Has anybody used heat wrap to dampen out the vibrations from the downpipe when it expands under heat and then vibrates on the cross beam members? I have a Helix V2 downpipe that is supposed to clear those two cross members... and it does untill the temps really get up there and cause the downpipe to expand. I've added small spacers to the aft cross member and it has helped a little bit. Now, I just think that I should add a small layer of heat wrap on there so that it could absorb the vibrations enough to stop the metal on metal sound. I think it would work. Whatcha think?

 

I have the same problem. Also had some issues with my catback exhaust rubbing on the heat shield bolt and rubbing on the driveline in certain situations.

Solved the catback issue with a ballpeen hammer.

Going to try to get some spacers for the crossbeam and if that doesn't work, its hammer time.

 

Why dont you just wrap the down pipe so itll stay cooler...?

 

You hammered the exhaust? Damn, I don't want to disrupt any flow characteristics. I also don't want to lessen the stiffness of the chassis. I hope that the wrap will do just enough dampening... and not catch fire.

Hammer time... now I can't get MC Hammer out of my head. "Stop... hammer time, ohh oh oh oh, ohhh oh oh oh!"

 

I heat wrapped mine, no problems...........

 

Yeah, either way. I will wrap either peice... might as well get some benifit out of it right? Wrapping the cross member with a small piece and safety wiring it down just seems simpler and cheaper.

 

i am having the same exact problem with my invidia tbe. the dp rubs on the cross member and the cat back rubs on the heat shield bolts right on the driveshaft and the u-joints.please give me a good description on how to fix. its anoyyyinngg the hell out of me lol.i cant take it anymore. thanks

 

yeah, its pretty annoying.

Alfred at Tuning Technologies in Colton, CA noticed the driveline vibration while giving me a tune.

Great guy, great shop, friendly staff.

Anyways he suggested using a ballpeen to gently tap the offending rubbing areas out of the way. The ballpeen is this rounded ball and hits down into a small point. Much more controllable than a regular hammer.

I found that leaving the cat back part (less muffler) of the exhaust bolted together made it easier to work on.

Put the pipe on jackstands with one jackstand directly under where you're going to hammer and hit it a bunch of times. The area you want to hit is obviously where its rubbing. You're not trying to fix it in one wack, but several smaller taps. My exhaust is made out of steel so if yours isn't, it might be tougher.

With regard to the heatshield, I had one offending bolt. There are two that attach the shield. Go to HOme Depot/Lowes/Osh and get a wing nut. m8x1.25 metric I think it was. Or take the nut off the shield and take it to the hardware store.

Install the wingnut and shave off the bolt and wings to the top of the nut. I used a dremel with a cutting wheel.

 

it will work
make sure you wrap it a few times as it will just vibrate through a single layer

 

You heat wrapped your downpipe or the cross member brace?

 

I heat wrapped my dp for obvious reasons. The lack of vibration noise is a nice bonus though. For around 50 bucks it is worth the wrap to avoid this annoyance and to keep your oil nice and cool as well.

 

Well recently I was called "Buschur the parts pusher" so that will be in my head for awhile. Once again though I am going to promote our parts and say "I told you so"

The simple fact is a 3" downpipe is a very tight fit through the small area there is in the front of an EVO. I know this. With my 18 years of building 4g63 parts I KNEW that the downpipes were going to cause problems with the tie bars. So, even though some people frown on the fact that we use a spacer with our downpipes there was and is a reason we did it.

IF you happen to buy a 3" downpipe from someone who claims they do not need spacers that is just great. Neither does ours. 90% of the time they go right in. Problem is this, the cheap *** rubber motor mounts in the EVO are holding up a bunch of weight and the engines are making a lot of power. Then engine is sitting on a rubber mount and that rubber mount is being rocked back and forth constantly. This is further weakening the crappy mount and over time (not a lot of time as many of you are seeing) the mount sags and your good fitting downpipe then hits the tie bars.

To keep this from ever happening with our downpipes we have included a .400 thick stainless steel spacer for the tie bars since the beginning.

We do sell these spacers seperately so all of you guys can fix your exhaust that were sold as "not needing any stinking spacers". Our install kits come with the spacers and a longer bolt to re-install the tie bars. They work great and will never rust as they are machined from 304 grade stainless.

The heat wrap will wear through and only dampen the noise. Fix it the right way

 

definalty heat wrap your downpipe so your not sending all that heat right on your tranny fluids either- heat wrapping the crossmember would be waste of money- go to jsc speed and order the thermal-tec cooper infussed wrap - it works great

 

^ yep heat wrap isnt very cheep.

 

Yeah Dave, I'm glad you replied... you reminded me of my weak *** rubber motor mount that I was needing to upgrade. I also made a couple custom spacers for the tie bars. The only problem I had was that I couldn't make them too thick because I was limited by the length of the stock bolts.

I guess I need to do three things. 1. Replace the crap motor mount, 2. Increase the size of the spacer and use bigger bolts, and 3. Heat wrap my downpipe... it's not like it's a WRX downpipe that's hard to install.

I was just thinking that wrapping the cross tie bar would be the easiest way to fix it.... i.e. riggin' it.