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Larini install today--early report

15K views 56 replies 26 participants last post by  Stephen Harper 
#1 ·
Did the install today. Sounds amazing--very "nasty" in a nice way! :) MY12S built in Nov 2011 DOES have the middle resonator pipe. We replaced that with the Larini pipe and then the muffler. Weighed both and it saves almost 20 lbs. Got the valved one and interestingly, valve on/off does not make much difference in the sound--certainly not relative to the stock muffler. At idle it is fine, on the freeway cruising at under 3k rpms also about same as stock. On hard acceleration it sounds just fantastic. Shinoo took video both in and outside the car and will post on his site Welcome to Sector 111, home of Lotus Elise Aftermarket Performance Parts and Exhaust Accessories.. Shinoo and his team were fantastic to work with. There was one surprise which I will try to get up to show, but essentially the diameter of the rods that attach to the mounts on the stock had a welded "collar" on them such that they were about 3x the diameter of the larini (about the size of a pencil); Had to essentially get these off the stock muffler and get them on the larini--guys did a great job and worked fine. Hard to know if Larini screwed up or if Lotus just changed it and nobody knew. Either way, something to consider is that you may have to get the diffuser off and check this before you know for sure. Shinoo is in contact with larini to let them know. Good news is that everything else fit fine. Larini supplies a longer tube to actuate the valve since the location is just a bit different, but again worked fine. Oh, and finally lots of pops and burbles when you come off the throttle. Nobody will believe that this thing is a 6 cylinder from a Camry. I really like V8 engine sounds, but this thing sounds almost as good as my Ferrari 355. I am thrilled. Now it sounds like it performs. I will try to answer any questions and will post some pics, but thought I would get a quick summary up.
 
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#2 ·
Very glad to hear you are happy with the way it sounds.

I ordered the valved Larini S exhaust and S pipe about a month ago and had emailed them earlier today to get an ETA. They originally said 2-4 weeks. Today they said they will have a better idea tomorrow.

Thanks for pointing out the issue with the welded on collar. I will have to look out for that on mine when it shows up and see if it is missing or not. (Not sure if there is a difference between your 2012 and my 2011) I don't want to have to modify my stock exhaust to fit the Larini in case I ever want to go back to stock. I ordered the Larini for its bolt on capability.

Can't wait to hear it on Sector111's site. Thanks for posting an update.
 
#3 · (Edited)
There was one surprise which I will try to get up to show, but essentially the diameter of the rods that attach to the mounts on the stock had a welded "collar" on them such that they were about 3x the diameter of the larini (about the size of a pencil); Had to essentially get these off the stock muffler and get them on the larini--guys did a great job and worked fine. Hard to know if Larini screwed up or if Lotus just changed it and nobody knew. Either way, something to consider is that you may have to get the diffuser off and check this before you know for sure. Shinoo is in contact with larini to let them know.
I was just looking at the updated Evora Parts list from October 2012: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9205008/Evora Service Parts List 2012-10.pdf

If you look at pages 353 and 354, it appears that the overall diameter of the mounting rod for MY 2011 and 2012 are different. From the diagram, it indeed looks like there is a collar mounted on the mounting rod for 2012.
 
#4 ·
Amazing! I guess I know what my first mod will be. Does the car have a symphony sound to it? Or is it just loud? Please give us some pics with your phone and a short video, the anticipation is killing me! Also you purchased the Larini decat pipe as well correct? Did you get straight pipe or the one with the high flowing cat?
 
#7 ·
Did that about 2 years ago, and couldn't be happier :D.

I first checked the kit out on Shinoo's "company car" and then had the job done here in the Bay Area by Rob Dietsch.

I would characterize the sound as mellow--but authoritative! No issues with drone, etc while cruising.
 
#8 ·
Here is the link that Shinoo uploaded to youtube.
Sector111 YouTube Channel - YouTube
It is a pretty good representation. Of course it sounds pretty crazy just behind the car and with windows down under hard acceleration, but if you are just cruising in an area where you don't want to scare little children and old ladies then it can be fairly quiet. At speed on the freeway frankly not much different than stock.

