Are Powerflow exhausts any good??

21st March 2009, 02:19

Are Powerflow full s/steel exhausts any good performance wise, or are they more aimed at asthetics??

21st March 2009, 07:04

IMO it depends what you ask them to produce - I think the general consensus is that they are for looks, and the quality is hit and miss.

I would go for a branded stainless exhaust

21st March 2009, 07:14

As said mate, bit hit and miss.
Powerflow are a franchise you see, so pretty much any cowboy can get the dealer rights to it these days. if you really want one, ask about to see if anyone has had one done by your local powerflow dealer and see what they think to the quality etc.
We get ALOT of the local powerflow jobs at my work as the one near to me is really poor.
Where abouts are you located?

21st March 2009, 07:44

im not a fan, in alot of cases they reduce power aswell

21st March 2009, 09:29

Nuff said!!

21st March 2009, 10:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparco_Tom

im not a fan, in alot of cases they reduce power aswell

not according to their results of course

21st March 2009, 10:18

15bhp gain per exhaust is what ive heard.... goodluck with that is all i can say

21st March 2009, 10:23

Thing is, they can increase peformace, but the main problem is thats a specific design, what they then get it nabs goin in wanting it loud, and big and with 6 exits, thus it's shite

21st March 2009, 12:53

i had a powerflow from the place in bolton, good quality and sounded great. didnt notice any change in performance at all

21st March 2009, 12:58

answer= NO! they are shit and the quality varys massively depending which branch you go to. most of them employ immigrants who cant speak hardly any english, who have been taught to tungsten inert gas weld (very easy to learn fast) and ive seen alot of powerflow exhausts with bollt necks in em etc.... as they have not bent the pipe work correctly

21st March 2009, 13:01

I like mine for sound and looks... just doesnt seem to have any power difference, once ive got a raceland mani on it, im sure it will sound even better and have some decent performance

21st March 2009, 13:10

i was also in formed by them that i would have a 10 percent power increase if i purchased there cat back system. on a vts= 120 ish out of the factory+ 10 percent= 132 just from a cat back exhaust. BOLLOCKS! mine is a cammed vts with all breathing mods and PH3 cams and its 136.5 @ fly. So you can see how far out there claims are

21st March 2009, 13:26

yes but everyones claims are well out.. look at induction kit claims, there not all true at all. its all down to pot luck with gains.. not many people will get the same gains from the same piece of kit..

21st March 2009, 14:12

mines is powerflow and its full str8 throughs decat and its amazing sounds brill too

its on my progress thread

21st March 2009, 14:52

Ive seen many badly welded rotten poorflows...

nuffsaid.

21st March 2009, 15:14

i had a powerflow on my mg zs he did a fantastic job, it sounded nice powerwise felt no different.

it depends where you go i took mine to the powerflow outlet in staffordshire id only heard good things about unique exhausts, but ive heard loads of bad things about otheroutlets.

21st March 2009, 16:24

Not very good quality exhaust imo. I've got a full system on. One of the baffles has gone in the back box, it's only been on the car about a year! Not Good, steer well clear.

21st March 2009, 16:33

thats my powerflow system all str8 throughs decat and performance is amazing from it and its quite loud

not bad for £425

21st March 2009, 16:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by sammyd

thats my powerflow system all str8 throughs decat and performance is amazing

4 exits and a 1.1 with great power gains, nice

21st March 2009, 16:52

thanks mate lol

21st March 2009, 17:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bickerton

4 exits and a 1.1 with great power gains, nice

*sniggers*

21st March 2009, 17:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

*sniggers*

21st March 2009, 17:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobbyRoo

Are Powerflow full s/steel exhausts any good performance wise?

No......

21st March 2009, 18:15

i had them build me a centre section using my supersprint as a guide, i just had them do a straight through pipe made in stainless instead of the mild steel silenced one of my supersprint. same diameter bore as the supersprint and well made.

21st March 2009, 18:18

yes is the answer il give for that question, my last 3 cars have had their systems on and I am pro powerflow myself!

21st March 2009, 20:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by sammyd

thats my powerflow system all str8 throughs decat and performance is amazing from it and its quite loud

not bad for £425

lol'd at that one!

