Bespeak When Bespoken To

22 Feb Bespeak When Bespoken To

Today, we’ll be taking a look at the creation of the bespoke straight pipes we’re fabricating for our customer’s Arancio Borealis Lamborghini Gallardo.

As we pointed out in the introduction of this car earlier in the week, it’s receiving an exhaust that nobody else will have, a truly handbuilt bespoke design that you won’t see on literally any other Gallardo. We were quite excited to get underway, as we knew we could make this car exactly as violent as the owner is hoping. The first step was mounting the X-pipe where we wanted it, just above the rear transaxle. An X-pipe is necessary to create the sound we want; without merging the banks prior to hitting the exhaust tips, the car will sound overly raspy, drowning out the true screaming nature of the Lamborghini V10.

With the X-pipe situated in its home, we set about creating the piping that would run from the end of the catalytic converters (which is the exact same location that our custom cat delete pipes will stop) to the X-pipe itself. We start off the cat with a piece of pipe we’ve already pre-fabricated to work with the OEM clamps, then run that pipe around to the X. As with everything else, we test-fit first, followed by tack welds to hold everything in place. This allows us to make any last-minute tiny adjustments in pipe angle before laying down the final welds.

With everything fitting together how we want it to, we set about laying down the final welds. Once the pipes cooled off, we placed them back into the car and began plotting out how we’d run the pipes from the X to the tips.

Starting with a straight piece of pipe off the X, we run the exhaust sideways until it banks downward towards the tips. We’ve welded in the straight segment first, waiting until it cools to again reinsert the exhaust into the vehicle for the remaining test-fitment. As you can tell, there’s a lot of in-and-out when it comes to building a custom exhaust. We want to make sure everything fits perfectly, and we’re not about to take any shortcuts that may compromise quality or fitment.

From there, we test-fit the piece that runs from the straight segment to the exhaust tips. It bends downwards and away from the center of the vehicle, so we have to ensure that everything lines up perfectly, or the tips might rattle against the OEM exhaust tip housings built into the bumper assembly.

And now we’ve reached the final weld for each side (not counting the mounts that affix the entire exhaust to the Gallardo’s body). This is the most important weld, as even a slight bit of movement during welding can cause the exhaust to fit improperly. For that reason, we’re taking a slow and steady approach with it. For a car of this caliber with a bespoke exhaust of this caliber, there’s no wiggle room when it comes to errors in fitment. It will take longer to fabricate, yes, but in return you receive something that’s guaranteed to fit perfectly.

That about sums up the progress thus far on the bespoke Gallardo straight pipes. Come back early next week for the final round of pictures, along with a before-and-after video showcasing just how ridiculous the sound will get. We’re excited, and we hope you are too. Have a great weekend, and drive safely!