----------- 2006 M45 Element 114 Exhaust Install -------------

[ATSELLAB]

I positioned the ramps at the top of my driveway so there was a little more room to squeeze under. Im 6' 195" and was able to do this easily. I was able to get all the way under so I was face to face with the mid pipe bolts. Like i said before I had to grind 1 bolt off which sucked. But got it done in an hour.

Good work on the ram, doing further research however Im sorta skeptical if I will want an intake or not. I dont really want more internal cabin noise. I think it might have to be something you tell us if the noise inside is worth it. We'll see

[M4T5]

Whatever you skinny bastard! I'll be using a jack for the mid pipes.Yeah, I'll get pic and try to get a sound clip of it too. I too wasn't going to do a CAI kit either, but how can you complain about free?? I liked the idea of it being black powder coat, not in to all the underhood flash. It's no show car, so why put any eye candy under the hood? Plus it would have been the only thing under the hood that was shinny. No need for only one shinny part. Hell, at worse, I can always put it back to OE! Well, it will be a week before it gets in, so the anticipation begins.

One question, how could you adjust the exhaust pipes on this system if there are no slip joints?? They are all direct bolt on only. I ask because you or someone stated they adjusted their tips to point more straight because they tend to want to turn inwards. I seen one guy post about it rattling against the driveshaft heat shield. Anyone else encounter this problem?I don't think I would have removed that, maybe just a trim because it was put there for a reason.

J

[nitteo]

My Mech had to do a little "pushing" pipes around before tightening the bolts to align them.

By the way, whoever said they saved gas, is lying! I use more gas now revving it on red lights. lol

[M4T5]

My Mech had to do a little "pushing" pipes around before tightening the bolts to align them.

By the way, whoever said they saved gas, is lying! I use more gas now revving it on red lights. lol

Was that you I was sitting next too?? I guess you were so wrapped up in your M35 that you failed to notice me in mine! Be glad you didn't see me, as you would have had a hurting coming to you!

J

[M4T5]

Just an update. I recieved the replacement mufflers today. They seemed to check out ok.The only other thing is that my Element 114 Ram Air Kit will not be in until next week.....oh well.I still have the exhaust to do on Saturday at least!

I haven't checked, but is he still selling more kits?? All newbies need to check it out if they are interested in an exhaust upgrade!

J

[mmm..good]

Nope - looks like all of the E114's are gone............for now.

[M4T5]

Ok...installed them....sounds good, fit...not so good. Mine pigeon toes quite a bit and the passenger side tip is 3/4" lower than the driver side tip. I tried adjusting everything to get the left side down and the right side up...it bearly made a difference. doing that caused the tips to point inward more than wanted.I spoke with Element 114 about it. The best suggestion was to take it to a muffler shop to adjust/ bend the hanger rods on the mufflers. I guess that's fair enough. He did offer to pay for the exhaust shop costs, but I doubt I will do that.I measured the hangers, and they do seem to different lengths.I even measured from the isolator mounting points. It's definitely off. The car is not the issue. As the OEM tips were dead even. I tried adjusting at the mid pipe, the muffler to mid pipe section, and there is even a little adjustment at the ending isolator mounts by the tips. I just could not get them leveled.

On the flip side, it sounds good and has more top end acceleration. I'm just hoping the muffler shop can get the tips to set straight and level.Seems to always be something..... Anyone else experience any of this?

J

[ken in az]

a good friend of mine coined this phrase....i'm not sure if he got it from somewhere else but....His mantra is

"Everything is a hassle"

He says it for any situation...and it fits, it's hilarious and after about 10 times saying it, it gets funnier - try it!

[mmm..good]

I'm wondering if it might make more sense to just go with the Stillen exhaust. Given it's dyno tested to increase hp, specifically designed for the M, and, like the E114, has the single tip exhaust (assuming you are OK with that style). I know its a few hundred more, but you get what you pay for.

From what I've read on NICO, it sounds like the Meghan exhaust has he best "note" but they don't advertise actual hp gains. I wonder if its possible to order the Stillen mid pipes and hook up the Meghan axle back to them. Best of both worlds?

