75ZT Community

Looks like VeeKay has finally eaten her way through an exhaust

Would anybody in the Wolverhampton area care to recommend an exhaust fitting centre please?

I know Kwik-fit is just up the road but... well... you know. They're... Kwik-fit

No recommendations per sé. If you want Veekay to sound the same then the only option is an OEM box (presuming rear), all others will have their own particular sounds and more importantly droning at cruising speed. Cost will be an arm and a leg though.

raistlin wrote:Looks like VeeKay has finally eaten her way through an exhaust

Would anybody in the Wolverhampton area care to recommend an exhaust fitting centre please?

I know Kwik-fit is just up the road but... well... you know. They're... Kwik-fit

I had a full 'Longlife' SS system fitted last November by A44 Exhausts in Worcester at a cost of £420 including VAT and a national 'car lifetime' warranty. Initially I had the Cat removed and replaced by a small silencer (expansion box), but it was too noisy for me (although some like a rorty exhaust). I complained and they refitted the cat (which is basically SS), and kept the additional box. The car is now very quiet, but there is a slight 'burble' outside. I previously had a top quality aftermarket MS rear section fitted, but it was noisier than the OE version, as mentioned by Mick, above.

If you do go down the once and for all replacement, make sure you tell them that you want it very quiet. Longlife is a franchise, with branches throughout the UK. Look at their website for locations and the choice of systems.

Mick makes a good point about the OE system, but stainless steel is the best option in the long run, after all the 75 was designed to have a SS system and at least a few cars were so fitted.

The 'Enthusiasts' are keen to preserve a good parts supply for the future. In due course, I do intend to contact Longlife, to see if they would consider making a dedicated copy of the OE rear exhaust. Their rear box can be supplied with turned down tail pipes etc; but it is a general box design to cover a multitude of vehicles. Therefore I think the internal noise reducing structure is slightly compromised. On balance and how things are today, I would recommend the Longlife exhaust, but don't de-cat it.

Roverite.

How did you get on with sourcing a replacement Paul?

Cheers

Mike

Done nothing yet Mike

The 'Enthusiasts' club are looking into a quiet SS system, and as 'Longlife' are an excellent company with a meaningful 'Lifetime' of the car warranty, we have chosen them. Having approached them, they have advised us that they have developed a new chambered rear box, which is very quiet and has been developed for cars like ours. The 'Enthusiasts' need a guinea pig to try the system and to give an unbiased opinion. The person will have to go to the 'Longlife' factory in Bridport, Dorset, for the assessment and for longlife to be able to trial the first fitment, after which the approved design will be rolled out to all their UK branches.

We need a member who is willing to travel to, or who lives near to Bridport, and who is in need of a new exhaust. The person will probably be running a Rover 75 (not an MG ZT), have serious concerns about quietness and have the ability to pass an unbiased opinion to the club, for future recommendation. The opinion can only be subjective, so that is why we need a person who requires a very quiet car. Ideally, a person with a 'genuine' OE exhaust already fitted, so that they (and Longlife), will be able to make a 'before' and 'after' comparison.

If any body thinks they fit the bill, please PM me and I will give them further details.

Roverite.

PMed

Roverite wrote:The 'Enthusiasts' club are looking into a quiet SS system, and as 'Longlife' are an excellent company with a meaningful 'Lifetime' of the car warranty, we have chosen them. Having approached them, they have advised us that they have developed a new chambered rear box, which is very quiet and has been developed for cars like ours. The 'Enthusiasts' need a guinea pig to try the system and to give an unbiased opinion. The person will have to go to the 'Longlife' factory in Bridport, Dorset, for the assessment and for longlife to be able to trial the first fitment, after which the approved design will be rolled out to all their UK branches.

We need a member who is willing to travel to, or who lives near to Bridport, and who is in need of a new exhaust. The person will probably be running a Rover 75 (not an MG ZT), have serious concerns about quietness and have the ability to pass an unbiased opinion to the club, for future recommendation. The opinion can only be subjective, so that is why we need a person who requires a very quiet car. Ideally, a person with a 'genuine' OE exhaust already fitted, so that they (and Longlife), will be able to make a 'before' and 'after' comparison.

If any body thinks they fit the bill, please PM me and I will give them further details.

Roverite.

I pretty well fit your stated requirements Having a rover 75 2.5 petrol, 2003, 37000,one owner from new until a year ago when I bought it.
Still with the original manufacturers exhaust. I would appreciate more information about the likely costs involved. Bridport is not far away from where I live( near Bath) Regards Peter Norris. (norfred11) or pno78rri@talktalk.net

Thanks to the 'Community' members, we now have two guinea pigs for this trial and, between us, the 'Enthusiasts' and Longlife we will have a meaningful result on SS exhausts for R40s, especially in relation to noise levels on the Rovers, or rather, the lack of noise, so thank you to everyone that has shown an interest.

