Roadworthy Exhaust?

[Chris08GT]

Hi All,

My 08 Liberty GT Wagon Tuned by STI arrives next week and one of the mods I will be looking at is an exhaust.

I've been reading through the forums but have a couple of questions.

Firstly, I was looking at the best mufflers dump pipe link from one of the forums, I think this only fits the manuals and mines an auto but what caught my eye on the best mufflers site was "off road and race use only".
That got me thinking that the last thing I want is to get too much attention from the cops. So first of many stupid questions to come is, to what extent can you put an aftermarket exhaust on your car so it remains street legal/roadworthy?
Second stupid qu, I like the look of the 4 exhaust tips on the sti and want to keep these when changing the exhaust. If I want to keep the tips, do I need to keep the muffler boxes or can they be changed? If I keep the muffler boxes, will I still be able to get that nice exhaust sound that boxer engines get from aftermarket exhausts or will the stock muffler boxes muffle (for choice of a better word) this?

From what I've read on the forum, xforce tbe would be the go with an xforce wrx dump pipe (although sounds like they will only suit manuals).

I also saw on the MRT youtube page that there should be a flange/bracket between the exhaust from the engine and turbo on the dump pipe as if the 2 mix it can cause high pressure and affect turbo lag....any comments? I ask as all the dump pipes I have seen dont have this.

Any advice will be appreciated.

[jakey]

welcome mate, you should enjoy the purchase!

I'm no turbo expert, but the quad exhaust is usually quite loud, and as far as I know the STI quads are just as good if not better than any aftermarket alternatives.

Keep those and change your turbo-back to Y pipe, that should give you a bit of a louder note. There is a mega thread on different exhausts here: viewtopic.php?f=55&t=2382

Should give you some ideas.

[rooby]

The good thing for you is you have a liberty, which are not generally cop magnets.

My exhaust is reasonably loud and I have not ever had any unwanted police attention.
I think my wheels and ride height would get me more attention than the sound.

You can change the dump and centre and keep the mufflers. The mufflers would restrict your system a little though.

If you change mufflers, just get new mufflers that also have quad tips, like TCP, hi tech, garage 88, etc. Then you can keep the sti muffs and either put them back on in future when selling or sell them for sweet $$$.

Replacing the whole system could be inviting some noise, however if you put a decent muffler (not a resonator) in the centre pipe it helps a lot with noise. Combine that with mufflers that are not straight through and you would have no problem.

You could also go to your local exhaust dudes and get them to make something up.
Tell them what you want and get them to make it. They can suggest muffler setups that aren't too loud.

As for the dump flange, it seems it is the better solution. A lot of after market ones are fine but you might get a slightly better result with a divider in there.
Garage 88's dump pipe is great and has the divider. - I would be pretty sure it is better value for money than the MRT one too.
I'm sure there are also one or two others around that have that part.
Again, if you get someone local to custom make it they can add that part.

[peadya100]

I have an auto liberty and youre right the dump pipes only suit manuals. They do however still use the manual dump and modify it to fit. If you want a loudish exhaust youll have to get rid of your standard mufflers. If you change the turbo back echaust and keep the stock mufflers you will get a slight exhaust sound change (barely any) but youre restricting your performance. After market mufflers flow much better than the stock muffs. Hi-tech exhausts make an exact replica of the sti mufflers if you want the stock quad tip look. I have them on mine if you want to check them out. Click on my profile under my photo (page 4). The hi-tech mufflers are also one of the quietest on the market.. now that mine have carboned up you can barely hear them.

[Chris08GT]

Thanks for all the replies guys, much appreciated.

[Chris08GT]

I forgot to mention the only reason I wanted to keep the exhaust tips is they have "sti" on the top, being the car is the "tuned by sti" version.

maybe be a bit poxy but i like the look of the sti emblem on them.

[peadya100]

I forgot to mention the only reason I wanted to keep the exhaust tips is they have "sti" on the top, being the car is the "tuned by sti" version.

maybe be a bit poxy but i like the look of the sti emblem on them.

Well you can keep the sti mufflers, you aparently lose around 4-6kw after your tune by keeping the stock mufflers. But you will definitely solve your noise concerns by doing it.

[rooby]

I forgot to mention the only reason I wanted to keep the exhaust tips is they have "sti" on the top, being the car is the "tuned by sti" version.

maybe be a bit poxy but i like the look of the sti emblem on them.

You could quite probably stamp your own STI onto any exhaust tips if you wanted to.

[PoidaGT]

Stay away from MRT, double the price of everyone else and lots of negative experiences here on the forum.

I would just do the dump, centre and Y pipes (X force mild steel) and keep the STI mufflers.

The sound will get a bit sportier but won't attract any police attention.

Auto wagons aren't well suited to full exhaust upgrades unless you like it real loud.

[Chris08GT]

I forgot to mention the only reason I wanted to keep the exhaust tips is they have "sti" on the top, being the car is the "tuned by sti" version.

maybe be a bit poxy but i like the look of the sti emblem on them.

You could quite probably stamp your own STI onto any exhaust tips if you wanted to.

Or stickers? Black texta??

[Chris08GT]

Stay away from MRT, double the price of everyone else and lots of negative experiences here on the forum.

I would just do the dump, centre and Y pipes (X force mild steel) and keep the STI mufflers.

The sound will get a bit sportier but won't attract any police attention.

Auto wagons aren't well suited to full exhaust upgrades unless you like it real loud.

Thanks for the MRT advice, businesses these days dont understand how important word of mouth is.

I do alot of country driving so dont want that drone at 100km/hr.

[peadya100]

Actually, mine is quiet as a mouse at 100/110km/h.
Its the accelerating part that makes the noise. Off boost slow accelerating around town used to drone a bit, but now theyve carboned up theyre barely louder than standard. This will obviously change when the rest of the exhaust goes on this weekend. However i bought a layer of acoustic foam for my boot (youve read my profile so prob saw it), and it cut the noise down dramatically.

[Chris08GT]

Actually, mine is quiet as a mouse at 100/110km/h.
Its the accelerating part that makes the noise. Off boost slow accelerating around town used to drone a bit, but now theyve carboned up theyre barely louder than standard. This will obviously change when the rest of the exhaust goes on this weekend. However i bought a layer of acoustic foam for my boot (youve read my profile so prob saw it), and it cut the noise down dramatically.

Sounds like the go then, I bet you are excited about the new exhaust.

[peadya100]

Yeah.. but mainly im looking forward to the tune.... could potentially get around a 30% plus increase in power.