IPD stainless 240 performance exhaust review

I doubt this will make their website and I'm assuming that's why despite it being on sale a few times there are still no reviews.

"Upon receiving this I noticed how messed up the crush is under the axle. I know that is how they made it from the factory somewhat but it is rough on this thing. It is actually crushed back inward to the flow(Contacted IPD with pictures and was told that is how its supposed to be...I assumed mine was a defect or damaged) it also leaks from every connection except for the one going from the straight pipe to under the axle(It leaks enough that I can feel exhaust blowing out on my hand). Last but not least there is no way to make this exhaust fit if you have the hitch I have and I only think there are two different kinds without either modifying the pipe or grinding some off of the hitch. It will either hit the cars frame rail on the passenger side or it will hit the hitch on the drivers side. I would not buy again. I have bought quite a bit of stuff from IPD since I got my Volvo but this purchase wasn't a winner. I'll have to take the car to an exhaust shop and have them modify a few bends and weld everything up before I'm happy with it. "

Thanks for posting that, I had posted a little while back soliciting experiences with that product: here.

The under axle crush was evident in the photos, so that's not a surprise to hear about.
Good luck getting the fitment fixed up properly, if you're able to do so at a shop for less than the purchase price, you're probably still financially better off than having the shop build a stainless system, and it should last you longer than the traditional non-stainless parts. Exhaust work can be tricky if you're not used to it, and you might have experienced leaks with any replacement system if you haven't done this stuff before. Living with leaks isn't worth it, if you don't get 'em sorted yourself, you'll be far ahead to pay a shop for the work rather than suffer the problems.

Thanks again for posting your experience, keep us apprised of your progress...

I also have a stainless header pipe in route(found a bad spot in that also when I was installing this welded it up with the wire feed temporarily). Once that and my coated manifold come back I want to get a center cat pipe made out of stainless and I'll have the rest welded up. I also don't like that the center hanger is gone. I can fix the current fitment issue temporarily by cutting the tailpipe and putting a 45 in.

ipd stuff has been going downhill for years.
they recently dropped the person who designed and made their downpipes for years and years after getting his products copied and repoped in china

Whether high quality like my simons system in my 93 wagon or not such a high quality system like a Bosal or Walker exhaust kit. Exhaust assembly paste is required for a no leak system if you buy an exhaust kit to install. The catalytic converter pipe to first muffler is also better connected with an exhaust lap joint sleeve clamp instead of the traditional Ubolt clamp.

Most affordable systems are not gonna have leak free connections. Mild steel will rust and hopefully seal it up. But stainless you want to seal the connections.

That is not good with the crush bend and problems with fitment though. Hope you get it figured out. I never understood why we got a crush bend under the axle while the rest of the world got an over the axle system. Or they could have just used a small u shaped piece to go under the axle. But a crush bend? Cheesily done.

Well I have installed a range of prefab exhaust systems in my life from 1500 dollar stainless Audi systems to 200 dollar walker systems for trucks and this is by far the worst fitting worst sealing system I have ever put my hands on. I didn't mention this before but the female fittings were mostly oval and didn't want to accept the pipe.

I am a science teacher now but I used to have a mobile maintenance business when the oil field would get slow. I would have much rather spent a few hundred more and got something that was designed better. Their reviews were mostly good on the site but I feel like that is because they don't post anything shy of 4 stars. I don't think it would have taken much to put better bends(an over the axle option), a second mount, and a notation that it wont fit cars with hitches(or for that matter adding one more 45 so it would).

jjona5 said:

Well I have installed a range of prefab exhaust systems in my life from 1500 dollar stainless Audi systems to 200 dollar walker systems for trucks and this is by far the worst fitting worst sealing system I have ever put my hands on. I didn't mention this before but the female fittings were mostly oval and didn't want to accept the pipe.

I am a science teacher now but I used to have a mobile maintenance business when the oil field would get slow. I would have much rather spent a few hundred more and got something that was designed better. Their reviews were mostly good on the site but I feel like that is because they don't post anything shy of 4 stars. I don't think it would have taken much to put better bends(an over the axle option), a second mount, and a notation that it wont fit cars with hitches(or for that matter adding one more 45 so it would).

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It could very well be that they don't know what good is and a fair chance they don't care.
JT Tuning out of Sweden were always quite good..The principle owner took over the business from his dad in the mid-70s and they always did the aftermarket systems and headers for both Saab and Volvo..Good fit and good fuction.

I recently purchased the 240 performance exhaust for non turbo models. Not in stainless, just the aluminized steel.
I have mixed feelings about it all. The muffler and the pipes came with scuffs and scratches all over the place, the muffler had really ****ty welds where the mounts are welded on, excessive material, sharp edges etc. The muffler itself has several small dents in it. it looked like everything had been bouncing around a dumpster before being sent over. When I asked IPD if this was normal, or i just got a bad kit, they said that these were the conditions they received the kits in from Starla in sweden. They told me i should buy the stainless version if I wanted something show quality. I understand they have limited sway over their manufacturers, but damn, its new and looks second hand, and after reading these posts, im glad I didnt buy the stainless version.

