Damn James whats up with that.. curious to see what they say. My MES 2.5" piping was all mandrel bent, no issues

Regarding the muffler topic I am running the G35 sedan dual tip muffler.

Internet pic-
http://imageshack.us/f/17/photo11rb.jpg/

Overall i am happy with it. Soundwise it has a deep mellow tone, not as quiet as the OEM 3rd gen muffler, but not raspy. There is an internal rattle that gets agitated driving at a low rpm, but i think it's just with this particular one i have since i bought it used. The case has the favorable (or should I say "correct") high inlet and low outlet looking at it from the side, but the tips (outlet) sits a little too far inward; doesnt extend as much as the 3rd gen OEM did. I bent up my own hangers with some steel rod stock, positioned the muffler to where the tips were tucked and as flush to the bumper as I could get it. AND, the inlet is offset toward the right side of the car. So my MES piping which comes set up for a center inlet, i had to cut/rotate/adjust/reweld the back section near the sway bar to allow it to join with the G muffler

 

Yeah, I have their 2.5" set too from the original group deal Cmax started. No issues with that one, though I never installed it. It's just sitting in my garage but all the bends are smooth. I probably won't even ever install it since I have the Greddy on my blue one currently soon to be removed for the 3" turbo system, and my black VE I want to keep stock. I guess the Greddy and 2.5" MES will just go to my hoard pile.

I heard back from MES already. Here's what they said:

James,

You bring up a valid point. Allow me to explain...

The short answer: Its not possible for us to make those 2 bends without the
crease, unless we cut the tubing and weld them in the middle.

Here's why: Technically, they are mandrel bends because we do use a mandrel
inside the tube throughout the production process. The crease exists because
the centerline distance between bends needs to be greater than "clamp
length" that grips the tubing during the bend process. The larger the size
of the tube diameter (ie: 3 inch) and the close proximity of bends (ie: back
to back bends) sometimes leaves no other choice but the crease the tubing
when it clamps closed. Hopefully that made a little sense, as its hard to
describe how the production process works.

Basically, we can't use smaller clamps (the grip marks you see on the
tubing) because it wont be enough pressure to hold the tube. And we have to
keep the bends close to each other, otherwise, the tubing wont fit on the
car. So the crease outcome is the only choice we have.

Most cars using 3 inch tubing don't have this problem. Out of the 100+
systems we produce, there are only about 3-4 systems where this happens.
Yours being one of them.

As for a resolution. I will let you decide how to proceed. I can clearly see
this is not what you expected and I do apologize for the experience.

1. We can take the system back for a refund if you prefer.
2. We can take the system back... Cut the bends and weld in smooth sections.
To do this, we basically cut in the middle of the grip area and remove about
1/2 inch of tubing and weld them back together.
3. If you prefer to the work on your own, I can also send new bends for you
to use as needed.

If you have any other options or ideas, feel free to let me know. We are not
out to leave our customers hanging and will work with you on a solution. I
apologize again for the experience.

I will be looking into this further (for the future) to identify those 3-4
systems where this occurs. It should be mentioned up front and if it were
not for your email, it might have gone un-noticed.

Josh
Mandrel Exhaust Systems
(p) 305-378-9337
(w) www.mandrelexhaustsystems.com
(e) info@mandrelexhaustsystems.com


Makes sense to me. I told him I appreciate his fast, thorough response. I went with option 3 and asked him to just send me the two correct bends and I'll weld them in and won't have to mess with sending it all back and the downtime etc.

 

A muffler shouldn't fail the smog visual test but if it's loud enough it can get you pulled over with a fix it ticket. If you choose to buy and install it, don't go crazy with it.

 

I'm curious about the California rules, especially since this state is known for it's leading trends in auto customizations since the car was invented.

 

well at least I know for sure Im getting the y pipe first, then I can worry about the muffler after, unless I do the cat next but I'm not sure........Cali blows unless youre just rich then you can just buy an awesome car haha