)

[threedogs]

after you do a few Ks lets us know what your comms are boost EGTs etc

[BigRAWesty]

Geeze mate I missed that post about the ticker.
Bloody lucky to say the least.
But also great to see the mods done. There is only one person which needs to be happy. That's you hey.

So yea sounds like a good outcome, and the rest of it is literally a few bolts so I think you could save costs and diy.

[apalsson]

Thanks mate, yeah I was lucky! Supposedly, no damage and I'm feeling great!
Plan now is to drive the car this way for a few weeks and see exactly what we have. Then next step is the rest of the tailpipe and hopefully (once I have finished paying bloomin' hospital bills) a decent chip
Still tossing up between DP, Steinbauer and Unichip
Seems to be a lot of salesmanship and snake oil advertising in the chip game

[BigRAWesty]

Thanks mate, yeah I was lucky! Supposedly, no damage and I'm feeling great! Plan now is to drive the car this way for a few weeks and see exactly what we have. Then next step is the rest of the tailpipe and hopefully (once I have finished paying bloomin' hospital bills) a decent chip Still tossing up between DP, Steinbauer and Unichip Seems to be a lot of salesmanship and snake oil advertising in the chip game

Absolutely. And many people are ditching the chip idea and running your dawns needle valves instead.
I guess you choose the setup then and not
Replying on a bit of copper and plastic to do it for you.

[mudski]

Absolutely. And many people are ditching the chip idea and running your dawns needle valves instead.
I guess you choose the setup then and not
Replying on a bit of copper and plastic to do it for you.

Having the Dawes and Needle valve doesn't replace a chip Kallen. They do two different things. Well three....

As for the OP. When your funds are right for the rest of the pipe, don't bother with a muffler. I have a 3inch Redback zorst, it had the rear muffler. Removing this gave me the most responsiveness out of any mod I have done to my car. Complete pipe, chip, intercooler, high flow maf housing and anything else I have missed. It gave me more mid range power. If your looking for a chip, don't waste your coin on a new one. I will warn you now, you will be sadly disappointed in the amount they cost to the performance you gain. Just browse around on bumtree and evil bay and wait until a second handy pops up. I scored my DP for $500 a while back. And I have seen them go for less too.

[apalsson]

Thanks guys,

I have been having a bit of a drive since I got the new 3" dump pipe and the car is definitely more responsive. I'm pretty sure the turbo spools up quicker than before.
EGTs are high - maybe these are normal figures on a CRD but when I'm cruising at 100Km/hr on a level ground, I see 350C or so but even at a slight incline (with cruise control on), the temperature quickly rises to 450C or even slightly more
At the same point, boost sits at 10Psi and climbs to 14-16 during those inclines
If you take off and accelerate hard, you see sharp boost spokes up to around 20Psi but these are instantly knocked down to the average boost for that speed/load combo. Must be the ECU doing its job

Mudski, thanks for the comments re the pipe. Won't I fall foul of the inspectors if I don't show a muffler in the pipe at all?

[threedogs]

Try and find 2trollfam's thread on her ECU re map, expensive compared to a chip, but big performance gains
from what Shaz wrote,

Have you blocked the EGR that will take all thinking away from the ECU?

[apalsson]

No mate, EGR hasn't been blocked yet