Sure did!

I got yo!

And the feel of free flowing exhaust.

Warning:

• No vid/sound clip, sorry. I only have my phone and I don't think it's good enough, even though I have a clip from my phone from a few weeks ago of my exhaust, knowing that I would need a before/after comparison. I'll get a clip soon enough.
• This is probably my largest, most impacting mod thus far. I have questions and concerns, hopefully someone can answer them.

So after everything I read, to install a new jpipe, I'm thinking like a 2 hour job, difficulty of around 4. Sound about right? Yeah, if A) everything goes according to plan and B) your sh!t isn't rusted together as one piece! Took me a good afternoon, about 5 hours and a difficulty of 6 for my experience.

Well, here's how the beauty looks packed in the box:


First thing I noticed when I got under my car was that the longer primary only had 2 bolts connected it to the precat instead of 3. I was like wtf? Stock jpipe, stock precats, why is there one missing? Nonetheless, I moved onto where the jpipe connects to the 3rd cat. I found that that biatch was nearly one solid chunk of metal rusted together. This was going to be fun...

I hit up the primaries first. I think they were all 13mm, but after getting everything off, I recall some being 14mm or 11mm So, primaries unbolted. Then I unbolted the rubber mount apparatus thingy. Easy also. Here's where it got rough.

I worked on those 3 bolts between the catback and 3rd cat for like an hour. PB Blaster soaked, 14mm hammered on, 13mm hammered on, 11mm hammered on - nothing. All I got was strip, strip, strip. I think there was 1 14mm bolt, and the other 2 were either 11mm or 10mm. I couldn't pinpoint the right size because all 3 bolts had so much rust build up, it was like a mound with no sign of a bolt/nut.

Fck this. By this time, I had help from my friend Tyler, who's garage I'm using (and house where I'm living ). First we tried cutting the bolts off with a Dremel. After one bolt half way down, it wasn't worth our time. We went for broke, took out the Sawzall and just cut off the jpipe from the jpipe side (didn't touch the exhaust pipe). 2 minutes later, that mfing jpipe was off! In the pic, you can see that the end of the pipe doesn't come past the shield over the cat:


So now we had the 2 triangle connection points rusted together to deal with. We couldn't get good leverage or the right angle with any tool to drill/cut/fck up with, so ultimately we decided to take off the rest of the exhaust:


While this was off, I want to point out a few things that I noticed that I wasn't so sure of before:

• I never have gotten under to investigate my exhaust in depth. I knew the previous owner had some exhaust work done (Magnaflow) but had some doubts. Turns out, to the best of my knowledge, it's a "real" catback system. There are no signs of a straight pipe added where the midmuffler would have been. It's all one piece from where the 2 muffler pipes connect, all the way to the resonator.
• Rust appears to be winning. All of the joints were looking kind of bad. Maybe a bad welding job? I don't know. I took a steel brush to all the rusty spots/joints and covered it all in some Permatex high-temp red RTV for peace of mind.

So we were focused on getting that piece off of the catback. Here's what I'm talking about:


We started off with the sawzall, making a cut down the middle. We cut deep enough just to get to 1 bolt, as we did not want to have to drill out the bolts. We then took a metal wedge (one that you would use to split wood) and started to split these 2 pieces together down where we cut with the sawzall. We got it deep enough where the rust started to split. Rotated, and repeat. Here's the fker almost off:


Few minutes later, victory!


The rest was easy. Put the catback back on, moved the jpipe in place, and bolted it all on! The only thing that I was unsure of was leaving one of the primaries without a 3rd bolt, as described earlier there was one missing. With RTV/Gasket/RTV and tightened at least the top bolt of the triangle and one of the bottom bolts, I think I'm good.

After everything was connected, I inspected everything and it all checked out, except for the damn splash guard. I had to cut off a small section, but that was easy. When I noticed it, I was like shit I knew I had to do that lol. Anyways I let it all sit for a few hours for the RTV to settle, and then took it for a drive

First impression - the smell and smoke was but I just assumed it was because the pipe was new and perhaps the excess RTV burning. It eventually went away. So I let it all warm up and settle in before doing anything. Since I already have a catback, the deep exhaust sound was kind of already there. Adding the jpipe dropped it a bit, but not much, at least for a cold start.

