Intake/Catback ordered
Went to Road Race to order an intake and catback exhaust and was pleasantly surprised to see a 15% off sale on the catback which basically knocked off 100 bucks. I'll post a before and after vid when they're installed, can't wait...
2011 Kizashi Sport SLS AWD Vivid Red
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Northernstar
- Posts: 590
- Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 9:49 am
- Location: Surrey Canada
keep us posted!
Can't wait to see the video when you're done. 
Road///Race Motorsports
13037 Lakeland Road.
Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
http://roadracemotorsports.com/store/
13037 Lakeland Road.
Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
http://roadracemotorsports.com/store/
If you do a step by step how to I will try to make it worth your time. (Not sure how just yet)
Sounds good.
Parts installed today and since I dont have access to a lift, I backed the rear of the car onto ramps, while in my driveway which has an incline and gave more room to work with. I was in the process of doing a how-to, but I had to abort.
I started the install with the catback since I thought it would take the longest. Removed the 2 rear mufflers after much twisting, turning, and moving to get each muffler in the right spot to remove, the rear sway bar interferes but I managed to get them out. Next step was removing the black brace direct aft of the mid-muffler, this had to be removed to drop the stock exhaust, and I later found this is what the catback rubs against once installed. I knew about the rubbing before ordering because a couple of other members had mentioned it. I spoke with RRM about this after I placed the order, their solution was to install their "time attack brace" to remedy the rubbing issue, to which they included at no extra charge.
Back to removal. Rear mufflers removed, mid-brace removed, after removing the nuts that hold the stock exhaust flange to the cat flange, I was able to remove the rest of the stock exhaust.
The issue that caused me to abort was that the stock bolts on the cat flange are actually welded to the flange on the head side so I was unable to use the larger bolts that are included with the catback because I dont have access to a welder or a torch. So I drove it, muffler-less which was very annoying, to an exhaust shop to have the bolts removed and finish the install. Once they were removed the mechanic found the holes in the cat flange were too small to fit the larger bolts, and the stock bolts could not be used due to the thicker flange on the RRM muffler section, which made them too short. Rather than have them drill the holes to a larger size, they used their own bolts with custom made washers to accommodate for the larger bolt holes in the RRM muffler section flange. The other issue was that there was no new gasket included for this flange, only two gaskets for the rear pipes to connect to the Y pipe. I also spoke with RRM about this the day I received everything and their response was that with the car being so new, I would be able to re-use the stock gasket at the cat flange, the problem with that was that a gasket does not exist, it uses a metal type crush O-ring which is only designed for a one-time use. Finally, catback installed with 2 new longer bolts with custom made washers and new gasket at the cat flange, cost was $107 so that negated the $100 I saved from the sale price of the catback. I had them re-install the stock mid-brace to see if the exhaust would have the rattling issue, and it does.
Back home I put it back on ramps to have a look and found the catback is indeed rubbing against the mid-brace, and the top outer most hanger on the rear drivers side pipe section was also rubbing against the metal port installed in our bumpers, but that can be fixed with a slight bend of the port. So I removed the mid-brace and installed their "time attack brace" http://roadracemotorsports.com/store/in ... cts_id=672 which they claim is stronger than the stock brace but it is nothing more than a square steel tube with pieces welded at the end to bolt to the car. The RRM brace did allow a slightly more amount of clearance that eliminates the rubbing, but when going over bumps the exhaust can still be heard hitting the brace.
Now on to the intake. Install was tricky because once the coupling is installed to the intake and throttlebody, the arm that mounts to the engine on the forward section of the intake did not line up to the hole on the engine. This required me to bend the mounting arm on the intake approximately 1/4 inch in order to line it up. I had previously installed the MAF into the intake before installing it, so once I had everything secure, I attempted to plug the harness into the MAF. It would not lock into place because the block mount for the MAF on the intake tube was too large and did not allow me to slide it on to full lock. I had to remove the MAF sensor, plug in the harness, and re-install the MAF sensor, but if I ever need to unplug the MAF for any reason, the MAF sensor will have to be removed to unlock the harness.
Needless to say, I am very disappointed. Parts like this, pre-made specifically for this car, should bolt right on with no issues. Especially when the total cost is 8-900 dollars. I will still have to do something about the catback hitting the mid-brace over bumps, but I am at least happy with the sound. I dont think it is too loud or too quiet. I attempted to call RRM, but I guess they are not open on Saturdays because there was no answer so I will have to talk to them Monday.
**UPDATE**
Bent the exhaust port where the hanger was rubbing against it, which corrected that issue. However I found that in addition to the exhaust hitting the mid-brace, the drivers rear section is also hitting the sway bar.
