curls

DC v1 header (weld fixed), stock cat and exhaust. 6MT 2004. No rattle.

Knifey

That won't do anything in an of itself, but maybe you'll notice something while you're down there, so go for it. And while you're there, try the heatshield above the resonator. With the rear seat cushion removed, if you bang on the hump you will vibrate that shield - completely different sound however, but something to check.

dinoc

So are any aftermarket headers out there which does not rattle/vibrate or do other unwanted noises ?
For instant how are the Mugen headers, do this have any of issues you guys mentioned ?

curls

As I mentioned previously, my DC Sports 4-2-1 header is rattle-free and I don't even get the slight hissing noise that some others complain about.

jwood_06TSX

Yea but one, you have a 6MT, and two, you "fixed" it by getting stronger welds which probably helped A LOT!! However, it seems that the Topspeed headers seem to have the least issues so far!


Keep the voting up, as this will really help me (and others) figure this out if possible!

jlukja

I wouldn't make that a blanket statement yet. Mine had a crack in the flex pipe which required welding a new flex pipe to fix. That was fine for a few months but I'm starting to hear the telltale sounds of an exhaust leak again. I also reported a slight alignment problem. I think the jury is still out because we probably don't have a large enough sample size. I'm thinking the DC header is the way to go.

lcrazyaznl

iTrader: (1)

I don't know what you guys mean hissing is it when you accelerate and you hear this whine?

clee109

06 6MT with CT header, RT Cat, CT cat back, no rattle issues with or without a/c on. Occasional hiss under acceleration when it's cold, but after a few minutes of driving it goes away.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

04 6MT with DC v1 header, tested with stock cat, magnaflow cat, Metal' cat, test pipe, stock exhaust, Tanabe SMH, Tanabe MT, and 06 stock exhaust without any problems during idle with or without AC on. All custom cats and test pipe were extended by 1/4".

chuson

5AT w/ DC V2 Header, Magnaflow High-Flow Cat, Greddy SP2 Exhaust. No rattle w/ AC on or off.

dinoc

What do you guys know about Mugen headers regarding above issues ?

jwood_06TSX

I think only like 2-3 people have those so i'm not sure. And the one guy that has them also has the Mugen CAT, intake, and exhaust......that is a lot $$ right there!



Come on people, i know there are more people with headers out there!


I will be installing the new hangers this weekend and update on monday!

jwood_06TSX

I got my new Napa exhaust hangers that JTso had recommended so i decided to try this in slow incremental steps. Therefore, i only replaced the first hanger by the resonator behind the CAT. It took me about 10 mins as i kept needing more WD-40 as lube to get it off. Just for anyone else that tries this, take the top section off first because there is less corrosion and it then gives you more leverage for taking it off the bottom one. It def rasied up the center of the exhaust a little bit as you could see the stock one had slightly stretched a little even though i only have 9k miles on the car.

Anyway, the results were interesting. There obviously is still the vibration its not going to fix that but it did help a little bit with the noise. The noise from the vibration actually seems to have shifted back to the end of the exhaust so i think i am now going to try and replace the ones in the rear and see if that makes a difference.

I also want to get to Napa with the existing flex pipe hanger and see if i can find a poly one to replace that one do allow it to move, BUT not as much and i really think this will help a little more.

Again, i am taking a slow and steady approach to this, as well as cheapest solutions first, because i want to see how the system reacts to certain things.

The next few things on my list are:
1. replace rear hangers
2. try and find a stronger replacement flex pipe hanger
3. remove the CAT heatshield for resonating frequency (worth a shot)
4. spring washers or the like at the flange of the flexpipe and CAT

lcrazyaznl

iTrader: (1)

I replaced that same hanger and noise reduce but over time it gets over strechted to the point that its no good.

Still need replace the 3 hangers in the back i also replaced the 2 in the far rear they were a bitch to get on and off.

moda_way

^^Hopefully you are using a jack to take the weight off of the hangers, right?

jwood_06TSX

haha, yea i almost did it without doing that and then i was like doh!!! I took my toolbox and propped it up when i took mine off. I only have on jack and i always try to keep it under the jacking point even when i use the jacks stands just in case so i propped the exhaust up with other things.

I just hope the new hangers in the rear won't pull the stock exhaust up too much to the point where it hits the fender or anything like that.....

curls

Are these OE-length hangers? If so, then I doubt the exhaust would hit the bumper at all.

Good work again, Jordan!

CarbonGray Earl

I have the CT header and I haven't noticed any noise in awhile. I still get a slight vibration but nothing I would call a "rattle". There is no sound associated with the excess vibration the CT header has.

I've had my header on for the better part of a year now.

jwood_06TSX

Do you have any other mod's CG Earl?

jwood_06TSX

Thanks Eric! The new hangers are slightly shorter than stock and a little bit stiffer which helps eliminates some of the noise which at this point i think is all we'll be able to do.