So after the engine warmed up, I revved it a couple times and it sounded really good. Revved it harder and BAM started to hear a really fast ptbbbpbtttpbbpp and sounded like it was coming from the front. At first, I thought it sounded like the noise your starter makes if your battery is out of juice That's how it sounded in the cabin anyways, nothing like the rasp I've heard from some sound clips.

So my landlord (Tyler ) and I went for a drive. Just like everybody has described, I definitely noticed that it was more responsive down low and the tone was definitely deeper than what I'm used to, but not by much. After a few medium revs/pulls, I went WOT in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. I noticed that really fast ptbbbpbtttpbbpp mostly in 3rd gear, or when dropping from 4th to 3rd to accelerate. Every once in awhile, I could still hear my brakes rubbing That's another issue.

So when we got back from our short trip, I had Tyler rev the engine this time so I could pinpoint that noise. Sure enough, from the rear. I'm not too upset as it seems like it's only when I'm almost WOT or more. I'm no expert about exhaust systems, so not sure what the actual details are of how rasp is created. Might be something I'll fix in the future (larger/longer resonator?)

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the success of installing the jpipe and the outcome.

Questions:

1. Is smoke out of the exhaust normal after installing a new jpipe?
2. Should I reset my ECU?
3. Was adding RTV to the rusted weld joints a good idea?
4. Physcially/Scientifically/Theoretically what actually causes rasp?
5. Is it OK to leave one of the primaries without a 3rd bolt?
6. What are symptoms of exhaust leaks? How can I check?

Anil, once you read this, I plan on having you take a listen to see what you think.

 

damn i was waiting for you to post up....

1> I dont know about this....but there was no smoke coming from Steven's car when we install the same Rv6 jpipe...
2> Yes
3> dont know about this one
4> Deleting a cat without a resonator....free flowing exhaust....rasp is pulses of exhaust coming out which are not "connected" hence the crazy sound....but when we installed on Steven's car, there was ZERO rasp....might be what you hearing is exhaust leak
5> for a short amount of time, that is ok....but you need to get that fixed YO !!
6> you will hear sound and see some gases coming out of the leak rather than the tips...have Tyler rev it while you check for the leak....also on a cold start you will see smoke coming out of the leak....


lets check this out at work tomorrow

btw great freaking review

 

Man I was typing this up for like 45 minutes haha

The smoke is no more, so I think it was only temporarily. I'll check again in the AM off of a cold start. Note that the smoke was coming out of the tips, and we did not see any smoke coming from anywhere under the car, which is a plus. Though I guess I'll need to order some new bolts.

I'm thinking the rasp is the combination of my catback and the jpipe. Steven just has stock type-s exhaust from the jpipe to the rear, yeah?

I'll hit you up on Lync tomorrow when I have some free time. We can go get lunch or something : mizouse:

 

For what it's worth, I think I'm missing at least 1 of these (#16)
http://www.oemacuraparts.com/product...pg6-000-acura/

 

I concur....i know Rockstar had like a Stage 2 or 3 exhaust and when he put the jpipe on, he had some serious rasp....where as Steve has ZERO rasp with his stock exhaust....

 

I definitely had rasp with my stage 3 and just the jpipe, like Anil said.
If you have the magnaflow, I think it might be worse, I had a dynomax resonator. You already know I have an exhaust now that killed the rasp.

Wow, never realized how lucky I was to not have salt/snow where I'm at. My bolts were all easy!

Ok, the smoke was from the PB blaster burning off...or the RTV sealant...mine was also from the header wrap. Looked like my car was overheating with all that smoke coming out from under the hood.

About the missing stud, you probably SHOULD replace it, but I'd just wait...if you're thinking about getting PCD or HFPC then they'll come with the new ones already attached. The OEM ones are a going to be a PITA for you because I'm almost certain they're pressed into place on the primaries and would likely need to be hammered out and pulled back in, which would be VERY difficult while ON the car.

Congrats on the jpipe and if you have an exhaust leak, you'd hear it pretty loud, buddy! You're probably fine with just the 2 bolts. Previous owner must have had a jpipe on there or something, otherwise, why would 1 be missing?

