Just went skiing in Maine, and my 1 and a half year old speedy muffler system decided to crack in half between the mufflers. It was one loud ride home, I think I woke up half the State last night. Do Speedy mufflers really suck or is this normal? I think I have heard some people say they get 10 years out of a muffler system. I am doing well if I get 2. Is there a better place to get muffler parts?
I am tempted to try the IPD system. Does anyone have any experience with the sport system? Is it really loud? Or would I be better off tring to get a custom stainless system made. For me the IPD system would have to be pretty good, to justify the extra cost. By the time you do the Canadian conversion its pretty expensive, and in the picture it just looks like a turbo muffler with a custom connecting pipe to the cat.

I have the IPD sport exhaust on my '87 240. I like the sound and performance, but I drive fast and have a manual trans. At idle it sounds deep, under acceleration it's loud enough that you'll notice it, but at cruising speed it's not very loud. With an auto, you might lose some critical low end power, but I really don't know if it would be noticable. I could feel that above 4000rpm it accelerates quicker, pulls harder, etc. If you start driving at higher rpm to realize gains from the exhaust, your gas mileage probably won't get any better. I've had the IPD exhaust on my car for over 1.5yrs, and it seems to be holding up well. I didn't install it myself, but it has never had a problem with hitting the underside of the car.

I've read before that the Volvo exhaust has a lifetime warranty on parts (not sure about labor, I'm thinking that's not covered). This might be the most economical solution if you plan to keep the car for 5+ years. At the very least you won't be replacing exhaust parts every 2 years.
--
Volvo 240 Links

Getting back to the original question, I would like to comment on Econo-muffler type shops. My experience was with my old 144. I had Midas put on a new system. Found the system to be louder (not nicer) than the original. After some study, I found the way they get the parts cheaper is to make them cheaper. Those mufflers do not have the amount of baffling that a stock or other quality muffler would have. So, you get what you pay for.

I am due to replace the exhaust on my 245GL and so far planning on the IPD units.

Jessie:
I just put on an IPD sport exhaust on my '89 240 and I love it! I had no problems with fitting it or any clearence problems of any sort. I did have to use some muffler sealer around the pieces where the pipes connected though. It was really easy to install too. Took me like 45 minutes. I drive mainly on two lane roads and it is so much easier to pass people now. ....I noticed much more midrange power but lost a few top mph... 101mph from 109mph! Oh well, I dont need to be going that fast anyways! But I love the thing and I highly recomend it. Oh yeah, it sounds great too!

www.eEuroparts.com sells the 240 system (and maybe others) for $95 w/o shipping. they also sell each individual piece. i bought the rear axle pipe for about $12.50 from them when i did my custom exhaust.

what i did is i bought a dynomax universal "super turbo" muffler (#17739) for $48 from racesearch.com. the one i bought has two outlets, thats why i chose that specific one, but they have plenty to choose from, most with single outlets and in just about every size you want, so i'm sure you could find a good one to match the size of the volvo stock muffler. -- http://www.a-1performance.com/ -- has the lists and drawings for most of them. they're cheap and they do the job well. they're not incredibly loud either. they're not fart pipes or grapefruit shooters with a ricer "blaaat" sound. its deep, throaty, and just really sounds good; i love mine. sometimes i'll punch it from the red light just to hear it.

as for my set-up, i kept the original cat and headers under there (for the time being), and i eliminated the front muffler, replaced it with a straight pipe, replaced the rear axle pipe with a new one, and plopped the dynomax on the back, with two 2.5" tailpipes running out the back. i noticed a lot better performance and better breathing out of it within 2 days of breaking it in. i could gun it in a higher rpm range, and i gained some good pick-up. i'm extremely pleased with it. once i remove my cat and get newer headers (the outside is just covered in rust, i'd cry if i saw the inside), i'll be ready to add my intakes.
--
'78 245 143k dual exh. -- soon to drop in a turbo

