Re: '82 8v exhaust

[trnsfrma@ix.netcom.com (Shawn C. Meze)]

At 01:32 AM 7/14/97 UT, you wrote:
>In all my lurking, I've noted a pretty consistent anti-Autotech sentiment. I 
>recently got their catalog, and was all ready to order an aluminized cat-back 
>system, but thought I'd get some feedback on this before I did.  Is y'all's 
>beef with the products, the service, the prices, or all of the above?


My negativity with Autotech is with their product (swaybar brackets) failures 
and their unwillingness to correct the problem or even address the problem, (as 
if its not a problem) when it is and everybody knows it! Ive also heard from 
others who have dealt with them and had basic customer relation problems. All 
of this negative feedback makes me not want to shy away from patronizing them. 
So, I buy elsewhere where I know I will get treated right and get a good price.
Im sure they are not all that bad as far as shops go. For my needs, I go (call) 
elsewhere, simple as that.


>In any event, what are your recommendations for exhaust mods for a stock '82? 
>I'd been planning to go cat-back only, but have lately been thinking of either 
>replacing the manifold with a better stock design, or getting a tubular 
>header.  I hope to do the install myself; how big a fool am I for 
>contemplating this?

Pretty big, join the club. Depending on how much money you are able to spend, 
you can do teh following. Its the biggest bang for the buck story. Wanna hear 
it, good it goes like this:

If you do anything, do this mod first! Heres the options as I know it:
1) Replace your c-clamp manifold and downpipe with a later model dual outlet 
exhaust manifold and downpipe. You can probably pick one up used from a 
junkyard for pretty cheap. Like about $25 or so. Just be sure it has a hole for 
the ox sensor. this setup will last forever.

2) If you cant find one of those, you can use a Diesel exhaust manifold and buy 
a custom downpipe from Eurosport which has the ox sensor hole built into it. 
(This is my current setup. Works pretty good.) This one will cost a little more 
than #1 but if you cant get those parts, its a good system to fall back on. 

3) Buy some after market header system. It probably will make a little more 
power than the stock setup. Not much but still, its more, right. The elegid 
problem with this setup is that the headers will crack fairly soon after 
installing it. I dunno about that. I had a cheesy little Monza header on my 82 
Rabbit I had for 2 years and it never cracked. Its a case by case scenerio on 
that one. You gotta decide that one. This setup costs a little more than the 
previous setups.  


Cat back systems:
1) you can shop around your local muffler shops and see how much they would 
charge you for a custom bent 2" system from the cat back. Just be sure its 
mandrel bent. Enquire into getting stainles ssteel or alumnized systems. 

2) you can shop around the aftermarket exhause makers and maybe find a sale. 
Maybe its gonna be cheaper than the system you would be able to buy locally. 


>I've heard plenty of criticism of the manifold that came 
>with my car, but have never heard exactly why; are they just restrictive, or 
>is there something else bad?

Extremely restrictive! Its the worst exhaust manifold VW ever made. Toss it. 
HTH!


Shawn
86' Jetta GLi
82' Scirocco GTi
The Fastest, Quickest, Cleanest and 
best looking Scirocco in all of San Diego!
http://www2.netcom.com/~trnsfrma/vws.html
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