 

Ah yes, PB Blaster residue. That's probably what the smoke was, good call.

I don't think there are any leaks, as when the smoke was coming out from the tips there wasn't smoke anywhere else. I'll keep an eye on it.

I haven't even thought about getting HFPC or anything. Maybe in the far future? Either way, I'll keep a look out for leaks to determine if I need to spend the time to fill in the missing bolt, but I think I'm good right now.

Previous owner must have done something, I don't see how I'd be missing one bolt otherwise. But contradicting that theory is the amount of rust that engulfed the jpipe/catback connection. Actually, if you look at the 4th picture in my long review, it looks as if they had to weld on the catback to the jpipe because they couldn't get that connection split open to bolt on properly.

Thanks J for your input, always appreciated!

 

Dave....thats a good call from Jeremy....yes, i think it was the PB blaster burning off....and i also agree with him on the wrap....when i wrapped my exhaust, i saw smoke from under the hood....i pulled over and was like "WTF, my engine is on fiyaahh "

apart from that, i would get PCD's NO HFC's....and add a long resonator....i think it will solve all your RASP issues and def give you a lot more power....

 

Wow David! Well done, young squire. Great write-up.

 

Thanks Steven.

Think I'm going to buy new tails and sidemarkers next.

 

Go for it David-let us know if you need the team's help on the install.

 

This place is getting to you, Dave! First it's this, then it's something else!

Can't wait to check out the car again!

 

....and imma update for Dave.....

his car sounds awesome....he has a tad bit of rasp at 3500 rpm but that rasp sounds more like a little popping sound which actually sounded bloody awesome....well done Dave

 

Always!

I hear that! Every 2 weeks I have the urge to buy something else. Coincidence that I get paid every 2 weeks? Nahhh...

Thanks man. Always appreciate your input.

 

Dave, can you buy me something every 2 weeks, I want a hookah

 

I have one. You want it?

 

I'm good, tell him no thank you for me

 

 

You don't put out enough.

 

buy him a hookah and that booty is as good as yours...

I have a hookah...fiancee and I smoke it every once in a while when we reminisce on our cigarette days!

Hmmm...well, the missing bolt...is it completely GONE? Like, there's an empty hole in the primary flange where it should be? If so, just go to Lowes and get a grade 8 or 10 bolt and nut and bolt it down. With my eshift procats...I had to do this anyway as they don't have the built in bolts. Makes it easy to replace them but a PITA since they're not held in place.

About the rasp...I've heard that it'll get WORSE with the PCD's BUT the resonator should help.

 

^^^ yeah there is a hole where the bolt is missing. I was thinking just plugging it with another bolt/nut too. Still no signs of a leak though

I think I'm done with my exhaust. I like how it sounds right now. I've got a bunch more things I want to do before I decide to do something that wasn't on my to-do list

 

but, you already know YOU don't control the "to do" list, it controls YOU!

 

I guess I must clarify. I meant hooker, I was trying to spell it like I had a Bastan accent. You f-ing noobs ruin all my good jokes.



I SAID GOOD DAY!

 

^^^ Dave...i agree with Jeremy on the list controlling you....if you learn how to control the mod list, we need a tutoring session up here in KC

 

Update!

Plugged the bumper holes.

And.

Had to buy a new battery.

 

New battery? Sorry dude....

 

bumper plugs!

This heat is taking a toll on errybody's battery. You are like the 3rd person that I know that has had to buy a new battery this summer.

 

....and he has more news

 

I'm on pins and needles

 

^^^ whatever gets your **** hard mang....i personally like ladies....you should try that sometime....

 

My old battery was the original battery from 2005 (or so it seemed), so it was bound to happen sooner than later.

I think Anil is talking about either 1) oil change or 2) rebuilding PS pump. I started to get a whine and if you recall I flushed out the fluid, put in Amsoil PSF and a new o-ring. So I guess it needs to be rebuilt

I recently ran into a financial hiccup so mods will have to wait a bit. Maintenance stuff is still a must though so Anil you can still count me in for buying the oil and the rebuild "kit" for the pump.

