1990 300TE-24 sportline: side exhaust?

[bertroex]

Hello everyone,

I must be getting into my midlife crisis. I have a low mileage '90 300TE-24 sportline.

Did anyone ever fitted an after-market exhaust to the 24 valve version? I am looking to get something in Stainless steel, that is emulating the sound of the old 280 twin cam or even the raspy sound of the pagoda 230SL?

What would your suggestions be? I have a loud old 911 with an RSR exhaust already, but I can't help to notice that there might be some improvement possible on the

In fact, dare I even say it, would it be possible to fit a side exhaust, similar to the exhausts of the g55 AMG?

Obviously an exit in the front wing wouldn't be possible a la

and the car needs to be useable on the roads without the need to wear earplugs.

Thanks in advance for some pointers,


Bert

 

[Dieselman]

I wouldn't go for side exhausts just on asthetic grounds, but there are a number of companies that could make you a decent stainless freeflow system.

There are a few suppliers round Nottingham..


http://www.pdgough.co.uk/

http://www.touchnottingham.com/business/list/bid/3683878

http://www.stainless-exhaust.com/

 

[BTB 500]

Longlife Exhausts would be a good choice too but their nearest centre to you is in Leeds.

 

[bertroex]

Hello Dieselman and BTB500,

Thanks for your replies. I am quite amazed at the skills of the first link: PD Gough... it seems the company can work in a bespoke fashion.

I had Turbo Thomas in mind, who can do magic with Porsches
http://www.turbothomas.com/porsche.html and is based in Redditch

Now, this is great if you know what you want. Trouble is, I haven't "listened" enough to different exhaust systems to place an order for "that one" so to speak.

Remus, AMG, Brabus, Lorinser, a stainless version of the original one: how do I know they don't have resonance at motorway speeds? How do I know that the distinct "cam effect" of the 24 valve will be maintained or even enhanced? Is there a possibility to "tune" the exhaust that the car remains at maximum 95 dB, as that is a level I'm okay with and a bit comparable to the Mercedes of old that I like.

Are there any forum members with after market exhausts to feed back?

Once again, thanks for your time.


All the best,


Bert

 

[tudu]

Hello Dieselman and BTB500,

Thanks for your replies. I am quite amazed at the skills of the first link: PD Gough... it seems the company can work in a bespoke fashion.

I had Turbo Thomas in mind, who can do magic with Porsches
http://www.turbothomas.com/porsche.html and is based in Redditch

Now, this is great if you know what you want. Trouble is, I haven't "listened" enough to different exhaust systems to place an order for "that one" so to speak.

Remus, AMG, Brabus, Lorinser, a stainless version of the original one: how do I know they don't have resonance at motorway speeds? How do I know that the distinct "cam effect" of the 24 valve will be maintained or even enhanced? Is there a possibility to "tune" the exhaust that the car remains at maximum 95 dB, as that is a level I'm okay with and a bit comparable to the Mercedes of old that I like.

Are there any forum members with after market exhausts to feed back?

Once again, thanks for your time.


All the best,


Bert

Hi Bert firstly, welcome to the forum. I had a custom made stainless steel dual exhaust system made up by Longlife in Plymouth for my C200k Sport a couple of months ago. As far as the tuning goes if i remember there are 3 different sounds they ask you want to achieve. 1. Was Sports/road race as used by boy racers and not really legal. 2. was mild sports gives a low rumble which is what i chose and 3. soft as close to factory fitment as possible. They will tune it to how you want it i.e number of baffles/boxes they fit etc until you are satisfied. Longlife were really good and i would use them again. Hope that helps.

 

[jaymanek]

Hi mate,

welcome.

you are in Nottingham and not too far from me..

these guys did all the custome work on my SEC and are nationally known.

http://www.custom-chrome.co.uk/

Thanks

Jay

 

[bolide]

I don't know whether the 300-24 valve has a closed-loop catalyst system or not. If not you could try swopping the centre box for a Y pipe. You could bypass the cats as well if the engine runs cleanly enough to pass emissions tests

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[bertroex]

Hi Nick and Jay,

Thanks for your replies. Interesting point regarding the bypass of the cats: I believe the emissions are rather clean and the state of the engine is pretty up to spec. It is a catalyst car, so is only having 220bhp.

So, to get my head around this Nick, does that mean from the manifold you have a pipe, then a y-pipe feeding two pipes leading to two silencers?

Is there enough space for it underneath? The car does have an aftermarket towing hook (sailing boat, occasionally a porsche on a trailer etc)

All the best,


Bert

 

[Dieselman]

Cat's are not compulsary on a 1990 car so can be dispensed with so you can then have the engine tuned slightly leaner and gain additional power as a result.

 

[BTB 500]

A simple mod. is to replace the centre muffler with a straight-through pipe. I had this done (by Longlife) on my SL500, after listening to a forum member's similarly-treated E55 at a get-together. So from the front I have manifolds, cats, wide bore pipe, rear box. M-B rear boxes are pretty effective so removing the centre muffler doesn't give a huge increase in sound, and my car is still virtually silent at low throttle (including motorway cruising). But under acceleration there's a pleasing growl.

I had previously changed the standard back box for an AMG one. This made no noticeable difference to the sound, but it does look nice

Be aware that any exhaust mod. is 'declarable' as far as insurance goes, and may affect your premium and/or excess.

 

[bolide]

AFAIK cat's aren't compulsory on anything. You just have to pass emissions

On most 6-cylinder Merc engines there are two downpipes, one from each bank of three cylinders, and each with a cat / pre-cat. Then there's a two-pipe join and a two-pipe section to a middle box. Then there's a single-pipe join and a single-pipe section to the rear with another box. So replacing the centre section would require a Y-pipe

I would think the easiest way to make one would be to butcher an existing system. I threw a half-decent centre box away just a couple of days ago... Doing it this way would also mean it's easy to revert to standard and you use all the standard fittings & hangers

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[BTB 500]

So replacing the centre section would require a Y-pipe

Yup, same on my SL. Longlife charged £129 all-in to fabricate in stainless steel and fit.

 

[bertroex]

Wow guys, thank you so much. This is very valid advice. I noticed there is a midlands get together soon, so I'll see whether I can make it.

Also, I can't get over it that there is SUCH an amount of manufacturing talent available in the Midlands, yet you hardly hear from these companies. If this was darn saaaaarf I imagine we would be talking an annual marketing budget.

I will keep you posted,


Bert