So I finished up the exhaust install and took some pics as promised.

Couple things....

Pros:

1. Great Sound
2. Great Look
3. Easy Install


Cons:

1. The exhaust has a burnt toast smell coming from it and its making me sick (smoke was coming out of it for a bit...not alot but it was coming out, that has now stopped)....can't remember if the GReddy did this. Is this just a breaking in smell?

2. The fitment is ok but it hangs really low and now my catalytic converter is rubbing against my Neuspeed lower tie bar. It rattles at takeoff and startup\shutdown. The GReddy did not do this.

3. That small section of pipe I was asking about earlier goes in front of the cat and bolts up to the main pipe. im not sure why the need for this as Apex'i could have just lengthened the mainpipe and did away with it altogether. This piece was also not perfectly straight so when i lined it up there was a bit of a gap. After tightening up the bolts however, the gap was sealed...but im thinking this is why my cat is now hanging lower.

on to the pics


Get your tools ready.

PB blaster
WD-40

14 mm deep and shallow sockets for 1\2 inch and 3\4 inch drive sizes
U-Joint adapters for both drive sizes as well
14 mm wrench
some flathead screwdrivers
1\2 inch drive breaker bar





Put the car on jackstands and spray your bolts down with pb blaster

you will use the WD-40 to lube the rubber hangers to ease removal and installation




after getting it up on jacks and going under the whip, i did not feel comfortable with this situation. a 3,000lb vehicle hovering over me supported by 4 jackstands did not go over well with me. I am used to working with vehicles on lifts\pits. So i called up a buddy and he told me to come down to the shop and use the pit. in this case i grabbed my 1\2 inch impact gun and impact sockets.....making my job much easier.

a pic before she goes....




we took off the 3 bolts attaching the mainpipe to the cat first and then the 2 bolts from the mainpipe the the secondary pipe. You will need to put a 14mm on the nuts behind the bolts to prevent them from just spinning freely. (same goes for install)
Remove the mainpipe.







Do the same for the secondary pipe to the muffler....remove secondary pipe and remove muffler

here is me and the good ol' greddy after removal




install in reverse order....







Here is where the small section goes (and where the only fitment issue was)




Whats the point????



simple as that




as you can see, the muffler itself does not hang too low but the piping itself rather.

sorry i do not have more pics of the fitment issues but as i said i am tired and did not really notice it until the ratlling started after leaving the shop.



BTW the impact gun made my life easier but some of you might not have access to air tools, so i recommend using the breaker bar.

i guess thats it....

no power gains\losses noticed
much quieter than the GReddy
but it does sound great!!

anybody have any recommendations on how to rid myself of the cat\tie bar rattle?

i prolly coulda done better...but the fumes have me a terrible headache and im pissed off about the clearance issues and my restaurant experience afterward.

cheers
-chris

 

Nice pics and review, i wish people would do that more often with different types of parts. Yea I was wondering about the pipe being close to the ground...is that just how apexi does there thing? Sorry that i dont know how to fix your rattleing problem, but im guessing that the smell is just the exhaust getting broke in?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DarKStaR5 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sorry that i dont know how to fix your rattleing problem, but im guessing that the smell is just the exhaust getting broke in?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, exhausts are shipped with all kinds of oils and materials left over from the manufacturing process. I remember my exhaust had that crappy smell for about 2 days after I put it on. God I hated that smell.

But don't worry, it gets better.

 

Reason for ridding Greddy? Ive never like the way the Apexi looked. It hangs too low for me and ive seen some that stick out too far as well. The only good thing I see in it is the quietness.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Legendaryyaj &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Reason for ridding Greddy? Ive never like the way the Apexi looked. It hangs too low for me and ive seen some that stick out too far as well. The only good thing I see in it is the quietness.</TD></TR></TABLE>

wanted something quieter and this was a steal ($270)

yeah clearance is now more of an issue but its all good

 

bump for good info.....cmon fawkers you had better at least read this post.....i did it just phor honda-tech!!!!!!!!!!!

 

btw...fixed the rattling issue by putting a spacer under the rubber mount for the catalytic converter and stuck some kevlar heat material (like a sock but not) and wrapped around the tie bar where it was rubbing and now the problem is gone....that kevlar shouldnt catch on fire i dont think.....

 

Where did you get it for $270? My exhaust smelled for a while after I put it on too.

 

He got if off eBay I remember a post where he had a link to the auction he won on ebay for it.

 

my piping hangs low too and scrapes over some speed bumps