I may go ahead and do this setup in a few weeks, but wanted to get some feedback on anyone that runs the same setup before i do some damage to the credit card. I definitely want the setup to have good fitment with no rubbing or rattles. Thanks.

 

According to Doug @ CrawfordZ, the only exhaust that causes a little problem with his cats is the Nismo - and only sometimes. I have the Crawford headers & cats and the Nismo exhaust. Make sure you get the Crawford cats that have the re-inforced bend at the bottom or they may crack after a while (my original ones cracked in about 1 1/2 years). This was directly due to the Nismo exhaust "pulling up" on the cat pipe end. I believe Doug is manufacturing the cats with the re-inforcement now. Give him a call at his shop 615.327.4159 and order the cats straight from him to insure you're getting the re-inforced style for your Nismo exhaust. Other than that, no problems, the sound is SWEET and the performance is there. You'll love them! Oh, I did lower the cross brace at the center of the car with a few washers to make sure there was good clearance between it and the exhaust. The Nismo with the cats did not rattle there, but it was close so why chance it. Hope this helps!

 

I just got mine installed last week. You most likely will get rattling.. so just as Z CRUZN stated, have your shop put washers on the brace and you should be fine. Make sure to do a test drive before you leave so you make sure there is no rattle. But once its on... you'll love it. It definitely does not feel as strong when i had my Labree's test pipes on, but its only a bit louder than stock cats which is just perfect for me.

 

I have that same annoying rattle. It seems to only rattle when the engine is cold. How big were the spacers you guys put on there?

BTW I have one of the first pairs of Crawford HF cats on my car. No problems with it so far. I have had the Nismo on for 6-7 months.

 

I have a rattle as well & I have had then on for maybe a year at the most & I just started to get this annoying rattle!! I took the stock heat shields off & I can not figure out where the rattle is coming from but it is driving me nuts

 

Great info! Maybe this explains why my all my pipes cracked...it was from my freaking Nismo exhaust.

 

I got my HFC from Crawford in sept2005 and still have to install together with my NISMO cat back. Doug has confirmed mine are "reinforced", so I would expect cats from that period on to be reinforced. Hope this helps...

 

Yea i went ahead and bought the nismo and crawfords. I talked directly to doug at crawford and he was very helpful. All new crawfords are reinforced so im not worried about them cracking, just hoping fitment is good without any contact.

 

I've got the same set up. Love the sound. I was getting the rattle so I installed about 4 washers per bolt to lower the crossmember about a 1/4", problem solved. I've had mine on for about a year w/ no issues of the cats cracking.

 

...anyone got picts of the cross member with the bolts?

 

i was just bout the ask the same thing.

 

Do a search on shims. Jason of Performance Nissan posted a pic about 1 or 2 years ago showing where the shims should go.

 

I figured out what the rattle was. My Crawford Cat is cracked at the weld & from there the hair line fracture runs about 3 inches to the outter edge. I keep thinking maybe I hit something but my car has been parked for a long time & I drive interstate so I can not think of anything other than this issue.

I am pretty sure I have the reinforced cats too, but I do not have my reciept
=(

FYI my OEM Cat cracked in the same place all the way around the weld on the side that holds the bracket on the point where the braket with the square end bolt that mounts to the "U bracket" fell off in my hand!

 

did the search for the shims and came up with this, foud the pics of 2003, hope it helps...
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....ighlight=shims

 

I'm going to be putting this stuff on in 2 weeks so ill take pics and let you guys know how it goes. I read some threads on the shim deal, so ill get some of those just in case there is any contact.

 

some sound clips would be nice to

i cant decide if i wanna spend the extra money on the HFCs or just go with TPs

 

+1

 

...OT, but has anyone damaged the flexible part of the Y pipe? I've had my setup on for a few days and alreadly (slightly) scraped the flex mesh...damn. Any real damage there? I am having the workshop put the shims on today, so the rattling problem should be fixed...can't wait to test again...

 

I have this setup on my Z and yes, the Crawford cats will make the Nismo exhaust hang down lower causing the mid pipe to hit the "M" brace under heavy load. This problem can easily be alleviated by installing shims or spacers into the "M" brace. Also, we have the new Crawford cats in stock with the removed transmission tabs and reinforced welds around the catalyst.

 

...installed 3mm spacers yesterday and problem SOLVED! Anyone on the damaged flex on the Y pipe?