Tailpipe for Suzuki Vehicles

Suzuki's current local range is petrol, so exhaust work here is about catalytic converters and lambda sensors rather than the DPF systems that dominate the diesel marques. Cylinder count is the thing people get wrong: most of the range is a three- or four-cylinder with a single system, but the older Grand Vitara was also sold here as a V6, and a V6 is a different exhaust layout entirely from the manifolds back. The naturally aspirated and turbocharged Vitara derivatives differ from each other too, and the rear-drive Super Carry and Eeco are routed unlike anything else. In practice the decision in front of you is whether the section that has failed can be replaced on its own or whether corrosion has already taken the neighbouring joints with it.

The derivative — on a Vitara whether it is the 1.6 or the 1.4 turbo, and on an older Grand Vitara whether it is a four-cylinder or a V6. With that we can usually confirm the right part quickly, and we'll tell you whether we're quoting new, aftermarket or good used rather than leaving you to guess.

Not usually. The oxygen sensors sit ahead of the catalytic converter, so a leak right at the back is downstream of everything reporting to the ECU. A leak further forward, before or between the sensors, is a different matter, and that one will skew the readings and light the dash.

On a naturally aspirated 1.0 to 1.6 litre engine, no. These systems are nowhere near restrictive enough at standard power levels for a wider rear pipe to free anything up. What it does change is the noise, and often not in a way you want to live with on a long run up the N1.

It buys time, and where the rest of the system is sound a competent exhaust shop can let in a new section. But rust rarely shows up in one spot on a pipe that has corroded from the inside, so where you can see one hole the metal either side is usually thin too. If the pipe crumbles under a screwdriver tip, replace the section.

Metal grows as it heats. A pipe or heat shield sitting a millimetre from the body can be silent when hot and buzz against it when cold, or the other way round. Look for bright rub marks on the underbody and on the pipe, which shows you exactly where it is touching far faster than chasing the noise by ear.

Give us the model, the year and the engine, and send the VIN through the quote form if you have it. Pipe lengths and hanger positions changed between facelifts and between derivatives, and a rear section that is 40mm out will not line up with the bumper cut-out.