I finally got a free flow exhaust fitted. I had switched back to my stock exhaust quite a few months ago, to sort out all the niggling issues in the car in a nearly-stock setup. The head mods in the engine and the throttle body are, of course, two factors that are permanent and cannot be undone. Apart from these, the car was running stock all these days.
Once it was in a relatively stable state, I decided to fit the FFE. Ordered one from Electra Performance in Chennai. For various reasons, the delivery was not prompt, and far beyond the initially promised date, but I will not get into that.
The exhaust has been tuned for street use, and not track use (read: more for low-mid instead of top end). The headers and end can are stainless steel with chrome plating, while the mid-pipe is made of mild steel. The muffler design is based on HKS Silent Hi-power.
Initial Reaction:
Sound:
Even though the muffler is based on HKS' "silent" design, it is not really very silent. The rumble is pretty deep and loud, especially at the lower revs. This is the opposite of some other FFEs I have seen, where the sound comes beyond a certain RPM count. But it's a nice sound, very sporty, very rich. I don't mind it
Plus, it will reduce somewhat after some time with the carbon deposits. This has happened in Blackpearl's Baleno too... its FFE used to be louder initially but has toned down somewhat now.
Looks:
The headers look fabulous, of course. The muffler also is very nicely made, though lacks the finesse of a factory-made (and much more expensive) product. But, unless you look very closely, the irregularities are not visible (and I don't forsee too many people staring up my exhaust...lol!). The end can is slightly angled towards the left side of the rear and looks pretty neat. Defintely adds a nice sporty look to Phoenix.
Performance:
The most critical part. I've driven around with the new exhaust for a couple of days. Unlike many others who have reported "huge and immediately noticeable gains" with an FFE install, I unfortunately cannot claim the same. However, there
has been a positive impact - the car feels smoother and lighter, there has been a slight improvement in acceleration, but nothing earth-shattering.
I have not yet re-fitted the performance air filter... maybe that will help somewhat, but I don't expect too much.
Disclaimer: There is one major factor that I believe is preventing the mods from displayng their true worth. And that is clogging. I believe the fuel injectors are clogged with fuel deposits. I took the car to HM to get them cleaned, but they do not have such a machine
. The hunt is on to find a place that can clean the injectors. I want to get them to be cleaned
off the car, beacuse I don't think fuel additives will work in this (possibly severely clogged) case. The car shows all the classic symptoms of clogged injetcors - dodgy performance, flat spots, hesitation while accelerating, slightly rough idle, jerky at low revs and low fuel efficiency.
I will also get the throttle body and intake manifold cleaned while I'm at it. If that doesn't work, then I have no further ideas!
Here are some pics. I don't have any of the exhaust after it was fitted on the car. Will post those later.
Old mid-pipe (with cat-con) & new mid-pipe:
SS headers:
End-can, modelled on HKS Silent Hi-power: