Hybrid45

Hi Guys,

I had a workshop down the road install an xforce (Aussie dual) exhaust on my 03 track. Shortly after having it installed I noticed under moderate to hard acceleration that there was a loud rattle. Basically under accel the sway bar is touching the exhaust causing the noise. Its not damaging anything as it is only a small mark but the noise is terrible. I took it back to the shop and they said the exhaust was just about hard up against the floor pan and that the only option would be to weld a bit of half pipe into the exhaust pipe effectively adding a restriction which I'm sure as hell not letting them do.

Has anyone heard of this before? Could the sway bar links be shot giving it more of an arc of travel than standard? Would getting an aftermarket stiffer sway bar stop this movement?

Thanks for any help. I'm out of ideas.

JW

Z1 Performance

iTrader: (564)

Is it an aftermarket swaybar or stock?

Hybrid45

Yeah its the stock one. The only aftermarket parts I've put on so far are the the exhaust and Work 19s.

Z1 Performance

iTrader: (564)

not much you can really do then except to possibly play around with different length rubber exhaust hangers. depedning how much room you have

Hybrid45

Thanks mate. I might crawl under there myself and have a look. I find it hard to believe they'd manufacture the exhaust with this same clearance issues. No doubt the place who installed it is just trying to take the easy route telling me they can't do anything. Does anyone know of any aftermarket sway bars that have a bend in them to clear the exhaust?

Z1 Performance

iTrader: (564)

The stock swaybar has a bend to clear the exhaust. Aftermarket ones are only going to be larger in diameter vs stock, and it shouldn't be needed anyway. If it were me, I'd address the concerns to whomever made/installed the exhaust

Toby-22

iTrader: (25)

Man me and many other Bassani exhaust owners have the exact problem. I contacted Bassani and they said it was the installation and not the exhaust? Well if that was the case then why did they change the design of the piping with their new batch lol. ANd why do so many bassani owners have the same problem? Oh well, at least they sound badass

I hope you get this fixed

nothix

iTrader: (27)

where can i find different length rubber exhaust hangers? I'm having a problem with my exhaust rubbing and need to lower it a little bit

zettahertz

yup, i got the same problem... really lame problem (w/ my Bassani) where the passenger side pipe touches the swaybar over the exhaust. Tried messing with the hangars to no avail, put a hose clamp and tightened them to lessen the amount of sag but still didn't fix it 100%.

jalejune

iTrader: (2)

I think I'm having a similar problem, but I thought it might be something loose in my passenger side rear fender area or in the strut bar. I keep hearing a metal tapping noise while I'm inside. Is this the same for you guys? Did anyone figure out a fix or work around for this yet.

zettahertz

Mine was more like a buzzing at low RPMs. But this kinda varies by how close the exhaust is to the swaybar.

dSpaceman

iTrader: (2)

Anyone find a fix for this?

Went to the shop today cause I noticed very violent rattling from under my car while idling/low rpm. Turns out it's my OEM sway bar rattling with the passenger pipe of my Gemini. They suggested that I can either live with it (not an option at this point, the sound is even louder than my exhaust), get an aftermarket sway bar that goes below the pipe and modify the existing pipe to straight, or get a 370z OEM sway bar.

MicVelo

Interesting, seems there's another thread of late asking a similar question about "which bar to get to clear the exhaust?"

In any event, there is - IMO - NOTHING worse than a person/shop saying "Live with it." BS.... anyone saying that should NOT be in a customer facing job.

/rant

On to the solution suggestion... Aftermarket sway bar, however nice to have, is likely NOT the solution as they are configured in the same manner as the factory bars using the stock mounting points and use generally the same bends so as NOT to interfere with other components, particularly exhaust pipes.

In that other thread, I suggest that there is or should be MORE concern about the aftermarket EXHAUST being constructed to fit factory configuration of all underbody components, e.g. exhaust, driveline and suspension components, etc. because the aftermarket system is encroaching on factory territory, not the other way around. Get me so far?

So, I would tend to believe that modification or adjustment to the exhaust system is what's needed because frankly, it's "adjustable" or at least more adjustable than anything else underneath the car.

You may need to move or shorten hangers, bend the mounting tabs, or worse case, have it professionally modified for clearance.

I'm very surprised at this because the Gemini is one of the better systems out there.

I should have asked this first but, did you actually get under there to see the problem AND perhaps note that the pipes and/or hardware was loose or broken? If you've had the exhaust on for a while and this just cropped up, obviously, something has "given".

Pics and/or further description might help here.

Good luck!

Mic

dSpaceman

iTrader: (2)

The shop lifted my car to see where the rattling was coming from. They initially diagnosed it as something rattling inside the resonator, but as the guy continue revving my car while we listened from below, it soon became apparent that it was the passenger side pipe hitting the sway bar. What happened was that the passenger pipe was literally right below the sway bar, and by that I mean the sway bar is practically resting ontop of it. As the two hit against eachother, the hanger became loose over time, which was why there wasn't any noticeable rattling until a few weeks after the installation.

Now I did some more digging through the forums cause I was damn sure something wasn't right The Gemini became my choice of exhaust because everyone says the fitment is great, so this doesn't add up to me. Then I found it.

Exhaust was installed improperly.

According to travlee, the passenger pipe should be above the sway bar, not below. I then found out that for whatever reason, the pipe could be installed either way, which was probably why the shop got it wrong. It seems the fix could be as simple as a 180 degree flip. There was also another thread where someone e-mailed Invidia and they confirmed that the pipe should in fact go over the sway bar.

Told my shop this, and they're having a second look at it on Tuesday. They reassured me that if it was a mistake in installation, they will take care of it free of charge. I'm just wondering why this never occurred to them when they were looking at it couple days ago.

dSpaceman

iTrader: (2)

Just an update, visited the shop today. Flipped the passenger side pipe 180 degrees. What do you know, it worked! Who would've thought