Ok, i got both of these the other day and installed the cats yesterday morning and noticed they didn't have a flange to connect to that stock brace that the stock cats connect to. I was familiar with this from the helix test pipes. However...after installing and driving they seem to be hitting something during hard acceleration and moderately sharp right turns. Is this normal, is there a fix, suggestions??

Second, i just installed the plenum and i know it has been said before that the strut bar didn't fit with some versions but it fits with the V4 and can rub. I did what other have suggested and done recently by using some washers underneath the bolts for the strut brace to space it up some. I am cleared now, but it is very close. Will this be a big problem? Should i get a different strut bar, if so which one? Thanks

Chip

 

Keep your strut bar, but just adjust the bolts on the passenger side of the bar to raise it just a little. This will help you with the clearance issues that most of us have had with the V4 plenum.

-Steve

 

I'll have to try that. I took it out a few minutes ago and even with the added space of the washers i think i'm getting some slight knocks on turns or bumps.

 

my main concern is really the HF cats problem. I know there are a few people with these. Did everyone have a custom made flange to attach to that stock brace or what?

 

i thought the main reason people go for a kinetix plenum over a crawford is the keep the oem strut bar?

 

That among other things......core charge, composite materials that don't heat soak, core charge, support from the company, core charge. Hope that helps.

-Steve

 

You could probably go to a muffler shop and they could just fabricate some attachment points for you for just a couple of dollars. They usually like doing stuff other than the usual factory replacements.

-Steve

 

I might have to look into getting some flanges made. You can keep the strut bar, i'm sure if i adjusted it some, it would be alright, it is just very close.

 

The RT cats i got from performance includes a shim kit, because i guess clearance issues down there. If that's what you're talking about, performance can sell you some shims, should be a cheap fix.

 

I believe the shim kit was for the cat back exhaust. I had some rattling issues early on, but I had a bracket fabricated and no shims were necessary. I remember fitment issues with the RT cats, so I fixed that by welding them to the Y pipe. makes for a nice transition, but it's permanent.

-Steve

 

i have kinetix high flow cats and mine came with a flange that conects to the brace thats on the trans, i don't have any problem with rattling or it hittin anything...you might want to contact them

 

i had to bang on the heat shields to eliminate contact points.

 

What do you mean bang on the heat shields?

 

at certain points, the edges of the cats were too close and/or actually touching the heat shield that lines the underbody where the cats are. I got a large screwdriver and mallet and banged back the shields at points of contact or near contact. not pretty, but it solved the vibration/rubbing problem.
ps: my kinetix cats didn't come with holes for attachment of that connecting brace, so i just left the brace off.

 

Do you still have that damaged exhaust that is in your signature or something else?

Did you re-use the flange gaskets from the stock cats?

I have Kinetix Cats on now with-out the mounting brackets and an Injen SES. Had the Kinetix Resonated Test Pipes on before. Both the Cats and the Test Pipes have plenty of room, no rattles.

Best thing to do would be to get under the car and see what is going on. Make sure everything is tight.

 

I had the same problem when I installed my Kinetix HF. You just need spacers on the V cross member below. Here's the link to the fix.
https://my350z.com/forum/showthr...&threadid=84434

 

Sorry...here's a working link:

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=84434

 

Yes, i still have the damaged exhaust on, it was only bent and pushed in a little but that shoudln't have any effect on the cats. The sound is also coming from around the cats, not back farther. I dont have the flange on the cats and i also took off the brace since it would be useless. I have been recommended to knock the heat shields in some for more clearance so i will try that and I will get back under there again to check it all out. I plan to get a dual next so that might help make it a little more rigid i was thinking. Thanks for the ideas and help!

 

Ok, i finally got up under there and checked just now. I'm not sure why, but it seems the CAT on the drivers side is very close to the underbody. Not on the passenger side though, which explains why i'm hearing it during right turns. So I was thinking I could just put some kind of pad on there in between them that would take car of the noise. Any suggestions on what type of material to use, i guess it would need to be flame retardant