Also the post above with the parts list attached is spot on. On page 353 of the pdf the illustration 1a is what is on a MY 2011 and also what my Larini exhaust was like. It appears they changed it in MY12 to the larger diameter with a welded on collar as you can see in 1b and 1c. I would encourage those looking at this to give Shinoo a call and see what he has found out from Larini. It is possible that they just didn't make the change for MY12 or also possible of course that it could depend on each car and when it was built. Now that I was the guinea pig for this at least Shinoo and his team know how to make it work, but it does require a bit of "metal work" and some welding of the "stock collar" onto the larini so it fits tightly in the mounting bracket. Another reminder is that if you follow this approach then the stock muffler will need to then be modified by adding back the collar--not really a big deal, but unless Larini has made the change then it is not quite as simple as we would like. Even with the twist we encountered, it was all done in about 3 hours. Sector 111's crew is very meticulous and did a great job. They were very careful with the install and even wrapped the new tubing for the valve in gold heat reflective material and made sure it was secured and not touching any part of the exhaust.

Sorry, one last note, I think someone asked about the "decat" pipe and yes I replaced that pipe as well. Just to be clear this is a resonator and not a catalytic converter. the cats and O2 sensors are upstream of this pipe. It would be interesting to see how much difference removing that pipe makes in the sound, but at this point unless my HOA complains about the noise then I don't expect I will every get the chance to find out! :)
 
#9 ·
I just did this same install last week and the sound is "EROTIC"!!! I also have the Radium CAI. In normal driving it is totally benign, just a bit crisper and less muffled. Under WOT the sound is truly exotic! The wife even thought the car sounded MUCH better now!!!:D Now that's a good wife!!!:bow:
 
#10 ·
#11 ·
I just emailed Shinoo to make sure mine comes through with the right ends since my S is a 2011 and should have the smaller diameter based on the Evora Parts list.

Thanks again for pointing that out. You probably saved me quite a bit of installation time. BTY, your car sounds great. Now I can't wait for mine to show up!:clap:
 
#12 ·
You are very welcome. Yes, it looks like you should be good with a 2011, but as a 4x Lotus owner, you just never know for sure until the diffuser is off and they see what was actually installed. Good news is that everything else fit very nicely. The stock muffler and resonator are huge. there is a lot of extra space around the larini after install which should also help with cooling. Good luck!
 
#16 ·
Anyone done an in-person side-by-side of the Larini muffler + decat and the Lotus Sport muffler + decat? I have the Lotus sport + larini decat and think it sounds pretty fantastic. Just wondering how it compares to the OP's setup.
 
#18 ·
I can't compare the Evoras, but on my Elise
the difference between the Lotus Stage 2 and the various Larini products was significant
 
#21 ·
I have pirated the picture above to describe a problem I had with my Larini pipe. I attempted to describe the problem in another thread, but a picture will help:

Auto part Automotive exhaust Vehicle Car Exhaust system


In the photo, the red circle highlights a short tab that is welded at one end to the pipe coming from the resonator (I had thought it was a small cat-- learn something new every day) and at the other end to the LH stay. On my pipe, the weld to the stay rod was very poor and had cracked. This allowed the pipe to bounce enough that the stay rod itself eventually cracked, at the bend where it is welded to the body of the muffler (yellow circle).

The fix was to remove the pipe, line everything up nicely, and weld it properly. I've done something like 7000 miles since the repair, and it's doing fine.

I did email Larini about this issue, so maybe current versions to not have this problem. Mine was a very early production item-- whether that makes a difference, I can't say, just noting it for the record.

And it does make a wonderful noise. Not at all loud or antisocial; you can burble around town without irritating the locals, but get it above 5k and whoa baby!
 
#24 ·
The fix was to remove the pipe, line everything up nicely, and weld it properly. I've done something like 7000 miles since the repair, and it's doing fine.
Sorry for this trouble. I was just made aware of this issue. Please contact us directly if possible so I can discuss with you. I have not seen any other failures and want to understand this clearly.
 
#22 ·
Logistical question for any of you with the Larini exhaust and resonator delete pipe for the Evora S:

Are the boxes that they ship it in small enough such that they will fit in the car? Reason I ask is I am most likely going to have my dealer install the exhaust and delete pipe, so trying to figure out if I can have them shipped to my house and jam them in the Evora, or if I need to drop ship them to the dealer if they're too big to fit inside the car.
 
