fiestaturbo.com

[jonesy_rst]

which of these would ppl day is the best built? and which is louder?

[dave hay]

scorpion "raspier"

i love the sound of mongoose exhuasts. nice low grunt. brilliant for an rs.

[ianFRST]

not much difference in build quality.

mongoose is better tho

[heeman10]

Mongoose always wins this debate. Better sound, more free-flowing and better for power was always the general concensus I have a Mongoose system on mine, so it's obviously the best

[Ollie]

Scorpion are much better!


Although you can't get a Mongoose for the Mk2 so my oppinion might be a bit biased.

[Merritt__RS]

mongoose is the one to go 4!!!!!!!! the noise it makes when u r giveing it is unreal all my nabouers r all ways moneing about the noise when i pull in to the car park lol

[wildheart]

Scorpion are very restrictive so go for mongoose.

[Brammer]

Well i'm not sure to what people mean about scorpions being restricted, i have a scorpion on my new fiesta, no boxes and the bore seems to be 2 3/4 inch and a nicer turbo sound 'like a series one' and you can see right through the backbox so theirs no restrictions at all, i had a mongoose on my last fiesta and that had a box at the front and was a deep rumble sound, i found the mongoose restricted massively when it was running a inward rolled backbox, people may remember the thread i put up about it.

I say between the two - scorpion

But apparently accourding to the tuners - magnex was the perfect allround exhaust for the rs turbo ????

[jonosi]

id say Mongoose although a tad loud sometimes but does sound sweet

[filtra]

h196jne - The 3.5 outward rolled that you changed to isn't a standard fit is it? Did you get it modified or did it yourself?

Ive got a full mongoose system on my FRST. It's just a backbox 3.5 inward rolled.

[russ_si]

I have a mongoose on mine, really like it.

[jonesy_rst]

doesnt the mongoose system come with a big indent in the downpipe as its coming down? which cant be good flow??

[Rusey]

Mongoose

[KEVFRST]

Although I run a Magnex on mine, if I was to buy again id go Mongoose.
I run a `goose` on the clio and the noise is fantastic, Always recommend these 1st to my customers.

[knuckles]

The mongoose system on my xr2i made it sound like a beast.

Nice deep rumble on idle , then when you give it the beans .......

[Brammer]

h196jne - The 3.5 outward rolled that you changed to isn't a standard fit is it? Did you get it modified or did it yourself?

Ive got a full mongoose system on my FRST. It's just a backbox 3.5 inward rolled.

I bought the backbox off a lad on here, it was on his 2i, he had cut some of the end pipe off and sloted a reducer in its place, he kept the original bit and i welded it back to gether in exactly the same place it was cut, no it wasn't modded, although the system on mine was a really early collins performace exhaust, still the same company that founded mongoose.

[Fezzy Turbo]

....... i had a mongoose on my last fiesta and that had a box at the front and was a deep rumble sound, i found the mongoose restricted massively when it was running a inward rolled backbox, people may remember the thread i put up about it.

You sure it was a Mongoose ? and was this on a FRST ? as my Mongoose only comes with a backbox. And as for being restrictive, no chance. The tailpipe makes no difference if inward or outwardly rolled, (even after myself and sunny trying to wind up people several years ago ) as its just for different tastes. You can see right through the backbox on a Mongoose for a FRST and there is nothing else up to the turbo ..... oh apart from the flexy section, which is not restrictive.

jonesy_rst : not on mine it doesnt. I havent seen that before.

[filtra]

h196jne - The 3.5 outward rolled that you changed to isn't a standard fit is it? Did you get it modified or did it yourself?

Ive got a full mongoose system on my FRST. It's just a backbox 3.5 inward rolled.

I bought the backbox off a lad on here, it was on his 2i, he had cut some of the end pipe off and sloted a reducer in its place, he kept the original bit and i welded it back to gether in exactly the same place it was cut, no it wasn't modded, although the system on mine was a really early collins performace exhaust, still the same company that founded mongoose.

