Julian
Hi all,
Firstly, sorry to those who may have heard the following questions a million times, I've tried researching but have been left a bit confused.
I am considering replacing the standard exhaust on my 850R with something that might allow me to enjoy the sounds of the 850 a bit more. I have read quite a bit online about the topic, and looked at a bunch of different options from manufacturers such as OBX, IPD, TME etc. trying to get my head around the best way to go about this.
I would be looking for a turbo back system, which brings me to the point of how expensive downpipes seem to be. Holy mackeral. From what I understand, some off the shelf systems like those discount ones offered by OBX don't really fit the right hand drive models we have here in Australia. This is a pity, given you can import a full OBX stainless system with downpipe for less than most places here in Australia are asking for a downpipe alone.
There are places here in Aus that sell cat back systems which look good (VP tuning etc.), but since I'd want to do the DP as part of the project I'm trying to find the best way about it all. Have people here generally found getting a full custom turbo back SS exhaust made at an exhaust shop to be a reasonable option? Or is it easiest/most cost effective to pair a custom DP from an exhaust shop with one of the off the shelf cat back systems?
I am in Newcastle, NSW, and would certainly be keen to hear of anyone's experience with exhaust shops doing this kind of work on 850s in the Newcastle/Sydney area. Alternatively, if anyone is selling components you think may be suitable for what I'm considering I'd be interested to hear.
As an aside, has anyone used one of the variable mufflers on our cars? I like the idea of being able to bring the car back to standard volume when I'd like it to be quiet, but there seems to be a bit of a sentiment that systems such as the XForce Varex are cheap crap and don't do a great job in either open/closed modes.
Thanks guys, any advice/ideas would be great.
Ex850R
I had a RED manual 855R years ago , toyed with an exhaust for noise , forums then spoke of droning if not careful , droning at highway speeds....
Later i had an S70T5 with a chip and some exhaust made by a shop for the PO as the PO before him had a very large DIA and loud one on it but , it droned at hwy speeds , really annoying , not at all sporty.
Any import is expensive unless you know someone bringing a container from USA or Europe of course.
@Rob may have had a DP made or he fabricated it himself. i have been threatening to fab one or more i need a space .
Talk to Mark at VP Tuning he may have something there already suitable.
Julian
Good to talk to another R wagon owner! What is an 855 though? Not sure I've heard of them.
Yeah, I do also worry a bit about droning. My old SAAB was quite loud, so I have lived with a loud car for a fair while and not minded it, but not sure if it would have been described as "droney" or not so it might be a different thing to live with.
I have had a chat with Mark from VP, but I think he said the DPs they sell are generally around $1500. I'm sure they are quality pieces of gear, but I was hoping to get away with it a bit cheaper if possible. I suppose these are just expensive because there's not a great market for them. I called a few places here in Newcastle and was surprised to find that despite there being heeeaps of car places around, mandrel bending seemed to be a pretty rare service to come across.
If Rob had any info on the topic it'd be great. I thiiiink I have the straight flanged turbo from what I can see laying under the car looking up.
Ex850R
Ha!
USED to own a 1996 855R , till a nice young lady rammed me , i am still unhappy afetr all these years....:-(
An 855 is 5 door wagon 854 , sedan , 4 doors.
They may be expensive but , yes , tiny market and high exchange rates and shipping do that.
the OBX is seen as a low priced , lesser quality item.
Having a DP made from tube bends is the go if you can find a good TIG welding fabricator ( a nice pulse MIG is a good jigger too!)
Look up Robs threads for much info.
Ghettobird
Hi @Julian!
First, easiest and most cost effective exhaust mod is to delete the rear muffler/ briefcase setup and run a resonator instead
I run an angled flange exhaust housing, 3" stainless dp, 3" stainless race cat, 2.5 inch stainless TME resonator in standard location and no muffler
Its loud as hell under load, drones heaps at 60 km/h but is near totally silent at 90 and above
A grand for a downpipe is just crazy
I paid 300 for mine, 300 for the car and 100 for welding and flanges
If you were to get anything, youd ditch the shitty straight flanged housing and get a Kinugawa 7cm port Exhaust housing from ebay and go from there
I could get you an exhaust clip if you want at some point
nickm
Standard system is pretty good noise vs performance.
I have had the main muffler replaced and well meh.
Ghettobird
Vee_Que
An exhaust shop can make something cheaper, stainless is overrated in Australia. But exhaust parts do add up!
