Well I noticed immediately after adding a coupe midpipe/HKS rear section exhaust that I had many more noises and rattles in the car. I have a few questions on both routine noises (how to dampen them), and issues I have had since a minor accident:
1) what are some common rattle spots based on exhaust noise (no subs or anything else), and how should I attack them (dynamat, expanding foam, soft carpet foam,etc)?
2) I've noticed the exhaust noise is HORRIBLE before the car has warmed up. Any reason for this? Could this be more of an issue than I think it is (not much just a nuisance)?

Now the bigger issue. I bent back my heat shield a little after adding the midpipe. Had no issues mounting the HKS. BUT, one day I had to run over a small log that fell off a truck, and it hit a part of my exhaust. Later that week I hit a really steep driveway at an angle and slowly, but still heard a little scrape somewhere near the midpipe or rear exhaust. Since then I have noticed many new noises, including a deep creaking noise near the back of the car, and many more rattles.

Basically, what I want to do is hit all the routine rattles just to do it, and then also rebend the midpipe so it's not touching the heat sink at all. Is there any more permanent/solid way to fix the midpipe/heatsink issue? And what else should i check since the two minor accidents with the exhaust, other than mounts and holes and stuff?

Thanks for reading

 

1) just inspect the heatshield for contact with the middy. it must be touching. i get no rattles or metallic noises from my middy/HKS combo. i have scraped a few times on driveways etc, but no noises afterwards. have a look at all the mounts/brackets for cracks. the rubber hangers should isolate vibrations.

2) my exhaust is louder (but not horrible) until the car has warmed up. likely due to the high idle. i think it sounds great in my parking garage, so if yours sounds horrible, something must be wrong. any exhaust leaks/holes?

 

well mine is loud when it starts up and isn't warm, and that seems to magnify the rattles or loud sounds I get. Does this make sense?

Two other issues: I noticed that the little plastic shield was missing two bolts (probably from a previous install or something) and flaps a lot, which could be one of the noises. Also, I have all the trim from my trunk out from my spoiler install and some other things (so this could add some resonance or take away dampening).

I really feel like some interior trim is rattling too