Powerflow exhaust for Range Rover

can sound good but heard a few horror stories about wanky bodge jobs by powerflow from crap welding to systems that rusted away in a year

Rusted?

yep, the back box was made of stainless steel and the rest....wasn't

naughty

Did it actually rust through? We had this debate a while ago.. you do know that some grades of stainless steel *will* oxidise on the surface, so they look like they're rusting away? There's plenty of info on it, and I believe that Powerflow actually state on their website the type of stainless steel they use. They don't actually tell you that it'll go rusty, but if you do a bit of searching, the particular grade that they use is industrial-use stainless steel which can be shaped and welded to easily, but doesn't have very good appearance qualities (it goes brown!). I would suspect that they'd use a better grade steel that will keep it's shine for the tailpiece. Where I think Powerflow go wrong is that they don't tell you that it's likely to go brown, they'll just tell you that there's nothing wrong with it when you go back to complain a year later. I did read someone on this group actually asked a Powerflow dealer if he could rub down the surface to get the shine back, only to be told that he shouldn't because of course he'd end up doing it repeatedly until he rubbed the whole thing away.

FWIW, I got a Powerflow fitted to my Peugeot by the Redhill branch in February. I was certainly impressed with the finished job and they seemed fairly knowledgable. The 'proper' centre section I'd bought for the car a couple of years earlier had been a right pain to fit properly - it kept rattling like crazy on the bottom of the gearstick linkage and I spent a month or so constantly adjusting it until I got it right. The new powerflow one never had any troubles and looked very well built, but I don't think I really did the miles to test it properly. However, you have to realise that it's a franchise and the Powerflow company only supply the materials to the branch, so local quality may vary.

If I get the pug back on the road, well, we'll see. ;)

Chris.

i heard there were probs with not using ally welds??? so the welds themselves rusted away, is this sense or am I blabbing pub rubbish

Sports car services in Cairneyhill Fife did my cav 4x4's exhaust full system and it were absolutely spot on :)

powerflow from crap welding

Like others have said, the grade of "Stainless" they use does oxidise and go crusty like rust on the surface, but supposedly it protects the metal once in place, and removing it just exposes the new layer to do the same thing until you have a holed exhaust, so best to leave as is.

I've heard better things about ExhaustsUK. They are franchised too, and appear to be as good if not better.

Heard good stories, heard horror stories too, depends on the franchise. You get two lifetime warrenties, one for the materials from Powerflow, and one for workmanship such as welds from the franchsie, hence why you need the annual imspection to keep the warrenty active.

Also lookup ExhaustUK and see if they have a franchise near you.

I've got a Rimmer Bros one on my SD1, and it's beautifully made. Think they do them for RR as well. If they do, and use the same supplier, I'd also consider that.

The Powerflow systems are good for the money, and built specifically to fit YOUR car. Choice of tailpipes, lifetime warranty too - you can't go wrong really.

As always though, the quality of the work depends on your particular franchise - have a good look at your mate's car, and if you're happy with the standard, then go for it.

quicksilver exhausts get my vote, beautiful stuff

That is correct, basically the oxide layer is a tight fit and doesn't flake off.

Take aluminium for instance. It also oxidises but the oxide layer doesn't easily come off (although at high alltitude it can have this effect over time) hence it dulls in appearance but doesn't corrode into nothing.

Iron on the other hand does oxidise with a loose fitting layer (called rust) which flakes off which exposes the iron under it, repeat until gone.

LL

Powerflow rust like f*ck. Your best off going custom at somewhere like ascar in sheffield.

they have franchises in a few places now.

If you can afford it....always go custom.

Mason

Thanks for that, I've emailed them to ask if there is an approved centre in Scotland.

I've also done a little reading on different grades of stainless, so I'm slightly more up on that now.

In the seemingly endless trawl for info through google, I chanced upon an outfit called motorsportworld (who i have previously heard of) and it seems they offer a custom exhaust service under the name of Zaust.

Anybody had any dealings with this lot??

Thanks

not had dealings with that lot. try trawling the saxo/punto/corsa forums for happy/unhappy customers

just avoid powerflow....it's s**te and rusts VERY quicky.

5 years on my full stainless is still going strong (two owners afer me) and i have used ASCAR ever since....i live just outside sheffield so it's ideal for me.