But not everyone’s a girl (boy) racer who wants a stainless steel exhaust that will still survive long after the rest of the car has rusted away – Because of this Souhans also supply and fit standard (mild-steel) exhausts.
“Standard exhausts from the car manufacture are mild steel as cost saving measure – we offer stainless steel as it will normally out last the lifetime of the car and because it does not corrode as easily. However sometimes a standard exhaust may be a better solution for our customers so we also stock off the shelf direct fit exhausts from many different manufacturers.”
Most importantly a change of exhaust – either standard or custom (cat-back) will have no effect on your ECU (engine management) so you shouldn’t get any fault codes and your emissions levels will be reduced – I wonder does that count as a reduction in my carbon footprint?
Souhans can also make and/or replace your catalytic convertor or DPF if you’ve failed your NCT due to high emissions.
So after a 5am start (yes I’m crazy) my Golf was on the ramp at Souhans just after 9. While my old rotten exhaust was being chopped off I had another chat with Darren Souhan about what I was actually looking for, how loud I wanted it to be etc. After a quick tour of the stockroom we decided on a 58mm stainless steel pipe with a back box which wouldn’t be any louder than standard most of the time but would give a bit of a roar under heavy acceleration.
Using my old exhaust as a template, the stainless steel pipework was bent into shape piece by piece until it matched the shape of a standard exhaust. Then it was joined onto the existing exhaust just past the catalytic convertor and the new stainless steel back box was added. The finishing touch was a single downturned tailpipe that sits nicely behind the bumper and means I didn’t have to get any bodywork done to the car.
The new stainless steel exhaust was bent into shape to match the old rotten exhaust
Bending the Stainless Steel Pipe into shape
New back-box being welded on
By about 11am I was ready for a quick test drive and I’m sure I arrived back to the garage with a huge grin on my face! The whole job took just under 2 hours and if it hadn’t been such a sunny day I could have easily spent the time in the waiting room (free Wi-Fi is always a bonus)!
Souhan’s Garage is a family run business based in Trim, Co. Meath. You can contact Darren on (046) 945 6000, email info@souhan.ie or check out http://www.souhan.ie
Y Joint used to fit a twin exhaust to an Audi A4 while I was waiting at Souhans
The finished product…. Y joint gives even emissions from both pipes!!
Suzanne Keane
22nd July 2013
