Skunk2 Installed, small prob

jda07Si · 11-08-2006, 09:23 PM

Installed Skunk2 catback today, took about an hour, used jackstands on the passenger side and was able to access the whole thing. The skunk parts matched up perfectly with the stock parts in terms of hangers and such. Only problem was it seemed like the 3 bolts on the cat were machine threaded in and i couldn't break them loose. So i used those bolts and just put the nuts on them, only thing was these bolts didn't extend all the way to the end of the nuts, but it was secure as hell, figured it was fine

Started driving home, sound was great, extremely loud but a very nice deep sound, didn't get raspy at any RPM, and sounds its absolute best at midrange and on the switchover to the performance cams. Drive home from the garage i was doing it in was around 7-10 miles, near the end of the trip i could hear some vibration, sounded like the exhaust was bouncing a bit and rattling. Pulled in the driveway to check it out but couldn't see anything in terms of rattle.

Took it for a drive down the road, it was fine for a while then the vibration started again. It got bad enough that it was rattling where i could hear it very easily. Pulled in, prodded it a bit trying to find where and why it was hitting but i couldn't, gonna get it up on a lift tomorrow when the places are open.

Every hanger was secure and bolt bolted on to extreme tightness. The only thing i could come up with was that being that i used the bolts that were already sticking out of the cat, and that they didn't extend all the way thru the nuts (even though they were tight) that once i'm hitting bumps it's causing the pipe extending from the cat to move, i dunno i can't think of anything else i just wondered if anyone had any ideas on what it could be or has had an exhaust rattle right off the bat before.

Thanks in advance.

(BTW once i get this resolved i'll post pics of the install as well as vids)

mods so far (AEM sri, and skunk2 catback obviously)

adamhoud · 11-08-2006, 09:26 PM

I used the stock machine threaded ones as well, didnt want to bother with pressing them out.....I haven't had any vibrations or rattling yet, it's been 5 days. Have you checked the midpipe bend, it gets close to the heatshield

jda07Si · 11-08-2006, 09:30 PM

yeah the stock threaded ones felt good, i thought they'd be alright, the exhaust was too hot and it was way too dark to try to get any kind of idea on where it's rattling, hopefully tomorrow on the lift i can figure it out

thanks for the info

hazeman · 11-08-2006, 10:42 PM

yeah its probably just hitting the heat shield, just get under it and look to see, it will stop because my shit did that too the first day, now it doesn't, weird.

RomesKdUB · 11-09-2006, 01:59 AM

ya i too used the bolts connecting the cat to the piping...i couldnt take the bolts out so i took the whole cat and piping up the axle out and unscrewed the cat off the piping..i then had to hammer the bolts out to use them on the dcrh and new exaust..no rattles..just sometimes when i throw it in reverse or take off...and that rattle is like below my shifter..i think it might be a heatshield....or jsut engine rocking. Yea man check all your bolts, get under the car and move the piping up and down and around to see if it does or can come in contact with any heatshields or any part of the car to that matter.
good luck with the rattle though...maybe it will go away

junsu · 11-09-2006, 02:14 AM

are any of you planning to go boost? 70mm is typically F/I terriroty. i dont know if all of you can feel it, but there's definitely backpressure power loss at 4000rpm and under with this exhaust installed on a stock Si. i just emailed skunk2 to see if installing aftermarket cams would help the engine utilize this exhaust better (i know an intake and header wont be enough for sure). otherwise, im putting mine up for sale (since i dont plan on boosting).

RomesKdUB · 11-09-2006, 02:19 AM

well my setup is fujita SRI, DCRH, Tanabe touring medallion and i feel the power great...I dont feel any power loss...total opposite i feel a gain. When i just had a muffler tip welded on, i did feel a loss in power..even when i put my intake in..but it was very slight...Now that i got the i/h/e going it feels good.. Also you tip if your tip is more than like 3in yea your gonna be loosin power..your car is gonna be super airy with no turbo

junsu · 11-09-2006, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RomesKdUB

well my setup is fujita SRI, DCRH, Tanabe touring medallion and i feel the power great...I dont feel any power loss...total opposite i feel a gain. When i just had a muffler tip welded on, i did feel a loss in power..even when i put my intake in..but it was very slight...Now that i got the i/h/e going it feels good.. Also you tip if your tip is more than like 3in yea your gonna be loosin power..your car is gonna be super airy with no turbo

im not referring to the tanabe exhaust. im referring to the skunk2, which is 70mm.

