something you all might want to check over
 

I've got 600 and some odd miles on my ART pipes and about 250 on my F.I. CBE now. I had been hearing a hiss, but only when letting off the gas.

So I got under the car tonight and checked all of the bolts... ALL of them were able to be turned at least a little bit. They were fully tightened when the install was done, but it was on the floor with a jack, so full leverage was difficult, but still all bolts were tightened to the point they were not able to be anymore, and they still came a little loose.. just might want to give them a quick check with a wrench.

Just a quick note that anyone who did their own install might want to take a look at.

That's part of the reason why they tighten the bolts so much at the factory. They are tightened to the point of stretching/straining the bolt so it will never loosen up from the thermal cycles.

Did the hiss clear as well?

part of modding!

yes, quite a bit of it did... some of the hiss sound is actually the ART pipes still breaking in... I have another 800 miles to put on them before the 1500 that Tony says it takes for them to run through all 3 of their cycles.

UPDATE: Ok guys, I had realized that I had forgotten to tighten the bolts from the headers to the ART pipes. The demon bolts were first... the passanger side was pretty tight but I could get about 1/2 to 3/4 of a turn on it. The drivers side however was MUCH more loose and I got 1 and 1/2 - 2 turns on it. THe other bolts also could be tightened at least a little bit. I suggest those with gasket problems make COMPLETELY sure that the bolts are fully tightened... if they are, I wouldn't imagine there would be much of a way the gasket could blow out. I don't know if some realize how loose the bolts can get.

Tighten them all down upon installation and if possible, tighten them again after a few thermal cycles.

Thermal cycles have a way of playing with bolt tension.

Tony, when I tightened down the drivers side last night and I started it up, it had a rattle like maybe it was a heat shield that had maybe gotten pushed over a bit... any idea where that would be right off hand?

The bracket bolt for the stock cats may be it. Otherwise, check it to really know.

Should the engine be warm or cold when trying to get the bolts tighter?

Perhaps this is whats causing my SES light to pop on every 400 miles or so. They were fine for the first 4000 miles or so and then I began getting SES lights.

Ideally, room temperature so all the various integrating parts are at the same temperature.

Alright. I'll check out the bolts this Wednesday night when I begin throwing on the Swift springs. I'm hoping they're just loose and its not something more major.

ok, today I jacked the car up and got underneath of it. I pushed on a few of the heat shields and the sound did not change. I have my Fiancee' rev the car and only when revving it does it make the noise.

I am wondering if I am getting that sound others have talked about with the ART pipes going through another stage. Up until now (800 miles on them) I have had NO sounds. I find it ironic that when I tighten them up that all of a sudden it would make this noise. It does sound like it could be the pipes... it also sounds like it might not be. Under normal idle or just cruising, the car does not make the noise at all. However, under load or when the revs come up it does make. It if it was a heat shield wouldn't it be more likely to do it all the time?

You're going to have hiss when you remove stock cats.... The ART pipes just make less sound than other test pipes. I have 5500 miles on my ART pipes.

No, the hiss is mostly gone... and I can deal with that. I just want to know if this metal sound I hear is in the ART pipes just breaking in or if a heat shield is rubbing... as I said, I got under the car today and could see no where it would be rubbing. I was under the car and had my Fiancee' just give it a little gas while I pushed on different areas and there was no sound changes.

I think I may just give it some more miles and see if it stops, but if I get the chance my friend does have a lift which would be much easier to see that was is the problem.

Can you think of anything that may be related to, or caused by, the bolt tightening? If the sound started upon bolt tightening, something else had to happen because a tightening of bolts (by itself) won't do that. What else could have been part of the bolt tightening process?

Cold starts can sound different.
Could anything downstream on the exhaust have been affected in any way?

Also see if you can isolate the location of the noise. That will say a lot about what the solution is.

I'm pretty sure that the fact that because I had to force the socket down into where the bolt is that that damn heat shield is rattling ... I just didn't think it would do it only under engine load.

Well, max engine load will naturally have more vibration.

Plus - The engine only twists in the engine bay while under load. The clearances also change under load.

Of course... I just really think it must be a heat shield rubbing somewhere, but I don't know... it's pretty frustrating. I should just take it to a shop and let them find it, but I just don't have the money for that so i'll have to keep checking. I don't suppose I could take the heat shields off completely huh? That would almost certainly get rid of it :-)

UPDATE: My roomate got under the passenger side of the car tonight and heard the rattle. He pushed and moved around the heat shields and there was no change in the rattle. He put his hand on the pipe and said when it made the rattle noise that he could feel it in the pipe. I'm not concerned about it now as I know some people have had this noise while the pipes are breaking it.

I had wondered why it took so long for them to start making the noise, but I honestly drive my car very gently the majority of the time so maybe it's taken it a while to get the pipes through their cycles.

Tony, do you recommend a few WOT runs to 60 mph or anything specific to help with this cycle or does it just take mileage and constant heat?

1500 miles of normal varied driving.

oh ok, well i'm glad that's what it seems most likely to be since I expected this much earlier... but at least now I know it's just the pipes and it will clear out... i'll just clinky dink around for a few hundred miles and be happy :tup:

Well update again. The noise is almost gone completely. Once it got hot and I got on it a little bit just a few times... nothing over about 4k, the sound could barely be heard. I got onto a road with guardrails where I can always hear the sound... nothing though. I got home where there is a huge concrete wall and no sound. Later yesterday I started it up and there was just a very faint sound, maybe because the car had cooled off for a few hours. Either way though... not anything I expect to be an issue. For all I know when I tightened down the bolts a very small piece of rust or anything could have come lose and gotten into the ART pipe? I don't know. Anyway, getting better, more broken in and maybe a little more power? Could be in my head there though lol.