So I had a few upgrades for my Firehawk which in included TSP 1 7/8 stainless steel headers and the 3" stainless ORY.

Ill start with the headers. The first thing I noted was the quality of the piece. Flawless and beautiful. Then install was a piece of cake (on a lift and buddy aid) and spark plug and wire clearance is plenty. Also when I decided to do stainless steel instead of ceramic I knew my engine bay would experience more heat. Well guys going from pacesetters (ceramic) to these it is a hell of a lot hotter. Like rediculously hotter! So just keep that in mind. Over all I am pleased or soon to be because of....

..yes the y pipe. So like the headers they looked awesome out of the box. When going on the car I was disappointed for a few reasons. First it will not fit with my drive shaft loop and torque arm mount so I have to heavily modify for it to fit. I suppose on a car with out suspension upgrades it would be the peachyest **** ever not for me though. Second once the opsticle was surpassed it weighs down on the cat back system making the rear y almost touch the undercarriage. The y pipe it self is also resting on my non-driveshaft loop torque arm crossmember
, so when I drive its beating against it. So I either have to fabricate or buy a aftermarket bracket to keep it from slamming my undercarriage torque arm or drive shaft. Third the clamps the came with the y pipe are garbage. At their tightest they are still not tight enough. With added washers and some modifications it they still leak. So I'm paying our local muffler shop a visit tomorrow to get some of the areas welded.

So over all I'm still not sure how I feel about them both because my car is running like crap right because of the leaks. Maybe I should have stuck with my slp, but you know bigger is "better" and ****.

Will upload some pics soon.

 

Alot of these suspension parts state what kind of exhaust can be run with their parts so its almost like you have to decide your exhaust setup before you buy your suspension parts or decide what suspension parts you want and check what exhaust systems are aloud. And do you really need the driveshaft safety loop? Im not bashing your mods at all im just thinking if your not a track car running slicks and are a street car on radials then you dont need the loop at all and then your problem with the banging would be solved.

 

This is mostly to let others know about the issues I ran into because of my existing mods. Whether or not I /need/ a drive shaft loop is irrelevant. I did my research before going with this y and I didnt think I'd run into this problem. I would have defiantly gone a different route. I already had an aftermarket y on there. So this y fit differently even for a crossmember meant for long tube headers and y pipe.

 

I have the same exhaust setup on my car. Headers are nice but the y-pipe needs work. Im having the y welded up in a week or two. No matter how often i tighten the clamps the leaks keep coming back. Figure ill throw on a cut out while i have it in there for that. It also rubs against my stock torque arm from a stop.

 

Have an exhaust shop just weld the pipes together! You cannot go wrong with stainless they will last MUCH longer.

 

Bummer, I'm getting my TSP LT/ORY during the next few weeks, hopefully I won't have a problem. I'm on stock suspension but will be upgrading all of it during the summer.

 

Do you have stock motor mounts? Poly motor mounts could help with your y pipe hitting the undercarriage issue.

 

Im thinking it could be the mounts. But since its just one of the clamps rubbing im hoping welding it up and removing the clamp will take care of it.

 

I have prothane mounts swapped them while swapping the headers. I've since rigged up a hanger for the y pipe and ordered a different torque arm crossmember hopefully this one while suite it better. It's now welded and I am please with how it sounds with my new SLP LM2 power flo.

 

UPDATE Finally got around to installing that new crossmember and I was able to get it on there. Even still the ORY is is too centered, the extra clearance doesn't help. Also my tranny and driveshaft are off of the car, so Im not even sure that'll even clear. The ORY is also pressing against the undercarriage, fuel/brake lines on the driver side now that the new crossmember is on there.
If the driveshaft clears i'll try to if theres any way of moving the lines. Other than Im not what I'd do. Garrr!

 

UPDATE It looks like the drive shaft will barely clear the way it sits. (new crossmember, still against the lines) I've tried to see if I could maybe move the lines but not no good. Ive wrapped the lines with protective fabric(shiny) but I still dont feel comfortable with the thing literally touching. So I went to the home improvement store and picked some aluminum. I am going to fabricate 2"x4"x1/8" plates stack them to about 1/2" and use them as spacers where the crossmember bolts on to the body. It will slight move my torque arm but I believe it'll give me the extra clearance I need. At least to feel comfortable about it.