We were asked to construct a complete race exhaust for a local racer who was building a new car for NOPI and various import series racing events. The vehicle in question was a 1981 Toyota Starlet with a nitrous fed Mazda rotary engine, and the order was for a complete system from flanges to tailpipe. The configuration was unique with a "through-hull" type design, with a tunnel to cover the exhaust once completed.

The pictures tell the story...

Work commenced with the construction of the rear rotor headpipe, utilizing 2" primary size tubing. The goal was to design the exhaust with as few bends as possible for the lowest restriction. The front rotor pipe was then fabricated with the same size tubing. From the rear, the primary pipes resemble a VERY large double-barrel shotgun! A section of 4" tubing was utilized and fabricated to form the collector, and a Wankel Rotary header was created...

Overkill? Read on and decide for yourself!

We then used a Twister F5 series race muffler in 4" along with a mandrel formed 90 degree bend for the exit pipe. Finishing the exterior was a short section of 4" stainless steel tubing.

As you can see, this is a low restriction exhaust system for just about any vehicle, let alone a 1.5 liter Wankel Rotary! Ask anybody who has ever been to the races, rotary engines are LOUD with open exhaust! The Twister is a perfect muffler for this application. The tone, while still on the loud side, now has a nasty "no nonsense" sound... you better think twice before thinking this is "just another fart-canned ricer", or you’ll be looking at the taillamps and parachute on the back of this Starlet, guaranteed.