DrieStone Posted December 12, 2021 Report Share Posted December 12, 2021 I picked up the Alunox headers - back group buy about 5 years ago, but just got around to doing the install this weekend. Everything went ok (considering), except the last bit. The battery box is in the way of having the muffler sit where it should, and I certainly can't attach the two outlet pipes. I feel like the only solution here is to cut out the battery box, but that seems crazy. I know I'm REALLY late on this, but does anyone else run the Alunox exhaust? Did you have a similar issue? It could be due to UK/US differences, but I hate to cut the car to make the exhaust fit. Quote 1997 Jeep XJ | 1983 Lotus Turbo Esprit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
910Esprit Posted December 12, 2021 Report Share Posted December 12, 2021 Maybe there is a difference between UK/US as I didn't have that issue. However, I'm puzzled as the 'muffler' is fundamentally the same as the stock 'muffler', to allow it to fit the gearbox mount and exit the valance? Have you got a photo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solution naasaa Posted December 12, 2021 Solution Report Share Posted December 12, 2021 It is due the difference UK/US cars. Domestic have divorced wastegate outlets by twin tail pipes from the muffler. dDue to the Cat, the US cars has single tail pipe in an akward angle just clearing the battery box. Domestic cars has the battery close to the fender, and not the same type of this derp battery box. You prpably have to cut the box 😞 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrieStone Posted December 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2021 6 hours ago, naasaa said: It is due the difference UK/US cars. Domestic have divorced wastegate outlets by twin tail pipes from the muffler. dDue to the Cat, the US cars has single tail pipe in an akward angle just clearing the battery box. Domestic cars has the battery close to the fender, and not the same type of this derp battery box. You prpably have to cut the box 😞 Ok, thanks for the info. I was afraid of that, but good to know that I'm not missing something. Quote 1997 Jeep XJ | 1983 Lotus Turbo Esprit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrieStone Posted December 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2021 7 hours ago, 910Esprit said: Maybe there is a difference between UK/US as I didn't have that issue. However, I'm puzzled as the 'muffler' is fundamentally the same as the stock 'muffler', to allow it to fit the gearbox mount and exit the valance? Have you got a photo? Yeah. It looks like a difference between the US and UK cars. It's a little hard to tell from the manual (I have both domestic and US versions), but the domestic version looks like the battery sits higher, and the US version sits below the trunk floor. I've attached a photo of my car with the exhaust. I've done my best to "make it fit", but even with the muffler resting up against the heat shield of the battery there still isn't quite enough room. Even if it did fit, there's not enough room for the exhaust tips to make the turn. Quote 1997 Jeep XJ | 1983 Lotus Turbo Esprit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
910Esprit Posted December 13, 2021 Report Share Posted December 13, 2021 I'll have a look later and report back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naasaa Posted December 13, 2021 Report Share Posted December 13, 2021 Here is a photo of the US muffler. I also attached a photo of a US car where you actually can see the battery box hanging low behind the rear frame. Whereas the battery is on top of the tail pipes on Domestic cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarBuff Posted December 13, 2021 Report Share Posted December 13, 2021 (edited) @DrieStone Local owners who installed the Alunox exhaust on their G-Turbos ran into several issues in fitment. (Yes, they were due to differences in the UK and US markets) Go to the Esprit section of LotusTalk.com, and do an advanced SEARCH for Alunox Exhaust. Weed out the Stevens cars... Here is a place to start looking. https://www.lotustalk.com/threads/alunox-header-manifold-install.385586/post-5135946 If you need any one-on-one advice, PM me. Edited December 13, 2021 by CarBuff Quote Atwell Haines '88 Esprit Succasunna, NJ USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrieStone Posted December 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, CarBuff said: @DrieStone Local owners who installed the Alunox exhaust on their G-Turbos ran into several issues in fitment. (Yes, they were due to differences in the UK and US markets) Go to the Esprit section of LotusTalk.com, and do an advanced SEARCH for Alunox Exhaust. Weed out the Stevens cars... Here is a place to start looking. https://www.lotustalk.com/threads/alunox-header-manifold-install.385586/post-5135946 If you need any one-on-one advice, PM me. I did try a search here, but didn't come back with much. I'll spend some time on the Lotus Forums and see what I can dig up. I wonder what US regulation forced Lotus to mount the battery down low. I have pretty much resolved that I'm going to have to modify the battery box (it's the least offensive option here). Luckily it should be pretty straight forward. I think I can just leave a small lip for the battery to sit in, and add a new fiberglass bottom and it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. Luckily everything else seems to fit pretty well. Now I just have a half a dozen other tasks that I know about and probably a dozen I don't know about, before I can get her back on the road! Edited December 13, 2021 by DrieStone Quote 1997 Jeep XJ | 1983 Lotus Turbo Esprit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DrieStone Posted December 20, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted December 20, 2021 Just for anyone in the future reading this, I thought I'd post a follow up. I ended up cutting out the bottom of the battery box, cutting a piece of 1/2" plywood for a base and I fiberglassed it in from the bottom and the top. Exhaust fit perfectly after this. My battery didn't have a tie down, but I'll fabricate something in the future to work (the original tie down nuts are still in place, so I might be able to tie into that). 2 1 Quote 1997 Jeep XJ | 1983 Lotus Turbo Esprit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naasaa Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 On 20/12/2021 at 03:22, DrieStone said: Just for anyone in the future reading this, I thought I'd post a follow up. I ended up cutting out the bottom of the battery box, cutting a piece of 1/2" plywood for a base and I fiberglassed it in from the bottom and the top. Exhaust fit perfectly after this. My battery didn't have a tie down, but I'll fabricate something in the future to work (the original tie down nuts are still in place, so I might be able to tie into that). Did you manage a good solution for this? Would you mind sharing photos of your result? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrieStone Posted January 16 Author Report Share Posted January 16 18 minutes ago, naasaa said: Did you manage a good solution for this? Would you mind sharing photos of your result? Yeah, this all worked out. The pics aren't super clear, but here they are: This is rear wheel well, all the shiny black is the new fiberglass. You can see that the exhaust easily clears now. Looking through the rear valance. And from the top-side (you can see that there's still a lip on 3 sides that should help hold the battery in place. 1 Quote 1997 Jeep XJ | 1983 Lotus Turbo Esprit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarBuff Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 What does the trunk floor look like? Does the battery stick up, or did you substitute a smaller, lighter battery? Quote Atwell Haines '88 Esprit Succasunna, NJ USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrieStone Posted January 17 Author Report Share Posted January 17 4 hours ago, CarBuff said: What does the trunk floor look like? Does the battery stick up, or did you substitute a smaller, lighter battery? I haven't gotten to that step yet (a bunch of other work to do on the car). The battery will stick up for sure. I think the UK cars shove the battery further over to the passenger side. I may end up just getting a plastic battery box and attaching it far over on the side. Quote 1997 Jeep XJ | 1983 Lotus Turbo Esprit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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