21st March 2009, 20:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by sammyd

[IMG]

thats my powerflow system all str8 throughs decat and performance is amazing from it and its quite loud

not bad for £425

£425, day light robbery. ?

21st March 2009, 20:47

was everything i wanted done to it tho to make it the way i wanted it

21st March 2009, 20:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by John_1.1i

£425, day light robbery. ?

agreed!

21st March 2009, 20:54

hahahahahaha ooohh dear pull your trousers back up

21st March 2009, 21:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by gouldy87

i was also in formed by them that i would have a 10 percent power increase if i purchased there cat back system. on a vts= 120 ish out of the factory+ 10 percent= 132 just from a cat back exhaust. BOLLOCKS! mine is a cammed vts with all breathing mods and PH3 cams and its 136.5 @ fly. So you can see how far out there claims are

My vts is 132bhp @ fly with just a powerflow cat-back and airbox removed. still bollocks?

21st March 2009, 21:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matty-VTR

My vts is 132bhp @ fly with just a powerflow cat-back and airbox removed. still bollocks?

picture of graph on a maha dyno please or kindly pipe down thank you

21st March 2009, 22:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by gouldy87

picture of graph on a maha dyno please or kindly pipe down thank you

If its who I think his dad has his own rolling road.

So i belive you might be the one piping down

21st March 2009, 22:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

If its who I think his dad has his own rolling road.

So i belive you might be the one piping down

only asked for a graph mate. ill quite happily believe 132 @ fly from a cat back exhaust then

21st March 2009, 22:51

Nah powerflow are good...
My mate has one on his fiesta...
His selling it on pistonheads, the link is...
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/944034.htm

21st March 2009, 23:46

i have a powerflow on my pug. admittedly its too loud, but performance wise all i can see is that it revs more freely. they build alot quicker and the throttle seems to respond a hell of alot better. but still , you can only do 70 mph in this country

22nd March 2009, 00:40

I had a powerflow on my Mondy ST and you could hear the V6 perfect and it really improved the performance. It made it sound like an american musule car lol. Ok a 2.5 V6 is much more powerful than any saxo but with a decat and cda it pushed it up to 190bhp. 20bhp up from when standard.

So id say they are ok but dont believe all the horror stories.

22nd March 2009, 00:45

I also got 132.2 from my vts with just a decat, cda and magnex. It is poss but my saxo is a peach.

There is a bhp chart on my prog thread to prove it but ive seen with the extra 421/41 manifold and still not make that

22nd March 2009, 03:09

So basically they should be called SlowFlow

22nd March 2009, 06:46

as it's clearly evident as Powerflow is a franchise your exhaust could be hit or miss.

Might be worth getting some recommendations in your area.

22nd March 2009, 09:36

ive seen many powerflow exhausts, i have only seen one that was produced to a decent quality. they are shit quality for the money spent on them tbf. i reckon i could make better exhausts than powerflow. (awaits the silly comments)

22nd March 2009, 09:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by raunchz

as it's clearly evident as Powerflow is a franchise your exhaust could be hit or miss.

Might be worth getting some recommendations in your area.

agreed

22nd March 2009, 09:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by gouldy87

agreed

OR for the same price buy a branded stainless system - piper would be my recommendation.

22nd March 2009, 11:01

Had a piper decat on my last VTS and it sounded a bit stupid.. far too raspy! Lookin for a deeper tone.

22nd March 2009, 11:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobbyRoo

Had a piper decat on my last VTS and it sounded a bit stupid.. far too raspy! Lookin for a deeper tone.

Deeper? Like a 6" japcan deep? I found the piper 4" slash cut system was pretty deep!

22nd March 2009, 11:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by gouldy87

only asked for a graph mate. ill quite happily believe 132 @ fly from a cat back exhaust then

Is that a maha dyno?

Graph is on the computer database i will have to get it printed out and scanned

22nd March 2009, 11:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matty-VTR

Is that a maha dyno?