Jessie, I installed the IPD sport exhaust on my '92 245. I had just put in the VX cam and timing gear when the exhaust system failed - so it was a matter of a sale prie and the opportunity. The IPD system is basically the Turbo exhaust system with a straight pipe in place of the front muffler; FCP Groton has a good price on the Turbo exhaust, but you'll have to make up your own adapter pipe, which should not be rocket science. The whole system is either 2-1/4 or 2-1/2 in diameter, larger than the non-turbo system. In my car the sound is quite nice, clearly throatier than stock and close to 'loud' from 2500-3000 rpm. I can't tell if there's any more kick becuse the cam is clearly the greter effect in my car, and I sincerely doubt any improvement in fuel mileage (I get 28 mpg in warm weather). However, the under-axle pipe clearance was a problem. I could get it to clear in the driveway, but once I drove around it would start banging again. I found some 1 x 3/8 steel stock at work and made an extension bracket for my exhaust hanger, which worked like a champ. I cut the stock about 2-1/2 inches long and drilled a hole in each end. I removed the stock hanger pin and found a matching metric bolt and nut at the hardware store. I bolted the old hanger to one end of the new bracket, using the new nut, then bolted the other end to the car using the new bolt (did the same on both sides of the car, of course). The new hanger-to-hanger dimension is reduced by two thicknesses of stock (about 3/4"), but this doesn't hurt a thing. The muffler now hangs about 1.5 inches lower and doesn't touch the axle at all.

Your system should have lasted a lot longer. The other day guy said to me "Ya know, it always seems like my exhaust breaks when one of the hangers is broken" If not properly hung don't expect any system to last to long. It's worth checking.

I agree. The system has broken in the same place both times. My theory is that it is the weight of the tailpipe hanging off the muffler. It applies a torque on the joint at the other end of the muffler causing the pipe to deteriorate quickly. Now that the pipe is broken, the muffler and tailpipe have twisted so that the end of the pipe is almost dragging on the ground. I think the tail pipe should have its own hanger so it does not torque the rest of the system. Thats just my theory though. I might try to rig up some kind of hanger.
I just bought a 2 inch pipe union. I am going to try to splice them back together. The muffler and the rest of the stupid pipe look almost brand new.

Do you know an electrician? This sounds weird but almost any good electrician /shop can do the bends you need with a greenlee bender. Buy some EMT pipe(conduit)in the diameter you want/need and have them match your existing.A few hangers and maybe a couple of adapters from Autozone/Pepboys/parts house, and you're in business. A whole lot cheaper than Speedy-Midas-Cole-Mufflerking etc., and they'll last a whole lot longer. It's been my experience that the tubing they use is really chintzy-that's why you only get a 1 year warranty on the pipes.

Thats sounds like a good idea, have you tried it?

To be honest, I haven't done it on my 240 yet, but I will as soon as Something under there goes. I have used this on a lot of other cars with great success. Being a commerical pipefitter has helped though. All it has ever cost me was the price of the pipes and coffee and donuts for the crew. Most of the time, there was enough pipe on the job that I didn't even have to buy that. Ended up with a nice custom exhaust system for less than $50.

Get a custom system made. I didn't like the iPD system. It wasn't that loud, but it didn't fit perfectly (you need different muffler hangers and might need to cut a bit of steel) and its power gain was minimal, meaning I barely noticed it. If you don't have any other engine mods I'd just say get a stock replacement. If you have your own stainless system made, make sure its mandrel bent if you're looking for future performance upgrades. This will be very expensive, though.

Roguls
New York, USA

Thanks for the opinion on the IPD system. I am not really planning to do many performance mods to it. I have an 84 turbo that I am messing with for that kind of thing. I am looking for longevity and fuel economy mainly for the 89. But from my understanding a high performance exaust should improve fuel economy shouldn't it? I wouldn't complain about a few extra horses either.

I noticed that I got much better gas mileage with the IPD system. I didnt have to cut anything, it fit perfectly, and I noticed the few extra ponies!