Welcome to another amazing video by Jason Fenske of Engineering Explained. Today he will be discussing the McLaren 600LT Spider and the top mount exhaust that it features. The top mount exhaust of the McLaren 600LT is not only for the sake of looks or for sounding good. Instead, it serves a functional purpose by changing the design of the 570S in upgrading to the long tail. The video that we are featuring today will be focused on five primary questions given below while clarifying the advantages of a top mount exhaust;
- How does a top mount exhaust affect weight?
- How does a top mount exhaust affect powertrain cooling?
- How does a top mount exhaust affect aerodynamics?
- Will the exhaust interfere with the rear wing’s ability to provide downforce?
- Will your exhaust fill up with water if it sits outside in the rain?
As it turns out, the weight is actually an actual and very real advantage of a top mount exhaust. In the 570S, the exhaust makes its way on the sides of the V8 engine, travels back, up and over the transmission housing, and then down again. This where it gets split into two sides before protruding from the rear of the vehicle. Whereas, on the 600LT, the path has been made shorter and cuts off when the exhaust makes its way over the transmission, straight out the top. How does this help? It lowers the back pressure within the exhaust while allowing the 600LT to enjoy an additional 30 horsepower flowing freely. It is able to save to a total of 8kg simply in terms of exhaust piping!
That’s not all though. It is able to save another 4.6 kilograms on account of enhanced cooling characteristics. So, about 12.6 or 28 pounds are saved in total thanks to the revised exhaust. How has McLaren pulled the weight and enhanced the powertrain cooling? We are afraid, for that you will have to check out the video from Engineering Explained that would help you learn a lot about the top mount exhaust and its advantages!