Yeah, I got mine from collins too. Branded as mongoose now anyway. I was just wondering because in the catalogue you can only choose from 3.5/4 inward or 4 outward. I prefer the outward rolled but 4 inches is a bit excessive.

The only thing that I didn't like about the exaust is the massive dent on the down pipe where they bend it (as mentioned above) can't help smooth flow. Apart from that its all good! Still cant stop the middle section from leaking though

[Brammer]

You sure it was a Mongoose ? and was this on a FRST ? as my Mongoose only comes with a backbox. And as for being restrictive, no chance. The tailpipe makes no difference if inward or outwardly rolled

My system on the last fiesta was 13 years old, and came from collin performance, congelton cheshire where mongoose started as i went with my mate when he had it fitted to his brand new frst, the design did change as the rear box is bigger now and they never had a flexi pipe and had a cherry bomb style box at the front, and as for being restrictive, something was as it went better on the rollers after i changed the backbox over,.... so anyway i prefer the sound of the scorpion system, its nice to be different

Its funny as i remember the days when people were very unsure about mongoose as they had just started out.

But the best exhaust i have ever had on a turbo is a tubetorque full system they are without a doubt excellent systems.

[wildheart]

Scorpions are restrictive due to bore size i believe.

And have to agree with tube torque,i had one on my old cossie 10 years ago,bloody expensive at the time but was worth it

[purple_fiesta]

Mongoose for me, 3" all the way through gives me a head ache but I fooking love it

[Brammer]

Scorpions are restrictive due to bore size i believe.

And have to agree with tube torque,i had one on my old cossie 10 years ago,bloody expensive at the time but was worth it

I will have to get the vernier on the bore as i'm sure that mine is bigger the mongie, and yes tubetorque are expensive i think mine escort turbo system was £400 odd and my mate got his xr4i done the same day and i think he payed a £1k inc manifolds

[GavStyli]

buy an exhaust system which has a flexi
ive had a scorpion which i felt was restrictive as when i changed to the magnex, the car sounded and felt better and turbo whistled much louder.
the scorpion front box cracked so had to get rewelded.
magnex is good quality but not loud at all unless u remove one of the boxes which i have done.
mongoose would be my choice if i had to buy another one as heard good things about them and they got a flexi

[~nomad~]

I prefer scorpian

[Xr_Dub]

mongoose all the way,

mines was a mongoose from a escort S2 and then striaght through fiesta turbo styley 3.5 system bcuz i have the t34, did cost a few bob..

i love the noise it sounds as it has power not like the crap you see and hear from others plus everyone knows when my cars comming on my street lol. i did use to have scorpion full system not bad on my 2i engine and did bump it up in bhp terms and sounded good
but for a turbo
mongoose is recommend from ian howell and the rest of the top tuners..

[rstirl]

alright lads the summers comin so i can stop f*ckin studying soon and give the car a bit of attention.

been thinking about getting a new exhaust and this thread was agreat help. im gonna order a mongoose system.

then i remembered an article from a magazine years back with a full test of exhausts for the mk3 xr2i.

and i had a root around and found it.

ill type it out and add it in sections cos it may take a while but it should be a handy reference i hope!

everything i write from now is straight from the mag.

[rstirl]

REVS magazine issue 73 August 2002 pp.82-85

More power in an hour.

To give your XR2i awesome power gains and a top sound, what better way than a full exhaust system for as little as £140?

On Test: Magnex
Scorpion
Janspeed
Sportex
Piper
Standard

How we did the test:
We fitted all five systems to Ian Chamberlains mint J-plate XR2i and then dyno'd them on Northampton Motorsport' rolling road to see which gave the best bhp and torque increses over the stock system. Each system was judged on the quality of the build, materials and it ease of fitting. We listened to the exhaust note too and got all this information together and then scored them out of five to show you where best to spend your cash.

[rstirl]

Standard System

The standard system on the XR2i is quite frankly a joke. It strangles the power of an otherwise decent engine and sounds like an asthmatic granny f*rting through a hose.

