New Bespoke Exhaust System for FRP/Standard Puma

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Joined
Sep 5, 2009
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Location
Nottingham
Hi Guys...

I know the car is some 16 years old now, but what the hell! I decided to commission a new Exhaust system for the Racing Puma 8)

As I've worked on so may FRP's lately one thing that has really been winding me up is how crap the fit is of nearly all the systems i'm un-bolting/removing.. not so much the poor fit but also the sheer rigidness of the whole system and the crap crap noise they make (some beyond belief) I decided to commission a new ALL STEEL system like the original but with a few tweaks that will enable it to fit very easily and not suffer from the same old vibration issues.... so..

The Manifold is an all Steel manifold like the original (custom jig being made from an original one) BUT, as the 4 branches go into 2 50mm pipes i'm getting an ILOK flexi section welded there on each pipe so that the manifold is no longer a rigid item. This also means the silly springs that offered only a token gesture of 'give' in the system can now be discarded and instead the Conical O ring gasket can be tightened up properly to make a PROPER seal.. 8) The downside is that my guy has said this is a lot of work to make up and of course making up a new jig etc is quite time consuming... so it seems the price of this item will, even to me at cost price will still be more than 'other' offerings out there.

The Center section has a 200cel per inch cat on it, which I just tested on a car yesterday, and i'm pleased to say passed without having to rev the engine at ridiculous RPM to try and cheat the system like I had to with my FRP... There will also be a Guard/heatshield ready fitted to every one at no extra cost...also at the back of the pipe there will be a small ILOK flexi section to remove vibration from the back box so the noise you hear is where you want it, at the BACK of the car and not buzzing through your brain :lol: these will retail around £270 a good £100 less than other ones out there

The Back box has the usual polished stainless look of the oval with the bar going through it... it's not as quiet as the original currently, but it's no where near as loud as many of the stainless ones i've heard...It's pretty bang on to be honest...rather liking it.. 8) This will retail at around £250

The full fitting kit (Gaskets and fixings) will only cost £15 (not incl. rubbers)

Any questions send me an Email [email protected]

Regards

pics so far

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Sounds like a lot of thought and effort has gone into making this. I'm sure once the finished system is fully fitted a video of how it sounds would help folk decide :eek:k:
 
I'm sure once the finished system is fully fitted a video of how it sounds would help folk decide

Unfortunately this car with the prototype is leaving here tomorrow... hopefully will have the manifold by the end of the week..

I'm also going to do a ready made Oxygen sensor with extension for people who want to upgrade to an FRP exhaust but need the longer loom... It will be an OE quality NGK Sensor with the extension already soldered into the loom to make it nice and easy to fit...

The standard puma backbox will need revising slightly in length and oval size

Ready made heatshield with fixings will also be available :cool:

There is also the option on the manifold collector for an extra hego socket if anyone wants to connect up a Wideband sensor.. :cool:
 
I think that this will be epic, I get why you have opted for non-stainless steel as the acoustic is quite different. Be interested to hear it in action also as above!
 
That looks really proper! My Milltek FRP copy has indeed a really shitty fitment (Due to the cat and midpipe being seperated, bought it like this).It nearly hangs on the ground and keeps bagging on high speedbumps :roll:
 
Crazy isn't it.. It's not rocket science to copy it properly ..it just shows you how much care goes into these things.. :x

Having a floating flange at the front of the centre section makes fitting so much easier and gives scope for tweaking it and lining it up a lot easier too.... I'm also getting thicker/stronger flanges custom made for this so they last a long time (the one pictured is how they come as standard on most fittings of that type)..

:thumbs:
 
Yeah, I have a decat pipe that has a floating flange and makes fitment kinda better, althrough a midpipe + cat in one piece should be a lot better. For some reason the exhaust twists after a while making it sit low again..

Will your exhaust system only be a bolted version or also a slide on version?
 
It's a flange fit system only.. it's got to be this way at the back or as you say , it will creep down as you hit bumps.. the flare at conical ring gasket needs to be a good fit and clamped up well to make it seal properly. . Did you fit a new gasket?
 
No I did not use a new conical ring gasket, can't seem to find the correct size and keeps forgetting to measure it. Althrough the exhaust is leak free even with the older gasket and slide on system. Refitted the decat this afternoon and it sits really flush now, althrough I kinda want to be legal with a cat, also makes it quiter which I like :lol:

Will be watching your progress patiently and might order the centerpiece and backbox section if it turns out great (which I think it does by the looks of it). Will it be the same bolt type as the Milltek or Piper manifold? As I'm not looking forward to swapping a manifold.. It was a horrible job the first time and I can't imagine it being better the second time..
 
