For the love of a tractor engine: The life and times of the 18R-G

[RAAAH23]

Hi,

def extractors, brand will probably be stamped on the side - really your only way of identifying. Does it matter what brand anyway?

ben

not really just wanted to know just to look up some info on them

[o_man_ra23]

The standard 18R-G headers are actually pretty good. They fall down in the fact that they still require the twin pipe flange coming out of them in a really hot spot. Extractors allow you to either do away with the flange, or move it to a cooler part of the pipe. That and by now most of the factory headers are either scrap metal or stuffed from age.

[Sagluren]

not to mention the performance gain you recieve from a set of headers (tuned length) ,headers can have flanges and it dosent matter it they are in a hot spot or not. i think you might be thinking about the standard cast iron mannifold, not a set of headers as when made you dont get flage plates on the end of them.

cheers.

[o_man_ra23]

Headers can be cast or pipe. It is basically another name for exhaust collector. Over something like an 18R-C cast manifold, a set of cheap extractors will give performance benefits. Over something like the 18R-G cast manifold though, a set of cheap extractors (ie pacemaker etc) will give negligible performance gains. A good set of tuned length extractors is a different story though...

Personally I don't like building an exhaust without a flange at the end of the header/dump pipe, mostly because I don't tend to leave an engine in situ for 20 years Flanges allow far easier removal and re-installation of an engine. However being in a hot spot tends to cause exhaust leaks (I am sure we have all had the 18R-C exhaust leak either in the gasket between the two manifolds, the flange gasket, or the EGR valve mount - or multiple of each )

[Sagluren]

generally it is not the heat of the area causing the leak, nine times out out ten, in my experience, it is the pipe cracking around the flange due to the exhaust not being properly mounted against the belhousing.

cheers

[o_man_ra23]

I did have that crack too... but the heat goes a long way to destroying the flange gasket, and eventually warping the flange which is on the pipes. Flanges further down the exhaust almost never fail from what I have seen (worked at 2 wreckers over 4 years)

[Sagluren]

well if there has been a proper gasket used you will not have a problem, if there is a thin low metal grade gasket there it can fail. but i have never seen a flange gasket fail because of heat in that area or anyother. (five years working for midas)

anyhow. enough of this exhaust crap....


cheers

[The Witzl]

18rg's sound sick with headers and 2" exhausts.

Very tough, deep engine note..... i love them.

[Sagluren]

that is what i have made for the ra40, small ressi in the middle and a lukey LUM1 sports muffler at the rear, it is reasonable quite at idle. sounds awesome when i can mannage to get a good full throttle pull out of it.
man i hate not having anyone who knows a lot about solexs near me.


cheers

[roadkill]

man i hate not having anyone who knows a lot about solexs near me.


cheers

easy fixed, buy some webers and be done with it.

bEn

[RAAAH23]

that is what i have made for the ra40, small ressi in the middle and a lukey LUM1 sports muffler at the rear, it is reasonable quite at idle. sounds awesome when i can mannage to get a good full throttle pull out of it.
man i hate not having anyone who knows a lot about solexs near me.


cheers

ive got the extractors running straight through to a single muffler and a dump pipe sounds very nice especially at cold startups

[RAAAH23]

easy fixed, buy some webers and be done with it.

bEn

or a 1GGTE for the same money as buying them rebuilding them getting them jetted and tuned honestly if your not doing work to your 18rg (cams, forgies, ect) stay with the solexes and a cheap tune till you can save for a conversion

[Sagluren]

i do want to buy some webers, and probably will do so soon. not that keen on the 1g conversion, if im going to go away from the rg engine i will look into the gr engine range. the 2gr has 200kw and 336nm acording to wiki. would be fun. and there is no reason i couldent get the supercharged version out of the aurion down the track.

but that is just a dream.


cheers

[o_man_ra23]

My old 18RG in the 23 had a set of pacemaker extractors, 2" pipe, and a 2" straight through offset muffler (Walker I think). Sounded fantastic, would set off many car alarms in carparks Never once got pulled up by the hoon police for exhaust noise though... and that was in Townsville, the home of exhaust defects.

[bnicho]

The RT112 is running extractors form that mob in Sydney who still make them and a 2 1/4" system with two Commodore mufflers if some sort. At first it only had one muffler, but it was too freaking loud. Now it's just loud and sounds great without being offensive.

I should have gone 2" instead of 2 1/4". My own silly fault.