Our mint XR2i produced 88bhp at peak and 98.9ft/lb of torque, but for a couple of hundred quid this could so easily be considerably more.

The standard system seems to have a definite flat spot in the middle of the rev range between 3000rpm and 4500rpm and this is precisely where you need power increases.

If you've got a flat spot in the rev range here it will really make a difference when overtaking or sprinting from the lights.

The peak power also drops off sharply at 6000rpm, hence the low peak figure. With a two piece construction and quality that looks like it was finished off by blind chimps, this system looks as if it will last a whole five minutes... follow Nikki's example, bin this and heed our recommendations.



Piper £260

Wow. The quality of the Piper System is really first rate with superb quality materials and construction with spot-on clean welds.

In Gile's words the stainless Piper system literally 'dropped straight on' and was worth 10/10 for fit, finish, everything'. Praise indeed.

The system hangs exactly right and comes with full fitting kit to make everything as easy as possible for you at home as it took us about ten minutes to fit. Admittedly we had use of a ramp, but this was the easiest fitting system here and for the price its well worth it.

On the rollers the Piper system gained our XR2i an extra 5 bhp and nearly 6ft/lb of torque giving a system that it pays to drive hard.

The system sounds a lot more subtle than the Scorpion or Sportex with just a nice low grumble to let you know its there. If you drive everywhere at high revs the Piper could be for you.

With a lifetime warranty as well, the Piper system has everything - for £260, there’s nothing better here.

Scores
Power Increase: 4.5 stars
Sound:3.5 stars
Build quality: 4.5 stars
Fit: 5 stars
Total: 4.5 stars
REVS BEST BUY 2002



Sportex £138

The best thing about the Sportex system is the price. At over a hundred notes cheaper than the stainless systems and with an 18 month unlimited mileage warranty this aluminised mild steel system is very good value indeed at £138.

The sound of the Sportex was definitely the loudest here which definitely appealed to us personally- the mild steel systems seem to roar nicely- but the downpoint were about to explain definitely made us rethink the Sportexs few virtues.

We had some trouble fitting the Sportex system as although all the bits are provided they didn't seem to fit together very well. The system was a little short, leaving the middle section very close to the gear linkages and the tailpipe drawn too far under the rear bumper. The welds looked untidy compared to the excellent construction of the stainless systems and the three-inch pipe wasn't sexy enough to stir anything in either of us.

On the rollers the Sportex system actually lost power and torque early in the Rev range and at the limiter, although it did smooth off the flat spots between 3500 and 5000 revs better than any other system. It did give an extra 4 bhp at full chat, but nobody drives everywhere at 6000rpm plus so to pick the system because of this would be misleading as where it counts it was actually down on standard.

Scores:
Power Increase: 3.5 stars
Sound: 4 stars
Build quality: 2.5 stars
Fit: 2 stars
Total: 3 stars


Magnex £265

As always Magnex never lets the punter down and this is no exception. Their XR2i system is made of stainless steel and looks superb with the usual high quality welds and construction.

The fitting is also excellent with all the required bits and the system fits just like the Piper so should be no hassle at all to anybody with even a basic knowledge of modded motors.

The end of the middle section that connects to the backbox is inwardly rolled and we thought that this may effect the power gains but were surprised that they were respectable if not amazing. With nearly 3 horses and a further 3 ft/lb gained at the flywheel the Magnex gives a smoother power curve in the middle, effectively smoothing off the flat spot in acceleration on Ian's Fiesta

The noise was predictably more subtle with this system - Magnex systems are about quality and smooth performance, not raucous noise and this gave a low burbling rasp rather than a rippling roar. Like all the other stainless systems, the Magnex comes with a lifetime warranty and this is a top £265 system overall.

Scores:
Power increase:4 stars
Sound: 2.5 stars
Build quality:4.5 stars
Fit:5 Stars
Total: 4 stars


Janspeed £180

The Janspeed system is made of aluminised mild steel and the construction is only really average with untidy welds and a front box that looks as though it's been bashed with a hammer to make it fit.

