Stillen Exhaust Installed With One Issue

[2brian0]

So, I installed my exhaust today. It went on really smooth for doing it by myself with two jackstands (definitely would have helped to have an extra set of hands and a lift). It sounds great to me. After reading some of the reviews, I thought it was going to be super loud but I love it. Don't get me wrong, it's got some volume to it but its not overwhelming and the tone is nice and deep. Can't wait to hear what it sounds like in 500 miles or so when it settles in.

So here is my problem. My tips are not even close to being even out the back. The passenger side sicks out considerably further than the driver side. Here are some pics so you can see what I'm talking about.


Modified by 2brian0 at 5:07 PM 1/26/2008

[johnny_d]

go back and make sure all the tubes are pushed in together as far as you can, definitely easier w/ an extra set of hands and jack stands

[dangeris]

I just installed my exhaust too yesterday and after reading this post, I had to run out and see of it stuck out the same distance....and YES it does!

go back and make sure all the tubes are pushed in together as far as you can, definitely easier w/ an extra set of hands and jack stands

[2brian0]

Thanks for the tip but I'm 100% sure the pipes are pushed together all the way. I went extremely slow on the install and was meticulous about getting everything pushed together real tight. After your suggestion, I went back out and loosened the entire rear section to double checked everything. NO LUCK! After staring at it and trying to adjust it, it appears there is too much bend on the drivers side of the "y" pipe that connects the muffler section to the main exhaust. There is a notch in the rear bumper toward the outer edge of both sides. On the passenger side, the muffler sits right in that notch. On the drivers side, the outside edge of the muffler is outside and set back from the notch. Might just take it to an exhaust shop to see if they can take some of the bend out. Was thinking about going to one anyway to get it all welded up and get rid of all the clamps.

That is unless Stillen can think of a better option. I really don't want to mess with ripping this thing off my car and sending it back for a replacement. That would be a major pain in the a$$. It's not as if this thing is just a small part like an intake or something...

[SHIFT_COUPE]

Mine is doing the same thing, except its on the driver side not the passenger.

[BigDan727]

The exhaust shop will be able to fix that no problem. Prolly wont even cost u much

[cuzzbubba420]

My cat-back for the 2.5 s also is having the same problem. The left tip sticks out further than the right and I've had not luck trying to even them out.

[2brian0]

Well, sounds like this is a bigger problem then just my car...Makes me wonder what Stillen will be willing to do about the problem. Lets hope they do something rather than just say that we are all s.o.l. Have any of you who are having this problem contacted Stillen? I'm waiting for my reply...

[rjdmmfl1]

Well, sounds like this is a bigger problem then just my car...Makes me wonder what Stillen will be willing to do about the problem. Lets hope they do something rather than just say that we are all s.o.l. Have any of you who are having this problem contacted Stillen? I'm waiting for my reply...

brian, be sure to go back to the 1st picture and erase your license plate number. one can easily get your address with only your license plate number, and we've all seen what can happen when jealous haters get ahold of your vehicle! just a suggestion!

[2brian0]

damn, thanks. didn't even catch that. fixed...
Modified by 2brian0 at 5:10 PM 1/26/2008

[johnny_d]

i didn't notice it on mine, g2g check it out then, doh

[BlackNWhite]

damn, thanks. didn't even catch that. fixed...

Modified by 2brian0 at 5:10 PM 1/26/2008

No you didn't... I can still see it.

[shift_mikey]

Just a suggestion, but there it the piece of pipe that has like a "z" shape to it. Loosen the clamps on both sides of it, the flange bolts for the Y pipe, and the clamps for the mufflers. Experiment by twisting that "z" tube one way or another, that should change the angle of the flange where the Y pipe goes, and it may change the positioning of both mufflers

Just my .02 anyway

[2brian0]

That is definitely a good idea but I don't think I'm going to mess with mine anymore now that it is apparent that this isn't an isolated issue. I'm just going to wait to hear back from Stillen on Monday. I'd probably play with it more if I could just crawl under and do some tweaking but that is not the case. Anything is possible but I can't imagine so many people have their's installed wrong or slightly off.

[johnny_d]

hey Brian, while filling up the gas, I stood in the middle of the car and did not notice either one was sticking out longer than the other. However, one of them is like 1/4 inch closer to the bumper than the other. I might take a pix tomorrow for you to see. It's raining outside

[shift_mikey]

Well, with so many people doing their own install, and the majority of us using floor jacks and jack stands, its very easy to miss-align something while laying on your back, with your hands over your head.

My tips are decently aligned, but i noticed that from the back it looks like the left side muffler is leaning to one side. I'm going to take my own advice and loosen up from the flange back and see if i can get it a little straighter
Modified by shift_mikey at 12:22 PM 1/27/2008

[cuzzbubba420]

Well, I had mine installed at a very good import shop in my area and when i called him back he said he tried to adjust them but no matter what he did it still came out a bit un-even at the rear end.

[2brian0]

My tips are decently aligned, but i noticed that from the back it looks like the left side muffler is leaning to one side. I'm going to take my own advice and loosen up from the flange back and see if i can get it a little straighter

Modified by shift_mikey at 12:22 PM 1/27/2008

Let us know how things go for you. I'm just tired of messing with mine and not getting any results. I really think at this point it's a manufacture issue. I'm going to start a poll to see who on here has aligned tips or misaligned tips.

[bravey_z12]

just curious thoughhave that same problem with axle back or just the cat-back ?peace.

[2brian0]

Well, finally broke down and took my car to a custom exhaust shop. A few minor cuts here and there and some major tweaking and they were finally able to get it straight. Also had them weld up the entire thing to get rid of those ugly clamps. Everything said and done, it only cost me $50.00 out the door. Well worth the money and now it's dead on straight...

[SamC.altimacoupeneedshelp]

Hey brian you have the nicest altima coupe i have ever seen, and i just got mine, and have been searching for things to do to it, i love the blacked out nissan symbol, could u tell me where you got that, and also the black out portion of the head lights, along with the site for the blacked out tail lights, i really love what you did to it and i aspire for mine to look something like yours. Any help would be well aprecciated, Thanks

[2brian0]

Thanks for the compliments. I'm going to send you an e-mail to answer your questions and anything future so we don't get this thread off topic.

[kyle@stillen]

Good news guys!

Our car came back from the body shop yesterday and the exhaust was definitely not straight. I will try to put together a CAD drawing to illustrate exactly what I'm referring to but basically, it wasn't right.

So we gave it to our engineers and said, something isn't right, let's see what it takes to fix it. They immediately put the car on the rack and went to work. Within 20 minutes the exhaust was perfectly straight and looked great. They said that it just wasn't properly aligned and needed some adjustments.

If anyone is having a problem with the tip alignment my suggestion would be to spend a little bit of time making some adjustments.


Modified by kyle@stillen at 5:57 PM 2/2/2008

[2brian0]

Well, I'm glad I wasn't nuts...

[SamC.altimacoupeneedshelp]

thanks alot i just had a couple more questions, if you could bare with me, I was wondering where you found the right bulbs for the car and how you installed them if you did. Also i was wondering where you got the rims from because those rims are meant for the coupe. My last question is how much did it cost to get the entire front grille painted along with the tail and headlight adjustments. Thanks for your help, Sam

[SHIFT_COUPE]

Sam please email him with your questions NOT pertaining to the topic on hand. We try to keep the discussion going in the right direction here. Thank you!