 06. Exhaust hanger at differential...  06. Exhaust hanger at differential carrier. |
 07. Exhaust hanger at rear...  07. Exhaust hanger at rear chassis crossmember. |
 08. "V Band" exhaust clam...  08. "V Band" exhaust clamp. |
 09. Installed mufflers from...  09. Installed mufflers from Random Technology. |
 10. Rear exhaust exit and...  10. Rear exhaust exit and Corsa tips. |
Pipe Bending: We prefer to have the bends made by a mandrel bender because it retains the same diameter throughout. Places that have this equipment can be hard to find in some areas. We were lucky enough to find one company in our area (Patten Cycles in Manchester, Connecticut) that had the equipment and would work with us on the design. Photo 03 shows Ken Kleitz of Patten Cycles taking measurements to be used in the CAD design for routing the pipes. Another method often used would be to buy a kit with premandrel bent sections of pipe that can be cut and welded into the design you need.
Size: Most systems are made in either 21/2-inch or 3-inch diameter. The size you use depends on your performance goal, but also which will fit best. For our project, we went with 21/2-inch diameter pipes. Photo 04 shows the driver-side exhaust pipe.
Hangers: If you are using a converted stock chassis it may be possible to use stock-style hangers at their original locations. In many instances, however, with a custom chassis you may need to identify the best locations and make custom hangers. For our project, we designed custom hangers at three locations and had them machined from billet aluminum. The first hanger is mounted just behind the transmission crossmember, the second is mounted under the differential, and the third mounts to the rear chassis crossmember using the original captured nuts for the spare tire well. Rubber insulators were used to give some room for movement and to insulate against vibration. Photo 05 shows the hanger at the transmission crossmember mounted to the frame. Photo 06 is the hanger under the differential and also shows the Split Personality emblem made by Austin Barnett. Photo 07 is the hanger at the rear chassis crossmember. The pipes are held in place by a connecting-rod-style mount for the first two hangers. On the third hanger, a machined holder holds the pipes from the underside. You can also see the much modified Corsa Pro-style tips in Photo 07.
Clamps: For a custom system, there are several choices in addition to the old guillotine-style clamp. One popular choice is the stainless band clamp that conforms to the mating pipes without crushing them. For this project, we found a unique clamp from Verocious Motorsports called a "V Band" clamp. It's made in 304 stainless and has two machined sealing flanges as part of the kit. The flanges are welded to each pipe, and we chose to weld them from the inside. The clamp itself fits over the male and female flanges, drawing them together. The part number for the 21/2-inch clamps we used is VBKS 250. Photo 08 shows the clamp in place.
Mufflers: There are many choices of mufflers in various lengths, widths, and shapes to fit most projects. For our project, we wanted a custom length and diameter muffler to fit under the rear of the car and work with the exit location we had chosen. Random Technology manufactured the mufflers to our design needs and did a super job. Photo 09 shows the mufflers installed.