Exhaust cutouts that don’t suck?
Posted by scooterprint@reddit | projectcar | View on Reddit | 16 comments
Does anyone have any experience or recommendations for electronic exhaust cutouts?
I’m looking for a single cutout for 3” stainless pipe. I don’t want to buy a poor quality product and end up having to replace it in a few years, but I am also on a tight budget and would like to spend as little as possible.
Another_Slut_Dragon@reddit
All cutouts will leak. Every last one of them. Thermal expansion is a thing and it distorts the flanges.
Pipe around a muffler then back into the tailpipe so any 'leaks' get lost in the ordinary quiet exhaust sounds. That way it's a nice little burble.
The only workaround is bolt on blockoff plates.
Divisible_by_0@reddit
I'm looking to buy a Xforce/Varex valve kit. For $200 you get a custom valve or for $400-500 you can get a valved muffler and just stick it in place, I think all said and done depending on what tools you own the weld in valved mufflers are the same or cheaper than making a bypass system with the $200 valve unless you just have it dump at the ground. You also lose a lot of space making your own system vs the valved mufflers.
WRXAVICII@reddit
Got Varex mufflers on all my cars and love them. Gets plenty loud with the valve open and stock quiet with it closed. My first one I had to lube the rod that the valve is on since it corroded and the motor wouldn't turn it, but been fine since. No issues with the other 2. Highly recommend if straight pipe loud isn't what OP is looking for.
Oh_hey_a_TAA@reddit
Fast, cheap, reliable; choose two
shartymcqueef@reddit
Get one of the vacuum actuated mechanical cut outs. Replace vacuum actuator with push-pull cable into the cabin somewhere. It will never fail
scooterprint@reddit (OP)
Interesting. I never considered a vacuum actuated valve because I’m turbo and can’t think of a convenient way to find engine vacuum.
Have you converted a vacuum valve to manual before?
No-Locksmith-9377@reddit
You need to consider a Vaccum Block. Very very common and reliable way to get vacuum references for everything.
You can even use the vacuum actuator to open when you get into boost automatically and it will close when you are just idling around town.
https://www.full-race.com/full-race-billet-vacuum-boost-reference-manifold-block
This one is nice and expensive but I know guys who bought one for $10 and it worked great. Hell i knew a guy who built one for under $5.
FirebirdNick@reddit
Granatelli
LifeWithAdd@reddit
QTP for sure, the only brand I’ve tried that don’t freeze up or burn through.
Aggravating-Shark-69@reddit
Doesn’t matter which one you buy you’re gonna have to replace it after a few years anyways
Jay-Moah@reddit
I always wanted to toy around with a mechanically actuated cutout. Basically retrofit a hand brake to actuate the valve, cut out the electronics and you’d have a reliable cutout. See what I did there? 🥁
Tibi1411@reddit
I mean if you want to go very budget you could just use a ball valve or a throttle body(though they are aluminium so avoid on petrol cars)
oldwatchlover@reddit
> I don’t want to buy a poor quality product and end up having to replace it in a few years
> but I am also on a tight budget and would like to spend as little as possible.
(I know nothing of the current crop of electric cutout kits, so I can't recommend one)
...but your flirting with one of the fundamental truths of project cars here :-)
absent sourcing quality materials and core core components and building it all yourself, you rarely find "high quality" and "cheap" bundled together
Trying to be helpful, not a smartass:
- are any of the kits made by quality vendors you trust? (Flowmaster, etc.)
- are any of the kids "made in America" (often, but not always indicative of quality, at least historically)
Tibi1411@reddit
Not everything has to be expensive to be funcional. A vacuum operated exhaust cutout is very cheap (both to make as a manufacturer and buy as a consumer) they are built by simple and common parts so no reason they should be expensive. Yeah it might leak a little it might not be stainless but a sub 100dollar cutout can last for years.
Tibi1411@reddit
Forget the cheap shitty electric ones. I've had one that was 170ish dollars, after a couple months and heat cycles it seems like the flap got stuck in the pipe and it was finnicky to open/close(even though it was a cdi diesel).
Cheap vacuum operated ones are a way to go (personaly closed one) i bought one for my petrol drift rocket and it has been amazing, pair it with the cheapest vacuum valve you can get your hands on(in my case i took one out of a late 90s 1.9tdi) just wire it up and its good to go
desertrat84@reddit
They better not suck. They are supposed to blow. Hard.