exhaust ?

who makes the best system, i'm looking for something thats sounds a little more less VW

A-1 Sidewinder:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=542192

terry, i thought u were down on A1s. I love mine but it is a PITA to drop it to adjust valves.

Think we've exhausted this topic! Do a Search on the FORUM and you'll be rewarded with photos too!

https://www.speedsterowners.com/forum/readmsg.asp?t=14438

OK, just piping in here w/ a practical note: the system is a nice compromise between raunchy cool sound at full throttle and reasonable muffling (?) when just driving around taking it easy. Also, it was said that for my big engine, it was about the only way to go, since there is so little room at the back for a more conventional can-type arrangement. Or so I was told. And here is the other deal: it is a bit more effort to R&R the can to get to the right hand side valves, no doubt about it, but really, you are already crawling around the garage floor in your grubby clothes so what does it take? Another five minutes on either end of the job. Really not that big a deal. Just use stainless fasteners and don't bung 'em up. Four nuts/bolts and maybe one washer -- how hard can it be??

Bob, I'm not down on the system per se, but I shit canned the Magnaflow muffler and ran a Flowmaster Hushpower along the rear apron to eliminate the hassle of removing the system to adjust the valves.
I would have suggested the Vintagespeed system as well but I remember Paul Rich had a hard time getting it to fit.
How's the Tiger running?
Sell your speedster yet?

Terry - I'd love to see a picture of your muffler installation. The Magnaflow sounds great, but a) removing it is a minor PITA, and b) I have less that 1/4" between it and my right rear tire.

I have the Vintage system on my Speedster's Type IV and it fit like a glove. I imagine the Type I stuff would also. I posted earlier about the baffles coming loose on my Morro Bay trip last year---what a noise--I thought the whole car was coming apart!! Well I emailed Vintage and told them that the welds were poor allowing baffles to come loose. Not only did they quickly replace the muffler but at my request they made the tail pipes 2 1/2" longer to get the exhaust well out from under the car. Fabulous service and a great product. In fact there are O2 bungs where I have been playing with my new PLAX A/F ratio device which screws into the bung. Made some jetting improvements for my elevation--easy peasy to do. I'm debating wether to install the gauge permanently but probably won't.

My engine looks and nothing like a VW Bug. Nice Growl going down the road.

I am fairly crazy and will put up with a lot but removing the muffler to adjust valves is just nuts to me. I'm just sayin'.

Check out the Vintage site--nice stuff!

The Flowmaster Hushpower sounds better than the Magnaflow:

http://www.flowmastermufflers.com/searchfmm/search_cat.php?cat=1⊂=75&sc1=&sc2=HP-2%20Series&sc3=&sc4=

Here ya go, Lane:

You had that one custom made, didn't you? Got any dimensions?

terry, havent sold speedy yet, im thinking of ebay tomorrow. Tiger is running super. i really enjoy the car. numerous guys next to me at traffic lites say "let me hear it" and i blip it a few times and they get a big smile.

Jack show us a picture of your exhaust

Lane,
My muffler guy didn't have a tight enough bend so he improvised and made a bishops hat to make it fit. Dale Bates had the exact same system on his black speedster but he had more room since the engine In an Intermeccanica sits 3" forward in comparison.
I'll be happy to take some measurements if you don't mind waiting a couple days.
Bob, I'd love to see that bad boy. Any chance of getting together for lunch in the next couple weeks? We could meet in Folsom our you can come over to the Brewhouse in Auburn.
Maybe a run afterwards and we can race for pinks...;-)

Marty show us a picture of your exhaust

Jim,
Please keep your exhaust to yourself.

Here is what Roland is building for me. He says it sounds better than the Trimill exhaust that Vintage cars come with, but I really won't know until I get it. He promised me it would be shipped this Friday.

I fitted a stainless from Chesil

Marty--I'm traveling, but there are pictures on the Vintage site. All you see are the two stainless steel tailpipes--they are a bit larger than the Trimill. Also you can see the round collector--it's lager than the one that Roland is making in the above post--it is colorful---like the stainless steel exhaust pipes on my BMW bile. I may leave'em like that or paint them flat black.

No hurry, Terry. I'm more curious then anything else, as the budget is probably exhausted (snicker!) for this year.

OK, here's another option: Yep, it's an Empi "Euro Tuck". it's cheap, sounds fantastic, & I don't have to touch it to adjust the valves.
This is essentially two little glass packs, and with this system mated to my 1904, it really growls.

