ARK GRIP + GTM RTP = FAIL (Now with sound clip)
 

Had my ARK GRIP installed today with the GTM RTP and unfortunately I must say I am beyond disappointed. The two paired together sound like $hit. The ARK is rattling terribly and the hissing from the test pipe is unbearable. I was under the impression that the hissing sound was just under decal but it's terribly prominent throughout most of the powerband. That, combined with the rattling of the ARK, especially under decal between 2500 and 3500 rpm is beyond horrific. I'll be going back to have the ARK adjusted and putting the stock cats back on.

Ive modded many cars and man I gotta say this was the worst experience ever. Idk if it has to do with the pairing of these two specific pipes (haven't seen this combo yet) but omg my car sounds like crap.

Anyone else experience anything close to this??

SOUND CLIP: Memo.m4a

I have the GTM TP (not resonated) and I love them. Mine hiss when decelerating from time to time. Mostly in the low gears. But it doesn't bother me none. Nothing like what your saying. But that probably wouldn't matter for me. There's lots of rasp but I love that too. Sometimes it's not for everyone.

Sounds like the ARK is hitting something. Test pipes...that sounds par for the course. Post up a sound clip or video.

If the ARK is rattling maybe it's just loose and creating a exhaust leak and that's the sound you're hearing.

sound like a leak, re install everything again properly and put silicon between each couple..

Um its the ARK exhausts X-pipe section causing the loud whistle/hiss noise. Trust me I switched my exhaust to HKS and kept the same Berk Test Pipes and the hiss/whistle dropped a lot!


Check out my journal it explaines it in more depth.



DAN

You're right, I got hissing from my ark as well.

I've heard and seen a lot of videos of the ARK Online and none sound anything like what I'm hearing. And the exhaust is definitely rattling terribly so I'm not sure how that's effecting the sound. Oddly, there isn't much of a raspy tone at all. It's just all hiss/whistle and terrible clunking/rattling when I let off the throttle between 2500 and 3500. The ARK with stock cats sounded amazing in all the Videos I saw online which is a big reason why I bought it.

I'll attempt to get some sound clips up tomorrow.

The installation was actually done by a dealer who sells lots of aftermarket parts and installs them all. Its actually funny i was gonna go with the stillen unit but didnt because of some of the fitment issues i read about. The big problem i think was they didn't test drive it before giving the car back to me. What's most puzzling is that when I'm cruising or at less than approx 60% throttle there's no hiss/whistle or much rattle. When I go WOT the hissing is loud and you can hear it all the way to redline and the clunking rattling is just awful when letting off the throttle and having the revs drop from 3500 to 2500. Is so loud it almost sounds like the exhaust is scraping the pavement. I can't figure out why what seems to be a physical rattling is so prominent under those decelerating conditions in that specific part of the rpm band.

I SUPPOSE the hissing/whistling will subside and I could get used to it (I don't have much of a choice) but that rattle is god awful and when it's fixed I'm HOPING it will possibly lead to less of the whistling/hissing if it's contributing to a leak.

This reminds me of when I had rims on my H2 and the nalncing weights fell off one of the wheels and it sounded and felt like the car was firing off a machine gun under braking. Ok maybe not that bad but equally as frustrating and aggravating.

Also do you guys think it would be reasonable to expect the dealer to test drive and fix this rattling without having to pay for more labor? If I decide to go with the stock cats I'll obviously pay for that but to inspect and fix the rattling I think they should do since that's certainly not the norm. And if they have to re-install and add silicon between all the connections?? I kinda feel like a dealer who sold me the parts should install them properly and exercise due diligence when the installation itself leads to an issue.

You are definitely justified in asking them to find the source of the noise as well as a test drive with no charge to you, they should stand behind their work.

by rattling and clunking you mean metal to metal sound??

ARKS x pipe section needs to be lifted/jacked up during install over the cross member before tightening any bolt, otherwise it will sometimes rest on it and cause rattling/clunking. a proper reinstall might fix it.

as far as hissing or howling sounds, its the test pipes adding extra exhaust flow that the ark x pipe cant handle.

and btw, post some pics!