I started the install with the catback since I thought it would take the longest. Removed the 2 rear mufflers after much twisting, turning, and moving to get each muffler in the right spot to remove, the rear sway bar interferes but I managed to get them out. Next step was removing the black brace direct aft of the mid-muffler, this had to be removed to drop the stock exhaust, and I later found this is what the catback rubs against once installed. I knew about the rubbing before ordering because a couple of other members had mentioned it. I spoke with RRM about this after I placed the order, their solution was to install their "time attack brace" to remedy the rubbing issue, to which they included at no extra charge.
Back to removal. Rear mufflers removed, mid-brace removed, after removing the nuts that hold the stock exhaust flange to the cat flange, I was able to remove the rest of the stock exhaust.
The issue that caused me to abort was that the stock bolts on the cat flange are actually welded to the flange on the head side so I was unable to use the larger bolts that are included with the catback because I dont have access to a welder or a torch. So I drove it, muffler-less which was very annoying, to an exhaust shop to have the bolts removed and finish the install. Once they were removed the mechanic found the holes in the cat flange were too small to fit the larger bolts, and the stock bolts could not be used due to the thicker flange on the RRM muffler section, which made them too short. Rather than have them drill the holes to a larger size, they used their own bolts with custom made washers to accommodate for the larger bolt holes in the RRM muffler section flange. The other issue was that there was no new gasket included for this flange, only two gaskets for the rear pipes to connect to the Y pipe. I also spoke with RRM about this the day I received everything and their response was that with the car being so new, I would be able to re-use the stock gasket at the cat flange, the problem with that was that a gasket does not exist, it uses a metal type crush O-ring which is only designed for a one-time use. Finally, catback installed with 2 new longer bolts with custom made washers and new gasket at the cat flange, cost was $107 so that negated the $100 I saved from the sale price of the catback. I had them re-install the stock mid-brace to see if the exhaust would have the rattling issue, and it does.
Back home I put it back on ramps to have a look and found the catback is indeed rubbing against the mid-brace, and the top outer most hanger on the rear drivers side pipe section was also rubbing against the metal port installed in our bumpers, but that can be fixed with a slight bend of the port. So I removed the mid-brace and installed their "time attack brace" http://roadracemotorsports.com/store/in ... cts_id=672 which they claim is stronger than the stock brace but it is nothing more than a square steel tube with pieces welded at the end to bolt to the car. The RRM brace did allow a slightly more amount of clearance that eliminates the rubbing, but when going over bumps the exhaust can still be heard hitting the brace.
Now on to the intake. Install was tricky because once the coupling is installed to the intake and throttlebody, the arm that mounts to the engine on the forward section of the intake did not line up to the hole on the engine. This required me to bend the mounting arm on the intake approximately 1/4 inch in order to line it up. I had previously installed the MAF into the intake before installing it, so once I had everything secure, I attempted to plug the harness into the MAF. It would not lock into place because the block mount for the MAF on the intake tube was too large and did not allow me to slide it on to full lock. I had to remove the MAF sensor, plug in the harness, and re-install the MAF sensor, but if I ever need to unplug the MAF for any reason, the MAF sensor will have to be removed to unlock the harness.
Needless to say, I am very disappointed. Parts like this, pre-made specifically for this car, should bolt right on with no issues. Especially when the total cost is 8-900 dollars. I will still have to do something about the catback hitting the mid-brace over bumps, but I am at least happy with the sound. I dont think it is too loud or too quiet. I attempted to call RRM, but I guess they are not open on Saturdays because there was no answer so I will have to talk to them Monday.
**UPDATE**
Bent the exhaust port where the hanger was rubbing against it, which corrected that issue. However I found that in addition to the exhaust hitting the mid-brace, the drivers rear section is also hitting the sway bar.
2011 Kizashi Sport SLS AWD Vivid Red
I understand your dilemma. You make one change and it tends to dominoe into something else. I agree for the money spent it should be plug and play considering that it's supposedly customized for your car. Well, I wish you well, I'm sure it'll work out. Keep us posted.
Hi Rob,
Thanks heaps for providing your installation summary with the RRM parts. I was actually very close to ordering the same parts as well and your feedback was very useful. I can definately see why I've come across some negative feedback on RRM products while researching on the internet.
Think it'll be safer just to get some custom parts from my local area instead now (I'm based in Australia).
Cheers,
Thanks heaps for providing your installation summary with the RRM parts. I was actually very close to ordering the same parts as well and your feedback was very useful. I can definately see why I've come across some negative feedback on RRM products while researching on the internet.
Think it'll be safer just to get some custom parts from my local area instead now (I'm based in Australia).
Cheers,