Exhaust cracking

[rx8ball]

Hey, I'm having issues with my Mazdaspeed exhaust (not sure which PN). The welds after mid-pipe keep cracking. Every weld. I'm assuming it has something to do with the exhaust heating then cooling, my buddy said this used to happen to him on his boosted civ, so he ran a turbo timer set at 5min and it corrected the problem, but the last thing I want to do is keep my car running for 5min longer than it has to (13mpg lol). So if anyone has any ideas please let me know! Thanks My car is N/A, but has full mazdaspeed exhaust (midpipe back), some sort of engine management, mazdaspeed intake and PCM upgrade (?) if that helps

 

[solidtrance]

Not sure what Mazdaspeed engine mgmt and PCM update you are refering to. I have never heard of any such thing. Mazdaspeed does make two exhaust (cat back) options. They make a single and double can exhaust.

What have you done to try to fix this problem (re-weld?). Turbo timer sounds like an imperfect solution.

How long have you had the vehicle? Where did you get it? Who told you about the PCM upgrade and engine mgmt?

Read the links in my sig. They will teach you a bunch about your car.

 

[chiefmg]

IIRC there was a known problem with the first Mazdaspeed exhaust with the welds cracking. Can't recall if that was the dual or single muffler type. You might be able to find someone who knows what they are doing to heat treat the metal before/after welding and see if that takes care of it (I would say at the least they should heat the assembly, do the welding then cool it gradually). Trance is right, a turbo timer isn't going to help you with this problem.

 

[rx8ball]

Ok, just relaying what my buddy said, I dont have much experience with boosted vehicles. The exhaust is a dual muffler btw. Yes I have tried re-welding it (I am a welder for an aerospace company) and I'm not sure about the engine mgmt and PCM upgrade, I bought the car less than a month ago from a "non-mazda" source and thats just the stuff guy outlined for me. Now as far as I know, there seems to be two stand alone units under the hood on the fire wall, not sure if they are related but they definitely are not stock. Forgive my rotary ignorance, but its a hell of a jump from a cavalier

 

[solidtrance]

Post pics of the exhaust and the engine mgmt. If they are plug and play units I would recomend getting them out of there asap. There are not any good aftermarket Stand back options for the 8. The stock ecu is very good and when paired with a Cobb AP it can provide a very good tune.

Does your car have a turbo?

 

[rx8ball]

No, I mentioned before that the car was N/A. I'm really just trying to solve the exhaust problem, and I didn't know if it was a common issue or not

 

[chiefmg]

I can't remember if the dual muffler version is the first or second Mazdaspeed type. Like Trance said, if you can post pictures of the boxes in your engine compartment we can help you figure out what they are and if they are doing any good. Unfortunately too many people add stuff to their cars without the knowledge of what actually works.

And no worries with rotary ignorance. We were all there at some point, that is the raison d'etre for forums. Well, for some people anyway!

 

[rx8ball]

Ok thanks alot guys, I'll try my best to get some pics up soon!

 

[paulderek]

I am having the same issue