RomesKdUB · 11-09-2006, 02:59 AM

well yea 70mm is a little big w/o FI.... i think 60mm piping and 100mm tip is good without FI

adamhoud · 11-09-2006, 10:58 AM

Somebody said shoving the silencer in gave him a better dyno

i<3myk20 · 11-09-2006, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by junsu

are any of you planning to go boost? 70mm is typically F/I terriroty. i dont know if all of you can feel it, but there's definitely backpressure power loss at 4000rpm and under with this exhaust installed on a stock Si. i just emailed skunk2 to see if installing aftermarket cams would help the engine utilize this exhaust better (i know an intake and header wont be enough for sure). otherwise, im putting mine up for sale (since i dont plan on boosting).

let me know if u go through with selling your exhaust! im actually planning on getting a skunk2 exhaust too so the better price i can get it the better for me!

reaper702 · 11-09-2006, 02:52 PM

well i'm pretty sure the K20 responds differently to larger exhaust diameter w/o boost. the AJP full 3" catback actually showed top end gains w/o boost. check out the dyno graph: New exhaust on the market. (AJP)

RomesKdUB · 11-09-2006, 03:55 PM

well yea with any exaust system you do end up gaining top end power but at the sacrifice of low and mid range power...w/o any other performance peice like an intake or header..especially without boost. you gotta see how a car works..basically it sucks in air and at the end it lets air out...if your getting a performance exaust your letting that air out better..quiker and more efficiently...so what about at the other end? if you got that air coming out nicely and faster then you gotta have something sucking more and better air so it can be even better and make up for that loss...which by the way wont make up completely

turbo311 · 11-09-2006, 08:49 PM

OK so is the midrange power loss really that noticeable? Because something like that would piss me off. When I did a catback on my Mazda 3 I gained power everywhere in the revs. The skunk2 system souds so damn good compared to the Touring Medallion, but nobody has said anything about midrange loss with that exhaust.

junsu · 11-10-2006, 02:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turbo311

OK so is the midrange power loss really that noticeable? Because something like that would piss me off. When I did a catback on my Mazda 3 I gained power everywhere in the revs. The skunk2 system souds so damn good compared to the Touring Medallion, but nobody has said anything about midrange loss with that exhaust.

yeah, it's noticeable. i dont know how it feels on a car with I/H, though. i have the skunk2 on a stock FG2, and i can feel the loss in power in the lower band. however, i emailed skunk2 about this and this is what they said:

"..When we dynoed this Exhaust system we showed gains across the RPM range. intake, header and camshafts would give this system even a better feel and provide more HP."

the last portion was a response to me asking if the exhaust would work better with more mods such as cams, I/H.

civicsi1217 · 11-10-2006, 10:45 AM

i have tha whole setup on my car except... i have a greddy evo2... and im selling it... and im buying tha skunk 2... but i think it should work better with tha setup i have now... which is i/h/e... you guys are making me doubt gettin this exhuast..... errr.... and does skunk 2 have cams for our car?? just askin???

junsu · 11-10-2006, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by civicsi1217

i have tha whole setup on my car except... i have a greddy evo2... and im selling it... and im buying tha skunk 2... but i think it should work better with tha setup i have now... which is i/h/e... you guys are making me doubt gettin this exhuast..... errr.... and does skunk 2 have cams for our car?? just askin???

theyre in development.

jda07Si · 11-11-2006, 12:40 AM

put it up on the lift and moved the midpipe away from the heatshield, start driving today and the rattle comes back occasionally

going to look more into the rattle tomorrow

as for performance, i have an AEM sri (not going CAI until i can get one with a bypass valve) and the skunk2 catback, no noticeable losses but seems to perform much better at WOT throughout the full RPM range

Street2uned · 11-11-2006, 12:55 AM

I spoke with the guys at Skunk2 a few months ago and they said yes, they have cams available for the z3. The website and magazine ads are never updated apparently.