[odie]

The sound is excellent. Just starting the car makes me smile.The fit was "eh".... we did as much as I could to make it look symmetrical.

I'll probably take some more head on shots but here's some pics from install.Yes, I had the car jacked up only on one side due to the garage space being so cramped.

Btw, had to grind off two bolts on the mid pipe. Otherwise, pretty smooth install.

[odie]

double post...sorry

[M4T5]

The sound is excellent. Just starting the car makes me smile.The fit was "eh".... we did as much as I could to make it look symmetrical.

I'll probably take some more head on shots but here's some pics from install.Yes, I had the car jacked up only on one side due to the garage space being so cramped.

Btw, had to grind off two bolts on the mid pipe. Otherwise, pretty smooth install.

Yeah, I can see that even your tips are at different heights and crooked on the left side. You should be able to loosen the flange bolts on the left side and twist it clockwise some.... if your not already as far as it will go.

It seems those center nuts were pretty damn stubborn. I even saturated the bolt threads and nuts with WD-40 for a few hours before trying to get them loose.I didn't want to damage the welded on bolt threads or have to cut them off. I muscled one of the nuts off, but I had to used an air chisel to loosen the other one. The air chisel worked great. Loosened the nut that was rounded off and was easily back off from there. It is always nice to have the right tools for a problematic job. I have to admit, I have a fair amount of tools, but I could use a lot more of them.I also learned another thing, those drive up ramps didn't help all that much. I had to jack up the front of the car higher than the rear to get those center bolts off. I guess I need to invest in another quality hydraulic floor jack and some good heavy duty jack stands.

I still do not regret doing this job myself. I enjoy doing these types of upgrades. It's not a real easy job only due to the fact an individual will have a difficult time getting the center nuts off. Other than that, it went pretty smoothly.

They do need to spend more time on the fit and finish of the product. The exhaust don't look so great if it doesn't sit symetrical.They need to address their inconsistancies with their jig they are using to produce these kits.This is the only kit that I have ever installed that I could not adjust out perfectly.I still give them props for the sound tone of the exhaust note.The sound clips all given do not replicate the actual depth of the exhaust note this kit will emit. It is louder than you might think. What really counts is, my wife likes the sound!

J

[Bob24]

My passenger pipe is down slightly from the drivers side and the look is definitely "pigeon toed" with the pipes canting inward. I may just take it back to the shop that installed them and see if they can work any magic on them to get them even and pointing straight back.

M4T5, you said that Element told you they would cover they cost of it going back into the shop to get fixed?

[M4T5]

Not cover cost of going back, you already went to one. You should have had them address the issues you had at that time.He only offered that to me due to the fact that I had multiple issues.I installed mine myself, so there is no going back to a muffler shop, this would be my first, and hopefully only visit there.

J

[Bob24]

That is to bad that he won't stand up for a problem with his product that almost everyone has experienced.

I just got back from the muffler shop that installed them and I rode the manager's *** for a couple of minutes before going back into the service area and giving the grease monkey that did the job hell.

They will be addressing issue from their end although I think the issue has to do more with the product then the install.

[ken in az]

So has anyone been to the track yet?

[M4T5]

That is to bad that he won't stand up for a problem with his product that almost everyone has experienced.

I just got back from the muffler shop that installed them and I rode the manager's *** for a couple of minutes before going back into the service area and giving the grease monkey that did the job hell.

They will be addressing issue from their end although I think the issue has to do more with the product then the install.

Man Bob, I really don't know how you get so many people to bend at their knees for you when your coming down on them so much.I do agree that the product needs to be better fitted to the cars. Too many inconsistencies. I'm kind of wondering that maybe that is why we were able to purchase these kits so cheap..... It could be possible that they had a bad run come out off of the jig.........Hmmm...... I just hope my local exhaust shop can fix most of the issues.There is one thing I know that cannot be fixed, that is the part where the right side tip sticks out further that the left side one.....I guess I will soon find out.

J

[imsello]

I still have my element exhaust ,if anyone is interested. I decided no to install it and ordered the megan cat back system instead. 600 shipped.

[M4T5]

I don't blame you for selling your kit. I just got back from the muffler shop and the guy told me there wasn't too much he could do to it because the pipes are not bent exactly the way they need to be and the tips are not welded to the muffler straight.He made it look a little better, but it's not what I was expecting.This is bogus guys!

