I got my X pipe for the 4.3L Vantage yesterday from Stuart! Very good quality part, shipping was fast and the install went almost without any problems... I found that having the entire exhaust system from the muffler up to the cats loosened, made it go much more smoothly! Plenty of Deep Creep(WD-40) or the like worked wonders and the whole job took me about 2.5 hours with a lunch break! Unfortunately it rained all day so I didnt get any video of the startup nor did I get a chance to drive the car but I will add that as soon as the weather allows. I do have some video of a flybye from before the X Pipe so I am interested to see (hear) the difference!




Package arrived from Velocity!





Old midpipe section





Don't forget to remove this from the old midpipe assembly! You will need it





New X Pipe





All bolted in and tightened down.... Wiaring for some dry roads

 

Thanks for sharing.

I'm considering this along with the 200 cell cats and tune for my 2007 Vantage.

Any impressions on how the xpipe sounds and feels?

 

I don't know that I can feel a butt dyno difference, not that I had expected any power gain, but the smoothing out of the exhaust sound is noticable. I have gotten busy on a project with my Esprit so I forgot to take video with the xpipe sound. I have before video so I will do a short video this weekend to post some clips. I think the sound is mellowed some but the tone is a bit more exotic in my opinion, it sounds great and I retained the fuse 22 so the car is still quiet at idle! I will post some video this weekend so you can compare. The part is well worth the price of admission and is factory quality!
Art

 

Looks great! X/pipe will lower the overall volume slightly but it gives the exhaust note a much smoother exotic sound due to the balancing of the exhaust pulses. This also filters out any harsh harmonics in the exhaust note. You desperately need to upgrade the stock cats to get the full power & sound benefits

 

I'm looking for more engine and exhaust roar that I can hear from inside the cabin, if that makes sense.

I'll consider the xpipe after 200 cell cats and tune 1st, since it may lower sound, and we still have the option of adding fuse 22 back in (mine is pulled out all the time now with my stock configuration).

It seems like the 200 cell cats plus tune are the biggest bang for the buck with the 4.3 engines!

 

The "stock cats" are an illusion! There is nothing inside them! They are hollow now!

 

You clever guy you

 

The side street video is after. The highway vid is before the pipe. No other changes made between the two videos.

 

Sounds great, X-pipes definitely help refine the exhaust not and give them that more European exotic note. I think it's a must no matter which brand you choose

 

Maybe it's me but I am having difficulty identifying a discernible difference in sound.

 

There is a subtle difference, the Xpipe has reduced the rasp at higher RPM but overall not much change. Either way, it sounds great to me and the smoother upper RPM note is much more exotic.

 

Dyno footage illustrates how much smoother the X-pipe roars at high rpms. A much more sweet exotic sounding note than the brash V8 with high flow cats.

If you plan on going HFC, X-pipe is almost mandatory.

 

Was it necessary to put a competing vendor's advertisement in a thread for another vendor's product?

 

I believe the X pipe for the 4.7 is much different in how the layout is between the 4.3 and 4.7L engines. I will try to get some highway speed video soon to really compare the revs, gears and noise generated on the highway"before" x pipe vids. It is difficult to compare sound with 2nd gear lower revs drive by than higher speed highway pull at 50-60 mph!