Sportex Exhaust

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SpaceHopper
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Sportex Exhaust

Post by SpaceHopper »

Hi,

I replaced the standard exhaust with a Sportex 2" on my MK3 2.0 and now have some clearance issues. I read some similar posts here and just looking for guidance on the best way forward.

The exhaust is crazy close to the rear tyre and just as close to the leaf springs which will certainly knock when driving. The rubbers are all new and the centre box is straight but I still have the problem. I emailed the company I purchased the exhaust form and they said in 20 years of selling these Sportex exhausts they have never heard of this problem.

My first thought was to play with the overlap on the rear section and see what that gives but fully open to ideas. I wasn't expecting a perfect fit but 1cm clearance, either way, is worrying.
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D366Y
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Re: Sportex Exhaust

Post by D366Y »

Mine was obscenely close to the tyre and was occasionally rubbing - being 17 at the time the easiest solution was to hit the exhaust with a hammer to flatten that section off and keep it away from the tyre :lol:

The only other thing I remember doing in the end was to take that last section off and bend the hanger section so it moved the exhaust away from the wheel and leaf springs?

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Re: Sportex Exhaust

Post by Peter-S »

That looks really low! Can you pop up any more pictures of the pipe over the rear axle and the height of the pipe under the rear valence
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Re: Sportex Exhaust

Post by SpaceHopper »

I will get some better photos tomorrow, I agree it is not positioned correctly but figuring out what causes that I don't know yet.
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Re: Sportex Exhaust

Post by Not_Anumber »

The previous owner of my V6 put a new Sportex exhaust on for when I picked the car up and i initially hated it. I found whatever i did adjusting the exhaust it was either too close to the wheel or would knock against a rear spring on one side, clanging and banging over the smallest bumps. It was so annoying I bought up a good 2nd hand standard exhaust and manifolds.

Before I got to that I'd decided to replace the rear springs which had a slight sag. With the new firmer springs in place I found the exhaust clearance was already a bit better.

I then slackened off all the exhaust clamps and the hangars. Starting from the front, with someone to help, I spent about an hour carefully moving the exhaust sections in their joints, rotating each part separately until all clearances were at their best. This sorted the Sportex nicely and the standard exhaust has been left gathering dust.

Others have also found the same, time and perseverance has worked for them on Sportex pipes. Id say give it another go with someone to help you.
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SpaceHopper
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Re: Sportex Exhaust

Post by SpaceHopper »

Uploaded the same photo twice.
20200507_171534.jpg
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D366Y
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Re: Sportex Exhaust

Post by D366Y »

That does look like it's hanging quite low... I'd agree with the suggestion to loosen everything off and adjust them individually to rotate each section where you can and make sure they're all in their correct/best position. New suspension may seem a bit drastic but thinking back to it I changed my leaf springs a few months later just by chance it and did make a difference.
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Re: Sportex Exhaust

Post by SpaceHopper »

I have only just found time to mess with the exhaust, it now sits better after some adjustment. Would anyone with a standard exhaust and similar car post some photos so I can get an idea of the clearances to the car and ground. I did take some photos but they were crap and don't help.
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Re: Sportex Exhaust

Post by Jasonmarie »

That is to low . I have the same exhaust on mine
Here’s a quick picture of mine if it helps

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Re: Sportex Exhaust

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

The exhaust does look too low at the back.
I would be looking at the rear mount - what rubber bush are you using?
One like this should bring the bracket on the exhaust close to the hanging bracket on the chassis. Doing that will lift the exhaust pipe closer to the bottom of the rear valance:
https://www.capriclub.co.uk/Exhaust_Mou ... --422.html

:goodluck:
Andrew.
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SpaceHopper
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Re: Sportex Exhaust

Post by SpaceHopper »

That helps a lot as it shows not only the rear pipe but also the box, thanks Jasonmarie.

That is the exact rubber I have, I ordered those and the larger clamps ready to fit the exhaust. After some messing around the pipe is about 5cm below the rear bumper and has a better clearance between the suspension and tyre (not as much as I would like but still).

The middle section is 20-21cm off the ground which is the same as the downpipe so I assume that is enough clearance?

If that is enough clearance I will tighten everything up and hopefully once other parts are done get it out of the basement and test it.
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Re: Sportex Exhaust

Post by Jasonmarie »

That’s great , that’s the only picture I had at the back , glad you sorted it :cool:
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Re: Sportex Exhaust

Post by markycapri2800 »

Hi all, I fitted a Sportex Exhaust to my 2.8 full system including manifolds, passenger side was fine, drivers side was a bit of a mare, had to take an inch of the intermediate pipe as it moved the middle box to was to close to the axle, even with all the joints emeryed and loose fitting, then manually adjusted the tail pipe with a blow torch and a persuading tool to clear the leaf springs then repainted it as like you said it clonked on every bump... Im guessing that as a 2 inch dia pipe and not a factory item these will need some persuasion to get right.. but its worth the persuading as they sound great..
Mark.
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SpaceHopper
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Re: Sportex Exhaust

Post by SpaceHopper »

Sounds like you had it worse than me but I agree they do sound good. Ignore the struggle to start and roughness, she has only been started up twice since lockdown.

https://youtu.be/GP2882yEQYo
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