I'll definitely tell them to do this. I read about it before. I used to get all my work done at a speed shop that went out of business but I trusted them. This dealership was fine but I wasnt really allowed to be in the service area for insurance reasons. If I had been I would have reminded them about this. Hopefully a re-install plus some sealant will reduce the hissing and clunking. And yes it's definitely metal on metal and sounds like it's coming from the rear end of the trans which is where the exhaust would be/is hitting the cross member.

Just drove it around a little. It even rattles at idle but gets very loud in every gear around 2500 rpm. It sounds like a metal on metal grinding noise and seems to be coming from the passenger side. I can deal with the hissing and whistle noise I just can't figure out WTF it's hitting as it seems to have a good inch of clearance above the cross member.

I really don't mind the hissing and whistling sounds. I'll either get used to it or replace the test pipes with stock cats. I just need to figure out what the pipes are hitting, and why it appears to be coming from the passenger side and is loudest between 2500 and 3000, and now under load AND decel

EDIT: Soundclip
Memo.m4a

This is second gear accel up to about 3500 and back down. Note the loud rattling on decel. Helps to turn speakers up.

Yeah, that sounds like it is rattling on the cross member. If you don't have a jack, you could easily loosen the bolts, wedge a few MF towels between the cross member and the exhaust to raise it up, and then tighten it all back down.

I actually looked under the car and it appears as if there's close to an inch of clearance above the cross member but I could be wrong. And it sounds like it's coming from the passenger side. Im going to go back to the dealer who installed it tomorrow to have them trouble shoot it. To my knowledge they didn't take the "ark precautions" when installing it (jacking up the x pipe prior to tightening bolts). Hopefully that helps. Maybe there's something rattling on the passenger side by the canisters idk. Yesterday it wasn't rattling at idle on cold start or under load but it is now (ie it's getting worse). So maye that points to a loose bolt or attachment?

Also, beyond the SOUND of the rattling there's an actual FEEL as well. You can feel a vibration in the cabin and through the gearbox. This leads me to believe there exists some degree of metal on metal contact that can hopefully be fixed with a proper re-install.

THANK U everyone for all your input. It's really frustrating when this stuff happens.

Man I feel for you, excited about getting the mod installed then to be faced with a pile of crap and un satisfactory performance.
Think you are doing the right thing in taking it back, the should really have test drove it with you to ensure you were happy. GL dude. Hope you are satisifed in the end and can enjoy it.

the VQ typically has hiss on decel, mine got pretty prominent after LTH's and the Meisterschaft, but hiss on acceleration shouldn't be all that prominent.

Thanks bro. With my wrx I had a lot of one off parts that took a lot of testing and tuning to work properly and since it was my daily driver it was also quite frustrating making friends with the tow truck driver after some mods led to the car being un-drivable. It is frustrating but the fact that the rattling is getting worse and can actually be felt in the cabin is actually somewhat re-assuring because it leads me to believe that there is metal on metal contact that can be fixed with a proper re-install as opposed to some mysterious horrific rattling sounding resonance produced by the combination of the GTM test pipe and ark exhaust, though I can't completely rule that out.

But even a passenger felt and heard the rattling on the car without me saying anything about the car. All she said was "what's that rattling noise". So I'm hoping we can make some headway by getting it on the lift and re-installing the system with propping up the x pipe prior to tightening the bolts.

You know a inch isn't much. And under acceleration the exhaust will flex some. I've had this before. If this is the case wrapping exhaust wrap around that portion of the pipe is the best fix.

Yea its not the hissing and whistling I'm concerned about. I know that happens with headers and test pipes. It's the very loud rattling that I can hear and feel that's now prominent on cold start, decel, and under load most noticeable around 2500-3000. It rattles so much it feels like the canisters are being dragged along the pavement.

I'd love to hear a clip of your setup. I can't imagine how loud it is. Even without the LTH that CBE is mean as hell

Good to know. I do remember reading some posts from members with the ARK GRIP who had bad rattling when not installing it "properly" (jacking up the x pipe prior to tightening all the bolts). I doubt they have exhaust wrap at the dealer but I'll keep that in mind if a re-install doesn't fix the rattling.

If it's the crossbar underneath, at least on my G37 sedan, it's an unnecessary part. I took mine off. No more rattling... :)

But definitely have them do a once over to make sure everything is on there correctly!