Graph is on the computer database i will have to get it printed out and scanned

i dont think so. did you have a power run before and after? also what reg is your vts? th reason i ask is W reg vts or vts around that age had single plug ECUS but had the head of a later vts which had the prongs on for the exhaust gas recirculation valve, but they had no valve. these had more poer out of the factory for some reason, approx 130 ish standard.

22nd March 2009, 12:52

mines S reg 1998 mate single plug ECU

22nd March 2009, 13:16

ive seen a few and looks like been welded up by 2 year olds.

but all depends on who doing the welding and if he is having a good day.
but yes for the money of them you could get alot better eg group n omp

22nd March 2009, 13:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matty-VTR

mines S reg 1998 mate single plug ECU

hmm..... is it decatted?

22nd March 2009, 14:01

pooflow tbh

22nd March 2009, 15:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by gouldy87

hmm..... is it decatted?

No it's got some sort of 'sport cat' though, its def not standard cat.

22nd March 2009, 16:37

without causing any offence mate i find it abit hard to believe tbh. the reason i say this is the results from the yorkshire rolling road day. i came 3rd out of the 9 french cars that ran that day which i was happy with. on the day i got 131.8 @fly. i went back a couple of days later with a 350 KPA fuel pressure regulator instead of 300 KPA and a de restricted air intake and i made 136.5 @ fly (unmapped standard ecu). nij had the most powerful of the day with 149 @fly on his standard ecu. that was with with head work, ph3 cams, polished throttle body, 4 branch, de cat and a magnex cat back. hence why im doubting your claims mate. im not intending to slag your car off at all im just really curious as to how you got a figure like that from an exhaust and no air box. a couple of people with similar mods to your self came out with 118- 124 ish BHP @ fly. i would of made more if my fueling wasny horrendous tbh. my car needs mapping big time

22nd March 2009, 23:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by gouldy87

without causing any offence mate i find it abit hard to believe tbh. the reason i say this is the results from the yorkshire rolling road day. i came 3rd out of the 9 french cars that ran that day which i was happy with. on the day i got 131.8 @fly. i went back a couple of days later with a 350 KPA fuel pressure regulator instead of 300 KPA and a de restricted air intake and i made 136.5 @ fly (unmapped standard ecu). nij had the most powerful of the day with 149 @fly on his standard ecu. that was with with head work, ph3 cams, polished throttle body, 4 branch, de cat and a magnex cat back. hence why im doubting your claims mate. im not intending to slag your car off at all im just really curious as to how you got a figure like that from an exhaust and no air box. a couple of people with similar mods to your self came out with 118- 124 ish BHP @ fly. i would of made more if my fueling wasny horrendous tbh. my car needs mapping big time

No offence taken..feel free to pop down anytime and see it run on the rollers lol. 'Toad' has been on these rollers before, he and alot of other people actually think they read a bit low.

Have you not considered your engine running poorly? serviced it recently? rings on there way out? throttle body nice and clean?

23rd March 2009, 02:10

Not fan of power flow!!seen some shocking welding on there custom exhaust systems on mates cars.........

23rd March 2009, 10:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matty-VTR

No offence taken..feel free to pop down anytime and see it run on the rollers lol. 'Toad' has been on these rollers before, he and alot of other people actually think they read a bit low.

Have you not considered your engine running poorly? serviced it recently? rings on there way out? throttle body nice and clean?

engine is mint at the min. the throttle body has been ported and polished so its very clean, it was serviced a couple of months ago and the rings are fine. (2002 vts 70000 miles on it) running like a dream apart from it needs mapping which is hopefully getting done tomoz

23rd March 2009, 10:28

i think its all about what you want. i had a powerflow back box on my vts and it didnt change anything, just the sounds it made. i also asked a lad who builds rallys chris astley motorsport and he said your back box doesnt really matter its about the shit before it like your manifold and de cat and all that crap. if you build a decent exhaust then get a powerflow back box it should be fine. as for having the full system done by them, my mate has had the full job from the manifold back and he says it feels better than standard. but as for better than your recognised names like BTB and magnex i dunno.

23rd March 2009, 11:07

I had a custom Powerflow system on my car when i bought it, sounds the nuts when de-catted

Bought a supersprint race system and fitted that, didnt like the sound so put my powerflow back on and the power loss was unbalievable (sp) The supersprint was alot better throughout the rev range and throttle response was better.

