What did you do with your Z today VI (ON TOPIC DISCUSSION ONLY)

ChopsZ

Installed the AAM S-Line Short Tails on mine yesterday.





Everyone always says you have to remove the heat shield around the charcoal canister... You don't. It's made of very pliable, very thin metal. By hand, I just bent it away from the exhaust and under the canister, still protecting it from heat. The heat shield is a good 1.5" away from the exhaust and about 0.75" away from the canister and hoses.







And this install wasn't so straight forward. I've installed exhaust systems on several cars over the years and this one was no different, as in it doesn't fit correctly like it should.

For starters, the left pipe was about a 0.5" longer than the left, and there isn't near enough adjustment sliding the exhaust tips in or out to compensate, so we had to take a hacksaw and chop off half an inch off of the left pipe. Laying the pipes side-by-side, you could see the extra length on the left pipe.

Second, the left pipe should have been rotated about a 0.25" more clockwise before they welded it to the flange as it sags about a 0.25" on the left. We tried everything to get it up even with the right side which included twisting the right pipe down as far as it would go along with shimming the hanger on that side with two shims, then pushing up as far as the left pipe would go.

The right side is perfect and is where I want it. The left pipe is still too low and uneven. If it wasn't for the fact that it was starting to rain, we would have either drilled out the mounting holes on the left pipe flange to give a little more adjustment, OR break lose the two bolts at the Y-pipe and try twisting the entire mid-pipe system a little clockwise to try and even out the exhaust at the back.

So for now, it's as good as it's going to get for right now. It's not all that bad looking, and nowhere near as bad looking as it seems in the last photo. That low angle shot just makes it look worse than it really is.

On a much more positive note, it sounds excellent! It sounds the way it should have come from the factory. It's not too loud at all and has a warm, mellow tone throughout the entire rev range and even burbles and pops on deceleration. With that said, it IS a bit louder than expected in the cabin. It resonates and drones quite a bit to the point that it causes a few little rattles and buzzes in the interior plastic panels. So now I have to try and hunt down those rattles and buzzes and damp them, but at least the exhaust now masks that truck engine sound coming through the firewall.