I recently installed my Frankencar catback exhasut sounds nice and looks nice, the problem is that the exhaust seems to be loose. All the hangers are in place and everythign seems tight but over bumps the entire car back shakes and i hear clunking from underneith the car ! What can i do ? i took it to maximum Tuning they did some things like tighten up a bolt put a coupe of washers on some bar under the exhasut to prevent it from hitting that , but in the end it still moves around down there and makes a clunking noise.

Second problem is ... my car seems to Bang over bumps , i have tein H tech and illumnias, i set them at 2f 2r since ride quality is important to me and i need a smooth ride... anyways over some of these highway speedbumps we have in NYC the car bangs pretty hard over them... the shock/springs only have 4k miles on them and seem to be in MINT condition, i thgouth it was th e bushing nad changed them but still the thing bangs.. what can it be the strut tower ?

 

The Frankencar catback is heavier than the stock one, so it bangs on the crossmember and heat shield, as I recall. Some people have wedged an extra rubber hanger in there secured with a zip-tie to secure it better. Others have gotten the Nismo hangers (which are stronger) to hold the muffler/b-pipe.

you might have the illuminas too soft for the spring rate of the H = techs. Try turning them up to 4 front 3 rear and see if they abosorb the bumps better (sounds strange, I know, but give it a try)....

 

I actually had to grind some metal off back there to keep the banging to a minumum but that bish was just too heavy. So I bought a fart can...woowoo

 

well did you remove that one bar? there's one smaller one that you HAVE to remove to get it to fit right. otherwise should fit like a glove

 

Did your exhaust come with 2 or 3 O-clamps in the box (mine did)? Wrap those around the stock hangers and tighten em all the way... that's what I did and have never heard any clunking. If not, then try what Irish said and get stiffer hangers...

 

Well I am willing to bet that you did not trim the bumpstops before installing your new illuminas/H Techs combo? I dident either. Had them installed at Jeffs place. I am currently running the exact same setup. 3F & 3R for me after much trial & error in settings. My ride is nice I hit the bumpstops every now & then but thats better than trimming them & really wearing out the struts or pushing them past there range. Take the good with the bad. Handleing is superb! Ride height is just right. And on the hangers I bought them from NAPA OEM replacment for the max. Much ,Much beefier than the stock hangers. Brian Catts of Cattman recomended them with the use of his catback system. The O clamps that another member suggested to you is a good idea as well. I used one to straighten out the the tips that had a uneven apperance once installed. It made it much tighter. Good luck

 

how is Maximum Tuning? is their work good?

 

upgrade the hangers, thats all i did and it made a world of difference. the ones on ebay are cheap and worked great for me.

 

For more info : http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=392295

You could also remove the cross-members, from what I read here, they're not essential anyway.

 

Just lower the cross members with washers and longer bolts.

 

I'm having some rattling with the FC exhaust as well.
Mine didn't come with clamps, so can some one tell me what they are and where to get them?
Also, someone mention about the NAPA oem hangers, can I get the part number, cause I can't seem to find it online.
Lastly, it seems the muffler is hitting the heat shield, is there some kind of heat resistant padding that I can install between the shield and the muffler??

Thanks!

 

What do you mean leung re: clamps? You used the OEM hangers right? Like ppl said, you could just buy some hose clamps from Walmart and use them to raise the exhaust a couple mm so it won't hit the crossmembers. Are you sure it's hitting the heat shield?

I took the easy/lazy way out and just removed both crossmembers (small one farther back, and a longer one w/4 bolts each side up near the middle of the car). All the rattling is gone. If you're sure it's the heat shield, try NAPA hangers (just goto a NAPA store, they'll tell you what the P/N is) or hose clamps or just take the lazy way out and remove the heat shield. The HS is of no use either really (unless you're parking on something other than asphalt).

EDIT: as for padding, I guess one could try wrapping header or exhaust wrap around whatever it's hitting?

 

I'm having this problem too with my cattman exhaust....after I installed the cattman headers, it shifted my exhaust systme a little.....now it bangs against the middle cross member (not the one in the rear) and the heat shield on the bend of the b-pipe....it bugs....i'm going to see if i can loosen some exhaust bolts then re-positioning it, then tighten it

 

I'll take some pics tomorrow... ya just need to find the right size... you can probably get em at most home improvement/hardware stores....

 

I had some banging with my Cattman system. I removed both crossmembers and used the expensive Nismo hangers. I ended up at a muffler shop locally and just had the guy heat up and bend the hangers slightly. No bangs at all now.

 

Pics of the clamps that came with the FC catback... the OEM exhaust hangers were kinda soft and these tightened em up nicely... I've not experienced any knocking or clanging of my exhaust against anything at all.





If the pics don't appear... go here:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/694087/6

 

i wish the b pipe came with clamps

my stock hangers arent so bad though

 

Just go get a couple... they're cheap and they definitely help...