EDIT: I haven't been hearing my brakes as often, like I didn't hear them once on the way home today. But I heard it the other day when turning right, and only when turning right. I think that's weird. The next like 5 weekends I'm busy so I don't think I'll have time to check it out until later.

 

^^^ sure...lemme know if you need any help

 

Haven't updated this in awhile...

I've been kind of dormant, but lately I've been getting more involved with the KC group

2 weeks ago, my passenger headlight went out. I didn't see any discoloration before it died like some others described, so I thought it might be the ballast or ignitor. Thankfully, it was not. I purchased some Morimoto D2S 5k bulbs from http://www.theretrofitsource.com/. I actually accidentally purchased the 5Five (50w) instead of the 3Five (35w for stock ballast), but they work fine with stock ballast. Their life might be shorter, but oh well. I realized later during the night that my switchback turn signals are 6k, so my headlights are slightly off color. I think my switchback sidemarkers (not installed yet) are also 6k. If they are 5k, then I might have to get new switchbacks I still might return my new headlight bulbs and get the 3Fives version of whatever color I need, and then put these up for sale somewhere. Or maybe include them when i sell my current headlights

I've got my switchback sidemarkers waiting to be installed along with a random pile of stuff that I need to replace. This includes a rebuild kit for my PS pump. I think all that was shipped to Anil's house

My car survived through the winter. My tires are about gone though. I'm about to purchase some Continental ExtremeContact DWS, keeping my stock wheels. I just submitted a quote to JNC about a new headlight setup. Hoping my idea looks awesome

Some upcoming tasks:

• my third 1x3 tranny refill
• rebuild PS
• repaint wheels, front hood trim, bumper V trim, grill, A logo (front/back), front bumper air intake vents mesh, trunk trim (got some ideas with plastidip, to sort of match my idea with new headlights)

Since my tires are about shot, now would have been the perfect time to buy new wheels along with new tires (18s). But, I decided against the wheels and leave it for another year. Besides for my tires, I think my next big purchase will be new suspension. I need to lower my car first before getting new wheels, so I'm thinking about buying some coilovers, probably Tien SB. Not sure if the dampening ability of the SA is worth it to me. Any thoughts on that? Maybe some spacers to widen the stance. 20-25? Not too sure on what size to get.

I also need the rear Aspec lip still Thank god for tax returns and bonuses!

 

I've got the DWS tires, David-you'll like them. Sorry you can't get the wheels buddy. I know how much you want them!

 

Yeah, I love those Nurburgrings! Thanks for getting me in touch with Chad up at KC Trends. Hopefully next year I can get them.

 

why not some new aftermarket wheels? just wondering....

 

you updated the thread at the right time bro...

 

 

Whew what a weekend! First, hats off to Anil (swoosh) and Dan (forget his username) as they helped me immensely over the weekend. Also to David, owner of DIY Auto Repair in Olathe, KS. He is awesome! If you're in the KC area, check out him and his shop:
http://diyautorepairkc.com/index.html

Ok, since I didn't take much pictures during the install, this post is mostly a collection of information that I had to put together during the install. The info that we needed was not in one place, but now it should be!

I also didn't take pictures of the contents of my Tein kit, so I had to improvise and take screen shots of Marcus's/HeelToe's video of the Tein SA top hat install video (found here: ) and use my extraordinary MS paint skills. Keep in mind that I did NOT buy a top hat kit with my Tein kit, so I had to use my OEM parts (later you'll see I had to buy a "strut mount kit" from Advance)

The contents of the coilover kit:
http://www.tein.com/products/street_advance.html

• Shock Absorber × 4
• Bump Rubber × 4
• Main Spring × 4
• Hook Spanner × 2 (not shown, tools to tighten/loosen seat locks and spring seats for adjustable height)
• Dust Cover × 4
• Seat Lock × 4 (???)
• Spring Seats × 4 (not shown, white plastic piece)
• Instruction Manual × 1 (not shown)
• Delrin Thrust Washer × 4 (gold shown, mine was silver)

Before assembling anything, make sure you have the correct spring on the correct shock. I took some screen shots of Tein's website for reference:
http://www.tein.com/products/street_...rice_list.html

http://www.tein.com/tech_info/a80.html

My part numbers didn't have the S in front of the number.Just keep in mind that the taller spring (loosely coiled, lower spring rate) is in the back and the shorter spring (tightly coiled, higher spring rate) is in the front.

