Cates-Bundy Racing Exhausts |
Cates-Bundy Racing was a joint business between Roger Cates and Lotus racecar
driver, Doc Bundy. They sold high performance parts for the Stevens Esprit
models. Many of these parts were developed from the racing program by Doc and
his friend, Andy Waldrep. After Doc moved over to drive for Panoz Motorsports,
Roger closed down the business. During their brief existence, they developed a
custom sport dual exhaust which, via an arrangement with Lotus Cars USA, was
available as a dealer-installed option when the car was new. I was fortunate
enough to have one of these exhausts installed on my S4s and it sounded
glorious. For those who are interested in getting the Flowmaster exhaust on your
car, there may still be some for sale, but you will need to do a little research
to track one down. The best and cheapest solution is to go to a custom muffler
shop and have them build you a custom exhaust. Many Esprit owners have followed
this approach and have had their exhausts built for approximately $350US.
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Twin Center Exhausts |
For the 25th Anniversary Edition Esprit in the 2002MY, USA market cars received
a new twin center exhaust to replace the previous design with a exhaust tip on
each side. The rear aerofoil was replaced with a vented silver panel now
commonly referred to as the "cheesegrater". This exhaust greatly improved the
sound quality of V8 Esprits. For those that are interested, you can upgrade the
look of any S4 or newer style Esprit to the twin center exhaust. |
Straight Pipes |
If you really want to improve the sound of your Esprit, you might want to
consider going to straight pipes. You can do this from the catalytic converter
back or you can replace the entire pipe including the cat. However, be warned
that your exhaust will be LOUD and without the cat it will be even LOUDER. |
Borla, Stebro, Tubi, and other Exhausts |
Several "high-end" exhaust companies offer custom exhausts for 4 and 8 cylinder
Esprits. Most of these have one thing in common: $$$. Sure they sound great, but
I have to question whether they are worth the price of admission. Many of them
are well built and have a beautiful polished stainless look, but none of them
are going to make your little inline 4-cylinder or flat-plane crank 8-cylinder
sound like a 12-cylinder Ferrari. Also, be aware that there have been several
Stebro Esprit customers who have been plagued with exhausts with poor build
quality. There have been several reports of welds failing and exhaust tips
falling off. |
Hi-Flow Catalytic Converters |
Further info to come. In the meantime check out Hyper Flow catalytic converters |