Powerflow exhaust

[Si_GTi]

On Saturday the 4th of February, I went along to Unique Exhausts in Stafford and had a Powerflow stainless cat-back exhaust system fitted. The brief was, to replace the OE exhaust with one that was the same diameter (50mm) and was a little bit louder than standard with a sportier tone if possible. I asked for the system to be finished behind the rear exhaust like the stock system, which not only gives that stealth look but also makes the cost cheaper! Plus of course you get that fantastic lifetime guarantee for the duration of your ownership of the vehicle

Well, took the guy two hours to do the job, which IMHO was good going! I turned the engine over and was quite surprised by the new much deeper tone of the exhaust, but it sounded pretty good so off I went, on the promise that if it was too loud I could go back and have it quietened. Found out on the way back down the M6 that through the middle of the rev range between ~2500 and ~4000 revs and under acceleration the new system was quite loud indeed, and a bit too boy racer IMO! Whilst holding 80mph in top the exhaust note reerberated all through the cabin and was quite monotonous after a while, so that had to change! Here's the pic of the system as it was then:

I went back to Unique Exhausts on Wednesday to have the necessary changes made to the system to make it quieter, especially at M-way speeds. Expecting to leave the car for an hour or so and have the centre section removed and replaced with a different one, I was quite surprised when the guy said "stick around, give me 15 minutes and I'll change the tailpipe, we'll see what that does".

Basically the original spec as shown above was the cause of the droning exhaust note, something to do with the tailpipe being really short? So, the 'pipe has been remodelled:

Much better now, just that small change has made the system sound pretty much standard in volume, with the desired sportier note to the exhaust. In fact, if you didn't own a Polo GTi you probably wouldn't know the difference! Stealthy, see

Overall highly recommended! I'm really happy with the final result and the quality of workmanship is A1

What d'ya think?

[Ritey]

Good stuff Si, neat job, get some sound bites up if you can

[twopipes]

I went for a powerflow rear box in my old 1.4 16v polo (X) the sound at 4ooo revs when the second cam kicks in was unbearable.

At the time of fitting I like you wanted the long term exhaust without any increace in noise, but I decided to opt for a twin pipe.... big regret as they cut away part of the bumper to fit it.

When I took it back they put a standard back box but had to keep the twin pipes because of the bumper cut away.

The join still had a smal part of stainless steel which made a lot of noise at higher revs.

I would only recomend powerflow if you want a loud exhaust or if your car is not twin cam.

[Si_GTi]

You can have a Powerflow exhaust and still keep the volume reigned in, the clue is in the service that their authorised dealers offer, "custom exhaust systems - tell us what you want and we build it on your car while you wait". I'm well chuffed with mine now, and it certainly isn't deafening any more!

Anyway, to the point: I've got video now you can either click here or for a direct link to download, try this link: http://x1200.putfile.com/videos/5609173222.mpg

There is a second video from the outside of the car, just of startup, idle and a few revs, to follow...

[Hudster]

sounds pretty sweet

[Ritey]

Very good