Why my 456GT sounds like dad's Olds

I'm in the process of doing some exhaust mods to my 456, so while I figure out what will give me the best sound, I decided to remove the OEM exhaust.

Getting the boxes off:

1. Jacked the rear of the car up.
2. The wheel well grill - very easy - 5 screws each.
3. Removed the ABS cover between the wheels - very easy - 2 screws and 4 nuts.
4. Removed the clamp, 13mm socket and wrench, and two retaining screws 10mm socket. make sure you lubricate all the nuts with wd40 or something similar.
5. Removed the hanger nuts and hangers.

Next the funs starts.

About the only way I could get the box out was to insert a screw driver into the flange to "pop" out the pipe from the box. Even with the pipe out, you just can't push the box forward enough or the pipe back enough, so I took a hammer and tapped the foil down on the box to clear the pipe. Did not realy care if I nicked the OEM box since I was planning on using them again.

Once the boxes are out, my impression:

The boxes are huge and heavy. The workmanship is just OK.
Hangers, clamps and hardware good quality.

From the input side, the OD is 2 1/4, inserts into the box.
The tube inside is about 12 " and resonated (lots of small holes) and blocked at the bottom

The collector seems to be a 1 into 2 set up with number of larger holes to collect the exhaust gas I assume from the input side There seems to be no glass inside the box - See below. sounds like a steel drum when tapped.

So, I decided to get out the tin snips and go to work. (used gloves and mask). The OEM box as you can see is wrapped in about 5 to 7 pounds of insulation. Once you get all the crap off the boxes actually look like a Tubi before they head off to the polishing room. Joints and welds seems fine.

My next step is to take the box to a shop that can polish the front side. Alternatively, I might have them powder coated in Black for a retro look.

I'll post a sound file when I put the old boxes back on.
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That's really interesting stuff! The OEMs from mine are sitting in my attic- almost gave me a hernia getting them up there..

The outer casing material looks like heat shielding (similar stuff in the engine bay of the Stradale), though the Koenig exhausts I've got on at the moment look like the OEMs in your final picture. Not noticed any problems with heat buildup either so I wonder why it was put there in the first place.

Kevin

 

Christian,

Fascinating indeed. Thanks for the great photos. It looks like this could be the cheap way to convert from standard exhaust to 'tubi-style' twelve cylinder orchestral music.....

Have you changed the central silencer / cats as well as the back-boxes, or have you left that standard? I ask because I have a Tubi central silencer replacement-pipe and that's what seems to do most of the sound muffling rather than my standard rear boxes. This implies that the heavy padding is mainly for thermal, rather than audible, reduction, but who knows? I concede that changing my rears to Tubi as well would add some volume (but probably mainly change pitch to something deeper) which is why I kept with them. Perhaps your example is the right way forward.

Curiouser and curiouser.....

BTW, I would go for the powder coating, but that's just me.

J.

 

Thanks, I removed the center silencer and replaced it with a stainless X-pipe. Originally, I placed an order with Strebo, but they were backed up and I got tired of waiting so I had a local fabricator make it. Cost me $225 installed.

I decided on both finishes. I polished the front to reveal the bright stainless, and painted the body black mat with high temp header paint. Not worth the powder coat cost. To make things interesting, I drilled two sets of holes (like Capristo) above and below the dual exhaust. I have no idea how this will sound, but assume it will be better than the original. As far a heat, I think you are right, it is basically like an after-market unit which has no temp shield.

One last interesting point, when I got under the car, the rear driver's side, inside the exhaust area was signed and dated by some guy named "Sabitino." Wonder if this makes the car worth any more money,
LOL !!

MB

 

Neat idea. How much do the cans weigh?

 

This is the finished product and some sound files.

First sound file is at idle,
second is up to 5K RPMs

Also, see my autographed Ferrari Car,

Cans weigh about 20 lbs ea. my guess

MB
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View attachment MOV02354.MPG
View attachment MOV02357.MPG

 

Very cool!

 

Nice job on the drilled holes. How did you accomplish that? The polishing looks good too, though a bit matte. I bet if you went at it a bit more, with some Flitz metal polish with a polishing wheel, you could get it more mirror like...or was this the finish you were after? Looks good, sort of like the finish on the tips of a 360 CS.

I would love to see a photo of the x pipe, and how this differs from stock. What are your impressions compared to stock?

 

was the 456 only sold with a automatic transmission? I am looking to buy a 456 and Im new to buying a Ferrari and the one that I can find on EBAY only have automatic transmission

 

Thanks for the tip on getting the stainless brighter. I spent about 30 min on each can, so there is room for improvement. I bought a wheel at pep boys that is used to take a car's paint to bare metal and finished it off with 600 grit sandpaper and mother's steel polish

To get the holes, I put down masking tape, took a plastic strainer from the kitchen and used a fine point sharpie to mark the holes. I think the drill bit was 7/64. I might add another row and go up in hole size.

Don't have pictures of the x-pipe, but do have a picture of what came off. The center resonator is about 21 inches long and 6 inches wide.

MB
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Thanks for the pics! Sound files really dont do it justice so I'm sure it sounds 10x better in person.

-Doug