SEMI FINAL 1: Opel OPC vs Mitsubishi EVO

So another long weekend, I hope you all enjoyed yourselves. The soccer world cup is well underway the same as our Hot Ride Shootout. This week is semi-finals week. Last week saw the demise of the STI (Whaaaaaat?) and the Merc A45 AMG! Not to worry as this week we start off with a bang. Take a look at the 2 opponents below and let us know which one receives your vote.

Opel OPC

If hot hatches are your thing, this could be the best ever. Arguably the ultimate expression from the Opel Performance Centre, the Astra Extreme packs a 2.0-liter turbo four with 300 horsepower, a six-speed stick and limited-slip differential underneath the most outlandishly extreme aero kit. Everything’s made of carbon fibre and the cabin’s stripped out for business to make it 220 pounds lighter than the standard Astra OPC and closer in spirit and appearance to the Astra OPC Cup that challenges on the track.

It’s a beast of a hot hatch if there ever was one
 

Mitsubishi Lancer EVO
The Evo X is still clearly a predator among the sheepish standard Lancer sedans, but less obviously than in previous iterations of the model. The new base Lancers share some of the Evo’s squinting stare with pinched headlamps and a scowling, full-frame grille that makes the Mitsubishi more intimidating than a prize fighter.

From anything but straight on from the front, the Evo is clearly no Lancer. Huge fender flares mean the Evo is 2 inches wider than standard Lancers, while the flat-topped crease above the fender bulge is appealing, premium and stylish. The lower portions of the flares are more rounded to allow a perfect blend of the Evo’s custom aluminium panels onto the standard Lancer shell.

 

Well it’s come down to the meat-eating part of this competition! Hope you’re hungry, ‘cos this one is RARE!

 

 

Here are our 3 easy ways to vote

1. Write your choice of HOT RIDE in the comments section below each blog post.
2. Follow Powerflow Exhausts on Facebook and vote on each individual match-up when we post it, by commenting on your choice of favourite.

https://www.facebook.com/powerflow.exhausts?ref=hl

3. Follow Powerflow Exhausts on Twitter and vote on each individual match-up when we post it by commenting on your choice of favourite.

https://twitter.com/PowerflowSA

Consider a Powerflow performance exhaust

Is it time for you to replace your car’s exhaust system?
Have you noticed rust around your silencer and tailpipe?

If you answered yes to both of these questions, then consider replacing your stock exhaust system with a performance (cat-back) exhaust system. Up front you will pay more, but in the end a performance exhaust system just may be the last one you will ever need to purchase for your car. Nothing lasts forever, right? Well, in the case of some performance exhaust systems you can come darn close.

Consider this: one top manufacturer of exhausts produces an exhaust system with a 5 year guarantee, hassle free! How can they do this? By making a product from high quality stainless steel, that’s how. That’s right; the steel used by some manufacturers is of the highest quality, like every Powerflow exhaust system to produce a product that is durable and long lasting. Other brands have similar warranties, so I am not saying Powerflow is the end all or be all product for your car.

So, just how does a cat-back system work? By keeping all the important emissions parts in place, a cat-back system incorporates large width exhaust pipes and low restriction performance silencers into your car thereby lowering exhaust back pressure. A side benefit is the deeper, throatier tone produced by the exhaust system. Because your car’s engine is essentially an air pump, a cat-back a/k/a performance exhaust system allows the engine to pump and flow air with less interruption. In summation, more power is freed up and horsepower increases of 5 to 15 percent are well within the range of possibility. One side benefit: you will notice an increase in fuel economy because a performance exhaust system allows your engine to run more efficiently.

So, what’s not to love about a performance exhaust system? Not much! Even if you aren’t planning to keep your car forever, the resale value of your vehicle will also increase with a performance exhaust system installed on your car. You win now with more power and better fuel economy and you can win later when it comes time to sell your car. A true win-win situation, don’t you agree?

Exhaust systems

Your vehicle’s exhaust system primarily routes exhaust gases away from the engine, but it performs a number a number of other important functions as well.

Contents

How exhaust systems work

Internal combustion, by which fuel-burning engines derive power, can be a messy process. Fuel from the vehicle’s gas tank is drawn into the combustion chamber or cylinder within the cylinder head, where it is mixed with air drawn in from outside the vehicle through the air filter.

From there a spark plug produces a spark from the vehicle’s electrical system, namely the distributor cap and wires, which ignites the fuel-air mixture, producing a small explosion.

This explosion drives the piston – which is seated flush in the cylinder – up, which translates the force of the explosion into the crankshaft. The crankshaft translates this power into a circular motion, eventually reaching the transmission, which transfers this power to the wheels. Finally, the remaining fuel-air mixture, both burned and unburned, exits through the exhaust port, and the cycle begins anew. This happens thousands of times a minute when a vehicle’s engine is running.

But what happens once the exhaust gases exit the engine’s combustion chambers? First, it travels out of the engine via the exhaust manifolds (Figure A below), also known as exhaust headers or simply headers. Since most vehicles have multiple cylinders, each combusting their own fuel-air mixture and thereby producing their own exhaust, the exhaust manifold collects the spent fuel from each cylinder. The exhaust is then sent further down the exhaust system via a single tube known as the tailpipe.

Reducing polluting emissions

Exhaust gases undergo an important change before they exit the vehicle’s exhaust system. One of the most important in the process is the catalytic converter (Figure B below), which reduces the amount of toxic pollutants emitted into the air. In the U.S., automobiles are the primary source of air pollution. That’s one reason the EPA began regulating vehicle emissions and fuel standards under the Clean Air Act starting in 1970. Following the act’s passage, vehicle manufacturers began adding catalytic converters to the exhaust systems of their vehicles.

The catalytic converter doesn’t use moving parts to scrub exhaust gases. Instead, it utilizes chemical reactions to almost totally eliminate toxic pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon in a vehicle’s exhaust. Within the catalytic converter a series of planes covered in catalytic metals such as platinum, rhodium or palladium chemically converts the pollutants into less harmful nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water, thereby reducing the amount of polluting emissions.

Reducing noise pollution

After leaving the catalytic converter, the exhaust gases travel further down the exhaust system tailpipe to the muffler (Figure D below). Much like its name suggests, the primary purpose of the muffler is to reduce the noise produced by the combustion process. Have you ever been to a stock car race or drag strip and noticed how loud it is? The main reason you’ll need ear protection anytime you’re in the vicinity of race cars is their lack of muffler.

Although a the muffler is the most easily visible component, it’s only one portion of a vehicle’s exhaust system.(Photo by Fred Patton)

A muffler turns down the volume on the vehicle by passing exhaust gases through a series of tubes and filters, which progressively absorb, diminish or delete the sound waves produced by the engine. Because the absorption of sound waves also produces back pressure, a muffler that operates properly is an integral component in a vehicle’s engine operating efficiently.

Once the exhaust gases have passed through the muffler and out via the remaining tailpipe through an exhaust tip or resonator tip, the exhaust system process is complete.

Your vehicle’s exhaust system

Stainless Steel Tips

While most of your exhaust system is hidden from view underneath your car, it is the tailpipes that get most of the attention. So grab as much attention as possible with a polished Stainless Steel Tip from Powerflow. They carry a 5 year guarantee and will make your car’s rear end look sexy.

Available for most vehicles and exhausts. Pop in to your nearest Powerflow branch and take a look at the extensive range of stainless steel exhaust tips available to you.