Just got my new Nouvalari Exhaust installed!!! Looks and sounds great! First off, thanks to Glenn Lite at Nouvalari and Larry Englehart at Ferrari Technologies in Orange. It's a long story, but Glenn was great to work with, and super helpful the whole time. He is a really nice guy, and did everything he could to get this done right. Larry did a hell of a lot above and beyond the call of duty for a Ferrari mechanic (and ate up quite a few labor costs). From the beginning: Originally ordered a Tubi exhaust. Received it, and it didn't fit. Turns out the 1975 308 GT4 (and possibly the GTB/S cars?) did not have a catalytic converter, and the mounting points/angles for the exhaust are different than the later cars. Tubi took it back, but said it wasn't worth their time to create an exhaust for this car. Gee, thanks... So, I asked around, and someone on Fchat pointed out the Nouvalari exhausts to me. I called them up, and talked to Glenn. He assured me they had an exhaust that would fit, or they would create one that did fit. He made it clear that they were willing to work with me, and so I pulled the trigger. In retrospect, what I should have done from the beginning was send them my old exhaust to create a pattern. I didn't, and we went back and forth exchanging a bunch of photos and measurements, and they finally built one to order. I received it a few weeks ago, and guess what- it didn't fit. Aaagh. The mounting points were correct, but the bends of the tubing were such that they interfered with parts of the car, making installation impossible. So I called Glenn, and he said that he would do whatever he could to make sure we would get it to work. We did a bunch of back and forth between me and Larry and Glenn, and he was always available and helpful, and enthusiastic that we would get it to work. Finally, after talking to Larry and Glenn multiple times, we decided the best thing to do would be to just send the old exhaust to them so that they could get a perfect fit. Like I said earlier, we probably should have done this from the beginning, but hindsight is 20/20, and we really did think that fitment would be relatively straightforward, which it wasn't. Oh well, live and learn. So, we shipped the old exhaust back (which worked out well, as I was going on vacation and wouldn't have been able to drive the car anyway). On the day I got back from vacation (Wed), I gave Glenn a call, and he informed me that the new exhaust had shipped and would be received today, and e-mailed the tracking number and a pic (see below). Sure enough, the exhaust got there this morning, and Larry was able to install by the end of the day. The fit was good. Larry did have to adjust the carbs a little, but it seems to run OK. He thinks that maybe we may need to adjust the intake jets, but wants me to drive it around a bit to see how it feels. I understand from reading around F-chat that some of this fiddling is usually necessary when changing the exhaust, and so was not unexpected. I'll drive the car a bit and then play it by ear from there. So, how's the exhaust?? It looks great (as you can see from the pics). It also sounds great. Compared to my old Stebro exhaust, it is a little quieter at idle and low revs, but after about 3000 RPM, it really opens up. Overall, I would say it is maybe a touch quieter than the Stebro (but keep in mind that the Stebro had an exhaust leak, and so was a little louder than it should be), but it has a really nice Ferrari sound. I'm very happy with it. I got a lot of great comments on the sound with the Stebro, and I think I will continue to receive the same type of comments with the Nouvalari. Fwiw, Nouvalari also makes a louder version of the exhaust, if you want something louder. But the sport exhaust that I ordered is fine for me, and will make the neighbors much happier when I take the car out at 6AM on Sat mornings for cars and coffee The nice thing for Nouvalari is that they now have an exhaust pattern for the 1975 308 GT4, so if anyone is looking for a new exhaust, they can call up Glenn, and he will send them one that fits! Video: I took a 5 second and 10 second video/sound clip. These were done with my cell phone, so they may not be the best quality. They are MP4 files, and are 11.2 MB and 22 MB, respectively. I can not attach them to this post, so I am going to try linking them to a Photobucket account. Hopefully this will work. If anyone knows how to attach them to a post, just let me know. http://s112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/f308gt4/?action=view¤t=Nouvalri5sec.mp4 http://s112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/f308gt4/?action=view¤t=Nouvalari10sec.mp4 Time to go out for a ride... Dom Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
So when everyone here refers to a new "exhaust" it's just the pipes to the muffler, the muffler, and the pipe out of the muffler and NOT the exhaust manifolds? Lester '88.5 328
Lester, on your car a new "exhaust" would typically consist of a muffler and possibly a test pipe. US 328's have a single inlet muffler with a single cat or test pipe. That is a different set up and not all are created equal.
Ok, that makes sense but what I'm trying to find out is what is included when everyone talks about a new exhaust. They just mean the pipes and muffler and NOT the exhaust manifold/headers right? Thanks for the note on my 328 vs the 308! Lester 88.5 US 328
Typically they just mean the muffler. Headers are next to impossible to replace without removing the motor. Best case is that the cat is replaced with a test pipe, typically.
Dom, I am so glad it all worked out and hind site is 20/20 but the main issue is you are happy and I think it looks great. Hi Lester, Just to be clear a new exhaust would consist of everything after the Cats or if you do not have Cat from the manifolds or DeCats back. From the engine there are basically Manifolds, Cats or DeCats(Test Pipes ) then the exhaust which is the Can ( Box) and the pipes coming out the back. Here is a pictire of my 328 exhaust, Image Unavailable, Please Login
To answer your question- yes. On a Ferrari or Porsche, the "exhaust" is pretty much just a muffler with exhaust tips.....
Congrats on your new exhaust Dom! This was exactly my experience just last year with Glenn Lite from Nouvalari. I am also completely satisfied with my Nouvalari exhaust and Glenn knows the right way to treat a customer. Many happy miles to you!
So I've had all weekend to drive the car with the new exhaust, and I have to say, this thing sounds just great!! I've made a point to try to drive to a bunch of tunnels at 6000 RPM, and just love it. Kids love the sound as well. Don't know if it's related to the exhaust, but on Sat evening, was driving on the 5, and a carload of girls gave me the thumbs up Dom