Street2uned · 11-11-2006, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RomesKdUB

well my setup is fujita SRI, DCRH, Tanabe touring medallion and i feel the power great...I dont feel any power loss...total opposite i feel a gain. When i just had a muffler tip welded on, i did feel a loss in power..even when i put my intake in..but it was very slight...Now that i got the i/h/e going it feels good.. Also you tip if your tip is more than like 3in yea your gonna be loosin power..your car is gonna be super airy with no turbo

Um, I don't agree with that. The piping and bends effects the performance. If the tip did anything other than effect the sound and look, it wouldn't be noticeable...especially on the butt dyno.

11-08-2006, 09:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
jda07Si Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 57 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Skunk2 Installed, small prob Installed Skunk2 catback today, took about an hour, used jackstands on the passenger side and was able to access the whole thing. The skunk parts matched up perfectly with the stock parts in terms of hangers and such. Only problem was it seemed like the 3 bolts on the cat were machine threaded in and i couldn't break them loose. So i used those bolts and just put the nuts on them, only thing was these bolts didn't extend all the way to the end of the nuts, but it was secure as hell, figured it was fine Started driving home, sound was great, extremely loud but a very nice deep sound, didn't get raspy at any RPM, and sounds its absolute best at midrange and on the switchover to the performance cams. Drive home from the garage i was doing it in was around 7-10 miles, near the end of the trip i could hear some vibration, sounded like the exhaust was bouncing a bit and rattling. Pulled in the driveway to check it out but couldn't see anything in terms of rattle. Took it for a drive down the road, it was fine for a while then the vibration started again. It got bad enough that it was rattling where i could hear it very easily. Pulled in, prodded it a bit trying to find where and why it was hitting but i couldn't, gonna get it up on a lift tomorrow when the places are open. Every hanger was secure and bolt bolted on to extreme tightness. The only thing i could come up with was that being that i used the bolts that were already sticking out of the cat, and that they didn't extend all the way thru the nuts (even though they were tight) that once i'm hitting bumps it's causing the pipe extending from the cat to move, i dunno i can't think of anything else i just wondered if anyone had any ideas on what it could be or has had an exhaust rattle right off the bat before. Thanks in advance. (BTW once i get this resolved i'll post pics of the install as well as vids) mods so far (AEM sri, and skunk2 catback obviously)

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11-08-2006, 09:26 PM	#2 (permalink)
adamhoud Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 1,031 Adam iTrader: 3 / 100%	I used the stock machine threaded ones as well, didnt want to bother with pressing them out.....I haven't had any vibrations or rattling yet, it's been 5 days. Have you checked the midpipe bend, it gets close to the heatshield

11-08-2006, 09:30 PM	#3 (permalink)
jda07Si Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 57 iTrader: 0 / 0%	yeah the stock threaded ones felt good, i thought they'd be alright, the exhaust was too hot and it was way too dark to try to get any kind of idea on where it's rattling, hopefully tomorrow on the lift i can figure it out thanks for the info

11-08-2006, 10:42 PM	#4 (permalink)
hazeman Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 93 iTrader: 0 / 0%	yeah its probably just hitting the heat shield, just get under it and look to see, it will stop because my shit did that too the first day, now it doesn't, weird.

11-09-2006, 01:59 AM	#5 (permalink)
RomesKdUB Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Corona Posts: 456 Roman iTrader: 0 / 0%	ya i too used the bolts connecting the cat to the piping...i couldnt take the bolts out so i took the whole cat and piping up the axle out and unscrewed the cat off the piping..i then had to hammer the bolts out to use them on the dcrh and new exaust..no rattles..just sometimes when i throw it in reverse or take off...and that rattle is like below my shifter..i think it might be a heatshield....or jsut engine rocking. Yea man check all your bolts, get under the car and move the piping up and down and around to see if it does or can come in contact with any heatshields or any part of the car to that matter. good luck with the rattle though...maybe it will go away

11-09-2006, 02:14 AM	#6 (permalink)
junsu Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 249 iTrader: 7 / 100%	are any of you planning to go boost? 70mm is typically F/I terriroty. i dont know if all of you can feel it, but there's definitely backpressure power loss at 4000rpm and under with this exhaust installed on a stock Si. i just emailed skunk2 to see if installing aftermarket cams would help the engine utilize this exhaust better (i know an intake and header wont be enough for sure). otherwise, im putting mine up for sale (since i dont plan on boosting).