#23 ·
I've been wondering the same thing. I'll shoot Shinoo and e-mail as I'm waiting for my slash tips to arrive. ETA: Mid-January build from Larini with delivery in early February. Oval tips are in stock.
 
#25 ·
I'm not sure that the box from Larini will fit, but there again I didn't try it. I think the exhaust will fit in the front seat (if removed from the box) with the seat back and some blankets down.

I did try to put my stock exhaust in the Larini box after I removed it and it did not fit with the cat/resonator attached (I removed it assembled as one unit).

Even if you drop ship it, you probably will have to bring the stock unit back home in the front seat anyway.



Sent from my iPhone using AutoGuide.com Free App
 
#27 ·
Just did my Larini install yesterday on my MY12 Evora S. Huge thanks to Fasttoys for his help (in reality it was him doing most of the work and me holding the light and trying not to trip over myself).

I wasn't sure if I would need the resonator delete as I had heard that late model MY12s no longer had the resonator. That is NOT the case (at least on mine, which is a May 2012 build date). Mine had the resonator.

Also, MartinM was precisely right about the rubber hanger mounts. You WILL need to order the older hanger mount style (specifically, Lotus part #B132S0088F, should be about $25 shipped from your dealer). Would have been a huge bummer to do all the work of taking the old muffler off and then realizing the rubber hanger mount was the wrong size.

In any case, start to finish was about 2 hours (with 2 people. I don't know how people are doing this solo without going absolutely insane). The pictures in the non-S Larini install thread are spot-on. The only difference is that the S model obviously has a different style diffuser. I would recommend taping the inner sides of the outermost fins of the diffuser with packing/painters tape to avoid nicks/scrapes. Also, the two hex bolts just below the license plate holding up the diffuser are tough to get at with 90 degree hex keys. I would recommend using hex screwdrivers that can be used at an angle.

As far as the exhaust note with the Larini installed, I would say it's a dramatic improvement over stock. Idling is a deeper rumble, but not obnoxious at all. Below 3,000rpm/cruising, I would say it's about as tame as stock, but hitting the gas/above 3K is where you hear a big difference. I would say 4K and above under load the engine screams (in a very very good way). Zero "drone" of any kind (a la rice rockets with fart cans). Some popping/burbling as revs fall back to idle when coming out of gear.

All in, very very happy with the Larini so far.
 
#29 ·
The 3rd Cat

I wasn't sure if I would need the resonator delete as I had heard that late model MY12s no longer had the resonator. That is NOT the case (at least on mine, which is a May 2012 build date). Mine had the resonator.
Just to be clear, we must clear up this misnomer that the third cat is not a cat and that it may not even be there in US 2012 onward cars.
All US cars are fitted with the secondary catalytic converter (it is “not a resonator”).

Note text extract and diagrams below, extracted from the Lotus service Notes:
“System C – 12MY vehicles For non federal [that is non USA] vehicles the secondary under floor catalytic converter is replaced with a link pipe …
 

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#28 ·
And yes, the Larini will fit in the front seat (if you unpack it from the box). Also, the old exhaust w/ valve and resonator attached will fit in the front seat as well. Obviously bring old sheets or something to wrap it in before putting in your beloved Evora.

Also, you will need to seal off the vacuum line if you buy the larini without valve (which is the route I chose). We just ziptied the disconnected end to the anti-roll bar.
 
#30 ·
Anybody with an Evora S should run not walk to get a Larini on their car! The sound is just amazing. Shinoo at Sector111 noted that it is the best sounding Lotus he has ever heard and I must agree. In fact, one of the best sounding sports cars I have heard period. It lends a lot of character to the car. No way a 6 cylinder street car should sound this good. I can vouch for Sector 111 to order and do the work if you are in the Southern California area or obviously as noted above, a reasonably proficient owner can also do it (I am not one of those by the way so I had Shinoo's team do it)
 
#31 ·
thanks for the clarification Julian73.

Since it is a cat and not a resonator, I'd love to hear from any Evora owners with the 3rd cat delete pipe that have already done emissions testing. I'm operating under the assumption that even without the 3rd cat there should be no issue.
 
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