Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Pinging: Removing exhaust cats, modding baffles?

When I first test drove a M3W in 2014 I fell in love with the exhaust note. I placed an order and received mine in April, 2015. The first time I drove mine I was disappointed because my exhaust note didn’t sound like the one I drove at the dealer with stock exhausts. I came to realize that my exhaust was probably more restrictive to meet emission requirements. Eventually I installed the Morgan Aero Racing Stage 1 pipes and Stealth high flow air filter and the Stage 2 cams and ECU from Garage 56. Engine runs very well but still have noticed some pinging. Again I didnt like the harsh louder exhaust note of the Stage 1 pipes but have lived with it for a few years.

So after reading through this thread I decided to drill out the front baffles of my stock exhausts leaving the two back baffles untouched which already have multiple holes in them. I used a standard home drill with two Diablo 12” long extensions for a 3/8” hex shank ( the front baffle is 24” from the end ) and a Milwaukee 38mm by 1 1/2” bimetal hole saw as pictured below. These extensions are very strong but at 2 feet there is still some slight wobble at the hole saw. I had to remove the starter drill bit and just used the hole saw because the drill bit wouldn’t start a hole. A low rpm was used and because of the slight wobble more grinding than sawing was taking place. It took a lot of time and fatigue to get this done but made nice holes.

I installed the pipes and have been very richly rewarded. The exhaust note is now everything I’ve wanted. A soft mellow bass note that comes alive with acceleration but not harsh in any way. I like the sound much better that my Aero Racing Stage 1 pipes and the original stock pipe configuration. The engine runs very smoothly with plenty of power. I left my cats in place. I believe the exhaust is free enough to accommodate the Stage 2 cams. The header pipes don’t glow red. No backfiring with deceleration now but still some pinging with hard acceleration. I’m going to have the unlocked ECU from Garage 56 remapped for my present configuration on the open road. Hopefully we can reduce the pinging that has been ever present.

I would strongly urge anybody who is considering Stage 1 to simply drill out the front solid baffles and install a high flow air filter.

My next item is to install Ohlins to improve the ride and I’ll be in Nirvana.

Thanks for all the collective experience in this forum to finally me get to where I want to be.