Mackay78
I too own a 850 r and had one all done for $800. Stainless 3'downpipe with lobster angles steel 2 1/2 inch from there fitted.. Sounds good with MINIMUM drone on hway.
jamesinc
855 is just old nomenclature. It means 850, 5 door (i.e. wagon)
Julian
Thanks for the advice guys.
@Ghettobird, i have never had to pull a turbo apart so am not entirely sure of their anatomy. Is the port exhaust housing you mentioned just something you replace the existing housing with but keep the same turbine and compressor? My turbo currently drips some oil, I think just from the drain, but I have often thought that one day I might be interested in putting in one of the larger 16t/18t turbos. Since this means I may end up with a different outlet flange is this something I'd need to consider before any exhaust modifications to make sure I don't get an exhaust I'd later need to modify again- or do those larger turbos use the same outlet flange?
As far as the exhaust goes, I will try to do some more calling around to see if I can find somewhere that seems keen to do it for a reasonable price. @Mackay78, were you saying that your downpipe is the lobster back welded pipe? When I did some calling around a while back there was a place who said they could TIG weld a downpipe like this, but I kind of thought that mandrel bending would have been something worth pursuing this close to the turbo- any thoughts?
nickm
Turbos need oil. And very clean oil.
Oil feed is important so if changing the CRHA make sure the feed part is clean a small piece of gunk can kill it.
Drain less so.
Rest is bolt on off stuff.
nickm
Is yours a green 850r wagon with a dent in the tailgate?
Julian
No, mine is white. Why's that, are you around the Newcastle area or something?
Ex850R
It has a 16T already.
Next move would be 19T with 11 blade in it.
If you are a good fabricator then using elbows (same internal dialogue all the way) on the downpipe is good.
I would use lighter schedule pipe elbows, more heft.
To start with remove the suitcase muffler and bump the boost with an MBC, use an AFR and boost gauge too though.
nickm
I was up there this weekend. I'm in sydney and near Merewether was a green 850R. :)
Julian
Oh ok, I was thinking the 850r had a 15t. Is there much of a consensus as to whether the 18t or 19t are best for generally around town use? In my research so far I have heard some people claiming the 19t lags a bit much and that the 18t is possibly more useful when you're not just doing highway pull kind of acceleration.
Yeah, I can just replace that rear muffler, but would be a bit cautious about using an MBC- at least on my previous car, using one of those essentially removed the ability of the engine to limit boost once knock was detected.
So not getting a mandrel bent DP isn't the end of the world? Also, if I'm to try to source an 18t/19t turbo, do people generally just try to get one from the v70r (which I believe had one?) Or is there a better source of the unit?
Ghettobird
You'd get one of the Kinugawa 19t turbos complete new for the same money people want a used one for
The 7cm exhaust housings flow better, getting someone to make you a dp over here will cost a fair bit, check out volvo speed forums for sale threads with the OBX units, Ebay 3" stainless cat and youve already saved 500 bucks getting one done over here
Anything bigger than a 19t really should be accompanied with a tune, 19t's spool is so rapid they are known as the rod bender for a reason
I got my 20t with the larger better flowing housing for 400 bucks with low kms on it
The downpipe cost me 300 bucks
Next would be one of the xc90 2.5t or V70R/S60R manifolds (Same part number) that flow heaps better to make proper use of all of the new breath she has
Ex850R
As above.
I specified a 19T with 11 blade wheel such as the ARD one to improve spool and better control compressor surge. If you are going to increase boost with a good tune then boost spikes are largely controlled anyway.
Kinugawa unit for similar cash as a used 18T.
You won't find may 18T around I expect.
That later R manifold gives a slight boost in torque to a stock R with 16T, you feel it.
Tube or light schedule pipe bends are formed to have equal diameter the full length effectively what a mandrel bend is.
So have a fabricator or very good exhaust builder make one up.
94_850_t5
I use the OBX and had very little trouble fitting to the vehicle. There may have been a heat shield of sorts over a section of the steering rack which I had to modify. It was a little while back now so I'm not 100% sure.
Positives - inexpensive and sounds great. Negatives - does produce a bit of a drone at highway speeds. I've done 50,000klms on the OBX and it's proved itself faultless otherwise.
I've a mate with the BSR 2.5" catback system. Sounds nice at idle but it's if it's the sound you want, may as well have stuck with the OEM.