What to buy next? exhausts or brightwork

[Sparticus]

now i've got most of my electrics tested the next big step is, where do i go from here? Do i:

Buy the rest of my brightwork pack (front and rear bumper, overriders, door/boot/bonnet latches and gas struts)?

or

Buy my sidepipes and headers (this way i can finally run my engine and check to see that all of my other dials etc work).

If i do go for the sidepipe option... do i get the whole stainless exhaust system from dax or someone else. I've heard of Fat boy northern and believe he does incredible work but is it: going to cost me a fortune more; mean that i have to drag the car down to wherever he is; going to be a huge noticable difference between the Dax exhausts

[Steve]

Sidepipes...........as soon as the car is started it your project will seem so much more like a car, and less like a pile of bits in the garage that you tinker with.

Re Marks exhaust..........contact him direct, but imho
far nicer appearance than dax supplied items (very close to original dimensions, though stainless)

Sound great.....though need to ensure SVA compliance

Mark is a thoroughly nice chap

[JonnyT]

Somebody on here will be able to tell you whether Dax do pipes for that engine. The fact that they say that they do is not necessarily conclusive in my experience and having returned two sets of 'custom made' pipes to them, I was sufficiently annoyed and I only live about 45 minutes from the factory.

They then asked to have my car for 3 months to make a set of pipes and the jig. To be fair though, ultimately they did do a very nice job and they look and sound great.

Jon

[craggle]

I personally would recommend the Dax sidepipes.

I like the look of them as they seem to be a much bigger diameter for the entire length of the pipe than most of the "original" looking ones. I can measure the Outside diameter tonight if you like. Because of this they seem to fit and suit the car better.

They are extremely good quality as well and are re-packable so if you decide to change to bigger 3" baffles after the SVA test it is a simple matter of taking them apart and changing the tube.
Plus you know they will fit your car without having to take the car anywhere to have them made (providing you don't have the extended footwells)

Just my opinion of course but I like them.

Take a look at my gallery and garage links below to see what you think.

Craig.

[craggle]

You would have a lot more to do if you brought the brightwork kit first. Fitting the locks and catches to everything can take a while.
Fitting the bumpers and over riders is also a fun job but I hear Dax have templates now for drilling the holes. I didn't use them but with a bit careful measuring and thought it is quite easy to do.

Make sure you fit the gas struts to the bonnet first. I made the mistake of spending ages lining up the bonnet and getting the catches to fit, Only to find it all moved when the gas struts were fitted.

Craig.

[V8 BJC]

Hi Sparticus,

I have recently changed my pipes from Dax with 3" baffles to a set of Mark Fatboy Northern. I have bigger baffles than Marks std and my car is loud and I love it.

I changed for the look but was really suprised at the positive difference made to how the car runs. Its not faster but far more consistent / smooth on startup and tickover.

You cannot easily change the internals on MArks pipes as they are welded in. That also means that you are not constantly trying to stop the internals rattling in the cans though. Mark does have an easy method for getting his pipes through SVA - others have done this.

I would suggest giving Mark a call to discuss options / prices so that you can compare with Dax & other suppliers. You may be pleasantly surprised at the cost - certainly will not cost you any arms or legs.

[madjohnny]

I bought my sidepipes way before I needed them as I had the cash, when I actually came to put them on they had gone up a few hundred quid!

Get the pipes!!!

[TINKA]

No contest, got to be the Exhausts and I love Marks too they look and sound great

[dingocooke]

Err if youre going to take the car to have the exhausts made to fit wouldnt it be better if the bonnet boot and door locks worked to keep everything shut in transit, or would you take it with those panels removed?

Only my thought, and personally I would go for the exhausts made by Mark over the Dax ones.

[bogster]

My opinion, get the exhaust system and get it from Dax. This part of the kit is definitely one of the superior ones.