Once the tests are complete, I hope to put a detailed report on here.

Roverite.

Thanks for the hard work you have put into this project Colin. Bravo.

Hi Colin
Will they roll out Tourer exhaust as well or are they only going to provide for thr R75 Saloon, and this is excellent work most appreciated by all i should think cheers Arctic.

Arctic wrote:Hi Colin
Will they roll out Tourer exhaust as well or are they only going to provide for thr R75 Saloon, and this is excellent work most appreciated by all i should think cheers Arctic.

Hello Steve,

Yes they will fit all R40s (possibly not the V8s, yet); each exhaust is purpose built for each vehicle, and to the owners spec, ie. turned down tailpipes, or straight out pipes. Longlife exhausts are good (I have one now); the purpose of this test is to try their new 'chambered' back box, which has been designed to be very quiet on cars like ours. When I had mine fitted last year, I asked them to de-cat it, which they did and replaced it with an expansion box, or straight through silencer, but I wasn't happy, as there was a droning noise at 1500 to 1800 RPM. At my request, they refitted the cat and I am now very happy with it. This new back box should give all models an OE level of silencing (actually, R40 was designed to have a SS exhaust and a few early cars off the line had them, but it was soon dropped for cost reasons).

You don't have to have a full system, so quotes will vary and will be a bit more than a MS version, but their warranty is for the life of the car and is therefore transferable, so, apart from mountings or accident damage, there is no need to ever buy another one. They have franchised depots all over the UK, mine was fitted at the Worcester depot.

You may also be interested in the fact that I, through the 'Enthusiasts', am getting quotes for calipers and brake master cylinders, that are reconditioned with stainless steel bores and pistons; I will post more details soon. The company already does it for classic cars, but were not familiar with our reasonably modern cars, so we are supplying samples so that they can price them up and then, hopefully keep exchange stock on the shelves, or for the 'Enthusiasts' to carry stock. More in due course.

Did you get my E-mail about the mud flaps?

Regards,
Colin (Roverite).

What is this Enthusiasts club, must admit I have never heard of it. Regards Bill (shytalk)

shy talk wrote:What is this Enthusiasts club, must admit I have never heard of it. Regards Bill (shytalk)

This may help you Bill!

http://www.75-zt.com/

Roverite wrote:Thanks to the 'Community' members, we now have two guinea pigs for this trial and, between us, the 'Enthusiasts' and Longlife we will have a meaningful result on SS exhausts for R40s, especially in relation to noise levels on the Rovers, or rather, the lack of noise, so thank you to everyone that has shown an interest.

Once the tests are complete, I hope to put a detailed report on here.

Roverite.

Just a quick update; the first 'guinea pig' will be having the new 'quiet' rear box fitted to his V6 Auto on the 26th June. As soon as I get feedback, I will post details on here. The other 'guinea pig' with the Manual Diesel, has yet to get booked in, but once the assessments have taken place, we will hopefully be able to give you recommendations, and 'how to/where to' details.

We are hoping to move house in the next couple of months, so there maybe short periods when I am in-between places and not able to access messages for a couple of days.

Roverite.

Good work and looking forward to running a quiet V6 sometime in the future.

Having just had an advisory on my tourer for corrosion on the exhaust, I'm glad you are looking at this!

Duncan wrote:Having just had an advisory on my tourer for corrosion on the exhaust, I'm glad you are looking at this!

I had an advisory for rust on the back box 2 years ago. Shortly after which one rubber mount and the rusty strap fell to pieces. Installed a new strap and set of rubbers (jokes on a postcard to............). This year, no advisory, It's coming up to 9 years old and 56K miles. The outer skin is pretty gone but the inner seems to be still there or there abouts.
I got a terrific deal on an OEM back box from Rimmers when I was visiting them with Jürgen, that's stashed away in the rafters of my garage, don't think I'll be needing it any time soon.

Had my car booked into a place in Crewe to have a new rear box fitted. Unfortunately it would not fit. The original MGR front section including the CAT is in very good condition but the replacement non-MGR rear box section would not fit.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Cheers

Mike

I think some after market exhausts are cataloged incorrectly. I had one fitted by a local tyre and exhaust centre, but the one supplied to them was for a different diameter front section. They ended up welding a sleeve in place to bridge the difference.

The trial on the Longlife 'very quiet' exhaust rear box is looking promising; I have some pictures and prices, but am waiting for the members report. The Longlife exhaust is one of the best SS systems and is available now at their many local franchised outlets. If it is urgent, I would suggest you get a quote from your nearest outlet and mention the new 'chambered' rear box, if quietness is your priority. My fully detailed report should be on here next week.

Roverite.