Cam, heads, extractors BUT NO EXHAUST

[VZSS250]

Hi ppl,

I want to do a lot of work to my VZ SS but the thought of my brand new car sounding like a beat up 5.0 litre Kingswood (and in my opinion, though many will disagree, most GEN IIIs with exhaust do) is stopping me from doing anything.

Not to mention some of the appauling aftermarket exhaust tips out there.

I love the stock exhaust note with the induction roar, nothing is so pure and venomous. My VX SS had an exhaust fitted by F1 and the performance was amazing, but the sound was very bad.

So can i get cam, extractors and head work done while keeping the stock exhaust?

[VooDoo]

of course you can. Its your car and you can do anything you want. The exhaust might be a little restrictive and not give you as much power as you could get with an aftermarket system but you can always do the H/C first and see how it goes.

[Beej]

Hi ppl,

I want to do a lot of work to my VZ SS but the thought of my brand new car sounding like a beat up 5.0 litre Kingswood (and in my opinion, though many will disagree, most GEN IIIs with exhaust do) is stopping me from doing anything.

Not to mention some of the appauling aftermarket exhaust tips out there.

I love the stock exhaust note with the induction roar, nothing is so pure and venomous. My VX SS had an exhaust fitted by F1 and the performance was amazing, but the sound was very bad.

So can i get cam, extractors and head work done while keeping the stock exhaust?

The key to unlocking extra power from any engine is inlet and exhaust airflow. If you do cam, extractors, head work etc etc, but you have an asthmatic restrictive factory exhaust on there, then your results will most likely be dissapointing to say the least.

Have you ever looked at the stock exhaust system?? It really is a piece of crap - crimps, poor bends, narrow diameter pipe sections, the mufflers are so restrictive it is not funny as well.

As for the sound, I don't know how you can possibly say you like the sound of the stock exhaust - even on a VZ. It might sound OK from inside the car - but what you are hearing there is induction and engine noise, but try having someone drive past you giving it some while you stand outside on the road and you will hear that your car really sounds quite crap from there. Good aftermarket exhausts, expecially with a cam and extractors, will give your car a lovely, sweet, almost V8 supercar like exhaust note - nothing like a clapped out 5.0 Kingswood at all, not even close! Maybe time to get your hearing checked???? ;)

Failing all the above, if you want to modify the engine as you state, you *will* need an aftermarket system, but just get a custom job and tell the shop that you want it be as quiet as possible but also free flowing - usually they can throw a series of straight through resonators on there to give you that wonderful vacuum cleaner note, but you will still get good flow. As an example, the BMW M3 exhaust system takes this approach and still flows very well.

Cheers,

Beej

[Tre-Cool]

I had a full difillipo system installed on my ute, last week. It consists of 1 7/8 headers, twin 3" cats into twin 3" exhaust.

I was surprised how quite this thing is around town, highway cruising and at idle, yet if you put your foot into you get the nice ls1 v8 growl. Nothing excessively loud, but just right.

My old exhaust was begining to annoy me becoz i put 3.9 gears in and the drone at 2000rpm was dreadful, now it's non existent.

[ROK350]

I know what I did with my Cat-Back system off my VU. It now stands in a block of Concrete down the paddock providing an excellent tie up point for the horses. Won't rust for a while anyway and artistic at the same time. Actually it is doing more good things now then it ever did whilst on the Ute.

I have listened to a few VZ SS's of late and there is no difference to a VY in my opinion and wasn't the VY exhaust a slapped together copy of a Remus?

Bringing me to my point I still love to listen to my system. Sounds great and doesn't attract the FUN Police. Besides if I want full on noise then I just arc up the Old Skool Chevy Stoker in the Ski Boat, no noise limits and 3.5" pipes out the back.

[exwrx]

I found that the engine note improved when extractors are added. Just adding a catback sounded worse than the standard system.

