[Revvmaster]

My Matiz the other day gave me a huge hiccup.

I didn't understand why did it do that until i realised that my exhaust had totally given away! The last 2 sections did have trouble, but now the manifold and headers were up for trouble as well. The problem was far too big now, so i decided to give my Daewoo service centre a call.

The problem of spare parts has started to show a bit now with Daewoos. Especially the dreaded exhaust. The problem with Matizes have been that the exhausts don't last for more than 2 years after which a replacement is required. Since i'd done this twice before, a 3rd time as well i expected it to be easily available and at a good rate. But my call gave me another bit of news, difficult to get one and new one would now be 3 times more expensive than before. Yikes! The alternative was a 2nd hand one, but would last 6 months tops.

I didnt wanna risk another blow-out especially in front of a prospective customer since i plan to keep the car for another 4-6 months. My mind then raced back to Automech. A call and a visit later i decided, its all i want now!

My specifications to him are simple. Driveability more than outright performance and a soft note rather than a harsh glaring one. The oxygen sensor issue did come up, but his solution of placing it in the headers as close to the exhaust seemed ok to me. Also back pressure would be ensured, so that my engine doesn't blow up sometime later.

Is there anything else that i need to remember? I will be going in on Monday morning for fitment, so if there are any suggestions, please do so before that.

Thanx

Revv

[speedsatya]

wat abt the cat con??
i had mine removed??but off late have read many things saying that keeping a cat con wont affect performance.but not sure

[Revvmaster]

Yup they told me the same. They will remove the CAT-con. But what would be the effect of removing one. Any clue? Plus will the exhaust emission readings change once i remove the cat-con.

Dom you listening pal.

Revv

[normally_crazy]

Hey Rev,

I too dont have the cat con and i clear the PUC test easy maan. I dont think there shud be a problem with The PUC if the cat con is out .

still check this point up.

cheers

[sbfx]

I second normally_crazy, there should be no problems cleraring the PUC without the cat, I too dont have it on my corsa.

satyam

[Revvmaster]

Updated

So what happens when you let some mild steel play havoc with your car... of course you get power.

Here's what happened today when i went to Automech. 9:45, Revvmaster lands at Automech. He meets Mr. Vivek Bhat of Automech once again. Discussions start as to what to do. First up, what kind of exhaust needs to be fitted. Vivek draws out a blueprint of what is to be done.

The exhaust components are as such. Headers won't be touched since there isn't any perceptible change in performance on the basis of their previous experience. The manifold will also be kept the same. So, the Cat-con went after he confirmed that PUC isn't an issue as a customer got his PUC done before fitting and immediately after fitting. Car stayed within the legal limits. Great. Then a new muffler had to be designed. And a tail pipe had to be fitted. My specs were simple. On the basis of consultation with Sir GTO, a mid-range sound and mid-range power for chosen to get the best balance. Everything sorted out, you'd expect me to leave the place. But oh no, petrolheads are the same everywhere. They have to talk cars. So another 1.5 hours are spent talking cars, motorsport, aftermarket tuning, small cars, K&N air-filters... basically the works.

I leave the place finally at 11:45. A time of 3:30-4:00 is given. I give a call at 3:25, last piece is to be fitted. 3:45- the car is ready, i could come down and collect it. 4:30 i am at Automech with Nitronix. Bhat takes out the keys and we head for a small spin. Immediately as we get out of the place, the difference is performance is there to be seen. Low-down the performance and response has improved. Great. An open stretch of road later and the performance starts to talk. Previously the car wouldn't do more than 50-55kmph in 2nd gear. Bad since my Zen does 60+. But post fitment, the whole scene has changed. The car revved up straight to 70 kmph before it hit a wall and an upshift was required. Mid-range i can now stay up with any car this side of 6 lakhs, easy. Except the Palio 1.6 GTX. The sound is beautiful, completely toned to work with an engine that already sounds good. Every gear i upshift or downshift, the car just responds enthusiastically. 3rd and 2nd puts the car on parc femme. There is power to be had across the revv-band. The engine note is mesmeric, wanting to shift all the time is necessitated. Albeit daily driving of this sort means a huge hole in your pocket and your passion needs to be restrained a bit.

Overall. First impressions are very good. Automech has done a job far higher than my own wily expectations. On the basis of what i have seen, heard and finally done today, i'd give Automech an 8.5 on 10. Yes, this is initial impressions. And i am sure that figure will only go higher once i explore the car completely after this change.

There are a questions that you have and doubts. First up, is it worth the money? Yes, totally. These exhausts last for a good year on a guarantee given by them (around 10 months) and can easily last 1.5 years with sensible driving and upto 2 with extra sensible driving.

