Dave,
Good points, and ones I've considered, believe me.
Let me answer each one, I think you'll be surprised.
1) Street legal.
There are a suprising number of SC's with cams that have over 230 deg cam timing. These cars will not pass emissions testing anyhow. Many SC owners have already addressed the emissions question in one way or another.
The basic system is designed for longtubes. This means that the system starts after the K member. If you do happen to run something else in front of this, it won't be part of this system, it will be stock manifolds with matching downtubes, or it will be Kooks headers again, with matching downtubes. Whether either of these systems are used, the customer already has to have some sort of downtubes. It is possible that we could do some downtubes seperately. I'll have to consider that.
But back to this system. It can have cats on it. I've run longtubes and cats on my car and passed emissions in the past. In fact my car ran cleaner with a mild cam and longtubes than it ever did stock and I've had it since new.
2) Headers. I am personally amazed how many people have headers from SCP already. While those headers have not been shown to offer any performance gain whatsoever, I'm willing to bet over 100 SC's are driving around with these headers on, with at least 1/3 of them leaking to one degree or another. These headers start at $500 for mild steel and go up depending on what you order etc. Personally I own a set of the Kooks longtubes with jet-hot coating which are about 6/7 years old. My car has never seen salt WHATSOEVER and they have literally come apart. Some people say that Kooks headers have come apart after as little as one year. I think that covers about the extremes of the durability of the Kooks jet-hot coated headers.
Now that doesn't even begin to address the performance issued with these headers. From improperly designed primaries to horrible collectors, these headers are really a slap in the face for Supercoupe enthusiasts. "Lets just offer you guys a header that is a PITA and doesn't work". No thanks.
The headers that we would offer would be 100% stainless. What are the benefits of that? Well, I challenge you that stainless is not going to fall apart due to engine heat. Stainless will fail eventually on a turbocharged engine, but I simply do not buy that it is going to last one bit less that double what I got out of my mild steel headers. For most people that would be forever. What about the other properties of stainless? Well, lets start with it is very lightweight. Being made from 18ga stainless, the exhaust system will weigh less than a stock system and a LOT less than a 16ga mild steel system. I have an SCP "Big Dog" system sitting here. I'll get some numbers for you.
There is another well known benefit of stainless. It keeps the heat inside the pipes where it belongs thereby pretty much eliminating the need for coatings. Some people may doubt this, but if you've ever welded stainless you know what I'm talking about. Often times you can weld stainless and then pick up the very part with your bare hands because the heat stayed in the weld and didn't travel very far.
Then there is the performance aspect. With properly tuned primaries and a properly designed merge collector, it will be possible to expect an actual performance gain from these headers. Finally, we will be able to end the argument that "stock ported manifolds" are as good as headers. If the dyno won't show a performance improvement, I'll eat my words.
3) This system, with the matching headers, will not require welding. In fact, it can be installed in your garage with basic tools, and header installs are not that tough actually on these cars. I've had mine in and out several times. Sure, welding will be beneficial, but it's not required. Because this system will come in 4 pieces (not counting the headers) it will not need to be welded to fit and retain the proper shape. This is the same as the Borla system in terms of installation (I've installed the borla also). One of the problems with the Borla system is that it is designed for a 93 or newer SC only and it retains the stock 3 cat system. To install it on a 92 SC or an earlier SC with a late model tank requires welding and you can't use the resonator at all, but have to use the stock resonator which is the biggest restriction on our exhausts in the first place! Of course there are ways around all obstacles, but I'm hoping to remove them, not add to them.
4) Welding. SS is fully weldable with a standard gas mig. While the system will be 100% TIG welded including the mufflers (no stamped or seam rolled stuff here), the do-it-yourselfer can weld the system with a small 110v Mig and standard Mig gas and stainless wire. I will also take this opportunity to state that
I will not be building this system. It will be made by a major exhaust company which is well respected in the high performance community.
5) Units. Initial costs are not that high, and future production can be in as few as 3-4 units at a time. Undoubtedly they will need to fall into a "group purchase" format for maximum savings, but one-offs will be possible at a higher price. This company does have the ability to do one-off's at any time. The big investment will be time on my part in getting the design to them for modelling. Once that is done, future systems will be all CNC manufactured so quality control and accurate fitment will be of OE quality.
6) Cost. I saved the best for last. I had not priced the SCP system.
$1720??? This system will not be priced so "top shelf" as I thought. Final pricing will not be known until the pipes have been bent and final fitment completed, but it shouldn't be much if any more than that. I guess I put "average" closer to $1000-1200 for headers and pipes. I know I don't have that much in mine.
I hope that addresses most of your questions Dave, basically I am well aware (I think) of the hurdles that need to be crossed. I feel that none of them are any more significant that the ones I've face on any other SC related product I've been involved with. Thanks for your input, we will definitely take it into account!
David
