Performance Exhaust: an Open Letter from the "Touring Class"

Post by **kcodyjr** » 05 Jul 2016, 20:54

I've quickly come to love my new-to-me 2012 C70 T5, and of course I'm already considering all kinds of extras that I'll have to save up for and prioritize. One of the first things I looked at was performance exhausts. Two emerged as likely contenders: Elevate's 3" turboback, and Mototec's 2.5" touring catback. Putting a 3" downpipe on a 2.5" catback makes no sense to me.

However, I had to rule them both out.

Mototec's system only comes with round tips, and the C70 comes with oval. The cutouts in the bumper are shaped for ovals. A round tip is going to glaringly look like it doesn't belong there. It's stylistically unacceptable on our nice sleek swede sleds. It also means it's really meant for the C30, and it's listed as an also-fits. That's bad mojo in my book.

Elevate's 3" system looks like a perfect match for an upgraded turbo on a performance-first car. That isn't me, and it isn't what I want. I only was able to find a YouTube video of Elevate's catback; all the turboback results were idiots running 3rd party catless downpipes. Besides, videos lie, you just can't trust sound coming through someone's cellphone video recorder. The system sounds sweet, but I couldn't help the feeling that, at 3", it was more loud than I wanted on my daily driver and road trip car, and again, bolting a 3" catback to a factory downpipe makes no sense.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that there's a lot of Volvo pilots like me, who want something in between. With "Touring" characteristics: comfortable for long interstate drives while chatting with the passengers, not having to yell over that damned hum that's louder than road noise in certain speed ranges, looking and sounding like it belongs there, but with a satisfying growl when I stick my toes out through the grille.

In fact, I'll go even further out on a limb: I think there are more Touring types like me, than there are hardcore power chasers, among Volvo enthusiasts. Well, except maybe the C30 and R crowds. That would make us a grossly underrepresented market, just waiting for a well engineered solution that meets our needs and wants.

I'll try and describe the perfect Touring exhaust system, knowing full well that perfection is impossible.

* It goes without saying that it has to use only flow-through components, fully mandrel bent throughout, and made of high grade T304 stainless.

* The tips should be of the same final shape and size as the factory tips, and stick exactly as far out, but polished to a higher standard.

* It should be dead silent at warm idle, just like stock. So quiet you can forget the engine's running.

* It should be quieter than road noise at any steadily held speed. Like stock, the engine should be unnoticeable unless it's being called upon.

* It shouldn't be "loud" even at WOT, but it should have a satisfying baritone growl as it takes off. It should sound like it "has a pair".

* A turboback solution should be port-matched exactly to the outlet of the turbo and the inlet of the catback.

* Ideally, it should work correctly and pass smog without O2 sensor extensions.

* Ideally, it should be 50-state legal, or at least 49-state.

* A high quality catback should have adjustments, like Elevate's, to correctly position the tips to imitate stock.

* A high quality downpipe should offer a ceramic coating like the one Elevate sells for theirs.

Noisemaking and maximum power are not the goals. The goal is a modest improvement in performance, efficiency, and aesthetics, both visual and audible, while being of optimal design for the particular turbo, and of superior longevity.

We can make some further assumptions about Touring Class upgraders:

* We're not likely to swap out the turbo unless it mechanically fails.

* We're not likely to want a full performance intake, and I'd think that's not really the bottleneck with a stock turbo anyway.

* A K&N air filter element in the factory airbox is definitely a reasonable upgrade.

* We're likely to view the exhaust as part of a hardware+software package upgrade.

I'll be blunt, I'd like to see Elevate design and market this exhaust, with matching Touring-optimized maps for their tuning product. I like the way they think. But, in the end, I'm not picky. I just want to see a solution that meets my market segment's needs, and right now, there isn't one.

Go full custom, you say? Problem with that is, choosing the right components is the job of an engineer, not the job of a welder. A custom solution is going to be hit-or-miss, trial-and-error, going through parts until a satisfactory combination is found. That's more expensive than paying an engineer.

So, is there an engineer out there who'd pick up this spec and run with it?

Post by **kcodyjr** » 06 Jul 2016, 07:13

Oh, almost forgot:

* It must never, under any circumstance, sound like it's breaking wind, especially on throttle lift.

Post by **kcodyjr** » 06 Jul 2016, 10:09

I've forwarded a link to this thread, and a cover letter, to the following companies:

Elevate, EST, IPD, FCP, Andy's, Viva, Heico, OBX, and Milltec.

