RE: Ur-quattro exhaust systems

[Dave Lawson <dlawson@ball.com>]

Hi Steve,

>I developed an exhaust leak in the front muffler (not the cat) on my '83
>QTCoupe.  When the rear muffler did the same thing a few years ago I 
managed
>to get an OEM replacement part from Ansa.  Apparently they no longer carry
>these parts.  I *really* don't want to pay the dealer's price for a 
replace-
>ment, but I must pass the CA smog test.  I called someone at Borla who said 

>that if I sent mine to him he could duplicate it.  I also talked to one of
>the Anderson brothers (Quattro Club USA), who said that they were talking
>about sending one to Borla for the same reason.  To my knowledge nothing
>ever came of it.
>
>What I'm looking for is any experiences with Borla or any other aftermarket 

>exhaust systems.  Is a stainless system available?  Would there be any 
prob-
>lems with passing the CA smog test with an aftermarket exhaust?

I have a complete cat back stainless steel exhaust system from Borla on my 
83 TQC. This system eliminates the center muffler. I purchased it in 1991 
after my center muffler let go. It works great and passes the Colorado 
emissions test just fine. The car has a nice growl, but not obnoxiously 
loud.

I am not sure if they are making them for Audis anymore though. They were 
getting a lot of returned Audi systems and last I heard gave up on them. I 
know they will sell stainless steel mufflers which you can have welded in 
place of the stock mufflers.

When I originally installed the Borla system, it wasn't quite bolt-on. It 
comes as a 4 piece system and the piece from the cat to the second section 
was too long. I think I also had them increase the angle of a pipe to get 
better clearence over the rear half-shaft. I talked with Borla about the 
problems and sent it back. The system returned to me bolted right on. I have 
also had an extra hanger added where the center muffler used to be, as Borla 
didn't include this on their system. I have had one problem with the system 
so far, an insert in one of the pipes in the dual tips came loose and fell 
off. I sent the rear muffler back to Borla and they welded in a new one for 
free. The million mile warranty works so far.

If only the center muffler is bad and the rear is still good, have the 
center muffler replaced with a straight pipe. This has been done on quite a 
few TQCs and works fine.
 -
Dave Lawson  dlawson@ball.com
86 coupe GT
83 TQC