REVIEW - Dual Exit Exhaust System for the Accord I-CTDI

One of the best mods my Accord has received was designed, built and installed by Andy Ainsworth - owner of Zorstec in West Yorkshire.

Check them out at www.zorstec.com

You can Google them too, and you'll see many threads in the biking community where he commands a top reputation for ingenuity and workmanship - to me, the guy is a genius and watching him work is a pleasure.

I'm a pretty fussy guy, and I was really nervous about installing an exhaust system on a diesel as I had reservations over what it will sound like.

Andy put my mind at ease and gave me his ***urance that he would ensure it meets my specifications to the last detail. Par of the reason he could give me this ***urance was the fact that he makes his own silencers - on the day!

That means he can control the size and spec of baffling inside the box. I wanted a zero change in sound, and slight note change on boost. And that's what I have

As my car has a bodykit, the rear always look incomplete as the dual exit exhaust recesses were empty...

I visited my local Powerflow agent first - he was quite good, and helpful.. and I almost went with him until I discovered Zorstec. The main difference between Zorstec and all the other agents for bigger brands is that Andy makes his own stuff, from scratch. That means he controls the quality and workmanship and can be more specific with designs and end results.

Powerflow use generic and universal parts - so you could end up with the same back box on a Nova or an Accord..

As far as I am aware, most Powerflow guys also use universal bends - wheras Zorstec use a proper Mandrel bender. Mandrel bending ensures that the pipe diameter remains equal throughout the bend ensuring perfect gas dispersion - normally when you bend a pipe, it creates a bottleneck meaning the gasses can't escape as quickly.

So I did the deal with Andy and turned up nice and early on the day as agreed.

Here she is on the ramp first thing.:




This is the (at the time) empty recess on the rear n/s waiting to be filled with a new box:



I decided I wanted oval back boxes to ensure it remains in keeping with the OEM design, here are the end pieces for one box:




The big man himself - smiling first thing (trust me he wasn't smiling all day haha)




Started work on making up the boxes

Next step was to work on the internal baffles for the boxes..




This is the baffling material:



The internal box end pieces being punched and shaped out:







Meanwhile his trusty ***istant Alan turns up and starts working on the exhaust tips - we've settled on nice round 3' pipes with rolled in tips. Simple but effective.

OK this bit was funny.. it took me a while to work out what they were upto and the smiles they were giving each other made me wonder...

Then Andy goes... right then Fahad, check out our 2 tonne press

So there you go, this is how they make the round can, oval:




Fine tuning the shape:






Baffling being prepared



And there you have two boxes ready (well not polished yet)

At this point my mate Alnug turned up to check on progress - can you tell he's camera shy




So the polishing starts:

Polishing the tips

The old box is removed and piping cut ready for the new system to be installed. Note on my car we decided to keep the first silencer in place (silencer before the rear box and after the cat) - I wasn't interested in de-catting and was concerned that removing both silencers may have an adverse effect on performance and sound.




The new pipe section being prepared on the Mandrel Bender



Finished box pics

Now THIS is the clever bit. Andy's own design. As he's committed to not using any universal parts, check out his 50/50 split. This ensures even and perfect gas dispersion across both boxes. Very clever.





First box waiting to go on


On the car, being supported by a jack before the welding is done:


More adjustments


New hanger welded for the n/s box:


Yeah baby

More bending:






The old box junked

And there we have. Job complete.

Suffice to say, I'm WELL happy and would recommend Zorstec without reservation. Andy is one of the few guys I have met who still takes pride in his workmanship, is genuinely really clever and a total perfectionist.

The sound is almost the same as OEM and the only time you really hear it in the car is on full boost, but it's not intrusive at all. My car is remapped, and I feel it's helped with the top end power - just more free flowing and revvy.

Worth every penny.

Don't hesitate in contacting Andy - mention me or the Accord club for a good price, and say hi to him from me

as said before pure Awesomeness !!! :lol: :lol:

Beautiful work! And it ended up just perfect.

I want this!

Nice Job

Faddy's car is like a face of our club

Well I just got back from Zorstec yesterday, with my almost copycat system of Faddy's (tail pipes are different), and I love it, love it, love it!

It was a long drive and a long wait to get it done, but worth it. The exhaust now has a bit of a subtle hum to it, wasn't sure about at first, but now I really like it. Powerwise, it feels more eager, and I want to rev it just so I can hear it go.... but it's probably the placebo effect. :wub:

I could have got someone local to do this, but I knew I would get a quality job from Zorstec.

Here's some piccys!


The man himself popped in to say hello!













Big thanks to Faddy for finding Zorstec, and being the guinea pig, and of course to Andy the owner.

Looks amazing John in very jealous.

Pepster said:

Superb John , I see you got rid of the mud flaps and sorted the paint too..

We need vedio clip now

Click to expand...

I'll see what I can do tomorrow CJ.

Very nice John B)

damn that looks awesome, the quality looks top notch! B)

John, just to echo everyones comments.. that looks awesome!! And it sounds wicked.

Thanks for putting my pic up NOT!! You can see the stress lines from the house move.

very nice John, the car looks really good now mate, can't wait to see it in person

Thanks for all your kind comments guy's

Here's a short video/sound clip just for CJ

nice shlippers pal :lol:

Sounds really good buddy, not boomy or boyracer-ish at all. I suspect it will sound better as the revs climb B)

I love the look and the sound - my only issue would be that I wished he made the diameter of the tip the same all to way to the back box. That is pretty pathetic as far as criticism goes - now to fight the urge to do the same thing to mine.

No, no, I will not tinker any more.

No.

Sod off.

I've got to say im very impressed with there work judging by all those pictures F6had and the info on there site explaining what grades of stainless and welding they use etc when im ready for a full system ill be using these guys.
If you don't mind me asking how much did it cost you both for a rough idea in prices ?

It really depends on materials and costs at the time but as a guide price a catback dual exhaust from them is around £475

Guys, if I remap 2006 iDTI, what will be the gain on manual?
Thanks.

Those exhausts look awesome!!

This is exactly the type of thing I'm looking to do on my 8th Gen Type S.

It's brilliant to see that the lads at Zorstec taking such pride in their work!

Way to revive an old thread!

this is bringing back an old post from the dead lol.. this does look awesome.. what figures you looking at for this custom job.. was thinking of getting my car done...

I think it was around £500 from memory.. Can't believe it's been 6 years!!