- Thread starter TAITSIE
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A mate of mine installed a side exit exhaust on his MR2, in the grill behind the drivers door.
When I took it for the MOT I deliberately didn't mention it as I wanted to see the testers reaction, which was "that's interesting, nicely done" !! It was a straight 4" pipe, direct from the turbo with just a single straight through box before the 4" tail pipe through the grill. It passed without further comment ! The view from behind the car at night was great, 1 mtr flames straight out from the side !!
When I took it for the MOT I deliberately didn't mention it as I wanted to see the testers reaction, which was "that's interesting, nicely done" !! It was a straight 4" pipe, direct from the turbo with just a single straight through box before the 4" tail pipe through the grill. It passed without further comment ! The view from behind the car at night was great, 1 mtr flames straight out from the side !!
Spark plug
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I done it to a series land rover a few year ago I had a 200tdi in and I brought it out in front of the near side rear wheel.
Most transit pickups have side exit exhausts as standard so it's ok imo
Most transit pickups have side exit exhausts as standard so it's ok imo
the snooper
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the only regulation is that fumes must not be able to enter the vehicle
TAITSIE
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Did you have it flush with the panel or sticking out slightly ?
When I was a stoodent a mate had a lovely blue 1.3 Maestro where the rear box fell apart. We rashly.converted that to side exit, boating a bracket to the sill. Tester failed it on but he said only because it came out on the pavement side.
Shame, it was probably well capable of 1m blasts of blue smoke...
Shame, it was probably well capable of 1m blasts of blue smoke...
TAITSIE
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If I do it it will exit on the nearside but so does the original.
MattF
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That should be no problem whatsoever. Just have a quick word with your MOT chap. Any pitfalls will be down to the existing/new MOT regs, so get his opinion first.
TAITSIE
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MattF
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I think they've tightened up somewhat on the bit about it being similar to OEM spec, so that's likely to be open to a bit of interpretation. When I had mine done a couple of years ago, (side exit underneath the rear passenger door, in front of the rear wheel), similar to original spec got by as having some form of muffler, (even if it didn't muffle much), fitted. I was going for a straight pipe originally, but a quick chat with the MOT chap I normally use affected my eventual system, hence why I'd suggest having a chat with the chap you normally use for your MOT's. They're the ones whose opinion/interpretation matters. This is the one I had done:
Saved all the phaff going across to the other side and all way to the rear. That resonator/muffler is the bit which I had to have included to keep the tester happy.
Saved all the phaff going across to the other side and all way to the rear. That resonator/muffler is the bit which I had to have included to keep the tester happy.
rich r
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Last time I looked (about 1998!) the tailpipe has to exit behind the mid point of the car, and not extend beyond the widest part of the outline looking from above. Other than that, it's fairly free. It can exit underneath if you like, but you risk scorching underseal or plastic trim if you're not careful.
For Renault 5 GT Turbos (of which I have two), the exhaust runs down the centre, then turns 90 degrees out to the passenger sill just in front of the rear wheel, then turns back about 110 degrees to go up and over the suspension and into the rear silencer. To make a side exit, you just cut it before the 110 degree bend and put on a 6" stainless tube to bring it past the plastic sill cover.
And because of the nice Group N motorsport regulations back in the 1980s/early 1990s, you could buy a proper Devil side exit exhaust from any Renault dealership (along with strut brace and other useful bits). But when they stopped the single make series and rallying, they became unavailable
For Renault 5 GT Turbos (of which I have two), the exhaust runs down the centre, then turns 90 degrees out to the passenger sill just in front of the rear wheel, then turns back about 110 degrees to go up and over the suspension and into the rear silencer. To make a side exit, you just cut it before the 110 degree bend and put on a 6" stainless tube to bring it past the plastic sill cover.
And because of the nice Group N motorsport regulations back in the 1980s/early 1990s, you could buy a proper Devil side exit exhaust from any Renault dealership (along with strut brace and other useful bits). But when they stopped the single make series and rallying, they became unavailable
Some/many(all?) of this years revisions to the MOT have been messed about with in that the new bits started as advisories and they keep pushing the date back when they become a fail. As far as exhausts go it's no longer a case just having to meet whatever emissions apply, 'decatting' is now prohibited i.e. the inspector is supposed to count your cats and fail it if any are missing 
Aside from the common sense stuff (no leaks, secure etc) everything all gets a bit vague for example modifying an exhaust to make it louder is an offence. Loud, or at least too loud, AFAIK has never been defined outside of type approval stuff i.e. if you go out of your way to draw attention to yourself and upset a spotty little bully in uniform he/she could 'decide' your exhaust is too loud and use equally vague police state nonsense like section 59
Aside from the common sense stuff (no leaks, secure etc) everything all gets a bit vague for example modifying an exhaust to make it louder is an offence. Loud, or at least too loud, AFAIK has never been defined outside of type approval stuff i.e. if you go out of your way to draw attention to yourself and upset a spotty little bully in uniform he/she could 'decide' your exhaust is too loud and use equally vague police state nonsense like section 59
Spark plug
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It was sticking out slightly, about 1/4'' it had a stainless ring fixed to the panel to finish off the hole nicely and a rolled tip on the exhaust so it wasn't class'd as dangerous bodywork.
the snooper
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here is a bit of info from the government.
Road vehicles
The noise levels for cars used on a public road is 74 decibel (dB(A)). Most vehicles produce lower levels.
Off-road vehicles and direct injection diesels are allowed to be 1 dB(A) louder. These allowances can be combined, so the limit for an off-road vehicle with a direct injection diesel engine is 76 dB(A).
It’s illegal to modify the exhaust system to make a vehicle noisier after it has been ‘type approved’ (checked it meets environmental and safety standards). The police can also take action if your vehicle's silencer doesn’t work or if you’re driving in a way that creates too much noise.
Road vehicles
The noise levels for cars used on a public road is 74 decibel (dB(A)). Most vehicles produce lower levels.
Off-road vehicles and direct injection diesels are allowed to be 1 dB(A) louder. These allowances can be combined, so the limit for an off-road vehicle with a direct injection diesel engine is 76 dB(A).
It’s illegal to modify the exhaust system to make a vehicle noisier after it has been ‘type approved’ (checked it meets environmental and safety standards). The police can also take action if your vehicle's silencer doesn’t work or if you’re driving in a way that creates too much noise.
