Actually did two today, my personal R and a customer's S. Thanks go to Stuart @ VAP for excellent products and making sure I had both sets by the weekend! Headed to Atlanta for a few weeks and wanted to get these installed before I left.

Install: Fitment was excellent on both sets. Both vehicles have pretty low miles, so the install was fairly straightforward. The clamshells securing the mid-pipe to the downpipes are probably the biggest PITA. I dropped the muffler on mine but it wasn't necessary with the S. In hindsight, I could have probably just taken the exhaust hangers off of mine and shifted it back to gain enough clearance to drop the downpipes. The O2 sensor bungs were in factory locations, no issues. I would *highly* suggest ordering two new exhaust studs. I'll post the part number later on. Order the Land Rover studs, they're half price the price of Jag ($7ish?) and are the exact same thing. I re-used all 4 nuts securing the cats as they were in good shape. Access on the driver's side cat on AWD models is a little more challenging but a stubby 15mm wrench helps. I also chose to disconnect the battery terminals on my R because of close proximity to the starter positive lug. This wasn't necessary with the S.

Sound: The V8 is just downright nasty! I considered defeating the exhaust solenoids on my muffler while it was down but it's not necessary. The car is significantly louder, even in the closed position (default). The exhaust doesn't drone but the volume is turned way up. I had plenty of pops and bangs before but now it's like shotgun blasts on decel (in sport). Driving in normal now gives some audible pops and bangs on auto downshifts as well. I'm sure they were there before but it wasn't as pronounced. The car has a much deeper bellow at idle.

The V6 Youtube clips is pretty true to form. Not as many pops and bangs as the V8 but the note is more exotic sounding. It's a pleasing tone without the bass of the V8.

With that said, I could see how someone might think the sport cats are a bit "over the top" for their R. You will hear the exhaust all the time, even at a leisurely 1700 RPM highway cruise. The car WILL attract a lot more attention, which may not be a good thing. I personally love the way it sounds now and wouldn't change a thing. As for the decat pipes, I can't even imagine how obscene that would be. Here's a Go-Pro clip of mine:

 

wondering if the car will pass Cali emissions or trigger a CEL.

 

If these no longer trigger service/CEL warnings, then will be added to shopping list.

Velocity Springs
Velocity Sport Cats
Motorsport Spacers
$39 Ebay cover
Black forged rims
Michelin 305s

 

Based on the potent exhaust smell at WOT that my friends report while attempting to catch me....I predict that these will not pass CA emissions. That being said, they are fairly "easy" to swap out except for the pesky studs. You will need to hit the studs with a torch first.

 

No CELs/codes with the VelocityAP tune btw.

 

Sweet sounds coming from that exhaust. Do I dare ask how fast you were going? 120 ish?

My apology for 'hijacking' your thread but my comments and questions are exhaust related. In a previous thread I asked if anyone else could hear their exhaust valves open and close when in sport mode with active exhaust selected and got no as an answer.

Ive been hearing a strange noise on deceleration and your video replicated it at 21 seconds, 38, 114 and 124. You hear a faint noise, like a tire rubbing 2 rotations and this is exactly what I hear in my V8. I am listening to your vid using headphones.

It's in the shop for an oil change and to diagnose the noise. Tech called to say they are installing a new muffler and I'm curious to hear what was wrong with mine, if the sound I hear is in fact a problem and if the new muffler will fix anything.

Unfortunately also found out one of the tires was sliced to the core so two new tires being put on the front. At least the exhaust is covered under warranty.

Sorry again for the hijack but your vid captured what I was trying to describe.

 

150 miles and probably 15 or so key cycles, no codes, just smiles. Cruising at 75, 1700 RPM it takes "26" on the radio to overcome the exhaust. Press the accelerator down 10% and there is nothing to overcome that wall of noise. YMMV, I listen to country

Ryan

 

I heard that sound during the edit but wasn't sure what it was either.

 

Thx - I'll post a link to your vid on the thread I started. I don't want to take away from your post by derailing anymore.

 

Damn... i don't want to go though all that for a reg.

 

Did you check to see if all your readiness tests passed? The check engine light not coming on is one thing & passing the tests is another. Thank you in advance.

 

It's actually not that big of a deal. These are the easiest DPs I've worked with.

 

Up in Atlanta for a few weeks, so I won't be able to scan the car.

Ryan

 

Re: Cali emissions..... ANY catalytic converter that does not have a CARB approval for that specific application is technically a fail.

However, in practice, speaking from other vehicle types like Astons I have had more customers than I could possibly count pass California emissions with non-CARB approved catalyst types.

Since there is no simulated drive/rolling road test and it is just an OBDII readiness + tailpipe sniff at idle, it's probably possible to have these pass Cali emissions.

However, I would bet dollars to donuts that at best, the cat efficiency is marginal for triggering a CEL, and at worst they will all throw P0420 & P0430. We can address this with tuning solutions so really the answer is, if you fit these + do a tune at the same time you are more than likely good to go.

And as cbroth said, worst case you can swap them out. There's some parts we do that are a PITA to install like V12 headers or Audi R8 Exhausts, but these are probably as quick & easy as it gets so it wouldn't be a huge hassle to do a swap if absolutely necessary.

 

Maryland doesn't do a sniffer with the OBDII test, so it sounds like I'd be good to go. Still looking about 3-4 months out on the V6 headers?

 

FWIW, my 16 R makes the exact same sounds on extended overrun that you pointed out in the video at those 4 marks.

 

They replaced the muffler and said the valves were vibeating around inside. Sound is still there but not as pronounced. Guess I had my exhaust tips cleaned for free under warranty with the new muffler and all

 

test

 

Figured the front page would be interested too...
F-Type V8 R Fitted with VelocityAP Sport Cat Exhaust System

 

Just a follow up on this thread. I've probably put another 500-700 miles on mine, no check engine light. Her "S" has probably done twice as many miles as mine, no issues there either. Both of our cars are running VAP tunes.

One little detail I discovered when I got back from Atlanta... before I lowered my exhaust for the install, I disconnected both hoses from the exhaust solenoids. While jockeying it around, I must have inadvertently knocked the tee off of the single hose that feeds both solenoids. It's easy to miss as it's located up high on the left side. The result was that my exhaust was initially running loud ALL the time. I discovered this when I didn't hear the valves shut a few seconds after a cold start. I got out, shined a flashlight in the tailpipes, Yep, all 4 open at idle. After I reached up and re-connected it, the car became significantly quieter on cruise. As in, I went from 26 to 17 on the volume knob .

So with that said, someone could certainly just plug the line at the tee coming from the pump and never have to worry about an exhaust switch anymore. If that's how you like to roll. There is no feedback to the PCM on valve position, it's just a pair of vacuum actuators.

Kitesurfer - I'm pretty sure I've nailed down that noise to weak actuators. Even though the are trying to shut, I think the exhaust is making them flap a little.

Ryan