[harishnayak]

Hi All,

I just started this thread as i came across a major shock today.

Rewind

I was driving back from work early morning at around 7:00 am and was stopped by the cops who were doing regular checking near Kapashera border in Delhi.

They asked me for license , PUC certificate and RC which i quickly provided but unfortunately the PUC had expired just a day back :( and the cop handed over the ticket to me to get the RC from the court on 28th Jan'10. They were also unhappy about the FFE on my car. Anyways he suggested me to get a PUC certificate made immediately so that i can produce it in the court to get my RC back.

Present

Today i went to the PUC booth ( @ navneet bhasins petrol pump ) and upon him inserting that whatever in the Silencer the result was a high CO2 content and he refused to issue the PUC and asked me to get the silencer fixed. I checked in the PUC booth in the next petrol pump but got the same response , upon enquiring the result was that the PU checking had gone online ( read centralised too ) and their jobs would be in threat if they had just issued me the certificate regrdless of the pollution that the car was creating ( which was not the case in the past when things had not gone online ).

Since i had not choice but to get the FFE/silencer fixed , i immediately rushed to Karol bagh to get the FFE checked and found that the joints with which the FFE was attached had cuts due to which the car was giving out more pollution on the meter. With the kind of pain that i had to go through ijust thought of getting rid of it.

Also there ws a situation in the past where cops had issues with my FFE. Few things that i want to discuss and like everyone to share experiences on are -

• Has anyone faced problems with cops regarding the FFE?
• Is it legal?
• Do you feel like uninstalling it?
• What are the reasons for you feeling to uninstall it?
• Common problems faced due to FFE installation
• Pictures of FFE getting installed , repaired etc to help other enthusiats go/not go for it

I will shortly post few pictures of my FFE getting repaired etc.

Mods - Please delete this thread if something similar is already in place. I tried searching for it but with no luck.

[pranavt]

Originally Posted by harishnayak

• Has anyone faced problems with cops regarding the FFE?
  YES
• Is it legal?
  NO
• Do you feel like uninstalling it?
  NO
• What are the reasons for you feeling to uninstall it?
  Inapplicable
• Common problems faced due to FFE installation
  None, if the installer is good

I will shortly post few pictures of my FFE getting repaired etc..

My answers to your questions in bold.

[ramie2400]

Any kind of engine mods done to the car is not street legal,if you have a silent FFE with a stock looking end can then you wont have any problem with the cops,one you get the hang of an FFE you would never like to get it uninstalled the common problem you can face is leakage from the joints after a period of time,but you can easily seal it again with a help of gas-welder so no issues.

before you plan to go in for FFE installation,search for the best guy who can do a good job for your car.

[harishnayak]

Here are few pics of me getting the joints fixed for my FFE to be eligible ot get the PUC certificate.

I also have a question for the gurus.

In the last picture as you can see very clearly that the FFE is coming outside the bumper boundary thus causing a risk if i get rear ended ( which has happened in the past ) and the joints break. I checked with the guy from whom i was getting this FFE fixed and he told me that he didn't have the expertise to cut the FFE and get it back in shape.

This is one of the things which has always been in my agenda but never got the opportunity or the guidance to get it done. I'm also not getting the time to go to the guy from whom i got the FFE installed to get proper guidance.

[harishnayak]

@Pranavt- Thanks for the responses. Have you ever got any ticket for your FFE?

@Ramie2400 - I already have the FFE installed since last 3 years on my car as you can see in the pictures above. Also my problem is that my end can is pretty much visible and loud thus attracting lot of attention. Also no one from my family prefers going around in this car ( they prefer to go on other cars owned by us ). Also the neighbours have indirectly pointed out to the loud noise of the car at early morning or late nights ( of course they don't realise what it means to a car enthusiast like me ).

[SRK]

Ok, this may sound stupid but cannot we have a greener car with performance?
I mean is it possible to design a car exhaust system which has similar performance to one that is a FFE but is much cleaner.

Aren't there any Performance exhaust with a Cat Con?

[AyAn!]

Originally Posted by SRK

Aren't there any Performance exhaust with a Cat Con?

Yes,you can have performance exhausts with the cat-con retained.They are known as cat-back exhaust systems,using larger diameter pipes.They can be tuned to be more silent than a regular FFE,however performance from a FFE is better!

[harishnayak]

Originally Posted by AyAn!

Yes,you can have performance exhausts with the cat-con retained.They are known as cat-back exhaust systems,using larger diameter pipes.They can be tuned to be more silent than a regular FFE,however performance from a FFE is better!

Well that was a good question asked by SRK however how many of us are aware of the availability of such an FFE? Atleast i was not when i got it installed 3 year back.

Till date people are not aware from where to get the FFE's installed leave alone the thought of getting into technicalities of it.

This morning when i was driving the car i noticed a lot of noise reduction and a smooth pleasant noise from the FFE which meant that my repairs yesterday worked for good , i'm yet to check the change in FE as so far ive been getting an FE ranging b/w 18.5 to 19.5 kmpl w/o AC ( due to winters in Delhi ) and b/w 17.5 to 18.5 kmpl with AC in city driving.

[pranavt]

Catback exhausts are quite expensive.

[vdiatech]

a FF headers, 100 cell sports can, stock centre and a custom rear muffler could be a solution

[saintsinner]

Originally Posted by harishnayak

• Has anyone faced problems with cops regarding the FFE?
  No, praises instead
• Is it legal?
  No
• Do you feel like uninstalling it?
  No
• What are the reasons for you feeling to uninstall it?
  NA
• Common problems faced due to FFE installation
  Neighbors mostly, i come home at 3:30 - 4 in the morning
• Pictures of FFE getting installed , repaired etc to help other enthusiats go/not go for it
  No pictures, but had excellent creator and installer, so i am happy with this

Answers in bold dear. The only problem i had is the PUC. Not a problem as such, the PUC guy told me that it is very close to the limit, i am not sure if this will deteriorate later on.

[blackasta]

Harish - I might sound stupid, uninformed or both, but I have heard there are separate registration/insurance available for rally cars and those cars do not have to be within the stipulated emission norms. If that is really the case, why not get your car registered as a rally car and seal this problem once and for all?

[harishnayak]

Originally Posted by pranavt

Catback exhausts are quite expensive.

Hmm not sure where you get them. I may consider it for my next sedan if i don't go for the dafari. BTW do you know where i can get them in Delhi?

@ vdiatech - That's very technical , do you have one installed in your ride? If yes , please post the pics report etc for better understanding.

[sumeethaldankar]

My answers to some of your questions.

Has anyone faced problems with cops regarding the FFE?
Not till date as my FFE(automech) feels like a stock at lower rpm.Only upwards 3000 rpm does it gets loud.

Is it legal?
It involves removing of the cat con so no it is not.

Do you feel like uninstalling it?
Hell no.

What are the reasons for you feeling to uninstall it?
N/A
Common problems faced due to FFE installation
Noise and pollution,blackens spark plugs quicker

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by harishnayak

Hi All,

• Has anyone faced problems with cops regarding the FFE?
• Is it legal?
• Do you feel like uninstalling it?
• What are the reasons for you feeling to uninstall it?
• Common problems faced due to FFE installation

I had a Automech FFE on my Accent for a long time. I never had problems with the cops, i kept the revs low at checkposts. After a year or so i wanted a quiet car again so kept the header on but shifted to stock muffler, the retained the sporty growl at higher revs with K&N + Header while being as quiet as stock. I never had any problems with the FFE job.

Obviously my car always failed a PUC check, but most PUC check centers dont check it, they just copy paste the data and handover a printout.