Club 80-90 Forums

Hi all
We have an '88 1.9 petrol Autosleeper high top. At the last MOT a month or so ago we were advised that the whole exhaust was "on its last legs" and sure enough it started blowing badly yesterday. So I guess we need to take the plunge and buy a complete new system.
Having done a bit of research it appears mild steel aren't really significantly cheaper than stainless, so might as well go for the latter? I'm thinking of getting VW Speedshop system for £480 (incl. stainless flanges). All the other systems I've seen (Turbo Thomas, JP exhausts, Brickwreks etc) seem to be more expensive and I can't actually discern that there is any benefit paying more for these?
Is anyone able to re-assure me that I'm dong the right thing please? Or let me know if there are any other alternatives that I haven't considered (I don't really want to get into having a custom exhaust made, or spend more than absolutely necessary).
Also, how long do they take to fit (so I can gauge if my local garage charges a fair amount!).
Any advice greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

well happy with my vw speedshop system been on,been on 19 months and about 9 thousand miles no problem,I had it fitted by Andrew a Campershack in Grantham,he is very good as other people on here will confirm

Thanks Scott, that's reassuring. Do you remember what you paid to have it fitted by any chance?

I agree speedshop exhaust is a good'un.
If everything goes well it can be fitted in couple of hours, but can take much ,much longer if any cylinder head studs prove difficult to remove or even snap..they often do

We charged £650 fitted for the standard Speedshop system (mild steel flanges). The new one has the stainless flanges and is £20 extra (i.e. £670 fitted). This is our flat rate to take the risk out of it for you, as we never know how long it may take. As said above, it could be two hours or two days! Even had to drop the engine to drill and tap snapped studs before, but it's still the same price as we take the rough with the smooth.

Fitted a jk one last week, took about an hour but this is because last year I replace the studs for stainless ones because I knew it was an upcoming job as my exhaust was shoddy too. Fitting the jk ss exhaust was really simple and the only tool other than spanners that I required was a small ratchet strap - simples. Very pleased with the sound, no different in tone from the old one, not even at high revs.

Forgot to say, I've been looking for a second hand one for the last 6 months, ended up with a 3 month old system at half the price. Chuffed to bits.

Thanks so much all for the info
Is there such thing as stainless performance exhaust that would eek a little more power from the engine? I'd only really be interested in that if it weren't any more expensive than a standard exhaust though to be honest!

triumph2.5pi wrote:Thanks so much all for the info
Is there such thing as stainless performance exhaust that would eek a little more power from the engine? I'd only really be interested in that if it weren't any more expensive than a standard exhaust though to be honest!

The VW Speedshop one as mentioned above is a well designed and properly balanced system that will increase performance a bit. No exhaust system is going to make a big difference on a standard WBX engine though as they are built in such a low state of tune gas flow wise. I had one on our now sold LeisureDrive. It was a tad loud but not overly so, plus it went quieter after it had been fitted for a few weeks as it naturally sooted up a bit inside. Note = they don't soot up inside anywhere near as much when running on LPG.
+1 for Campershack by the way

triumph2.5pi wrote:Thanks so much all for the info
Is there such thing as stainless performance exhaust that would eek a little more power from the engine?

ah the holy grail.. a little more power
A bolt on, sure fire increase in power?.. just a little?.. huh?

no.

Pursuit of the dragons tail, with "performance" exhausts and "performance additives" is a road to disappointment.
Whatever it gives you, the van would simply absorb it, so much so you would not notice.
It's far easier to fit a bigger engine, like VW did and produced the 2.1 for the T25.
This engine will transform your van, with 30 more horses, you will laugh at hills.
The DJ engine can use your existing ancillaries... and your new stainless exhaust.

Another for Speedshop exhaust. Couldn't fault it.

I fitted the speedshop exhaust over the summer and so far it seems ok. I think the engine is actually running a bit smoother. My only fault with it is that the tailpipe comes out rather straight compared to the original exhaust. This causes the tailpipe to hit the underside of my bus when I start the engine. It makes a right thud. It didn't do this with the standard tailpipe. I'm thinking my engine mounts are shot?? Other than that it sounds sweet

I know that mines a diesel but when mine did that on start up and reverse it was the gearbox mount disintegrating.