11-09-2006, 02:19 AM	#7 (permalink)
RomesKdUB Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Corona Posts: 456 Roman iTrader: 0 / 0%	well my setup is fujita SRI, DCRH, Tanabe touring medallion and i feel the power great...I dont feel any power loss...total opposite i feel a gain. When i just had a muffler tip welded on, i did feel a loss in power..even when i put my intake in..but it was very slight...Now that i got the i/h/e going it feels good.. Also you tip if your tip is more than like 3in yea your gonna be loosin power..your car is gonna be super airy with no turbo

11-09-2006, 02:59 AM	#9 (permalink)
RomesKdUB Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Corona Posts: 456 Roman iTrader: 0 / 0%	well yea 70mm is a little big w/o FI.... i think 60mm piping and 100mm tip is good without FI

11-09-2006, 10:58 AM	#10 (permalink)
adamhoud Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 1,031 Adam iTrader: 3 / 100%	Somebody said shoving the silencer in gave him a better dyno

11-09-2006, 02:52 PM	#12 (permalink)
reaper702 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Sin City Age: 21 Posts: 4,026 iTrader: 6 / 100%	well i'm pretty sure the K20 responds differently to larger exhaust diameter w/o boost. the AJP full 3" catback actually showed top end gains w/o boost. check out the dyno graph: New exhaust on the market. (AJP)

11-09-2006, 03:55 PM	#13 (permalink)
RomesKdUB Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Corona Posts: 456 Roman iTrader: 0 / 0%	well yea with any exaust system you do end up gaining top end power but at the sacrifice of low and mid range power...w/o any other performance peice like an intake or header..especially without boost. you gotta see how a car works..basically it sucks in air and at the end it lets air out...if your getting a performance exaust your letting that air out better..quiker and more efficiently...so what about at the other end? if you got that air coming out nicely and faster then you gotta have something sucking more and better air so it can be even better and make up for that loss...which by the way wont make up completely

11-09-2006, 08:49 PM	#14 (permalink)
turbo311 Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Scottsdale Posts: 87 Alex iTrader: 0 / 0%	OK so is the midrange power loss really that noticeable? Because something like that would piss me off. When I did a catback on my Mazda 3 I gained power everywhere in the revs. The skunk2 system souds so damn good compared to the Touring Medallion, but nobody has said anything about midrange loss with that exhaust.

11-10-2006, 10:45 AM	#16 (permalink)
civicsi1217 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Hollywood, Florida 206whp/161tq Age: 21 Posts: 1,674 All Motor Beast iTrader: 5 / 100%	i have tha whole setup on my car except... i have a greddy evo2... and im selling it... and im buying tha skunk 2... but i think it should work better with tha setup i have now... which is i/h/e... you guys are making me doubt gettin this exhuast..... errr.... and does skunk 2 have cams for our car?? just askin???

11-11-2006, 12:40 AM	#18 (permalink)
jda07Si Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 57 iTrader: 0 / 0%	put it up on the lift and moved the midpipe away from the heatshield, start driving today and the rattle comes back occasionally going to look more into the rattle tomorrow as for performance, i have an AEM sri (not going CAI until i can get one with a bypass valve) and the skunk2 catback, no noticeable losses but seems to perform much better at WOT throughout the full RPM range

11-11-2006, 12:55 AM	#19 (permalink)
Street2uned Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Jacksonville, FL Age: 25 Posts: 1,125 Michael iTrader: 0 / 0%	I spoke with the guys at Skunk2 a few months ago and they said yes, they have cams available for the z3. The website and magazine ads are never updated apparently.