Mugenpwp

Got an 04 AT.

UR pulleys, Comptech header, oem exhaust. Got slight rattle when they were on my car. I solved the problem when I replaced the rubber hanger with a new oem one.

Installed a RT cat this August. No rattles til about early october. I believe the rubber hanger as stretched and is loose to the point where it rattles on idle with AC and lights off.
Sometimes the header doesnt rattle but the end exhuast cans rattle.

I've inspected the rear part of the exhaust and noticed that the rubber hangers are loose as well.

It seems at low RPM with the oem hangers they stretch after some time due to the vibration of the air flow at low rpms that you guys mentioned around 670rpm. ONce the rubber hangers stretch to a certain point the entire piping from the header down to the exhaust tips gets loose and vibrate.

Im also going to see what hangers i can replace to reduce the vibration, but no matter what it will continue once the rubber hangers stretch.

Would it be suggestable to say weld parts (using metal strips to connect the frame to part of the exhaust ) onto part of the bottom part of the car so that its stationary. It should stop vibration??

I'll take it to a welding/muffler shop and try it out perhaps. If it doesnt work i'll just cut the metal rods/strips.

lcrazyaznl

iTrader: (1)

The first time i tried without that but then i did it with holding the weight of the exhaust made life easier...

jwood_06TSX

Thanks for your input Mugen, this is what i'm looking for! I thought about taking it to an exhaust shop to have it welded but honestly, i think the system as a hole needs to be able vibrate a little bit. If we take that ability to do so out, then we might be making the system to rigid and it might put stress somewhere else, like maybe even the motor, motor mounts, etc. However, there might be certain spots that could be welded without causing damge which is what i ultimate what to try and figure out based on the hangers and inspection. If you want to try it out give it a shot, worse thing that happens is something else vibrates and then you have to cut off the piece you had them welded on there like you said. Shouldn't cost much money either.

I am leaning towards the same thoughts about the rubber hangers and will try to find a better flex pipe hanger this weekend if i can or maybe get a thicker one.

Mugenpwp

Thinking about this more. It would be possible to weld the end part of the exhaust onto the car.

However, the header section can not be welding since the header shifts slightly when you move it onto gear from P to D.

What I usually do when im stop at redlights is shift the car into N and there's no or very minimal rattle in that gear.

lcrazyaznl

iTrader: (1)

If you weld the exhaust on to the car more vibration would appear.

curls

Do NOT weld the exhaust at any point, to the car itself. Since the engine rocks back and forth slightly (which is why it, too, is mounted using flexible mounts), any attempt to weld the exhaust to the car would ultimately either rip the weld, the exhaust pipe itself (likely), or the car body.

The reason the exhaust is on flexible hangers is because the exhaust isn't isolated from the vibrations of the engine. If there were some kind of vibration-absorbing connection between the engine and the exhaust, then welding the exhaust downstream of that point would likely be less risky.

The best solution to fixing the stretching-rubber-hangers issue is to find polyurethane hangers. They are stiffer than rubber and stretch much less. It's probably going to do one of two things: A: Rattle more, since they're stiffer, or B: Fix the problem more permanently than the OEM rubber hangers.

Mugenpwp

^

Yes. I did realize that it was not a good idea to weld the exhaust at any point since the header does move when you shift from P to N or D.

CarbonGray Earl

I do, but nothing else specific to exhaust....I run the stock cat and stock exhaust.

jwood_06TSX

Due to the weather and lack of time this weekend, nothing to update. I will be attempting to upgrade the flexpipe hanger this weekend to see what i can make of it! I'll let you know then but in the mean time, please keep the poll going......

jwood_06TSX

So i jacked the car up saturday morning, took the flex pipe hanger off and took it to Napa. The guy at Napa opened up his book and didn't even have my car in his book!! The book was dated as 2006 but didn't even the TSX in it. He wasn't really into helping me out but told me to go to an exhaust shop as they should have something. I asked him to check the accessories in the back of the catalog and found one item that looked like it could work but it ended up being longer than the stock one, which is NOT what i'm looking for.

I then went to an exhaust shop and the guy said he had never seen a hanger like that before and had no idea where to even try to look into getting one.....awesome! Last try i went to Autozone where the guy checked his computer for a while to only how me nothing. He told me i should try the dealer (yea right, like the dealer will want to help me out with this) or send it to a manufacture and ask them about it and i guess if they could manufacture one (doubt that too).

SO, after my first try and this i am now thinking of a few other ideas and want some opinions. First off, do you guys have any other places you think i should to try and find something like this? Second, if i were to take a pipe fitting and wrap it around the hanger making it a little tighter but still have play, that this would help a little? I rather stay with a stiffer hanger i can't seem to find one at this point. My search will continue but just looking for some more input from you guys.

