VOLVO 240 EXHAUST PAGE |
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Updated: June 2, 2022 CONTACT |
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240 Exhaust Basics |
240 Custom Exhaust |
Larger Exhaust |
Mandrel vs Crushed? |
Eliminating Drone |
240 EXHAUST BASICS |
240 CUSTOM EXHAUSTS |
For those of you interested in building a custom exhaust for your car, here are some topics you may be interested in. LARGER EXHAUST I have been a hot-rodder for many years and I'll be the fist one to tell you a bigger exhaust will usually help with engine power and fuel economy. There are a number of articles and videos available which will demonstrate the difference. My personal belief is that a larger exhaust is worth the price for a TURBO or NON-TURBO car, however a non-turbo will pretty much always see less return for the money spent. Plus in most cases a larger exhaust is going to be louder inside and outside the car, depending of course on the muffler combination you select. In the early 1990s my first 240 was a 1983 244 DL. I improved the exhaust on that car by installing a larger 240 2.3 inch Turbo exhaust "back-half" that was inserted beginning at the back of the catalytic converter (cat-back exhaust). This was a factory 240 turbo exhaust from a salvage yard. It did noticeably improve performance. These days you can find just such a "cat-back" system for a non-turbo car from places like iPd. ![]() Here's a video of this exhaust being installed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHzaRl3QSkw Years ago I had the below 3 inch exhaust built for my 240 Turbo. The down-pipe was custom made using mandrel bent tubing. The rest of the exhaust was made by a local exhaust shop using standard 3 inch aluminized tubing, using an economical crush-bending method. A 3 inch catalytic converter was used and one large 3 inch muffler was put in back. If you're curious about a performance comparison between mandrel bent or crush-bent: CLICK HERE. ![]() ![]() The 3 inch catalytic converter was placed in a non-original location (for a 240 turbo), although that location is the normal location for a non-turbo car. In some places where more strict emission rules apply, this location may not be acceptable, although this worked fine for all the years I lived in California and had to smog test the car every two years. Reportedly a larger exhaust will help a turbo spool up faster. That's a hard thing to quantify, but what about the horsepower gain with a bigger pipe? Here's an episode of Engine Masters where they dyno tested a 2.5 versus 3 inch exhaust. Definitely good info to know.
BUILDING A CUSTOM TURBO EXHAUST The first thing you'll need when you decide on a custom TURBO exhaust will be the downpipe. The most common or original turbo found in a 240 Turbo will have a 3-bolt "cone" shaped flange on the exhaust side as shown below, which is made for a 2.5 inch flange. ![]() If you're going for a larger 3 inch pipe, there are transition flanges available to create a 3 inch downpipe for the above turbo. Usually searching for a "Saab turbo downpipe flange" will find something useful. Sometimes these can only be found in Europe. The first photo below is a 2.5 to 3 inch flange that used to be offered by GenuineSaab.com in the USA. This is one I have used, but it was discontinued. The second photo is a 2.5 to 3 inch flange offered on eBay by Zaustworx in the UK. Also a similar one is offered by KSR in Norway. Most performance parts places like this in Europe speak pretty good English and will usually be happy to help with questions. ![]() ![]() It's possible to find ready made 3 inch downpipes also, but often the sources will be outside the USA, like the first image below from Martelius Exaust Systems in Finland. It's also a good practice to use a flex union somewhere near the engine to help with vibration. ![]() ![]() MANDREL BENT versus CRUSH-BENT PIPE Nearly everyone will tell you for the BEST performance you MUST build a mandrel bent exhaust. Anyone with eyes will agree that smooth consistent bends without any bottlenecks will flow better, but you might be surprised about the real world difference. I saw an episode of Engine Masters on Motortrend TV that offered some of the best evidence toward an answer. In Season 6, Episode 83: Mandrel- v. Crunch-Bent Exhaust, (subscription needed to watch) a 530 HP naturally aspirated V8 was dyno tested with both exhaust types. The difference between MANDREL BENT 2.5 inch and CRUSH-BENT 2.5 inch exhaust was less than 10 hp at a 530 hp level. So you may consider this if the cost increase for a mandrel bent system is significantly more money. |
EXHAUST DRONE |
![]() Looking at the photo of this exhaust above, there is no intermediate muffler between the catalytic converter and rear muffler. A few years after this photo was taken I added a small glass-pack style resonator after the cat to reduce some drone I was getting at some speeds. Now there may be a more modern approach. Have a look at the below video. Eliminating Exhaust Drone with a J-Pipe (Helmholtz) Resonator https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds72D4rr4hg |
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