It's a 2 1/4" conical ring.. can send you one if you need one

Customer collected the FRP with the center section and back box on (pictured)...he's very happy with it (of course I would say that lol)...he's signed up on here now I believe and is going to report soon.. :grin:

Fitting an FRP manifold is SOOO easy compared to a standard down pipe and cat section...as long as the car is reasonably high and you've undone the lower gearbox stabiliser and both gear linkage poles.. then I tend to rock the engine... wedge the engine, have the bottom of the manifold pointing to drivers side and just feel my way up there...it shouldn't be too bad... The problem is when the manifold is crap shape, and then you've got to somehow fit the heatshield that now doesn't seem to want to fit ...it all becomes harder work than it needs to be.

Fitting kit will be similar M10 fixings..possibly slightly different in length that's all..

Again, because the 'copies' are not very similar to the original FRP manifold some have a threaded flange at the bottom of the manifold and some (like the piper) just have a welded nut at the back of the flange which means you need a longer bolt to access the thread...

Regards

Chris

ps.. I've been promised 3 full systems (with manifold) to be ready by Monday :thumbs:
 
My Piper one has been on the car 9 years now, but has a lifetime warranty.

Just wondered how long a,warranty you were giving Chris including Cat ?

Mine is very loud when driven hard, but its part of the FRP experience for me.
 
Glad you bought up this topic Graham... think you'll find the so called 'life time' warranty' a joke in most cases...

most of the Stainless systems are welded up with steel flanges which fuse with the fixings if left for years and years just like conventional exhaust systems... also i'm not convinced performance wise it's necessarily a good thing to have a choked up piece of exhaust on a car for 10 years or so... the small sport cats certainly don't work effectively for that period of time either... The janspeed one I had on mine had to be 'cheated' through like all other FRP's have to these days.. you just can't simply drive in and get it to pass without sitting there screaming the engine away, it's not nice.

Also, your questions are rather 'loaded' and annoying...do you have any positive input to offer at all? I have gone to rather a lot of time and expense to create this system which will be the closest to the original yet..

As for a warranty fiqure...the answer is i'm not sure yet...I need to speak to supplier on that one... Most standard exhaust systems come with a 2 year warranty I would imagine...does that keep you happy?

Chris :p
 
So, at the moment there is a centre section and rear box available, but with the manifold being available shortly/soon?

This is stated as being for the FRP/Standard Puma...
Does the standard Puma Cat (and flexi part) end at the same point as the FRP manifold? If not, for the standard Puma would we need to have the manifold too?

Could there be a change to the exhaust tip as in length/shape, presumably at additional cost?

Sorry for the questions... I'm thinking about changing my exhaust and looking at what options are available...
 
It's all available from tomorrow inc. manifold ...I've had a message to collect tomorrow afternoon...

Will try get some better pictures up tomorrow.. :cool:

It's primarily for the Racing Puma, and designed to be a near replica of the original sound of that system which was so awesome (IMO)

It will only be an option for standard puma if you fit the whole system of course as it will be a flange fit system

I am getting a different back box made for the standard puma so the oval is not quite so big and the tail end will need reducing probably by an inch or so. The standard puam oval is 9cm wide, I may get it made 10 or 11..something like that, but i'm thinking the fat oval from the FRP box might be a tad OTT underneath the standard bumper..

I don't expect this will encur any extra cost..

you'll also need an extended Oxygen sensor...i'm going to make a ready made oxygen sensor for this and solder in the loom needed so it's nice and easy to fit...this will mean buying a new sensor of course, but feel free to do that job yourself if you wish..

The standard puma down pipe does probably connect up at the same location as the FRP one, but it won't be much use as the FRP center section uses the conical ring gasket not the thin flange fit gasket.. My sections need to be individually interchange with existing FRP exhaust systems to make it viable..

I'm also stocking The fitting rubbers (you'll certainly one or two to manipulate the system into the right place) and the Heatsheild and it's associated fixings.

estimated costs will be something like:

Manifold £450 (owch..sorry)
Centre section with 200cel per inch cat and guard £270
rear Muffler with Oval and 'bar' £250
Exhaust rubbers £5 each 2 for £9
Fitting kit for back box and manifold Conical ring around £15

all sections ready painted in choice of Graphite or Silver or Black XHT paint

As an extra 'brucey bonus' lol.. i'm offering FREE FITTING for this month only so that the first few items are fitted correctly so there's less issues/problems with the first few systems made.That way I can monitor the quality of the fit too and get any tweaks done quickly if need be.

Hope that all helps

Kind Regards

Chris Allison
 
Here's the centre section and back box in silver finish too.. Iv'e had the floating flange custom made up in a thicker plate steel so it can provide a rock solid joint for years without bending..

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