Also, there HAS to be more people that haven't voted yet......

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

Cusco offer urethane hangers. What is the distance between the holes (center/center)?

jwood_06TSX

Good question Marcus, i'll check it out later this week and get back to you. The one the Napa guy had was like 4" and i didn't measure it before but i know it was shorter than that.

curls

Any updates Jordan?

jwood_06TSX

Planning on measuring the bracket tomorrow (i'm taking a personal day to get my 10k mile service and a few other errands) for Marcus to see if the cusco one might work and i'm going to try and get a pipe clamp and put that around the rubber hanger. I'll start with it loose and the gradually get a little tighter and see if that helps at all. Just gotta make sure i don't go that tight because of the movement that needs to be present.

Other than that, i have just been really busy so not much time to look more into things. I have another exhust shop i'm going to consult with hopefully this weekend as well.

I will have something to report for ya most likely friday night or saturday

jwood_06TSX

I have made a few modifications i just need to get the pictures off my dad's camera and post them up. I have some decent ideas that may lead to some possible solutions at least partially.

jwood_06TSX

Ok guys,

Here is what i have done so far. I first put a 3" pipe fitting around the rubber hanger and tightened it down and took her out for a test drive. It immediately got rid of the rattling noise from the rear, i couldn't hear it anymore but you could still here the vibration from the header cat connection (HCC). I watched it for a few days and saw that it was slightly digging into the hanger, which i didn't like, and it also made the rpm's idle a little higher than before, maybe due to restricting the movement so it won't even idle that low.....strange. However, after a few days, i was driving and i heard metal hitting the ground.....i lost it and it fell off....oh well, 79 cents down the drain. So i then moved to my next and current device which is pictured below.

I did the same thing as before but took a rubber pipe insulator and cut it half so that i cut use the two pieces as protection and additional give on the hanger. I also used a ziptie to hold the bracket in case it falls off it won't loose it again but i will loose the rubber, oh well. It cheap and i'm curious to watch it. The cool part with this is that it is adjustable and you can zero in on how much pressure you want or don't want. Let me show you a picture first so you can get a better idea and then i'll post my observations so far.





So i first put this on and i think it was too tight because not only had the vibration decreased a lot, but i had a little vibration in the break petal and what seemed to be in the engine, like it moved closer to the engine. This is what i was a little afraid of. The engine or the HCC seemed to get a little bit louder since there was less room for it to move. So yesterday i crawled under there and gave it a half turn to loosen it slightly and beleive it or not, the engine was a little quieter and i heard more of the vibration and none in the foot petal. The RPM's in which the vibration occured have changed slightly. At around 680-690 RPM's its relatively smoother now but at around 700 RPM's it a little louder. If i turn off the AC or the heat and just have the lights running, it would slightly vibrate but it does not now. If i turn on the AC/Heat, it will increase the RPM's a little more to where it vibrates a little. I think temperature of the engine and exterior temperature have a lot to do with it as well so i'm curious to see how this fairs in the summber time and when it gets really cold here (its about 35 degrees in the mornings recently, Philly area )

I am curious to here you thoughts, questions, concerns, anything. I want feedback because this is a cheap way to at least help the vibration, by no means a full solution but it did get rid of the rear vibration completely from what i can tell. Again, some of this could be temperature related as well but fire away!


I will continue to update as i fine tune the tightness of the fitting but so far it seems to be holding up very well, even with very spirited driving so far

curls

Jordan -- can you email me the pics to my cra-arc.gc.ca address? I can't see them at work.

Thanks MacGyver!

jlukja

It appears that the vibration is a function of the CT header coupled with the engine. My only worry with this is that by strengthening the hanger connection you are transferring the stresses that would normally be absorbed by this connection to some other unknown point which may or may not fatigue quicker.

moda_way

Just an FYI to those 6MTs out there, that dampener which jwood zip-tied to will not be on our cars.

jwood_06TSX

Jan, this is exactly what i'm leaning towards as i mentioned above however, i don't think it starts from the engine. I really think that the vibration is initiated in and around the flex pipe area and is damped out at the HCC right where the rubber hanger is. So my goal was to temporarily stop that vibration, or at least minimize it, and see what happens to better help evaluated the problem. What i need to do now is watch the engine when it goes into this mod and if i see ANY vibration on the engine, this idea is getting thrown out the window because i don't want that = more fatigue on the motor mounts etc.

I was hoping that it would move the vibration backwards and i could keep altering the exhaust sytem to just better damp out the vibration, which is still a viable option but just this way.....as i can tell so far.

However, when my setup does resist the vibration, i don't feel or hear the engine stressing, but that doesn't mean its not, so i need to watch it. That is my goal this weekend.