Exhaust Upgrade on 4200GT

[speedevilus]

Hi All,
It has taken me forever to give an update on the progress for my exhaust.

I never liked the sound of my exhaust from day one and hated the squashed piece under the steering rack. Unfortunately options are/were very limited unless I was prepared to pay approx £2000+ for the Larini system as mine was one of the earlier exhaust types where the first and second cat were both on the same pipe.

I have been talking to a few fabricators and each one had their own ideas and opinions on how and what should be done but never felt confident with any of them really until I spoke to one of the guys at TorqueFlow in Birmingham. They are a specialist in BMW exhausts and they have been featured in many BWM specialist magazines but the owner and fabricator Imran was very knowledgeable about the Maserati set up and had some good suggestions so I paid him a visit. First stage we to remove the second cats and the mid section which were replaced with a straight through pipes going into the X section and the car already sounded so much better. Imran was apprehensive about removing the squashed part purely due to clearance so we agreed that I should drive the car for a few weeks to see if I am happy and if not we will revisit the other part. Of course I wasn't as I kept thinking about the restriction on those pipes and after another visit and a long discussion with Imran we decided on the best way forward. The difficulty was the size of the pipe and how low it would hang but after much discussions and debate you can see the final result. I find the car breaths so much better, acceleration has improved and the sound is much better but as far as I am concerned it is not loud enough yet! But is it ever?

I have been contemplating removing the back boxes and replacing them with straight through tail pipes but would that be unbearably loud? The other option is to have special back boxes and tail pipes made but the problem is you can't hear either until they are finished so it is hard to make a decision without knowing the end result. This is my second/fun car and more of a weekend thing so does it matter how loud it is? hmmmm not sure...

Any ideas? Sensible ones of course!

 

[conaero]

Pretty it aint, but effective I am sure it is. I would try removal of the rear boxes, then just drive around without them, and see how it sounds. If you like it, you could then just add RPI rear box replacement pipes or have your man make some up.

What I would have done in your situation and budget is do what Pat/Masersod did at Prospeed in Wales:

http://www.sportsmaserati.co.uk/showthread.php/1905-My-modified-GranSport?highlight=prospeed

Think he paid about £500 for it, then the RPI rear box bypass are about another £400 or so.

Looks like what you have had done will do the trick. Most of the sound is killed off by the centre box, so am surprised your new setup is not loud enough?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Maserati-4200...arParts_SM&hash=item27b0c3afff#ht_4129wt_1141

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TX0029-STAINL...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item27b61e0c86

 

[Emtee]

Hi Andy, the twin pipe route around the rack is also the Larini solution, so your thinking is spot on, however I'd recommend looking to replace the remaining cats as they're cr@p and very restrictive by modern comparison. High-flow cats are now common and not expensive and, once fitted, really will make your car breath better. You'll just need to tap in for the lambda's. Regards, Miles.

 

[speedevilus]

Pretty it aint, but effective I am sure it is. I would try removal of the rear boxes, then just drive around without them, and see how it sounds. If you like it, you could then just add RPI rear box replacement pipes or have your man make some up.

What I would have done in your situation and budget is do what Pat/Masersod did at Prospeed in Wales:

http://www.sportsmaserati.co.uk/showthread.php/1905-My-modified-GranSport?highlight=prospeed

Think he paid about £500 for it, then the RPI rear box bypass are about another £400 or so.

Looks like what you have had done will do the trick. Most of the sound is killed off by the centre box, so am surprised your new setup is not loud enough?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Maserati-4200...arParts_SM&hash=item27b0c3afff#ht_4129wt_1141

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TX0029-STAINL...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item27b61e0c86

Hi Matt,
His exhaust is completely different to mine as his Cats are attached to downpipes where mine were all in one with the second Cats. I did look at that option but it was very expensive although it does look real nice and I love the tail pipes, I would be surprised if he only paid £500 for the lot though and if he did bloody good bargain I'd say.

As for the link for tailpipes on eBay I have been looking at those but to be honest £485 for a pair of tailpipes is rather excessive. Mine as you said are not pretty but being under the car I don't care really. As for loudness I am not really sure, maybe it is loud but just not loud enough I guess. I really like your idea of taking the back boxes off to see how it sounds, just a bit of work at no cost I guess is worth doing that way I'd know for sure. I know a few have straight pipes on here but the rest of their exhausts is standard where mine has had othe rbits removed so it might be too loud? I have to take that chance and remove those boxes as you suggest I think! Thanks

 

[speedevilus]

Hi Andy, the twin pipe route around the rack is also the Larini solution, so your thinking is spot on, however I'd recommend looking to replace the remaining cats as they're cr@p and very restrictive by modern comparison. High-flow cats are now common and not expensive and, once fitted, really will make your car breath better. You'll just need to tap in for the lambda's. Regards, Miles.

Hi Miles,
Once again thansk for the Brake Shoes and I now have handbrakes that work. My set is now available for the next person that needs them.
Hi flow Cats, tell me more! what about the sensors etc? All along I was trying to avoid engine lights coming up. As you could see from the pics mine needs to be cut off and replaced with these high flows! hmmmm.....I like the thought though!

 

[Emtee]

Hi Miles,
Once again thansk for the Brake Shoes and I now have handbrakes that work. My set is now available for the next person that needs them.
Hi flow Cats, tell me more! what about the sensors etc? All along I was trying to avoid engine lights coming up. As you could see from the pics mine needs to be cut off and replaced with these high flows! hmmmm.....I like the thought though!

Hi Andy, I haven't got my details to hand as I'm at work, so I will probably be out on the figures, but your cats are something like 40 to 50 percent restricted due to their cell structure. The sports cats on my larinis are something like 10 to 15 percent restricted. There are many high-flow cats available now that could just be welded or bolted in, though I'm not certain how you'd need to handle the lambdas? Milltex might be a good starting point though they're expensive. Ebay have them from £150 and upwards. Hope this helps. Regards, Miles.