What is the material used? They use Mild steel to build the exhausts. Stainless steel can also be asked for but would cost you two to three times more than mild-steel and has a life of 5-6 years. Or even more.

What else does Automech do? Ask for a K&N Air filter or strut braces too. And some custom jobs as well on request. You can contact Ajay Mhapsekar or Vivek Bhat or Mr. Kamath on 24926819 or visit their site www.automechexhausts.com

Revv

[speedsatya]

hey revv,
congrats on ur new found power.
but if u havent changed the manifold to the headers,how can only the changed muffler give u an increase .?.has ur power really incerased or is it beacuse of the exhaust note that u r feeling so.
so please let us know ,as i have a friend who wants to change only the muffler in his car.
regarding the K&N filters,automech gets them from someone else.so its a little expensive there.
also regarding the guarantee on the automech exhausts ,my free flow is abt 3 years old,and still there is no sign of any rust,except that the silver paint on the headers has gone.

[speedsatya]

when i had gone to automech in 2001,he had never designed a free flow for a mpfi zen before,so after getting mine installed i used to get a flat spot between 3000-4000rpm.
so changing the expansion chamber helped.so check the same on ur car.

satya

[khaadu75]

Revvmaster, u got me feeling gud that the palio 1.6 is still ahead !!! U guys seem to b lucky that u in the same town as these guys, coz i too got my exhaust, headers the works from automech but their delhi dealer installed it for me !! Amazing mid range ... with plenty of revs always there 2 b had but SADLY i've been facing one strange problem which has really turned me off.

Every time I take my car up to the mountains the packings leak .... every single time means every single time ----- jsut very strange and this has happened to me 4 times since i got the exhaust fitted. Gotta go in again tomorrow morning !! Also I noticd that while the car is in the cvities ( with or w/o ac ) the temp needle stays at right at the bottom but the minute I hit the mountains even with the a/c off the car temp needle goes to the half point mark ...

Dom, if u out there pls tell me wat cud teh reason for this be PLS help or advice ... i hope its nuthing scary .. !! By tomorrow morning I'll know wat the delhi dealer of automech has to say about this sttrange thing .... And if by any chance anyone going top automech ibn bombay pls mention to ajay and see wat he has to say !

cheers

[anoops]

getting rid of the cat con and installing a freeflow will give you a boost in power, marginal but there is a jump. but only installing a freeflow with the cat intact will only give you a nice deep tone, there wont be much diff in power.

[anoops]

hey any idea what they charge for the full header kit for a palio 1.2?? and the muffler lasts only for 10 months?? thats not very good. the local guys here, who again make it in mild steel give say it will last for atleast a year and a half (it costs about 1200 bucks)...what does the automec muffler cost?

[Dippy]

hey Revv would they do an exhaust job for a Zen AT . Specs similar to urs. I really dont want that loud noise . Just that nice hummm . Not loud but still makes the cars presence felt.

How much did the job cost you btw?

Dippy

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (anoops @ Oct. 19 2004,12:10)]hey any idea what they charge for the full header kit for a palio 1.2?? and the muffler lasts only for 10 months?? thats not very good. the local guys here, who again make it in mild steel give say it will last for atleast a year and a half (it costs about 1200 bucks)...what does the automec muffler cost?

hey anoop ,
it shud be around a max of 6-7k from automech .not more than that.but not sure.

[Revvmaster]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Dippy @ Oct. 19 2004,16:31)]hey Revv would they do an exhaust job for a Zen AT . Specs similar to urs. I really dont want that loud noise . Just that nice hummm . Not loud but still makes the cars presence felt.

How much did the job cost you btw?

Dippy

Hi Dippy

The job on your car will entail a whole change, from headers to muffler and tail-piece. The thing with the Zen is they generally don't do only muffler and intermediate pipe only. If you do the whole hog, it should cost u around 6.5-7k.This is a quote i got for my Zen MPfi. It might be a lil' different for a carbuerretted one.

You can ask for a toned down sound and it will be done. The performance kick you'd get though should be staggering. Speak to Ajay or Vivek, i think they should sort it out. Maybe you could also just change a few of the components and get some performance and sound for less than the price i told you.

Happy free-flowing

Revv

[Revvmaster]

Hey anoops

A muffler by itself comes in the 1-1.5k range. But that won't give you much of a change. What you need to do is change the intermediate pipe, combustion chamber, headers and manifold as well to give you the kind of jump that you expect. What Speedsatya has quoted is for the whole system, not mufflers alone.

Revv