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Just bought VF Calais V8, exhaust advice.

VE_CalaisV8

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Hey All,

I just bought myself a VF Calais Sedan series 1. I am wanting to do exhaust, intake and tune (which is what I do to most of my cars haha). This post is not about what I can do to get the most power or rwkw, but I wanting to know what a reliable exhaust combo is for my needs.

My calais is my family car (I have a 4 and a 2 year old) so I can't have a big booming exhaust. What I really want is something that is mild when cruising, but when I give it the berries it comes alive without being too loud. I was thinking that a 2.5" exhaust will do the trick but I see there are so many brands people use and I have only ever gone the "walkinshaw" route with previous cars and wanting to spend a bit less than what their packages are.

One tuning shop I have spoken to say they use Xforce or DPE (DPE will be an extra $1200) are Xforce ok? Should I go with Mild steel or Stainless steel? Does it really affect the note? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks fellas.
 

dimetime

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Hey All,

I just bought myself a VF Calais Sedan series 1. I am wanting to do exhaust, intake and tune (which is what I do to most of my cars haha). This post is not about what I can do to get the most power or rwkw, but I wanting to know what a reliable exhaust combo is for my needs.

My calais is my family car (I have a 4 and a 2 year old) so I can't have a big booming exhaust. What I really want is something that is mild when cruising, but when I give it the berries it comes alive without being too loud. I was thinking that a 2.5" exhaust will do the trick but I see there are so many brands people use and I have only ever gone the "walkinshaw" route with previous cars and wanting to spend a bit less than what their packages are.

One tuning shop I have spoken to say they use Xforce or DPE (DPE will be an extra $1200) are Xforce ok? Should I go with Mild steel or Stainless steel? Does it really affect the note? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks fellas.
Dpe (now manta) 2.5 catback is what I'd suggest, xforce will drone on the freeway which is more then likely going to be to loud and annoying!
 

panhead

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Dpe (now manta) 2.5 catback is what I'd suggest, xforce will drone on the freeway which is more then likely going to be to loud and annoying!

Drive faster, you won't hear the drone over the wind and tyre noise.

The cheaper exhausts like XForce can be okay especially if you are not going big bore, it's more import you find a good exhaust shop who'll tailor it to your needs, be honest with you about what you can expect and be prepared to back up their work.



.
 

Milo 6.0

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I have an x force exhaust on my wagon with centre hotdogs and rear mufflers,ve hsv headers/cats and a tune/otr,3.45 diff gears.
Before the cam was fitted the exhaust was resonably quiet at idle, cruise and sounded good when opened up.
Its the raw stainless version,despite what people say,x force are good exhausts,mine doesnt drone at all,it fits perfectly,rear mufflers have full adjustment so the tips can be lined up perfectly with the bumper cutouts.
High flow cats will make anything drone,as long as you have at least 2 hotdogs and 2 mufflers and standard cats it will be fine.
For the price id recommend ve/f hsv headers/cats,decent gains over the cast log manifolds.
Just my experience
 

lordsnipe

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What I really want is something that is mild when cruising, but when I give it the berries it comes alive without being too loud.
Sounds like a perfect candidate for factory S2 bimodal mufflers and a HSV mid section, although since you have a S1, you won't have the automatic bimodal control and have to wire something up to a manual control.
 

Philmecrackun

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I've got a S2, and it sounds good in sports mode, if you want it quieter, put it back to normal mode via mylink.
 

daves8

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I have a series 1 calais, 2 younger kids too.

I had a manta “quiet” version on mine for a few years, and it was awesome. No drone, quiet at cruise, angry when into it.

I changed to DPE, and also awesome.

I have a manta mild steel catback for sale if interested?
 

MrBags

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From all the exhausts I have heard nothing comes close to the DPE sound, so as they changed ownership to them the Manta system is the way to go I think.
The post above may be just what you want for an early Xmas pressie!!
 

abuch47

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Hey All,

I just bought myself a VF Calais Sedan series 1. I am wanting to do exhaust, intake and tune (which is what I do to most of my cars haha). This post is not about what I can do to get the most power or rwkw, but I wanting to know what a reliable exhaust combo is for my needs.

My calais is my family car (I have a 4 and a 2 year old) so I can't have a big booming exhaust. What I really want is something that is mild when cruising, but when I give it the berries it comes alive without being too loud. I was thinking that a 2.5" exhaust will do the trick but I see there are so many brands people use and I have only ever gone the "walkinshaw" route with previous cars and wanting to spend a bit less than what their packages are.

One tuning shop I have spoken to say they use Xforce or DPE (DPE will be an extra $1200) are Xforce ok? Should I go with Mild steel or Stainless steel? Does it really affect the note? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks fellas.
get xforce with the varex mufflers. mild steel doesnt always last but will be deeper than stainless and cheaper.

bigger bore=deeper note, generally louder as well but more on/off noise rather than constant with smaller diameters.
 

426Cuda

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Sounds like a perfect candidate for factory S2 bimodal mufflers and a HSV mid section, although since you have a S1, you won't have the automatic bimodal control and have to wire something up to a manual control.
Yep I agree. Sounds like the ticket for what the @VE_CalaisV8 is looking for. I have this setup in my VF Redline and love it. Also have HSV headers and 200cpi cats. The module to operate the bimodal via a key fob is cheap @ $120 and easy to install. Loud and obnoxious under hard acceleration, a nice V8 burble at cruise. In quiet mode it still has a meaty note under hard acceleration, but you really hear the induction roar from the OTR. This can't be heard in loud mode. Idling around or cruising in quiet mode it's very stealthy.
All parts are easy to source online through PlanetParts.
 
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