Overall the installation wasnt difficult, but I definitely noticed that some of the pipes didnt fit up easily, and one of the u-shape hangers was too small for the pipe it was designated for. I got it to fit after I just forced the joint open more.

As far as leaks, I didnt feel any when i had the car running and ran my hand around the joints. Could I hear any? Maybe, i honestly don't know if I was hearing a leak or just the intended sound of the muffler.
The exhaust sounds nice, I like the cracking and popping it makes now. anytime you let off at 2500-3000 it makes a nice pop and growls and crackles nicely. I think next time I lift the car for some work I will see if i can check for leaks again.

The old aluminized version is priced according to its quality... not much. the core ipd customer just want something cheap to replace the stuff that fell off their brick.

FYI Walker exhaust company bought Starla in Sweden many years ago and most of the time when you get something branded Starla it's got a walker sticker under that and it's made as cheaply as possible.

dl242gt said:

Whether high quality like my simons system in my 93 wagon or not such a high quality system like a Bosal or Walker exhaust kit. Exhaust assembly paste is required for a no leak system if you buy an exhaust kit to install. The catalytic converter pipe to first muffler is also better connected with an exhaust lap joint sleeve clamp instead of the traditional Ubolt clamp.

Most affordable systems are not gonna have leak free connections. Mild steel will rust and hopefully seal it up. But stainless you want to seal the connections.

That is not good with the crush bend and problems with fitment though. Hope you get it figured out. I never understood why we got a crush bend under the axle while the rest of the world got an over the axle system. Or they could have just used a small u shaped piece to go under the axle. But a crush bend? Cheesily done.

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Are you saying that with a Simons kit and the right Wurth product, and perhaps some non-included lap sleeve clamps, one can actually bolt on an exhaust system to a RWD Volvo and be done and leak-free? I'm asking because in my world an exhaust for a 240 wagon means buying at least 3 extra feet of tubing, duplicate turbo/non-turbo midsection pipes, flex joints, 5 rubber hangers, 2 stainless aftermarket trick hangers from Summit/Jegs, a catalytic converter or two of a non-compatible tubing diameter whether or not it's the Volvo fitment part, and making sure I've got oxygen for the gas rig and argon for the tig setup. If that's what you're saying, then the Simons system sounds like a bargain. My expectations for the IPD system are pretty low, which is not to say that I'm recommending against it. The target for IPD, as I see it, is to get together the right pieces that a buyer could bring to their local exhaust specialist to weld together, without additions, into a usable leak-free system. Aiming for the home mechanic not familiar with exhaust work to be able to get it together on their own for a kit purchase price under $1500 is probably aiming way too high.
Willing to be pleasantly surprised.
6 years on my last non-stainless Starla nights' enterprise, and it's still intact and fine, so my appetite for curious disappointment has rebounded.

Restore It To Stock ...

The Volvo kits from the dealer fit well and seal good.

I've installed the 2" NA Kit and more recently the 60mm kit on my 240 Turbo, and they were both less than $250 ea.

blkaplan said:

The old aluminized version is priced according to its quality... not much. the core ipd customer just want something cheap to replace the stuff that fell off their brick.

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I definitely like it. Just was surprised at the quality, but you're right I got what I paid for. It fits, sounds good and it's still one of my favorite upgrades/repairs.

Brian, I'm on my second aluminum coated mild steel Simons system from Skandix. Made in Europe quality and they shipped it to me in a week. The first one lasted about 6-7 years. Also as mentioned by RWC above another good quality choice is the genuine Volvo system. It goes over the axle now and that also lasted 6-7 years for me. It's what I used between using the two simons systems. The simons system is very quiet has a nice tip on it and definitely flows better than stock going by the seat of pants dyno. This is on my n/a 93 wagon.

Remember the TME system that they used to sell? Yeah those were nice.

Didn't they have TME springs and exhausts? That all seemed like nice stuff. Even the much maligned bent strut tower brace is very nice and has lasted a very long time for me. I'm very happy with it.

Harlard said:

Remember the TME system that they used to sell? Yeah those were nice.

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Agreed. The system CAT back on my 940 is good quality and still working well.

Yeah they didn't post my review.

blkaplan said:

The old aluminized version is priced according to its quality... not much. the core ipd customer just want something cheap to replace the stuff that fell off their brick.

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I agree.

Not 240 related but I just recently (and I'm waiting for the over the axle pipe from Advance cause none of the Volvo sites had it in stock or knew when they would have it in stock) started replacing the rusted out leaky exhaust on my 91' 744 T.

I ordered the "kit" from FCP and it was about $165. It's Starla branded...at least it's Starla stickers. Anyway, the muffler and resonator feel like good quality and the welds look OK. I live near the ocean so I know this is going to rust bad.

The problem I'm having or had, and maybe this is on me for checking fitment, is from the cat to the resonator. The cat and resonator are both 2.5" and won't fit into one another. I ordered the cat from Eeuro parts and. So I had to get an adaptor and fit that to make the connection. Did I want to use two U-bolt clamps to make this one connection...no, but whatever.

Looking into a exhaust lap joint sleeve clamp like dl242gt mentioned! That should clean up the look a bit.