Soooo basically, Powerflow are for looks and sound and are shit

I will be getting my supersprint fitted again a.s.a.p

x

23rd March 2009, 11:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by gouldy87

i dont think so. did you have a power run before and after? also what reg is your vts? th reason i ask is W reg vts or vts around that age had single plug ECUS but had the head of a later vts which had the prongs on for the exhaust gas recirculation valve, but they had no valve. these had more poer out of the factory for some reason, approx 130 ish standard.

just because yours made shit power for its spec doesnt mean everyone elses will, mine made 153 and 150 on 2 seperate rollers with breathing mods and 708s.
and its bollocks about them cars having more power.
also saxos have never ever ever had an EGR valve fitted.

mine also made 134 with backbox, decat, manifold and simota filter many moons ago so his is very believable.

23rd March 2009, 11:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by gouldy87

but they had no valve. these had more poer out of the factory for some reason, approx 130 ish standard.

thats the biggest crock of shit rumour around BTW

23rd March 2009, 11:40

All VTS's came out the factory at 120bhp approx, +/- a few bhp

23rd March 2009, 11:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom

All VTS's came out the factory at 120bhp

You wont ever have all of them being the same, they are a guide figure, some will read slightly higher some lower (the joys of tollerances)

but the 130bhp thing was a rumour started many many moons ago, mostly turned into a pisstake lol

23rd March 2009, 11:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

You wont ever have all of them being the same, they are a guide figure, some will read slightly higher some lower (the joys of tollerances)

but the 130bhp thing was a rumour started many many moons ago, mostly turned into a pisstake lol

Posted edited

Ye ive heard many people saying their VTS is the 130bhp edition...i just laugh

23rd March 2009, 12:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by gouldy87

engine is mint at the min. the throttle body has been ported and polished so its very clean, it was serviced a couple of months ago and the rings are fine. (2002 vts 70000 miles on it) running like a dream apart from it needs mapping which is hopefully getting done tomoz

In that case i reckon your cam timing is out

23rd March 2009, 15:11

i used to have one on my punto, it was only a cat back and i had no problems with it but it was just a noise maker. If u want custom design and noise then there ok, if u want performance and high quality, leave it to professionals like magnes, piper, peco and such

23rd March 2009, 15:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by sammyd

thats my powerflow system all str8 throughs decat and performance is amazing from it and its quite loud

not bad for £425

amazing performance!?

23rd March 2009, 21:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matty-VTR

In that case i reckon your cam timing is out

nope, it was set uo by my mate ricky-p rpm who tunes saxos/ 106s for a living. the cams are set up for peak power. im just in the process of uploading some pics.

once again im not after an arguement, only a discussion

23rd March 2009, 21:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by williamsvts

just because yours made shit power for its spec doesnt mean everyone elses will, mine made 153 and 150 on 2 seperate rollers with breathing mods and 708s.
and its bollocks about them cars having more power.
also saxos have never ever ever had an EGR valve fitted.

mine also made 134 with backbox, decat, manifold and simota filter many moons ago so his is very believable.

I no your quite clued up when it comes to cars as you have helped me out a few times but that is a FAIL im afraid.

see the small black EGR valve on the front of the head, well thats an EGR valve im afraid.

23rd March 2009, 21:36

open filter....bad

23rd March 2009, 21:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

You wont ever have all of them being the same, they are a guide figure, some will read slightly higher some lower (the joys of tollerances)

but the 130bhp thing was a rumour started many many moons ago, mostly turned into a pisstake lol

there was never a vts 130 version, i admit that is a chinese whisper. but they were sleightly higher power for some reason FACT! ive had a couple power run at the same time as mine. one made 144 bhp @fly with just an air filter, 4 branch and a decat! still with standard exhaust on so thats a FAIL im afraid

23rd March 2009, 21:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikey

open filter....bad

very very old picture of mine when i first bought it. the engine now looks like this-

23rd March 2009, 21:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matty-VTR

Is that a maha dyno?