Also, speak to someone like Sureflo who do custom systems (and even post interstate). I am sure that if you tell them exactly what you want, they can tailor a system to your needs.

[seldo]

Sureflo just supplied me with a mail-order "quiet" sytem for my car and I am wrapt. It also has some good-looking stainless-steel tips which are the best I've seen. But, the big thing is it doesn't make it sound like a "beat-up 5litre Kingswood" and is still discreet, but when you give it a bit of WOT it sounds nice and crisp. And...it works...! Very happy customer!

[BlueVZSS]

Hi ppl,

I love the stock exhaust note with the induction roar, nothing is so pure and venomous. My VX SS had an exhaust fitted by F1 and the performance was amazing, but the sound was very bad.

So can i get cam, extractors and head work done while keeping the stock exhaust?

Mate are you sure that you love the exhaust note? :rolleyes: I have a VZ SS and it is so quite that you really only notice it at WOT. The exhaust and the brakes are the first things I am going to change on the car. (The brakes suck, even the wife agrees).

That said, the exhaust is better than some previous models and you could probably get bolt on mods done without changing it. If you want to do heads and a CAM you should probably upgrade it.

[Oztrack Tuning]

I reckon "do it" get the cam etc and leave the exhaust. But the cam is going to make it sound different anyway.

I would recommend an experiment with leaving the cast iron standard headers and maybe just simply getting a flange fitted so you can take the exhaust off of fit straight through pipes after the cats if you go to the drags.

There is no way a LS1 revving at up to almost 7000rpm can sound bad! ;)
Mine has twin 2"1/2 sureflo exhaust and when at drags has no rear muffler (the main muffler in their systems) and with 4 into 1 extractors in 1"5/8 it simply screams and many people love its sound. But when it just had the standard headers and same exhaust it sounded more feral roaring.

Best way to make an LS1 sound better is with a cam. Mine has almost 560 lift with the 1.8 rockers and i think more lift makes the exhaust sound different too. Someone might like to elaborate on my guess??

[BlueVZSS]

Failing all the above, if you want to modify the engine as you state, you *will* need an aftermarket system, but just get a custom job and tell the shop that you want it be as quiet as possible but also free flowing - usually they can throw a series of straight through resonators on there to give you that wonderful vacuum cleaner note, but you will still get good flow. As an example, the BMW M3 exhaust system takes this approach and still flows very well.

I have a mate with a current model M3 and it sounds great at WOT. More to do with the sound of that great motor than anything. Those things are quick as well.

[VZSS250]

Thanks guys,

This thread highlights the problem of not being able to try an exhaust before you buy. Its always impressive in the workshop, when you hear the car being hammered, but once you start cruising the streets a bad exhause note at low revs can ruin a car. It can make your car feel 5 years older than it is.

Some people hav had a go at the stock exhaust, which is justified because it is very vacuum cleaner like, but it lets you sit back and enjoy the induction roar, which is a high quality sound, unlike a big bore exhaust which is feral.

Basically just wanted to see if anyone has ever done this. I thought nobody would have and I'm prob right. Anyway, it does seems like a bit of a toss to do all this work and not get the exhaust, so I guess I'll save my pennies for an R8 come VE time.

[Beej]

I have a mate with a current model M3 and it sounds great at WOT. More to do with the sound of that great motor than anything. Those things are quick as well.

Oh yea I agree - an M3 at full song sounds sweet! My boss drives one - bloody nice and bloody quick car too, in all situations. If I could afford it I would own one. However, the stock M3 exhaust is very quiet considering how well it flows - a lot of owners fit sports systems to get a better and louder exhaust note.

Cheers,

Beej

[Beej]

Best way to make an LS1 sound better is with a cam. Mine has almost 560 lift with the 1.8 rockers and i think more lift makes the exhaust sound different too. Someone might like to elaborate on my guess??

Oz - the more air you get into an engine (via a longer duration and higher lift cam for example) the louder and more different it will sound.

Cheers,

Beej