ANSA exhaust

[toplessexpat]

Gordian Knot

I quite like French Horn Header as a descriptor..

[Calman]

I need a new exhaust system including Cat converter to replace the old one (which is falling apart and now causing a loud rattle ) on my 1981 Spider 2000.
I read the posts about the exhaust from allison auto and they seem great but right I'm not looking for performance but SOUND - ie loud and I really like the LOOK of the ANSA twin tip tail piece

So, I was thinking of getting the ANSA rear twin tip muffler (ANSAFA2567) and center muffler (ANSAFA7245) from discount exhaustsystems.com for $300 the pair and then purchasing other parts as needed to build up my system
Everything needs to bolt together (my mechanic will do the job, not a muffler shop so no welding)

Any advice suggestions? I read one negative post on the ANSA rear muffler- anyone know how these sound?
Thanks!!
Jay

[narfire]

Hi Jay.
I have a twin tip on my 80 FI. I do not have a resonator nor cat. converter. Loud ?...kinda and during a long drive tends to drone on a bit. I've used ear plugs and that was better with a 4 hour trip. Around town, not really an issue.
OK that was the positive....as Mr. Artique has mentioned the thing hangs low with the stock rubber attachments. Pull it up and the top of the bend over the axle can bang on the underside...irritating. I changed to a 2" system and the muffler shop sorted that part out.
It can break with time as the pipe goes into the muffler, had to weld mine up.
The rear of the car has a recess for a single pipe so the twin tip does not fit nicely. When building my car the body shop cut out the recess to fit properly.
So there you go..... sounds good though in my opinion.

[Calman]

Thanks for the feedback Narfire- sounds like minor mods are needed for the ANSA. BTW Ive been running without a center muffler and resonator myself but I do have a Cat because I have to pass SMOG
What I do like about the ANSA is the classic twin tip look- some of the modern mufflers have a very large diameter tailpipe that in my opinion, looks out of place on a classic

[So Cal Mark]

the dual tip we're using fits up into the body pretty well

[Zippy]

More to your question - that ANSA twin tip is a piece of crap. Flows the same as a stock exhaust but hangs poorly and doesn't fit the slot. Use a stock 421 or Marks' spaghetti header and you'll be a happy driver. A stock or single tip exit will look right and hang well.

I have the ANSA setup and I think I'm getting at least a 30% increase in horse something I have mixed feelings about the way it looks. It was on the car when I got it and I have just never gotten around to changing it. I have the 4-2-1 manifold a cat and the twin tip ANSA. I have more horsepower than I need.

It looks good from this angle.


But from here it looks like it's too low and too far out the back.


From the back it looks awkward because the 2 pipes hang below the cutout in the body for the single pipe. Even if you suck it up tight it is still going to look funny(IMHO)


I did see a post on here awhile back where someone cutout the body to fit the twin pipes.
It's not loud and I can drive all day at 5000 RPM and listen to that sweet sounding motor.
As they say, "Do what makes you happy."

[sgkent]

best performance and HP we ever got with headers was a 4 into one equal length - quite short, two runners had to corkscrew to make it work. The stock cast manifold 4-2-1 works well too if it is cleaned up. We always found a straight pipe back to a glass pack of some kind, small resonator, out the back and dump to the right rear in the slip stream did well for HP. As I recall the Ansa units are rather short lived - I would go thru one in 50,000 - 60,000 miles from rust. Maybe they are better today.

[bradartigue]

best performance and HP we ever got with headers was a 4 into one equal length - quite short, two runners had to corkscrew to make it work. The stock cast manifold 4-2-1 works well too if it is cleaned up. We always found a straight pipe back to a glass pack of some kind, small resonator, out the back and dump to the right rear in the slip stream did well for HP. As I recall the Ansa units are rather short lived - I would go thru one in 50,000 - 60,000 miles from rust. Maybe they are better today.

They aren't any different than before; note the pictures above, they're made of lightly chromed steel. I actually think they're made of rust which is sanded and chromed over.

ANSAs are cosmetic, but don't expect anything else from them other than a shoddy fit and non-TC exhaust note. Sounds like a Saab with the ANSA.

[Zippy]

I don't know what a Saab sounds like but you are probably right. My car is not loud and I like it that way. I think of all the other things i want/need to do and the exhaust kind of fades into the background.

[donm]

There's nothing wrong with the way Saabs sound.

[bradartigue]

There's nothing wrong with the way Saabs sound.

I simply said the ANSA makes the FIAT sound like a Saab. Perhaps I should have been more clear, it makes the FIAT sounds like a Saab 900 NA with a stock exhaust.

[weekend warrior]

I've posted this link before but its relevant here because i'm running an Ansa twin tip, the mic isn't in the best spot to fully appreciate it but it'll give you an idea of the sound.
I also enlarged the cut out to suit

http://youtu.be/qZ9R-3IfKmI

[bradartigue]

I've posted this link before but its relevant here because i'm running an Ansa twin tip, the mic isn't in the best spot to fully appreciate it but it'll give you an idea of the sound.
I also enlarged the cut out to suit

http://youtu.be/qZ9R-3IfKmI

Dude you're on the wrong side of the road, so is everyone else in your video.

(more seriously) that's really neat. love to hear the engines roar.

[kenncarp]

I have the ansa twin tip on my 79 124 also. It sounds great with the original headers and a straight pipe. It does have a pretty significant increase in hp after we ran a straight pipe and put on the muffler, and i was pleasantly suprised on the sound it made. Not too loud at all, but still satisfying when you have the top down overall i dont think you can beat the look of it, and it sounds great!

[Ptoneill]

I am also switching to the double tip ANSA, however I did have the cutout enlarged so it could be tucked tighter under the car. I have a feeling that I will also have to cut the tips back so they don't stick out to far..I am using the old style bumpers on my 79.