Response from lotus today…
“The accessory silencers are marked �Track Use Only� as they are not homologated and are not legal for road use (though some markets are more strict than others). Customers fit them and use them at their own risk.”
Having said that are all the other exhaust homologated, i.e. Quicksilver, larini etc I very much doubt it 
Ah but if the car was involved in a serious accident and had to be inspected and you had an exhaust that said Track Use Only which has been confirmed to not be used on public roads, you could be looking at insurance claims issues.
If your not happy to take the risk then you’ll have to change the pipe 
[quote=Mr Pesky]
“Loud” is not good [/quote]
Pesky, yours is the loudest Exige I’ve come across. That paint job is deafening 
thanks jfk but i do understand the police wont dissmantled my car to check the exhaust for ‘track use only’ but as drtroy has mentioned the insurance company might and decide not to pay out. personally i cannot see why lotus claim its a ‘track only’ exhaust which should not be used on public roads if it passes an mot and emmission tests?
Well when I bought the part from the dealer and mentioned it he said its fine, they even suggested I fit this and offered to fit it for me, at a cost !
Just seems a very grey area, lotus saying you cant use it on public roads and dealers saying its fine. Lotus said to me on the phone I have to check with the local authoraties to see if I can fit it. I thought that was a bit weak considering its them that endorse the product.
Lotus are just covering their ar$es. The cars were homologated with a certain type of exhaust. In theory you should only use the homologated type or equivalent type of exhaust.
As long as your car can pass the MOT then it should be Ok but the noise test on the MOT is not exactly a “scientific” procedure. Depends on what the tester thinks on the day.
You can probably get away with a louder exhaust on the road than you can on track. Most places limit noise to 98db with a few noisy ones at 105db.
You must tell the insurance co. Most will say it’s no charge but will be recorded so if you prang it your still covered. There are many on here and SELOC who have had serious prangs and BIB will go through your wreckage with a fine tooth combe.
Choose the exhaust you fancy but tell the insurance.
Have fun.
Ex77
What exhausts did you go through ? and which ones failed tracks ? [/quote]
I had one of the first lotus sports exhausts for the S’s which was rubbish as was faulty, and have had 2 2bular ones the loud one was called an ultra i think from 2bular, but was about 105db I think, so to loud for a lot of tracks.
I currently have a 24x7 GT3 2bular and I like hearing the supercharger again.
The loud one looks like this…
All non manufacturer exhausts even non OEM standard exhaust will not be type approved, unless it looks different from standard I have never bothered to tell the insurance company as I feel it is just a non OEM replacement like bossal etc.
I realise that some people will say it is wrong, but on a standard car all they do is make more noise they do not really make a substantial enough performance improvement to warrant more insurance money.
I have had this discussion with an underwriter before and he agreed that you shouldn’t need to tell them about non OEM exhausts if there is no performance gain. However in the event of a claim, they will only pay for the standard part cost which as a rule is more than say a Lotus one anyway.
I do however tell the insurance if it is more than just a rear box as there is then a gain in power worth mentioning 
Absolutely correct Ade … They cannot simply not pay out due to insubstantial minor changes from new spec … Imagine the mayhem that would ensue if that were the case !!!
I suggest you guys check the wording on your proposal forms. Recent ones state they want to know about any mods from manufacturer’s non-standard. I was surprised a couple of years ago that factory fitted aircon on a Pug 107 was caught, because it was an optional extra.
With regards to our Exiges, many of us use “specialist insurers” who understand “mods” & they are happy to accept them for little (if any) additional premium. It’s the mainstream insurers who don’t like mods.
All insurance policies are written on the basis of “the utmost good faith of the insured” - pi$$ about with that at your peril. Personally, I’d rather pay eg an extra �50 pa & be completely straight, rather than risk getting f-all in the event of a worst case scenario. The prospect of being faced with a 3rd claim without insurance, doesn’t bear thinking about.
Don’t forget that insurers effectively have a “bottomless pit” of funds at their disposal for fighting a legal defence if they void your policy.
Mr P I absoluteley agree with you sentiment, but are we supposed to declare anythin that is not OEM on our econoboxes as it is non standard, should we only fit OEM tyres as well to keep the insurer happy, what about brake pads and discs? On one of my old cars I put on some cheap discs and pads (never doing it again) they were so bad I had to get them changed to better non OEM ones, I don’t need to tell them that and it had adversley effected my car so putting up the risk surely?
This debate could rage on and on, but as you say they have almost infinite money to fight you if they want in court if they decide it is worth their wild to wriggle out of a claim.
I declare everything on my car to Mary at REIS and if you know my car…I mean everything 888’s the lot. �325 a year, 4k and 4 free TD’d inc Spa. WTF’s the issue, why would you BS
True, but the colour TV licence is �142.50 a year on top of that!
you managed to get Spa? I have to have a word with Mary, she would not cover it last year
True, but the colour TV licence is �142.50 a year on top of that! [/quote]
Leave my telly the FECK alone
The declaring to insurers issue is not always about performance increase. Alloy wheels do not increase performance but history tells the insurer that people who put alloy wheels on a car that didn’t havce them before tend to be “interested” in driving fast and are therefore a higher risk.
People who put louder exhausts on a car usually like to drive faster and are therefore a higher risk. Stats show this. Most speacialist insurers will not charge you for a Larini but may not pay out if you don’t tell them and have a prang.
Not worthy the risk
Ex77
Insurer’s are required by UK law to be fair when it comes to claims…
If it were that easy for them to refrain from paying out then don’t you think it would be commonplace ?
They DO NOT have bottomless pits of money and have to look after their funds…
The very last thing an insurer wants is a long drawn out legal battle with a claimant when they are not 100 % sure of winning…
I speak from personal experience here with a 2 year battle with Standard Life (which I won)… The final amount paid by them was substantial
…
Believe me they tried every trick in the book to avoid paying , but , at the end of the day they are subject (as are we all) by the laws of the land…Interpreted by reasonable disclosure of material facts !!
Ps. I’m not saying at all that we shouldn’t tell them of any changes that are made to our cars , but, don’t panic that its an automatic policy voider if you genuinely miss minor changes…