I might just see if i can return it....

J

[imsello]

well the shop u went to must not be to good. cuz the pipes can be heated up and bent. I decided im going to have my guy intall the element exhaust tonight. if I hate it then oh well ill sell it crazy cheap. the megan is on backorder so dont have a clue when they will be getting here anyway. My mechanic has been building cars from scratch since he was 8 and now is 43 so if he cant make this exhaust look right then your right this is a big problem. otherwise wish me luck.. by the way the guy who started this post. it looks like his exhaust is even. maybe you got a bad kit, I think it looks good if everything is nice and even but if its slighty out of shape then it looks terrible.

[M4T5]

They may not be too good, but if you look at the photos "odie" posted a few posts above you will see that the left side is twisted counter clockwise and is higher than the right side. That's pretty much how mine look. I'm just not impressed with that outcome.Look at the photo closely and you will see what I'm talking about.Now, when your looking at in person, it looks worse because you will also see that the tips are canted inwards as well......I will be looking for another exhaust shop, but I really don't know where else to take it.....

J

[nitteo]

Ill take pics of mine...they are pretty even. I am happy with mine.

[ken in az]

They may not be too good, but if you look at the photos "odie" posted a few posts above you will see that the left side is twisted counter clockwise and is higher than the right side. That's pretty much how mine look. I'm just not impressed with that outcome.Look at the photo closely and you will see what I'm talking about.Now, when your looking at in person, it looks worse because you will also see that the tips are canted inwards as well......I will be looking for another exhaust shop, but I really don't know where else to take it.....

J

They could probably fix it but it would most likely look like a frankenstein exhaust system. All those shiny parts would get scratches and cut up with non shiny peices welded to them.

One reason I never have paid for a shiney exhaust - it will never look shiny again after you install it from all the road crap stuff that gets kicked up. If you want it done right - do it yourself, just make sure you do it right. lol

[M4T5]

I did install it myself. The damn kit is just not made that good! I installed it correctly and adjusted it the most I could possibly could to get it straight........This is just bull****! I'm mad at this and it really bothers me.

J

[striz923]

Jumping in at the end of this post, read the beginning and the last page. Do you guys think this Ebay person is selling bogus exhausts? It seems like if some are getting good ones, and a few of you guys who got the ones off Ebay are having problems that could be a possibility.?. Just thought I would give an observers opinion.

Is there a way to see if this guy is a reseller from the actual company, or if he is making "similar" ones and selling them as genuine?

[M4T5]

Everyone here purchased them off of ebay from the same guy. He is Vice President of sales for Element114.We all have the same issues that are related to the fitment. At least those of us that have issues with it.I've spoken to the seller three times already.I'm just not too happy with it right now. Some of us received better fitting kits than others.

J

[imsello]

Just got back from picking my car up. and I guess I either have the best fitting kit of all or the best mechanic of them all but it is 100% even. I wish I knew how to put photos on here but i dont.. well still prefer the quad pipe look and still have the megan racing kit on order. But i really like the sound of the exhaust. oh by the way I dont see us saving any gas with this exhaust cuz I find myself constantly revving the engine to hear the exhaust growl...I also feel maybe maybe very slight power gains but nothing like u guys say, like wow its a rocket ship now.

[M4T5]

That sucks! For me...not you!I'm just going to take it to a confident custom muffler shop to have the pipes bent some and the tips cut off. Then I will have quad tips install...if this is doable. This really bothers me about the fit and finish. Glad it worked out for some of you guys.

J

[imsello]

I actually am thinking I lost power with this setup anybody else feel the same.

[Bob24]

I personally don't think I lost any power, but I do not find the M45 to be that fast of a car. It certainly lacks the snap of the G35.

My old BMW had 173 horsepower and the M is not noticeably faster in the low end and passing gear ranges than it was. Sure it was a lighter car, but still. My other car is an Altima with a four banger and I feel it could hold it's own versus the M.

I am sure the M would blow both cars away if you raced from 90 to 130 mph, but in the ranges that most people actually need/use the power, the M is lackluster IMO.