My 16v has an aftermarket downpipe fitted which I'm pretty sure is responsible for it sounding like a bag of spanners (rattly, ticking exhaust sound). I'm not going to rush out and buy a new VAG item (fat end of 500) and I'm a bit dubious of sourcing a second hand one. I'm considering replacing the abomination with a Mk3 downpipe and decat pipe, since the downpipes go for peanuts S/H and should be in better nick than an older Mk2 item. In addition to this the whole lot could be fitted / replaced without having to drop the subframe (providing I chopped off the existing downpipe), since there's no resonator in the Mk3 item. I reckon I'm correct in thinking that the Mk3 item should fit the Mk2 manifold, and that with the correct length of decat pipe the system should mate up nicely (the LHD mk3 uses the same downpipe as the LHD mk2 with a cat, according to ETKA). Are all Mk3 Gti downpipes the same, or are the 8v and 16v items different? ETKA is somewhat vague.. My only real concern with this setup is the potential effect on engine power and exhaust noise of losing the resonator... Anyone care to offer an opinion?
Downpipe should be direct fit to 16v manifold from what I've read, and I shouldn't think theres much if any difference between the 8v & 16v mk3 pipes (I think they same diameter but don't quote me!). I was thinking of doing this to my 16v, as the resonator sounds like nails in a bean can @3000 revs. Possibly going to be a bit louder, but not by too much and a little more never hurts I'm sure someone here will know all for definate, so will be keeping an eye on this
i think the downpipe from the mk3 16v is about 15mm longer than the mk2's cause i know the engine in the mk3 is taller than the mk2's kr so i'm assuming it's the down pipe that's longer,
Thanks for your input chaps SmokingYoDa - is yours a VAG downpipe? My old car had one and that sounded fine.. Wondering if the few dents in the bottom of my current (Bosal) resonator is causing the ticking (deflecting the pressure waves towards the outside of the unit rather than back towards the end it came from) - is yours in decent nick? Fray16v - You're right about the block height on the Mk3 engines, however I think this is accounted for by the engine being mounted lower in the subframe. This is backed up by the same part being used on LHD Mk2s and Mk3s...
Yes it is mike, I was also thinking of just cutting the resonator out and replacing with just pipework. I do have a 4 in 1 manifold (miltek/tsr check classifieds) , but wanted to keep it close to OEM, plus wanted to keep the sound down as the rest of the zorst system is standard & new (1 year old)
I have a Mk3 VAG Downpipe that still has the sticker on it (ie almost new)and a CAT bypass tube to make it fit a Mk2. I never fitted it myself but was assured it fitted fine. I had a Bosal downpipe fitted to replace the one that was on it when i bought it, as it sounded like it was leaking. The Bosal one was absolutely terrible, sounded worse than ever. So I bought an Ernst one second hand and wrapped it twice with heat wrap. That totally cured it. If it hadn't have cured it I was going to try the Mk3 downpipe setup. Side by side the contours of the Mk and Mk3 pipes were identical, looed like it fitted fine. I've since bought a complete Ernst system, and the pipework is so much thicker than the ****e Bosal stuff.
That's fair - I'd thought about an aftermarket manifold too; but am a bit of an OEM tart as well and I've heard horror stories about the cracking.. Since you've still got an original one it might be worth wrapping it as kipvr suggests. Cheers - I'd have expected the G60 item to be the same as the Mk2 16v PL (catted) engine and mk3; although again ETKA is being a bit vague.. Thanks for your thoughs - nice to know someone else has had the same problem. I had considered wrapping it but didn't really want to spend the money in case it was still noisy. Might give it a go though since it worked on your Ernst item. Thanks for the photos too - very helpful PM sent about the bits in case you fancy getting rid of them
