Hayden’s Imola 330ci Zhp Journal
Finally was able to find a decently priced Corsa TSE3 Catback Exhaust for sale locally and was able to pick it up a few weeks ago from a local enthusiast. It was in good shape and just needed to be cleaned and polished to make it look like new again. Heres a pic of when I picked it up:
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As expected, it was a nightmare trying to take out the 4 15mm exhaust manifold bolts. They were pretty rusted and completely seized in there. I soaked them in PB Blaster but it didn’t help much and 3 out of the 4 bolts snapped. After that, I was able to take the rest of the 13mm bolts off easily and the oem exhaust came off no problem. However, the bolts were still stuck in there. I didn’t have any luck pounding them out, so I took it to a shop my buddy works at the next day and we gave it a shot. I drove around with no exhaust and just the headers for a day and it was incredibly loud, pretty awesome. It would definately get old on a daily basis. It took about 45 min of using a heat induction tool, air hammer, and an air chisel to get them all out.
Here’s the bolts before:
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Success:
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It was smooth sailing after we got those bolts out and the new exhaust went in no problem. I opted to not pay $23 EACH for the OEM bolts and replaced them with 10.9 stainless steel bolts and nuts in the same size. I put in new exhaust gaskets as well to freshen everything up. When I was installing it, it felt noticeably lighter than the stock exhaust.
Video: https://youtu.be/oHwuGm4rRTM
Needless to say, I’m extremely happy with how it sounds now. On startup, it has a nice rumble to it and then it settles down to sound similar to stock. The Corsa is definitely louder than stock, especially when your on the gas. You can really hear it screem from about 2,000 rpm to 4,500 rpm. After that, it switches over to the roar of the Gruppe M intake. It has a deeper, throatier tone which is what I was after. When you let off the gas under 2,000 rpm, especially around 1,500 rpm, it crackles and burbles a lot. I really like that, I wish it did that when you let off the gas or downshift at all rpms. A little part of me wishes it was a tad bit louder, but maybe I was just used to driving around with only headers the day before. Overall, I’m very happy with it. I love the sound and it’s nice to actually hear the car.