Unless your benchmark for flat plane sound is a Ferrari. The 12C has exactly the sound a flat plane makes. Smooth. No rumble.
Whoopsy you are 100% correct in your statement above. With the addition of the turbos like on the McLaren M838T engine the overall sound quality is somewhat muted. When you remove the restrictive nature of the catalytic converters like I've done its a thing of beauty I love. Cheers....??
I love my 12C and if it can sound like my 458 that would be nice as well.
Was told if i remove the catalytic converters, my warranty is toast. Your dealer is ok with you removing the catalytic converters?
More here: http://ae-plus.com/features/accelerated-development-ricardo-mclaren-m838t
I still have two 200 cell catalytic converters instead of the four that McLaren provides. I'm don't know why there is such a big concern, everyone of my pass and current cars has had the exhaust systems changed. That said I have never had any warranty or mechanical issues due to this type of modification. I sense a lot of paranoia concerning something that should have no affect on the mechanical reliability of this car. Why would allowing the car to breath better create any mechanical concerns. All I can say is, I love it and have no regrets what so ever. Cheers....??
I totally agree with you that what you have done should have no negative issues on the car. The problem is McLaren will void the warranty. I don't usually keep my car more than 2 yrs. I am sure the next owner won't be thrill to know my car's warranty is void and would i will probably get less in resale. Can you share a clip of how your car sounds?
Often remove the cats from my motorcycle exhausts. They always spin up better and are much more fun to ride........never had an engine problem and remember some bike rev to 15,000 rpm plus,
Thanks Peloton - that is a very neat article. The flat plane crank definitely contributes to the high 8500 RPM redline for a twin-turbo V8 motor and also the throttle response when you are on the boost, which feels like a (very, very powerful) normally aspirated motor.
ex22, have you actually driven your car, yet, or just heard it. I'm asking because I'm curious if any other power delivery dynamics have changed. There are some cars I've driven, with valved exhausts or mods to free up the flow, that actually feel much different when rolling on the gas from 3000 rpm for example. Almost as if the change in back pressure has reduced the immediate torque delivery or something. I'm no expert in this stuff, but just curious to hear how the car drives after exhaust mods, especially post 10.2 where the drivetrain is now near perfectly calibrated. Cheers.
Hey 6th, I have not driven the car yet, they are still working on other aspects of the car. They, Pfaff will be posting a video of the car shortly when the weather clears up. I truly hope that is not the case though, the main reason for doing all this, was to improve on the overall look, performance and sound. So far I've achieved two out of the three, I'm not sure if I will be able to provide a accurate analysis for the third. The reason being is, I have never driven the car with the stock exhaust, I could ask the head mechanic to provide me with his assessment and in turn send it to you. Cheers....??
It's really a matter of how the dealer views the modification. Removing the catalysts is optimal in every aspect and has no negative effects.
As I said above, there are no negative effects on reliability or performance.
With less restriction the turbos will spool sooner and quicker giving more low end torque. On a naturally aspirated engine if you open the exhaust up too much you will have lower backpressure, but thats not the problem. The large diameter pipes will lower exhaust velocity, which is key to scavenging (clearing cylinders). This causes a drop in torque figures that people talk about with free flowing exhaust. Having a properly designed valved exhaust can fix this.
That makes a lot of sense about the increased spoiling of the turbos, thanks for the great information ScorpionT. Cheers....??
I don't know who came up with that piece of information, and if there is any validity to it. Does anyone have a written document from McLaren acknowledging that fact. It just doesn't make any sense what so ever, that allowing the car to breath more freely, would potential void the warranty. That's what I would call a bunch of hog wash please correct me if I'm wrong. Cheers.....??