If anyone can think of another company I should reach out to, please either let me know, or forward the cover letter yourself:

Dear Sirs/Madams:

I have written a letter regarding performance exhausts, from the "Touring Class" performance enthusiast's perspective. It can be found here:

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =5&t=76577

Our needs in an exhaust are markedly different; performance is nice, but not as important as keeping the sound not just civilized, but actually well-mannered. We're looking for something halfway in between the stock exhaust and the available 3" power exhausts.

"Better" in our case doesn't necessarily mean "maximum power." It means refinement, an improvement over stock in form and function, and a nice throaty growl but only when our foot is in it. It should give the impression of a well trained and restrained war dog, not a wild untamed beast.

A touring exhaust is one the factory should have sold with the car as an OEM option.

With regard to Mototec's product, it's the only almost I've found: the design priorities are right, but the tips are round, suited for a C30, not my C70 with its oval tips and bumper cutouts. Looking like it really belongs there is important to this segment. If Mototec were to sell it with oval stock-looking tips, it will do for me; though I'd also like to see a high quality 2.5" downpipe solution. Elevate's available ceramic coating is a nice touch, too.

It's my feeling that this market segment is sadly and badly neglected. I'm reaching out to all of you, all the Volvo exhaust resellers and designers I could find, in the hope that someone is in a good business position to come up with a well-thought and well-executed solution.

I realize I've presented a challenging engineering scenario. I suspect a quality solution would have to be bespoke to the turbo and engine parameters. Any competent welder could start grabbing off the shelf components and see what he comes up with, but an engineer can call his shot and get it optimal the first time.

Once again, I deeply hope somebody is up to it, and that their boss approves the project.

Sincerely,
Kevin Cody-Little

Post by **matthew1** » 06 Jul 2016, 11:56

Kevin, I featured this on the MVS Home page and MVS Facebook page. Let me know if my Elevate link is correct. Also, if you have a Mototec link please post it here.

Great letter!

Post by **kcodyjr** » 06 Jul 2016, 12:19

Thanks, Matt!

I'm really hoping to get some response from a vendor about this. I feel strongly that there's a huge market just waiting to be noticed.

I also think would be helpful if interested MVS members chimed in; that way, any potential vendor can get a feel for how many they might sell.

Your Elevate link is correct for a 2001-2007 V70. Here's the Mk2 C70 version:

https://www.elevatecars.com/store/volvo ... ystem.html

The Mototec touring exhaust appears to be available exclusively from EuroSport Tuning:

http://www.eurosporttuning.com/mototec- ... 70-ii.html

Post by **matthew1** » 06 Jul 2016, 13:37

Awesome, links changed.

db130 · Post by **db130** » 07 Jul 2016, 11:11

I applaud your effort but I wouldn't hold your breath.

The likelihood of any of the vendors being able to offer a revised system + being able to recoup their costs + selling at a pricepoint where people would consider buying them = extremely low, especially for a platform that's been discontinued since MY 2013?

I think less than 84,000 P1 C70s were produced worldwide, it's not exactly a lucrative target market.

Post by **kcodyjr** » 07 Jul 2016, 11:28

The target market for a single exhaust design would be all the cars with the same powerplant and general underbody layout. The math for a C70 will work for any P1 car with the T5 engine, it's just a matter of putting a model-appropriate tip onto it, and maybe some minor changes in the piping bends.

How many P1 C70 + C30 + S40 + V50 are out there?

Post by **kcodyjr** » 07 Jul 2016, 11:53

Actually, scratch that.

The components (muffler, resonators, cat, chamber straights) are dictated strictly by the characteristics of the engine and turbo, which are invariant across platforms. Every T5 sold in, say, 2012, was alike in its exhaust requirements.

So you've got differences in whether there's one outlet or two, and in the piping between components. It's really not that many permutations to cover all of the potential models that have the same engine.

Look at it this way - they've already done it using a 3" spec for a loud high performance target. Why's it so difficult, or business-risky, to do it again in 2.5" spec? Making it "Touring Quiet" is probably just a matter doing it in 2.5", choosing components wisely, using a resonator or two, and maybe using small canister mufflers instead of straight-through tips.

How many T5's are on the road? I don't know but it must be millions. That's a hell of a huge potential customer base.