Back box delete

[Norretal]

The tails on my S8 exhaust are shabby and I think they let the car down slightly. I've looked at a Miltek replacement and think it's daft money and I don't like how the tailpipes protrude further than the standard pipes, but that's just my personal opinion.

I've spoken to my local Powerflow centre and been quoted £350 for new quad tailpipes (of my choice) and deletion of the back boxes, which I think is decent if the tailpipes look how I want them to look.

My question is, anyone done it or see any reason why I shouldn't? I'd obviously keep the existing rear sections to return it to standard if required but I'm interested in the opinions of others before I make a decision

[Delboy]

if they are black with carbon it can be cleaned up with wire wool and solvol auto sol

[Norretal]

I've tried that Del but the chrome finish is flat and left long enough they get rust spots so I've given up on trying to make them look good, I need to find an alternative

[Delboy]

Weird I thought they were stainless steel

[Norretal]

Weird I thought they were stainless steel

The rust spots on mine would suggest they aren't ;)

[tgm147]

The price is about right. I work in a Powerflow/Longlife exhaust place. Asking to keep your existing boxes shouldn't be a problem at all, just mention it when you turn up. We would normally wrap them up and put them in the boot for you if you mentioned you wanted to keep hold of them. If you do find the noise a bit too much then they should have no issue putting either your standard boxes in if they're in good condition, or if not, fitting two small stainless ones in to take some of the tone away.

The other option would of course be just change the tips. Get them cut off and new stainless ones welded on. I'd expect to pay about £80-£100 per side for this depending on which tip you decide on.

[Norretal]

The price is about right. I work in a Powerflow/Longlife exhaust place. Asking to keep your existing boxes shouldn't be a problem at all, just mention it when you turn up. We would normally wrap them up and put them in the boot for you if you mentioned you wanted to keep hold of them. If you do find the noise a bit too much then they should have no issue putting either your standard boxes in if they're in good condition, or if not, fitting two small stainless ones in to take some of the tone away.

The other option would of course be just change the tips. Get them cut off and new stainless ones welded on. I'd expect to pay about £80-£100 per side for this depending on which tip you decide on.

Great info mate, thanks very much. I had a Longlife exhaust fitted to my S4 and thought it was a great bit of work. They even paid my fuel bill when I requested an alteration a while later, great service +++

[Burnzybubbles]

I drove an e39 m5 with back boxes deleted, and it was fine round town and cruising but it growled and left a massive smile on my face when I had my foot planted +++

[Artermis]

My 4.0 TDI has backbox delete on it - wasn't my choice as was like it when I bought it but I do really like it. Cruising down the road you'd not know the difference, there is no intrusive noise to it at all, but makes a lovely V8 noise with the application of throttle.

[Norretal]

Cheers Artermis, and welcome to the forum from me

I was considering it but had a good look at the exhaust layout last week and it's quite a design. I don't want to make a drastic change that I maybe won't like and which would cost me a fortune to reverse. The rumble from the standard exhaust as I accelerate and the "tune" from the revving V10 is awesome, so I don't want to lose that. A Miltek is a step too far for me but a subtle upgrade to the standard exhaust maybe isn't, I'm still undecided.

[Norretal]

Well I finally got some changes done yesterday, after some prior discussion with Conquistador (Cheers Oli +++ ) regarding his silencer modification. It seemed too good an opportunity to miss while I was having the tailpipes renewed so I went for the silencer removal at the same time. The silencers in question being the mid pair before the back boxes. I happened to find that the exhaust was cracked just after the nearside one, so that was sorted at the same time.

I wanted the tailpipes to be as near OEM as possible but had to accept they wouldn't have the same profile, but I thnk they look great. The originals were cut off at the box and new straight sections fitted, with the tailpipes fitted to them. The originals have strange twists in them to accomodate the valves for the flaps and the hanging bracket so they made and fitted a new hanging bracket to each one so the pipes could be straight, which made the job a lot easier, and neater. They're Longlife tailpipes, I could have went for slightly larger (there's room) but didn't want to increase the chances of them catching at any point so I'm happy with what I decided upon +++

The look is what I wanted, and it's got rid of those shabby tailpipes, they'd bugged me since I bought the car over two years ago. These won't be allowed to be anything but carbon free and shiny. The added bonus, the noise, what a difference, the beast has been unleashed!! It's still as refined as ever in the car but I can't stop driving around with the window down, just so I can hear the roar, it's awesome.

I've added some pics of the old and new set up, let me know your thoughts gents. I've also got a short video to share, hopefully that will upload too. So, for around a quarter of the price I was quoted for a Miltek I reckon I've got something now that looks and sounds just as nice, if not better :love:

[Borys]

Awesome.....sound clip is a must you know :-)

[Norretal]

Awesome.....sound clip is a must you know :-)

Look at the attachment below the photos ;)

[Borys]

:-) upps my bad

[Lee S]

Where did you get those Vredstein Ultrac Sessanta tyres from?? I thought they stopped making them or they were like rocking horse to get hold of??

Gorgeous exhaust though. Nice sound and very very OEM look. Love it

[Norretal]

Where did you get those Vredstein Ultrac Sessanta tyres from?? I thought they stopped making them or they were like rocking horse to get hold of??

