Even In Tough Times, Shops Can Still Find Profits In The Exhaust Business

With worries about a recession looming across North America, many wonder if people will hold onto to their picket books a little bit more tightly, foregoing repairs or maintenance in order to stretch the family budget a bit further. One area of the market, however, seems likely to fare rather well and that is the exhaust market.

Performance still a big seller

It would seem intuitive to some that one area of the exhaust market to feel the pinch of the tightening economic marketplace would be performance exhausts. Performance exhausts, are for many, largely aimed to those with significant disposable incomes, mostly young, single men looking to ‘trick-out’ their cars. Jim Fox, national sales manager with the Maremont Canada in Brampton, Ont. says far from suffering in the economic downturn, performance exhaust technologies will continue showing strong sales, and will grow in new market segments.

The fastest growing is amongst older, ‘baby-boomer’ drivers, many of whom have taken to purchasing new muscle cars or are looking to customize their high-end SUVs or trucks. As well, many of these owners are also looking to performance exhaust systems help them save money.

“There is a growing trend, and we expect to see this trend grow even more, of people looking to performance exhaust upgrades to save fuel,” says Fox. “As fuel costs continue to rise and other economic issues start putting financial pressures on people as well, such factors will move people to look at performance exhausts to save money.”

While hard figures are not readily available on how many additional kilometers one can get out of a tank of fuel when there is a performance exhaust attached to a vehicle, Fox says anecdotal information conveyed to him suggests the results can be rather dramatic. For example, a performance exhaust attached to a late-model Chevy, achieved up to 100 km more per tank of fuel, than if it was driven with a standard exhaust system.

So how do performance exhausts achieve this kind of efficiency and how can an independent service shop sell the technology to a customer looking for a replacement exhaust system? Fox says the key thing to remember, especially about his company’s popular performance exhausts such as the Cherry Bomb Vortex, is the complete exhaust system uses mandrel-bent pipes. This means the pipe is one continuous piece of pipe instead of several small pieces welded together. As well, a single piece of pipe, when bent, maintains its diameter at the bends. By maintaining the diameter of the pipe across its length, even as it bends, has the effect of improving the overall airflow and results in an exhaust system performing more efficiently

“We’ve done a lot of work to improve the flow-through,” says Fox. “If you look at our Vortex muffler, it outflows the competition by as much as 40 per cent.”

Fox says an added benefit of using mandrel pipes is they also help in reducing noise, which is a perennial balancing act in the performance exhaust marketplace. Certainly one criteria people use when buying a performance exhaust system is how it sounds. Many want a more aggressive sound, as it suggests power and performance. However, too aggressive a sound actually makes driving the vehicle less pleasant. A general rule Fox recommends when talking with a customer about a performance exhaust is if the exhaust makes it too difficult to hold a conversation or use a cellular phone, then is it probably too aggressive sounding for the customer.

Direct-fit for quick, accurate installation

Joe Mercanti, Ontario and Western Canada regional sales manager with Bosal North America in Kingston, Ont. agrees the aftermarket exhaust replacement marketplace will continue to grow even in such tough times as these. One reason is while car manufacturers have moved to making exhaust systems from stainless steel in order to prevent corrosion, the stainless steel used in the pipes and such have a tendency to crack over time and will have to be replaced.

Mercanti adds another trend technicians will see, and are demanding more of, are one-piece, direct-fit aftermarket exhaust systems.

“Direct-fits are strong with a 65-35 per cent split (in North America), and every year that difference is getting wider,” says Frank Murkowski, North American aftermarket marketing manager for emissions control with Tenneco in Monroe, Mich. “The reason for that is installers are time-deprived, as far as wanting to service their customers faster and better. It is a lot easier to unbolt a converter, if it is connected to the manifold, or to a front exhaust pipe, and disconnect it from the flange and take the whole unit down and replace it with another whole unit right back up.”

Mercanti says direct-fit replacements are a result of changes that have been happening in the marketplace. Once, replacement exhaust work made up to 30 per cent of a shop’s business. Now, that has dropped to as low as 10 per cent. This means that having a car on a hoist for an exhaust replacement is not very profitable, so you want to get that car up and then out of the bay as quickly as possible so as to free the bay for other work.

“In the past, it was more acceptable to have component mufflers, where you had a muffler with bushings on the end, then a tail pipe and an intermediate pipe as separate items,” he adds. “And in the import marketplace, the preference is to have a full muffler assembly that connects directly.”

Catalytic converters don’t die. They are murdered.

Why do catalytic converters fail in a vehicle? In most cases, it is for one of two reasons. The converter was physically damaged in some way making it unable to perform its job, or it was damaged by something else happening with the vehicle’s engine.

Maremont’s Fox put its best: “Catalytic converters don’t fail. They are murdered.”

“A converter failure is typically a symptom of a problem, not a cause,” Fox says. “If a technician has a failed converter, they need to look further for the cause.”

Bosal’s Mercanti says one reason catalytic converters fail is many of today’s vehicles don’t have the regular tune-ups as they used to. It used to be that an owner of a vehicle would get a spring and fall tune-up. This tune-up made sure the engine and its various components were operating properly and usually caught problems before they caused any serious damage to components, such as the catalytic converter. Today, a tune-up is something done by a vehicle owner when it is suggested by the manufacturer, usually after some many tens-of-thousands of kilometers, or when the ‘Check Engine’ light goes on. Because of this, an unnoticed problem in the engine will cause the catalytic converter fail which is a symptom of that problem.

For example, if a technician discovers that the converter has melted, it is likely caused by raw fuel getting into the exhaust flow. That excess fuel will ignite when it hits the hot ceramic catalyst inside the converter and that burning fuel soon causes the ceramic catalyst to overheat and melt. This too-rich condition can be the result of a faulty oxygen sensor, an incorrect fuel mixture, a faulty check valve, faulty injectors or incorrect ignition timing. If one encounters carbon deposits, it is likely the result of oil or antifreeze getting into the exhaust system, or possibly a too rich fuel mixture. Over time, the carbon clogs the converter and reduces exhaust flow which results in increasing back-pressure and then the exhaust system overheats. The excess heat can then get into the engine causing other problems.

In any case, a technician will have to check to find where the problem originates and fix it before putting on a new converter.

SSGM

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REFERENCE LIST

Bosal North America www.bosalna.com

Maremont Canada http://maremont.com

Tenne
co www.tenneco.com

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