Now, if you don't buy a top hat kit with the coilover kit, you'll have to save all of the top hat parts from your OEM setup. I ended up having to buy 2 "mount strut kits" for the front because of rust and couldn't save some parts. This kit does NOT include everything you need, just a few parts (more details on this kit later).

Here is a list of all of the OEM top hat parts that you need if you don't buy a top hat kit with the coils.

FRONT:
http://www.oemacuraparts.com/parts-c...shock-absorber

• 17 90364-SG0-004 NUT, SELF-LOCK (10MM) (NYLON) (SHOWA)
• 5 51621-S84-A01 WASHER, SHOCK ABSORBER MOUNTING
• 6 51631-SV7-004 RUBBER, SHOCK ABSORBER MOUNTING (SHOWA)
• 15 51728-SR0-003 COLLAR, SHOCK ABSORBER MOUNTING (DUFFY STEEL PARTS)
• 7 51675-SEP-A03 BASE, FR. SHOCK ABSORBER MOUNTING
• 6 51631-SV7-004 RUBBER, SHOCK ABSORBER MOUNTING (SHOWA)
• 9 51685-SH3-014 PLATE, DUST COVER (SHOWA)
• 10 51686-SDA-A01 RUBBER, FR. SPRING MOUNTING
• 13 51689-SH3-004 PLATE, BUMP STOP (SHOWA)

REAR:
http://www.oemacuraparts.com/parts-c...shock-absorber

• 19 90364-SG0-004 NUT, SELF-LOCK (10MM) (NYLON) (SHOWA)
• 1 51621-S84-A01 WASHER, SHOCK ABSORBER MOUNTING
• 2 51631-SV7-004 RUBBER, SHOCK ABSORBER MOUNTING (SHOWA)
• 10 52676-SEP-A01 SEAL, RR. SHOCK ABSORBER MOUNTING
• 9 52675-SEP-A02 BASE, RR. SHOCK ABSORBER MOUNTING
• 4 51728-SR0-003 COLLAR, SHOCK ABSORBER MOUNTING (DUFFY STEEL PARTS)
• 2 51631-SV7-004 RUBBER, SHOCK ABSORBER MOUNTING (SHOWA)
• 3 51685-SH3-014 PLATE, DUST COVER (SHOWA)
• 11 52686-SDA-A01 RUBBER, RR. SPRING MOUNTING
• 14 52690-SG0-000 PLATE, BUMP STOP

This is just another view of the top hat parts that you need.

• Collar x 4 (important piece!)
• Rubber bushings x 8
• Washer x 4
• Nut x 4
• Rubber mount x 4
• Top hat base x 4
• Bump stop plate x 4 (important piece!)
• Bump stop washer x 4

Since I couldn't save my 2 front collar pieces due to them being rusted to the strut, I went ahead and bought 2 of these kits from Advance Auto and used all the new parts:
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...le=#fragment-1


I also couldn't save my 2 rear end links (rusted, stripped, etc.) so I had to buy these (rear right & rear left):
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...921%7CL2*15012
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...921%7CL2*15012

Here is a list of threads that I used/referred to during the install that helps:
https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tsx-performance-parts-modifications-299/tein-ss-coilover-install-diy-810393/
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-tires-wheels-suspension-97/diy-ht-spec-coilver-install-dummies-any-other-suspension-3g-garage-d-091-a-816065/
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-tires-wheels-suspension-97/tein-top-hats-862642/
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-tires-wheels-suspension-97/tein-street-advanced-coilover-review-852475/
https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...1&postcount=39 (most helpful post in my situation)
http://s1244.photobucket.com/user/la...?sort=2&page=1


So I ended up going a 1 inch (7 threads from the bottom) with dampening set at 11 front, 10 rear. I think I'm going to leave it how it is for now until I buy tires to put on my new wheels Then I'll readjust height/dampening and take it in for an alignment.

I just threw this together real quick, I found some pictures on my phone during the install and of the current drop, but I'll post some more on that later. I'm at work so I should probably do some work

 

pix or it didnt happen LOL