Graph is on the computer database i will have to get it printed out and scanned

this is a maha dyno mate, ive been pissing about with the car today on it-

i also brought up this conversation with the lad that maps the cars at BHP tuning leeds. we discussed the mods involved and the following points were made by him-

1. how old is your dads dyno? as on the old software you can "massage" the final figure and out put of the car.

2. how often does your dad have the dyno callibrated?

3.how is the power calculated at the fly from the power at wheel figure? is the power at fly calculated from the drag figure on the run down? or is it calcualted from an assumed 25 percent transmission loss? (on old dynos this figure can pretty much to be set to what ever you like so it is highly in acurate as you can set it to as low as 0 percent

I ask these because the people ive been speaking to say its pretty near impossible to get what you got fron no airbox and a cat back exhaust.

once again no silly replies as i would like a decent discussion about the topic not a slanging match. i dont mean any offence by my comments

24th March 2009, 00:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by gouldy87

nope, it was set uo by my mate ricky-p rpm who tunes saxos/ 106s for a living. the cams are set up for peak power. im just in the process of uploading some pics.

once again im not after an arguement, only a discussion

He 'may' have got it wrong mate...check it. Somethings wrong and my bet it's the cam timing..why else would your car make shit power from your mods? you said its all serviced fine and in good nick

24th March 2009, 00:16

1. how old is your dads dyno? as on the old software you can "massage" the final figure and out put of the car.

It is old software yeh...what do you mean 'massage' ? manually change the figure? why would i want to do that lol

2. how often does your dad have the dyno callibrated?

Have to ask him that one

3.how is the power calculated at the fly from the power at wheel figure? is the power at fly calculated from the drag figure on the run down? or is it calcualted from an assumed 25 percent transmission loss? (on old dynos this figure can pretty much to be set to what ever you like so it is highly in acurate as you can set it to as low as 0 percent

drag figure on the run down

Mech Motorsports rollers by no means 'over-read', infact they are actually renowned for there low readings believe it or not. I'm sure 'Toad' on the forums will have something to say about that one lol.
I'm not trying to rub it in or anything that mine is near enough same peak power as yours with half the mods mate, peak power figures arnt everything its just pub-talk

24th March 2009, 00:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by gouldy87

there was never a vts 130 version, i admit that is a chinese whisper.

Seriously ive been around tuned saxos for a number of years now.

Its utter bull, even people who have had the heads to work on have found no flow differences between the two, before quoting FAIL at me.

24th March 2009, 00:32

Matty does mech have two dynos BTW? as on the site there are tow seperate pics one being a 2wd and one being the maha 4wd roller

24th March 2009, 12:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

Matty does mech have two dynos BTW? as on the site there are tow seperate pics one being a 2wd and one being the maha 4wd roller

Yes mate 4wd in the main unit and a 2wd in the seperate unit showed above

2wd currently has a Alfa 156 danish touring car on it lol

24th March 2009, 12:55

lol bet thats fun!

I expect before long I might have to get my car towed down and booked in, seeing as emerald specialists. The car is currently fucked lol

24th March 2009, 21:32

ther shit simple as tht !!

24th March 2009, 21:41

Had interesting read there.......

25th March 2009, 00:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

lol bet thats fun!

I expect before long I might have to get my car towed down and booked in, seeing as emerald specialists. The car is currently fucked lol

cool yours on emerald then? in what way is it fucked lol

25th March 2009, 00:17

emerald indeed. We are testing the loom etc atm.

It worked fantastically then one day, misfiring/overfueling, wouldnt maintain idle etc etc..

now it wont start and on emerald software keeps having strange readings like 100% throttle when there isnt, and we have tried a new TPS aswell!!!

Alex is playing with it alot atm just alot of head scratching atm lol

25th March 2009, 17:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

emerald indeed. We are testing the loom etc atm.

It worked fantastically then one day, misfiring/overfueling, wouldnt maintain idle etc etc..

now it wont start and on emerald software keeps having strange readings like 100% throttle when there isnt, and we have tried a new TPS aswell!!!

Alex is playing with it alot atm just alot of head scratching atm lol

Not good lol, give him a bell when you want it doing