Click here for the Sneak Peek Video
After exhaustive research (sorry, just had to!), we are proud to present our brand-new, but two-years in the making, Slingshot Exhaust System!
This innovative exhaust system is the result of considerable development time, wherein we experimented with a variety of approaches in long-term validation comprising thousands of road miles. Some of you may have seen various versions of these prototype efforts at Slingshot meets. While they sounded and looked great, it became apparent along the way that rigid-mounting the exhaust system to the engine was producing less-than-optimal results. The significant additional vibration and resonance which this presented to the assembly proved troublesome to just about everything: mounting brackets, the mufflers themselves, tube welds...the gamut. As such, we were careful to not bring any such systems to market, and kept seeking our ultimate result. Another of our competitors (apparently now defunct) did introduce such a rigid engine-mounted exhaust...to less than spectacular results.
We've built complete automotive exhaust systems for many years, and know well that the best way to protect an exhaust system from such destructive vibration is to suspend it from rubber or urethane mounts. Such mounts properly isolate the system components from vibration, and this is what we've done here.
The first challenge was to create a versatile yet strong way to add such isolative exhaust mounts to the Slingshot, which unlike the automobiles we've developed systems for, enjoys no such mounting features. What we've developed are billet aluminum frame clamp mounts, as seen in the video and the pic below. These provide mounting points for the high-performance urethane mounts we've chosen. The brackets combine stainless steel fasteners with a dual-isolation system, as not only is the muffler assembly isolated from the mounting brackets via the urethane inserts, but the brackets themselves also ride on rubber isolation from the chassis. This mounting system is also inherently adjustable, as the mounting clamps can be positioned as needed on the chassis so as to properly align the exhaust on any Slingshot.
Once the mounting system was developed, we used one of our already-proven Magnaflow mufflers (as used to date in our turbocharged SidePipes system), but in a unique new fashion: we dual-passed the muffler. This enabled us to gain a total of 22" of muffling capability, as each sector of the muffler is 11" long. For maximum durability, we engineered the crossover passage using brutally-strong schedule 10 304 stainless steel elbows. This crossover feature is visible at the top of the muffler.
At the engine, we start with a thick stainless-steel flange and a triple-wall interlock liner flex section, which allows engine movement on its mounts without transferring that movement to the exhaust system itself. Our in-house mandrel tube bending capability is showcased in the strong 304 SS 16-gauge tubing sections.
The exhaust will be available in two versions: conventional bottom-exit (as seen in the video), or side-exit. In the side-exit model, we added what we feel is a clever feature: we routed the pipe through the body in precisely the same location as the Alpha side-exit exhaust, giving those owners who would wish to replace that exhaust the advantage of not having to also replace their side body panel. Like our Turbo SidePipes exhaust, we include an aluminum trim plate which uses stainless steel flathead bolts and nylock nuts to attach, rather than the pedestrian sheetmetal screws as used in the Alpha setup.
In testing to date, the new system has performed flawlessly, hitting all the mission objectives with ease: great looks, superb durability, and excellent sound. To that end, both the bottom- and side-exit version also will include an easily-installed baffle for a quieter tone, allowing the owner to choose their own preferred sound. Even without the baffle, the systems are not raspy or raucous; with the baffle, they are as civilized as can be.
What I personally enjoy tremendously is the tone characteristics. The dual-pass muffler design presents a wonderfully subdued note at idle and cruise, saving its louder personality for when we are deep in the throttle. The resonance of the system, its essential aural fingerprint, is dead-on perfect. You can play it like a fine woodwind, in that it will develop a variety of pleasing tones depending on RPM and throttle/load. The effect is not unlike a well-tuned motorcycle exhaust: musical in nature, and very fun to experience in all of its different flavors.
That said, what comes next are sound clip videos, which I will complete for each version this weekend. We've yet to determine pricing, but we do expect to come in a bit more expensive than the Alpha system, as there is more content here...and a much better assurance of long-term satisfaction, since we are not torturing the system with direct engine vibration.
The photo below is a development shot which shows the system sans tailpipe. The videos I'll present next will show both bottom- and side-exit versions in all their glory!
