Hi guys,

I've been here a while but have been mostly lurking and absorbing. I just finished installing my new cat-back and I'm pretty stoked to start up and enjoy the new sound. Why haven't I already? Heh, well I wanted to be sure I didn't have any leaks, so I used some high-temp RTV around the clamped joints to fill the small gaps. I'm sure it'll be worth the wait. 8am tomorrow I'll be waking the neighborhood! (Not really, around here all the lawns are mowed by that time!).

I haven't seen any how-to guides specific to the Stillen, so I was considering writing one if there's interest. I've got plenty of pictures and as a total noob to exhaust work I've even documented my dumb mistakes so other beginners can benefit.

In closing, I'd just like to say: Crap! I'll have to pull it down when I get my sway bars!

 

Congrats, is it for a sedan or coupe? RTV'ing near the clamps, very cautious! If it is a sedan, the sound will change over the next 300-400 miles. It starts off loud and get's quieter/more refined.

 

I'd say the high temp RTV is a good trick because I have seen minute exhaust leaks from those clamped joints.

Clint (THX723)

 

Sorry forgot to mention it's a 2004 AT sedan. The tubes in the area of the clamp joints were pretty badly out of round when I received the exhaust. I actually had to hammer one of them back to a better shape just to get the resonators to fit on the X-pipe. I had up to about 1/16" gap in the worst spots after the installation was done.

I've also decided that the flanges between muffler and resonators aren't lined up well enough for my liking. Both are about 1/8" from being centered but it was the best I could do at the time. I'm going to get a c-clamp as soon as Lowes or Home Depot open and see if I can get them into better alignment.

 

wow that is sweet.
could you post a clip with the sound?

i got a 5at sedan as well, and would like to hear how it sounds before purchasing.

thanks in advance!

Jimmy

 

Pm me you email and I'll send a sound clip.

 

I'll try to get some sound clips when I'm done breaking it in. It definitely starts out very loud. When I started it upthe first time the tips were about 18 inches from the back of my garage and it was pretty obnoxious. After a 40 mile shakedown cruise it was much quieter. It has a bit of a drone under acceleration that is slowly diminishing. My plan is to put 300-400 miles on it by next week (when the wife gets back in town, coincidentally).

It has a beautifiul race-car roar at 3500+

 

Wow! I'm ready to install the Stillen on my 2004 Sedan, and would love to see your pics., and notes (what to do, what not do to, etc.). A brief writeup would be greatly appreciated. One big question: Were you able to do the install just using jack-stands (able to get the car off the ground enough)? I'm assuming you did since it sounds like you did the work in your own garage. Were there any special tools you wished you had that would have made the job easier?

2004.5 G35 Sedan | Garnet Fire + Willow | 6MT | Z-Tube

 

Ok I'll write something up within the next couple of days. My pics didn't turn out as good as I hoped, but might still be helpful.

I got the car up by driving the front onto ramps, then lifting the back onto jack stands with a large SUV floor jack that had something like 21" of lift. With the jack stands under the frame (no weight on rear suspension) the rear wheels were 6" off the ground. That much lift would have been hard to get without the SUV-sized jack. I also used a smaller floor jack to lift and support parts while I worked them into position.