I have DC sports cat-back exhaust. Under low rpm, the car makes a horrible metallic rattling noise that seem to come from right under the shifter/armrest area. Is it the heatshields? and if so, are there any negative effects by removing them? TIA

 

you might want to check your resonator,,,,i had this problem a coupleof months ago and thought it was the heatsheilds myself,,,goodluck

 

i have the same problem with my car. it the heatsheilds .

 

yeah probally the heatshields and its gonna be hard to find exactly where its rattleing

 

i have the same problem at low rpms and i also have a bad resonating sound at about 4000 rpms form right under the shifter please help us.

 

if you have the stock cat it's probably those heatshields. >> on my '99 (that's seen very light use) the cat had broken at the bolt on points.

 

I have the same problem
Very common.
It is the heatshields, I checked
and verified that it was my cat shield.
Could also be you pipe shields as well.
I tightened the bolts and it went away.
But it came back after a day.
Anyone remove the shields completely?

 

I just removed all of mine. Took me about an hour to take them all off. You have to drop the exhaust from the header back though. DEFINANTLY worth it.

 

i havent tried it yet. but has anybody stuck a fat screw inbetween the top and bottom heatshield, to prevent them from viberating against each other?

 

i removed my cat heatshield and the heatshield above that. It still rattles. Im about to remove the heatshield piping from the resonator to the cat.

 

so is this something to expect when you have a aftermaket exhaust?

 

No
usually its the cat shield that rattles.
If you have a cat back you still have the heat shield
on.
Check your cat shields.