It's funny, out here in the land of Power Strokes & Cummins Diesels, I hear a lot of "Awww, what a cute little car...". But when I fire it up, the comments change to "whoa, what's in that thing?"

Just a blip of the throttle in traffic is all it takes to let people know I'm there, which isn't a bad thing when the car sits below most people's rocker panels. Heck, even the Harley guys take notice.

I LOVE my muffler. I bought a new VS muffler, chopped off the tips and welded up the holes, then added a single 3

i bet thats a loud puppy.

Why do people block out license plate numbers in photographs?

Bill said "Heck, even the Harley guys take notice."

That's because they are jealous...You have the wind in your hair and they all have to wear silly looking helmets!

Paul: That's a good question. I got into the habit of blurring out license plates in pics of other people's cars years ago. I guess it's just an old habit.

Troy: Also could be that mine is the only car they can actually hear coming...

Anyone try a CSP ? I've been thinking of trying it out on my 2110

I would certainly be curious myself. I have their shifter and bellcrank carb linkage, and love 'em both. Their stuff is usually pricey, but well made.

I suspect their Python model has become more popular in recent years.
http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=C31-251-101-042

Rick-

Jim Ward had a CSP exhaust on his black car (now Justin Froehlich's). Justin was trying to sell it last year- I don't know if he ever did, but perhaps a personal email to him would help you both.

Well, that CSP looks pretty cool, gotta admit, but how about valve adjustments? Same deal as the A-1? gotta take the mufflers -- now there are two -- off to get that job done??

Doesn't look too tough. Three bolts at the flange in the middle where the muffler pipes meet the header and one hanger on each side. Wonder if it would fit a Beck.

Ah, who'm I kidding? I'm happy with the A1 and won't be changing until it rusts out or takes one too many hits when I leave the driveway.

You mean to tell me that you'se guys have to remove your exhaust system to check your valves? Like, once a year or so??

Really?

What cerebral German designer came up with THAT one?

Oh....wait.....He..wasn't..German?

I guess that explains it.

Betta getta Berg.

I'm jus' sayin'

I have to agree with Gordon. Hell, how often do you guys adjust your valves? Spending an extra 15 minutes to pull the muffler, once a year, can't be too onerous, can it?

Let me see if i got this right...we're supposed to adjust the valves?

Nah, pullin' the muffler is no big deal. My problem is draggin' the damn header on driveways around here. They don't make the driveway exit any different from the low curbs, so you have to be waaaaay careful. You can see what I mean from the attached photo from last week (NOT!).

I've got 26K on my CB turn-key 2110. I don't "set" my valves. I simply check them at every 2K miles. Never really needed to adjust anything.
http://www.cbperformance.com/turnkeys.asp#2109

My first couple of dune buggies, with rompin'-stompin', 36 hp VW's, I adjusted the valves after every run to the dunes of Cape Cod. Must have done them ten times that first Summer 'cuz I was paranoid of them getting out of adjustment. Then I was talking with an "old guy" (I was only 17 then - he was, probably, 40) out on the dunes who also had a VW powered buggy, who told me that, if you set them right and make sure the locknuts are tight, then that setting should last at least 12,000 miles (just as they tell you in the VW service book! - duh...)

Then he asked me how far off they were each time I checked them and I told him they were usualy dead on. "See?" He said....."You've got bigger things to worry about. Set 'em and forget 'em for 12 thousand miles!"

So that's what I've been doing ever since. Set 'em last in August of 2008, when I replaced a broken rocker arm shaft and will probably check them next Summer because I haven't had many chances to drive it lately.

And I don't even have to remove the exhaust to get at 'em....

BTW, if you drive your car enough to hear nuances of the engine and get a feel for the valve noise, if it changes you should notice the change. If it's louder, the valves are loose. If it's quieter, then they're tight. Simple as that. If you get good at that, you'll be able to tell if someone else's car is out of adjustment, too.

If, on the other hand, you feel that you're a mechanic neophite and don't trust what you hear or your mechanical abilities because you simply don't know, that's OK, too. Take it to a mechanic that you trust, preferably one who knows his/her way around VW aircooled engines, once a year and have them do a tune-up - nothing wrong with that, and you'll feel better that it's OK.

Gordon
The Speedstah Guy from Beaufort