Gorgeous exhaust though. Nice sound and very very OEM look. Love it

Very observant Lee, I bought them two years ago for those wheels which I fitted to my D2. They're not a bad tyre for grip but I wouldn't go mental in the rain with them on the car. I didn't realise they were scarce now, did they stop production? I bought those online from MyTyres, very competitive on price they were at the time

As for the exhaust, I'm very happy with the choice and the changes, took it out again tonight for a further review and it brought more big smiles, I'd recommend the same changes to anyone with an S8 +++

[briang9]

looks and sounds very nice Ron+++

[1781cc]

Very observant Lee, I bought them two years ago for those wheels which I fitted to my D2. They're not a bad tyre for grip but I wouldn't go mental in the rain with them on the car. I didn't realise they were scarce now, did they stop production? I bought those online from MyTyres, very competitive on price they were at the time

As for the exhaust, I'm very happy with the choice and the changes, took it out again tonight for a further review and it brought more big smiles, I'd recommend the same changes to anyone with an S8 +++

wow, that sounds really nice, very impressed!

I've used Vredesden Ultrac Sessantas on both my S4s and I run Vredesden Quatrac's on the cabriolet (which went through snow two years ago on them during a european rally - very impressive)

I believe that the Sessantas are now replaced by the Vorti, which are meant to be an improvement, which is good because I concur about the rain, and also the sliding during the first 500 miles in the dry where the coating wears off.

[Norretal]

Interesting side story to the work I had done on Monday. I chose a place a few miles from me and had every confidence in them after a prolonged discussion last week. I took the car on Monday morning intending to walk home and get a lift to collect it later. I'd changed my mind since my last visit and wanted the silencers removed so when I got there he put it on the lift and we talked through what I wanted and expected, job sorted.

He asked how I was getting home, walking was my intention, so he offered me his Q7, which I duly accepted. Six hours later I go to collect the S8 having given the Q7 a wash and a once over and find I've been given a tidy little discount on the work done, great result all round and an example of how business should be done +++

[1781cc]

He offered me his Q7, which I duly accepted. Six hours later I go to collect the S8 having given the Q7 a wash and a once over and find I've been given a tidy little discount on the work done, great result all round and an example of how business should be done +++

How many points have you offered him? :ROFL:

[Artermis]

Very nice - glad you had it done certainly sounds the part.

[aTOMic]

Interesting side story to the work I had done on Monday...
...He asked how I was getting home, walking was my intention, so he offered me his Q7, which I duly accepted. Six hours later I go to collect the S8 having given the Q7 a wash and a once over and find I've been given a tidy little discount on the work done, great result all round and an example of how business should be done +++

Wow. Couldn't agree more.
Considering the size (population) and income level of these States (even Nashville, Tennessee), the lack of honest - or at least competent - Euro-import repair shops continues to amaze me. Then again, everyone drives either some godawful pickup, Escalade, Lexus/nissan/toyota-type-appliance, copycat-car Hyundai, or honduh (I cannot bring myself to capitalize it).
Each weekday I drive my (13 Y/O) son eleven miles each way to school (going away from Nashville, so against some fairly heavy suburban traffic) and he points out every interesting car he sees - an average day nets about six Audis, one or two beautiful new Jags, a Gallardo, Ferrari, or Bentley every couple days (at least three huge droptops live around the commute zone), and three or four Teslas a day (!). A8s are rare; there are two black D4s and two silver D3s we see almost daily (the male drivers wave, the females don't), I've never seen a D3 S8 except in Nashville (we live ~18 miles north of it).

Your car looks and sounds great! The new tips are oval, right? The rolled ends look very tidy and correct.

Love the "Cherished" plates! You're a pharmacist I take it?

I've a good friend who had "IRX4U" but then got old and paranoid (she was an attractive girl with the keys to a drugstore, so...). My daughter's godfather was a Pharm.D., he wanted "DRFLGUD" but never did it... he's too cheap.
I'm torn between "ATOMIC" (current) and "A8TOMIC" (or 8TOMIC). A8L is available believe it or not. My son's godfather just got "V10" on his M5 - could not believe it wasn't taken!
In TN "Vanity" or "Personalized" plates cost +$70 the first year (so $250 in my county, which has among the highest city & county taxes but great roads, cops, and other services) and +$35 a year renewal. It's mainly a problem if one has "too many cars"...

Guess I should've started a new thread with all my rambling...


How many points have you offered him? :ROFL:

I figured he just slipped a couple of "Easin' Pills" (as the old hillbillies around here call them) into the mechanic's beverage ;) Everything went muuuuch more smoooothly...

-Tom

[Norretal]

Your car looks and sounds great! The new tips are oval, right? The rolled ends look very tidy and correct.

Love the "Cherished" plates! You're a pharmacist I take it?



Cheers Tom, they are oval and are as close to OEM as I could get, I'm very happy with how they look.

Quite a coincidence that you should comment on this today, my car is back at that garage for the first time since the exhaust was modified, just for MOT, but I've been told it's failed on excessive wear on the upper suspension arms with advisories on the lower arms, so I'm having them all done while it's there. My recent "wheel windfall" has quickly been wiped out by this and the rear light cluster failure but it's an S8, it's what they do.

I chuckled at your cherished plate comment, I've been mistaken for a pharmacist, but not the law abiding, legal type. My forename and surname initial is R, I just tell anyone that asks that I've added a middle name of Xavier by deed poll. It's as good as I could find after I bought the car and was looking for something relevant. It also serves the purpose of hiding the age of the car from anyone but those who know what it is, which isn't many in my experience.