What exhaust sytem should i buy?

[McGuinn]

I just acquired a 1971 240z sportser. I noticed that the exhaust pipe under the car has rusted away leaving a 1 foot gap in the middle of the pipe. I wanted a good system but didn’t know what to buy. I would appreciate if someone could give me a recommendation.

Thanks again,

Mc

[Bambikiller240]

Pick the muffler of your choice (Borla, Dynomax, Flowmaster, or??) and have a local muffler shop that does high quality work build you a mandrel bent custom 2.5 inch dia. system. If you need the "Y" pipe from the exhaust manifold, it is available from Motorsport Auto, or Victoria British, or maybe even Nissan (not sure about Nissan).

[BillD]

I am very satisfied with the performance of my z, but would like to improve the sound. I have always been in love with the big Healey exhaust note. Are there systems/mufflers that get that sort of sound out of the z-straight six?

[Tiburon]

McGuinn,

Depending on hw the car will be used, I would opt for a mandrel bent

2.25 inch exhaust with a 12-14 inch glasspack resonator approx 10-12 inches from the header collector (provided its a 6 into 1 header)

and your choice of muffler in the rear....just remember to stick with the same config your Z uses....inlet is center and exit is offset etc...

FLowmaster units you need to use a 2 chamber which is raspy on idle and

really gives the L series 6 cyl engine that ferrari like whine....the small pipe also gives you INSTANT throttle response and low end grunt.

If all out performance is what you want, get the mandrel bent 2.5 inch

(you will need a longer resonator to mitigate midrange resonance) and also stick with same config muffler with brand of your choice.

Just keep in mind, the more you uncork the engine, the better the top end performance, the LOUDER it will get.

I would get an exh system made by a competent shop.....that MSA stuff

is of marginal quality in my opinion.

just my two cents.

Roberto

[McGuinn]

Thanks Roberto,

Is there a flowmaster kit made for the 240z or will I just have to take it down to the muffler shop and have them install it? From what I hear the muffler setup I want will probably be the flowmaster. I like the purr yet lots of power. Right now on my Z there’s a 1-foot gap between the inlet and the muffler. Really loud! Will the Flowmaster give me the most power? I like the sound but I want a system that will give me the most power.

Thanks for the info.

Mc

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by McGuinn

Thanks Roberto,

Is there a flowmaster kit made for the 240z or will I just have to take it down to the muffler shop and have them install it? From what I hear the muffler setup I want will probably be the flowmaster. I like the purr yet lots of power. Right now on my Z there’s a 1-foot gap between the inlet and the muffler. Really loud! Will the Flowmaster give me the most power? I like the sound but I want a system that will give me the most power.

Thanks for the info.

Mc

Here's a copy of an email posting to the IZCC Mail List from the Crew Chief for Chet Wittel Racing, who won 2 SCCA ITS National Championships in a 240Z.

Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 13:11:51 -0600

Subject: <L6> Exhaust advice and muffler reccomendation needed

I'd stick to a Dynomax Super Turbo. Much less obnoxious sounding than a Flowmaster. I think the P/N is 17723 for the 2.5 diameter in/out, you're on your own for stock pipe size. Only loses 1hp at the wheels over a straight pipe in my tests.

Keith Thomas

Crew Chief Chet Wittel Racing

[Tiburon]

The flowmaster has lots of resonance due to the interior baffles and no form of packing....

So it is on the obnoxious side....I have the FM muffler and the idle and high revvs are awesome sounding....with the pipes @ 2.5inches

My hopes of dealing with some of the resonance is to reduce the pipe diameter after the resonator (this tightens up the resonance to an acceptable level)....with a smaller pipe diameter custom ordered flowmaster.(I attend school in Santa Rosa so I can go to FMstr)

The Dynomax has much less baffling....it has a perforated tube going through the muffler....with alot of packing behind the perforated tube the raspiness goes away....but it is still loud.

My experience has been that if you get a quieter muffler, WOT will bring the bark out of the Z anyway....

as with anything else you need to give and take when it comes to idle and midrange exh sound.

I am trying to tweak it so I go to bed at night without the humming in my head. To do this I will have to restrict the flow of exhaust.....which is ok...because the little added back pressure will add throttle response and off the line grunt with the added benefit of a less resonant midrange. I speculate the power won't be affected that much...

I will report on the power/torque loss and reduction in sound as time permits.

R

[ZmeFly]

flomasters sound just outright obnoxious, to me anyway, thats my opinion, cant stand the sound of them, that with the fact that they are so baffled that they dont really perform well at all.

you would be better off with a dynomax or a magnaflo over the flomaster.

as most have already stated a good 2.25 for a stock enginged Z will be enough.

best system i heard on a stock motor was a dynomax bullet muffler with there straight threw design muffler out the back.

2.5 inch sounded mean at idle but didnt rattle your mind going down the road at speed.

mandrel bends btw are the only way to go. 2.25 inch pipe in a press bend can shrink to 1.85 inch pipe, ie making your system a 1.85 inch system, why thats the bottle neck

[Kerrigan]

I have a Sprint system on the '71 Fairlady Z and when the muffler went south I dumped it and run with just the resinator and LOVE the sound. Fairly rich until 4 grand and then it BARKS! When highway cruising it's just as quiet as with a muffler, sort of a nice deepthroated purr ... like a big tiger just waiting to roar ...