Welcome to 2bular's page,
My name is Jim Valentine and I’ve been designing and manufacturing Stainless Steel performance exhausts for over 33 years. In that time, 2bular has earned a world-wide reputation as a quality product in design and finish. My exhausts are hand-built and TIG-welded here, in sunny Aberdeenshire, UK. I probably have the largest range of exhaust designs available for
these cars. A lot of time and effort goes into R&D to make sure 2bular is top of the wish list for any Elise/Exige/Evora enthusiast. All over the world, owners and tuning shops appreciate that drive to have an exhaust which looks good and performs better than the rest. List of 2bular firsts:
• The large-bore 4-1 header/manifold for the supercharged 2zz-ge motor.
• An 8”dia, track-friendly system – GT3 and behind the grille off-set oval design.
• Stepped primary 4-2-1 header/manifold for the n/a 2zz-ge motor.
• 4-2-1 header/HJS manifold for the 1zz-fe motor.
• 127mm dia HJS HD Sports Cat for the hi-power SC motors.
• 100mm dia HJS sports cats for the N/A installs.
• Noise-cancelling chambered silencers (H1 & H2), main & de-cat.
• Evora & Exige V6 – different manifold/systems for N/A and SC cars. Noise
It’s not difficult to improve on the note of the factory exhaust. With a straight-thru silencer and the correct bore, you can have a great sportscar note – makes the car sound like it looks! Most owners are happy with that. I use different bores and different silencers for each install – specifically designed for each motor – it’s the only way to achieve best sound, best performance and save the most weight. I see some firms offering the same exhaust for the 130bhp 1zz-fe Elise S, the 190bhp 2zz-ge Elise R and the 240bhp Exige S. They’d rather stock just the one system – cheaper for them – very sad/desperate. Track usage:
Different ball-game now. I can make a wonderful sounding exhaust but you won’t be allowed on track with it! There are some very tight noise limits being introduced and these are being rigidly enforced. It’s difficult to be specific but I don’t usually have any problems with N/A or Turbo cars, provided the Cat is retained or a Silenced De-Cat Pipe (SDCP) is fitted. The Supercharged cars; these are the problem installs. More power = More NOISE. For track use these days, 4-cyl owners will need an 8"dia silencer with an internal noise-cancelling chamber! V6 owners hoping to track with 350-400bhp have been ignored by the Lotus factory so I have developed several silencer options - including tailpipe add-ons. Be aware that CAI (Cold Air Intake) kits and supercharger noise will also generate significant NOISE. Fitting a De-Cat pipe on a Supercharged motor and hoping to meet a noise limit is stupid. Silencer Packing:
N/A and Turbo cars are positively benign with their stresses on packing material I use - Acoustafil ZT-1 material – hi-tech and very expensive. Always ask before you buy. If that name isn’t mentioned, I suggest you’ll be having a problem soon enough. One of the reasons I came into the Lotus world was because of the problems caused by inferior design/materials being used by some manufacturers. Silencer Options:
Depends on how much NOISE you want to make (or can get away with!), how much power you have and how much weight you want to save. This is my sixteenth year specializing in Lotus Elise/Exige/Evora exhausts and I’ve pretty much encountered all the challenges. I can be specific about what bore/size of silencer to use on each install and owners seem to be happy with the 2bular product I’ve recommended. I have tried to put up as much information/advice as I can because the e-mail workload is massive and extremely time-consuming. I enjoy speaking to almost all of my customers world-wide and it’s a delight to listen to their enthusiasm for their car(s) and for 2bular. I appreciate the support of the Lotus Elise/Exige/Evora community and look forward to an exciting 2021! Jim Valentine