The system fits together very well however, the only complaint would be that the backbox section is probably a fraction short, leaving the system tucked right under the bumper.

The sound from the Janspeed is very pleasing however, with a throaty bellow that sounds like a distant roll of thunder, which is cool. When revved hard it did sound wicked.

When tested the system showed a really good progression of power through the revs, but this dropped off at about 6000rpm giving a peak power under one bhp over standard, but it gets there very well indeed.

On the torque scale, the Janspeed was awesome, bettered only by the Scorpion as it gave nearly 6 extra ft/lb of torque.

If only the construction was better this might have been a recommended choice, but the finish really let the Janspeed system down.

Score:
Power Increase: 3 stars
Sound: 3.5 stars
Build Quality: 3 stars
Fit: 3 stars
Total: 3 Stars


Scorpion £275

The Scorpion system is probably the most attractive here with its gorgeous polished and engraved boxes with the Scorpion logo. Tasty.

It slipped straight onto the car without any problems at all but the only problem with the Scorpion system was that it was a little short in the middle section, meaning the tailpipe fell about an inch and a half short pulling it a little too far under the rear bumper. If you like your exhaust subtle than this wont be a problem for you.

The quality of construction was very good with all components made of stainless steel and held together with dead tidy welds.

On the rollers was where we got the biggest shock however, as the Scorpion really seemed to unleash the might of the 1600cc engine and had a deep burbling roar to match. With an extra two and a half horses and nearly 10(!) ft/lb of torque at peak, the Scorpion also made decent increases all through the rev range.

With a lifetime warranty, overall the Scorpion is a superb system at a decent price, just a shame about the length.

Scores
Power Increase: 4 stars
Sound:4 stars
Build Quality:4.5 stars
Fit:4 stars
Toatal:4 stars



Conclusion

The test was really hard to call with a consistently high standard from Magnex, Piper and Scorpion. All three systems were very well constructed and finished so will look the business for (hopefully) many years to come.

But there can only be one winner and we'd have to pick the piper as it gives the best combination of fit, power and torque increase, price and finish. The fit as outstandingly hassle free and it made power all through the rev range and offered the best driveable power increase- i.e. power where you want it, between 2500 and 5000 revs.

We'd also recommend the Magnex as the finish was predictably superb and the fit was almost as good as that of the standard setting Piper.

Our only gripe was that the tailpipe wasn't quite as sexy as the Piper – that’s all it came down to which is just personal preference.

Of the rest the Scorpion came next only by a hairs breadth, cos it gave bags of torque where you want it and a power rise in the mid torque range also.

[ukmicky]

i got a scorpian and find it a bit to loud

[260bhp_orion]

i got a magnex on mine and found that there is hardly and exhaust noise, its all engine and turbo! maybe if i remove one of the boxes it may sound more raspier ans rst'ish! anyone ever removed one of the boxes on a magnex??

[RS1800pec]

Neither....Magnex

Cant beat magnex for quality, 2nd in line would be mongoose. Magnex are more suttle and not so grunty, so if its noise over performance and quality you wont mongoose is the one.

Just fitted my magnex the other week and i love it

[fiend]

Magnex.

[/end of thread]

[RS1800pec]

Amen

[MarkFRST]

My turbo always had a mongoose (without a flexi pipe) it was an older one(bought around 1999) never broke or any any probs with it, a quality item - it also gives the best sound IMO, scorpions on the frsts always used to sound just not quite as good, hard to explain.
The arguement with the scorpion back box was they used to run a thin pipe through the box that was the restrictive bit, even though it had a much larger box round it.

Magnex are built very well, they fit very well, but they dont give the same turbo 'note' you should have on a frst, much much quieter. ( a good choice for modded concours though )

[frst2006]

hmm, i have a scorpion w/ 4inch outward rolled box, and it's the only one i've had (apart from std.) and it is a bit loud yes, but i think it does sound . I'm not sure about it being restrictive, but it has definitely been good for me