After looking all over the net, I made myself a list of possible exhausts. These ranged from Fujitsubo Giken Legalis, Flyin Miata, Racing Beat, Autoexe and so on...
Though after sending quite a few emails off, I was shocked to see the costs of shipping from the States. I know there are other places to find them but with the dollar so low there, it seemed right.
I was a little disheartened over this as I'd had my heart set on a certain muffler but I resolved that a reputable custom system would be fine. So off I went to do some research! It wasn't long before I noticed people were throwing the name Town and Country around a lot.
I'd been skeptical of custom exhausts after a bad experience I had in the past but after calling T&C and talking to the owner, I booked it in. To be honest, after driving with no muffler at all for about a week, I was ready to take anything.
So the following week a I dropped the car off. A couple of hours later I got a phone call regarding some concerns about my system, I wasn't sure what was going on so I swung by the shop and had a talk to the proprietor and PCMX5 (who happens to live like 3 streets away lol).
I was stunned that the owner had called me regarding the positioning of the CAT (another shop put on) and a few other things. I would have imagined a lot of shops would have just done the bare minimum and finished the job without saying anything but it was good to see some real quality assurance in practice!
I swear, etiquette feels like a thing of the past now so it was quite refreshing to see it!
About 20mins later the job was finished and I picked it up. To be honest I had no idea what to expect. I'd heard from a lot of people on this forum that they sounded great but after seeing the stock looking tip they'd put on, i was a little worried.
But after starting the car, wow
. It may have a stock size exhaust tip but it sure as hell didm't sound like a factory muffler!!!!It's loud up high but pretty quiet down low for putting around the streets I found. Yet this spins me out, there is NO DRONE! None at all.
Visually, the system has a nice coat of fresh black paint with a stainless muffler and muffler tip. I'm still not sold on the exhaust tip that's been put on and I've been putting a lot of thought into taking it back and having it lopped off for a 1/2" bigger one but I'm going to leave it for now and see if it grows on me.
But I'm VERY impressed with how this thing sounds, it's actually burnt in a little and gotten deeper.
I'm not joking when I say this, but it sounds like a car from a video game now! Cheyne can testify to that
Now there is one puzzling part I can't work out. I'm thinking this has to do with increased back pressure, but the car has more throttle response down low now. Which is even more odd since usually louder cars give the illusion you're going faster, but this is SIGNIFICANTLY quieter than my old one!!!!
One thing I was VERY VERY VERY impressed with was when the shop called me a few hours after driving it home to see how I found the system and if I was happy with the job. Now I've had a lot of exhaust work done to the car since I bought it and not ONCE had a courtesy call.
I should at this point mention that customer service has always been a seller for me. I'm very critical of business/consumer relations and find this is the crucial corner stone of any shop or business in general. So for me to be impressed with T&C, then they're definitely on their game.
Town and Country Exhausts are open Monday to Saturday and can be contacted on (03) 5223 1350, and are located: 50 Fyans Street, South Geelong VIC 3220.
I recommend this place for anyone having any muffler work done on their car. If you live in Geelong or close by, feel free to PM me and take a look or listen to my new muffler and draw your own conclusions.
