yeaaaa its slow

So I finally get my apex n1 catback installed, everything is bolted up fine, no pipes seem to be on the gas tank, the canister is angled a little bit, but not nothing major or anything.
The silencer is in, overall the exhaust sounds great and im happy with it.

But in idle it sounds like it is hitting something, and it sounds like im lightly reving it, when im not. Like revs with a second in between them. When im driving everything is fine and it sounds great.

But when i look under the car I dont see what the problem could be.

Im happy with the exhaust, its just when I start it up at like the mall, stores, and school it sounds like **** and I get all these looks cause it sounds like it is falling off.

Anyone else have this problem with their n1 or maybe know what the problem is?
Thanks in advance for the help.

Chris y0!

it takes mufflers a few weeks to break in. it will smell like **** and sound as bad but just be patient.

F.U.

well i would check right by the rear axle by the control arm....I think it is vibrating alot....mine did that on the four door i had to bend some metal...but iworked out....it is easy my problem was the canister die but up by the rear wheel just have someone start it and look under the car but make sure it isnt in gear!!!!! good luck

yeaaaa its slow

But seriously it sounds like it is hitting something, it will actually sound that bad?

And I knew it was going to stink.

Thanks

Daniel

when i had a N1, the pipe over the LCA was hitting the underside of the car, causing a rattling sound. maybe that's it?

yeaaaa its slow

I'll check it out. Im kinda pissed, like I just payed 500 for this exhaust and its rattling and sounds like **** in idle.

Whats funny is that I heard about it rattling and the pipe being on the gas tank from people before I bought it. I asked people on this board. Alot of them were saying I have to bend the hanger and all this, but when it was all installed no pipes seem to be out of place or nowhere near anything to rattle against.

I thought it was the tip of the muffler because of the little angle on the exhaust. I thought it was rattling against the bottom of the bumper where the groove is, but then i realized that the muffler would have to shake alot to even hit it.

So if it is the LCA how would I go about fixing this, take it to a shop, or doing it myself? Seriously, I dont even want to drive my car cause just starting it up pisses me off so much.

Thanks for all the help though, and sorry about complaining so much, I just want it to sound normal.

tominos

you could take it to an exhaust shop and have em bend the pipe a little more to clear the lca.

qcoffey

The first exhaust I put on me '99 Si was an N1. It was hitting on the front edge of the rear lower control arm. It was just barely touching at idle, and when I'd let of the gas while driving it would make an obnoxious noise. I just bent the hanger a little bit and no more problems. The reason everything probably looks ok is because when the car is in the air the suspension is hanging. When it is on the ground the suspension is probably compresing right against the over axel section.

mantic6t9

On mine it was rattling on the b-pipe heatshield where it bends. I just bent it back and it solved the problem. As far as it rattling on the gas tank, mine came with heat wrap to wrap that part of the exhaust and kept if from rattling.


[Modified by mantic6t9, 3:09 PM 12/15/2002]

euclid

remove the heartsheilds

yeaaaa its slow

So do you think if I use heatwrap to wrap all the pipes it will stop rattling?

I just payed a little over $500 with shipping and everything and I just quit my job, im only 18, so I dont have lots of money to try to correct this problem. I know you cant give me an exact price, but around how much am I looking at to bend the pipe?

Thanks for all the help guys.

qcoffey

You shouldn't have to rebend any pipe. You might have to bend a hanger to move the exhaust up slightly, but shouldn't have to do any modification to the exhaust. I also just thought of something else. I had a kid bring by an exhaust that was installed on his car and it was hanging low and rattling. The muffler shop that put it on installed the midsection upside down. This caused the exhaust to hang low and rattle. I've also seen the section around the gas tank put in backwards, also causing the system to rattle. Double check your install before you cut your system.

yeaaaa its slow

See this is not what im understanding. Nothing hangs low. All the pipes seem to be in the right spot. The only thing that seems wierd since I have gave it a real good look is that: There are 3 pipes, the 2, then the 3rd with the muffler (sorry im not sure what the pipes are called.) the pipe that goes under the LCA on the hatchback, well it goes above it on my car, and this pipe seems like it is on the body, like this is whats rattling. The highest point on this pipe seems to be the trouble.

If someone could post some underbody pics of this exhaust on the coupe it would help more, (no digital camera) sorry.

I just cant really afford to have to bend some pipe to make it not rattle, unless I can do it.

And can someone explain how I would bend the hanger, im not really understanding that.

Again thanks for all the help.

.Beaver

my N1 on my coupe hit my gas tank at idle, so i bent the hanger and cured it.

ChiBoy

Concider yourself lucky that it is doing it at idle. My system was making me nuts between 1500 and 3500 rpm, and only while accelerating.

If the problem is real bad, you should be able to have a friend grab the tailpipe and wiggle side-to-side while you listen for the trouble spot.

If you found the pipe that is rubbing against the body, then just bend the hanger rods so that the pipe doesn't rub. Try using vice grips or channel locks to bend it out of the way. If the hangers are too thick, take it to a shop. They can heat them and bend them easily.

You may also want to take a look at the heat shields on the cat. They can get loose and rattle with a high pitched tone. Mine did, and the guy at the local muffler place said to rip them off because they never weld up right anyway. Been nice and quite ever since.

Good luck.

yeaaaa its slow

Thanks for the replies and all the help. I will try it. In idle it makes all kinds of noises, so i'll just check for the spot that rattles and bend the hanger like described. If it still rattles and all that then I have no choice but to take it to a muffler shop and pay to get the problem solved. I will also remove the heatshield from the cat.

Is bending the pipe really a good idea? And removing the heatshield from the cat?
Isnt it there for a reason. Im just wondering, I dont know too much about exhausts.

But again thanks for all the replies and help