Wont removing it lead to less chassis rigidity and poorer handling? Even still, I'm sure ARK designed the exhaust to fit properly so the installer should make that happen

Sounds like a bad install with a leak to me.

Its the Ark and test pipe combo . This has been hashed many times on other forums.

So you think the rattling isn't mechanical (metal to metal)? If this is what's happened with test pipes and the ARK I'll just re-install the stock cats. Do you have any links to the other forum posts? It really sounds like there's a metal on metal rattle. It vibrates the whole cabin and you can hear it at idle now.

If this has been documented with the combination of ark + test pipes I'll have the dealer relace the stock cats. Any help is appreciated as I'm going back first thing tomorrow to have this rectified. Thanks everyone in advance. All the advice is appreciated!!!

BLM, as i told you, its a leak. The dealership will not install properly, they just want your money, never let dealership maintain your car. I do my own oil change since day one.

When i installed FI exhaust and TP there was a stupid sound that makes the car sound like cheap, i took it back and told the garage to re installed everything and told them to use silicon everywhere

took the car back home and the sound was day and night different,

hope this message cheers you up.

Most definitely. I'll insist they do a re-install with propping up the x pipe prior to tightening the bolts and adding a silicon sealant between all the connections.

sounds like a plan, but they should do it for free, dont pay anything, maybe 10$ for silicon but no more! its there fault, they didnt pay attention when they were installing your exhaust.

I'm not bad mouthing the dealer. They just didn't have experience with this particular exhaust. I should have told them to jack up the x pipe prior to tightening the bolts. Adding silicon sealant is something a lot of shops do but usually at request. I'll make sure they do this tomorrow.



Again thank u all for your input. It may seem like a minor issue but I don't make huge $$ so it was a big investment to purchase an exhaust plus a test pipe and pay for the labor so I know the value of a dollar and I think that a dealer/shop who sold me the parts AND installed them should make good on it if there's a problem. I certainly don't expect them to fix the hissing noise. That happens with test pipes I know. But the rattling is severe so I hope they'll go through the process of a test drive and re-install free Of charge.

neverbone stock is referring to the hiss part. Its been mentioned a few times on this forum with particular combos

The rattling is definitely a botched install. Other people with other exhausts, not just ARK, have complained, and found the install wasnt done in order.

Thanks this is what I thought. I knew the hiss/whistling sound was from the test pipe. That's not my problem. I can live with that. The rattling is killer and that has to be from the installation.

What do u recommend for a re-install other than loosening everything and propping up the x pipe prior to tightening the bolts +/- silicon sealant?

personally, I dont think silicone is all that necessary, best is as you mentioned, loosen it all up, then starting from the test pipes, tighten each piece one by one, holding them in position (generally up a bit, higher than where it should be as it would sag down a bit)

keep the hangers tigheted and in place though, those will help align the stuff as you tighten them.

Thanks bro. I'll make sure they do this.

Check by the passenger side exhaust can, there is a metal shield that it might be in contact with causing the rattle. I just had to bend mine back since it was touching the can of my FI exhaust and I know the Ark muffler would be in the same location.

I'll make sure they do this too. The rattling noise is definitely coming from the passenger side.

Much thanks!

also, the hiss is something all our cars have with any combo / exhaust.

The whiste, would shouldnt be super loud. if there is a loud whistler its an exhaust leak. If you still get a slight whislte and confirm no leak, its probably the crossover x-pipe in the ARK. maybe some header wrap on that section could help quiet it down.

Its not a leak. I had this combo on my g and so have many others . I switched my exhaust to a better flowing one and the sound went away. Switched my test pipes to art pipes and rasp went away..Still have the hiss nits it's not that bad. It's the vq

Thank you everyone for your input!! Again, I'm not really concerned with the hiss/whistling sound. Its the rattling that bothers me. If u listen to the sound clip there's two decelerations that show what I'm talking about. It sounds like a metal on metal rattle and it's now present at idle and on hard acceleration (and deceleration most noticeable around 2500-3000 rpm). Again, this leads me to believe there is a prominent metal on metal contact that's causing the rattling. Hopefully this can be fixed with a re-install