Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 08:57:51 -0400
Reply-To: The Bus Depot <ron@NETCARRIER.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: The Bus Depot <ron@NETCARRIER.COM>
Subject: Re: exhaust systems....
In-Reply-To: <a3d00e5.247f8786@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> So, by the amount, or rather lack of responses, noone out there has had
> experience with either after-market exhaust systems or in
> particular the high
> flow / high performance system thru Van- Again????????
>
> Help Me Help Me help Me
Since nobody who is actually using one has responded to this, I suppose I
can at least relay to you my overall impressions and what some of my
customers have told me. The high performance system that Van Again has (and
which I also have) is made by S&S, and has been touched on briefly in the
archives. A few customers of mine who have it have claimed that they
obtained a slight but noticable performance increase with the S&S. My gut
reaction from looking at the system is that it does not appear to be quite
as robust as the stock system, and perhaps would not last quite as long, but
then again I haven't been selling the S&S nearly as long as the stock setup,
so I'm basing this guess purely on the impression generated by looking at
them side by side, not actual experience. Note also that the S&S system
does not include, but is designed to accept, the stock catalytic converter.
Some people replace that with a straight pipe (which I also sell, for
$29.95), which does improve performance at the expense of pollution control
(and of course potential state inspection hassles). The straight pipe that I
sell does not have an 02 sensor port, though, meaning that one would have to
be fabricated if used on an '86-up Vanagon.
In the case of the 1.9L vans ('83-85), the stock system and the S&S are just
about the same price. On the '86-up 2.1L vans, the S&S is about $100
cheaper than the stock system (but of course does not include a stainless
steel muffler as my stock 2.1L setup does). Is it worth considering versus
the stock system? That depends on your priorities. Personally, I don't feel
a need to improve the performance of my Westy, so I'd probably opt for the
tried-and-true stock setup. But if you are looking to improve the
performance of your Vanagon, albeit just slightly, the S&S does appear to be
reasonably well built and is relatively affordable.
- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot, Inc.
http://www.busdepot.com
(215) 234-VWVW
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