Racing Beat Catback Help Needed

[SeminoleMan]

All,

I have a 2003.5 Protege5 that I've held off on modding seriously for a few years. I just stuck to aesthetic mods like the DG Front Lip, badges, a little window tint, Mazda6 wagon wiper-mod, and JDM tails.

I finally decided to buy a Racing Beat catback from a local member (I'll with-hold those details for now to give him a chance to answer some questions) and was pretty excited to get it installed. The seller sent pictures and indicated there was no damage. Upon inspection there was no visible damage so we made the sale. I ordered new gaskets and hardware from Racing Beat and all was go!

Today, I managed to install the cat-back in about 30 minutes with the help of my brother. The install was breeze - all the flanges buttoned up perfectly and there are zero exhaust leaks. The cat-back sounds really good.

The problem is that it looks like s***!

Are there any tricks for adjusting fitment. When I crawl under the car and push up the muffler section, the pipe that bends over the rear-crossmeber makes contact with the frame. I really have to push for the piping to make contact and it still doesn't get the tip close to the bumper cutout. I estimate it's about 4 inches lower than it should be. There doesn't seem to be any slop in the rubber mounts.

Any advice on how I can get this fixed?!


Full rear shot.

3/4 view of exhaust.

Rear view of the installed catback.

 

[Sveivo]

Was it from a damaged car?

 

[SeminoleMan]

As far as I know, the front of the car WAS hit based on the fact the radiator support core was f'd. I'm waiting for the seller to respond to my PM or phone message to explain what the deal is. As he stated in the emails we exchanged there was no damage t0 the catback (there was some slight rubbing on the top-middle of the tip where it meets the bumper cutout for the exhaust, but that only indicated there was a tighter fitment on his car.)

 

[TheMAN]

you did make sure that the resonator is bolt on the correct way right?

everything should be tightened down only after you adjusted the exhaust to position per instructions

 

[SeminoleMan]

you did make sure that the resonator is bolt on the correct way right?

everything should be tightened down only after you adjusted the exhaust to position per instructions

Everything is bolted up correctly. I made sure the front resonator pipe was attached so the pipe goes up to meet the flange. I matched it up with my brothers install (UPSMAN - Blue Sport20 conversion) and by looking at some pics Bala de Plata posted a while back.

Scratches head...

 

[TheMAN]

where the resonator bolts to the cat, its supposed to curve up towards the underside of the car IIRC

 

[NCZ13]

fit perfectly on mine. did u try using the hangers to adjust it? cuz thats really how u get it centered.

its not possible to have the resonator section upside down, since the flanges are on an angle, it would have reversed the way the S pipe fits.

 

[SeminoleMan]

where the resonator bolts to the cat, its supposed to curve up towards the underside of the car IIRC

as such:

 

[NCZ13]

yeeeep

see how the flanges on the resonator are angled? if u put it on upside down, the s pipe would be reversed. so thats not your problem.

what my friend and i did was put the muffler on its hangers, and line it up to where we want it, then installed the resonator and s pipe.

 

[SeminoleMan]

fit perfectly on mine. did u try using the hangers to adjust it? cuz thats really how u get it centered.

Adjusting the hangars didn't help with the positioning of the muffler when I was messing around with it earlier. Exhaust looks nice one your car

 

[Sveivo]

Maybe the hangers (metal hooks) on the muffler were bent during shipping?

 

[NCZ13]

Maybe the hangers (metal hooks) on the muffler were bent during shipping?

theres no way the hangers would be that bent for it to hang that low.

i think u should disconnect the axleback, and adjust the muffler when its not attached to the S pipe.

and thank you very much. all the work was worth it in the end.

when i installed it tho, it took 6 hours. my friend and i rounded a bolt on the axleback flange.

boy that was fun.

 

[SeminoleMan]

Well the seller responded and indicated the car was hit on the LEFT rear. Unfortunately, this does and doesn't explain why the muffler section is lower especially being on the opposite side of impact. This lends some credibility to the fact there could be damage - instead I was told the catback was not damaged.

FUN TIMES!

Like I said, everything lined up and bolted up. I'll take your advice and try taking it apart again and readjusting things. Hope it works.

 

[Sveivo]

Well the seller responded and indicated the car was hit on the LEFT rear. Unfortunately, this does and doesn't explain why the muffler section is lower especially being on the opposite side of impact. This lends some credibility to the fact there could be damage - instead I was told the cat was not damaged.

FUN TIMES!

Like I said, everything lined up and bolted up.

Yeah, man. Used parts can be a gamble at times, unfortunately :/

 

[NCZ13]

it looks like the s pipe is pushing the axle back pipe up, causing the muffler tip to angle it down.

 

[SeminoleMan]

Maybe the hangers (metal hooks) on the muffler were bent during shipping?

I picked it up from a local seller. I thought about them being bent too - at a minimum somethings has to be bent.

 

[TheMAN]

which left is he talking about? left as in driver's side or left as is when the tool is facing the front of the car?

people get so confused over what left or right means in a car... c'mon people, your steering wheel is on the left side of the car right?

 

[SeminoleMan]

Well I got a second PM from the seller and he's offered to give a full refund after seeing this thread, so I'm trying to work out the details of the return etc. I didn't put the guy on blast and I hope that he comes through with the refund...it'd make me feel alot better for sure and reaffirm that some people do have integrity.

Thanks for all the input/ help guys. I'll update what happens. Hopefully I can still participate in the RB groupbuy!

 

[Sveivo]

Well I got a second PM from the seller and he's offered to give a full refund after seeing this thread, so I'm trying to work out the details of the return etc. I didn't put the guy on blast and I hope that he comes through with the refund...it'd make me feel alot better for sure and reaffirm that some people do have integrity.

Thanks for all the input/ help guys. I'll update what happens. Hopefully I can still participate in the RB groupbuy!

Good!