tmanstuart2

whats the best and easiest way to do the bumper mod

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

Search for bumper tuck, and there are great instructions.

PMueller

I know this thread is a few years old; however, I have some questions. I installed the AAM single this weekend and had some issue despite all the great reviews. With everything bolted up but not tightened, the exhaust tip is not at all lined up where it needs to be. It's pushing against the bumper on the drivers side of the cutout really hard. It's already scratched the paint off. To center it up, it needs to go right 1-2". Everything on the car is bone stock except this y pipe back exhaust so I'm confused what the problem is. My question is, what is the physiology of your resonator pipe? On mine, it has a pretty severe S curve in which moves the exhaust towards the passenger side. It looks as if it were straight, the muffler section would fit much better. Does yours have the S bend in it? I've looked at many google images and such with differential success. Some pictures of the exhaust unmounted show the resonator section completely backwards to where it would for sure hit the M bracket under the car. I also had major issues with the flanges that connect the two exhaust sections. the flange on the resonator side was concave from welding, I assume, which meant I had to use two gaskets and a dump truck worth of torque on the bolts to get it to seal. When tightened with one gasket, the two bolt ends were touching and the top and bottom of flange had a significant gap. Is this common?

venture210

I know exactly what you're talking about man! My previous exhaust was the AAM. The gap happens because the flanges bend as the bolts are tightened. If you put too much gasket material in between and really crank down on the bolts, then the "corners" of the flanges bend inward while the tops and bottoms fail trying to sandwich the gaskets

PMueller

I see what you're saying but thats actually not what is happening here. Before even bolting up the system, there is a massive arch in
the front flange. Welding heat is the only explanation I can think of.

venture210

Hmm that's a fabrication issue then. In my recent experiences, you have to use a MINUMUM of 4 tack welds. 6 is going to be my magic number. In addition to that, clamp a piece of alumunum to the flange as a chill plate. Doing those keeps the flange almost completely flat as well as helps with "sugaring" of stainless steel

PMueller

Yes, I agree. It's unfortunate given all the great reviews on quality and fitment of this brand and particular exhaust. The sealing issue has been solved by using multiple gaskets; however, the muffler Is still pushing hard against the bumper. I'm trying to decide if I should take it to a shop to have the pipe cut and welded back on at a slight angle, or cut away part of my bumper. The bumper was scratched up pretty bad immediately after tightening bolts anyway. Also, now the resonator section vibrates like a brass tumbler on the bracing and is literally way louder than the actual exhaust. I've already spaced the brace down using the thickness of a couple washers on part of the brace. That solved the issue for about 2 days.

venture210

The brace contact rattle alone is what made me only want systems that clear the brace. Only single exhausts worth buying are Tomei and JIC magic in my opinion. And even the Tomei has slight clearance issues! Both are titanium and expensive though. Sound awesome, Tomei has my vote for looks, but yeah. Expensive. Gotta pay to play

PMueller

I read somewhere the issue can be solved by loosening the bolts, pushing the exhaust up, and tighten. I'll try that this weekend.