Racing Beat exhaust - Install Prep

[mualan]

Thanks for the info! Yeah, the burning smell is already gone and now that I hear about the no-needing thread lock situation, I can rest easier. I'm glad that I didn't just give up and take it to a shop when that bolt stripped, because now I get the nice I installed-it-myself feeling. ^_- It was such a gratifying feeling when that final stubborn bolt broke loose.

Finally got some hard accelerating in this morning on the commute and wow, maybe I'm a simpleton, but those extra 5HP really make a difference!

 

[akacage]

I installed a Racing Beat Cat Back yesterday, decided to order the Kartboy Exhaust Hangers last night, since the muffler moves more than I would like. My problem is that I can't seem to get the exjaust tip lined up correctly. It is closer to the passenger side of the "cutout" and will actually end up rubbing against the paint after driving awhile. Is there a way to get the tip lined up a little bit better?

 

[garukun]

Congrats on your new exhaust. I was leaning towards a Magnaflow catback because I found a site (eraceparts.com) that sold them for $365. I really want an RB cuz it's the quitest but I couldn't find a good price till now. Thanks for the info. Besides, I don't want to be loud in a sport-matic. I prefer to make noise with my bike

 

[SlowPro98]

Congrats on the install, post up some pics!

By the by, I went to a fondue place in Casselberry on my honeymoon.

 

[ProtoType5]

The best tip to "lock down" the exhaust from drifting from side to side would be to put a couple metal pipe clamps on either side of the hangers...I even did this with my stock exhaust to line things up perfectly....It works wonders and is only like a couple bucks....Good luck...My RB exhaust is coming soon...After the MAM midpipe is intalled......

 

[Flash5]

Can you just pick up the gaskets at autozone or some place like that? Or do you have to go through the dealer?

 

[SlowPro98]

Can you just pick up the gaskets at autozone or some place like that? Or do you have to go through the dealer?

yeah, and if they don't have a mazda gasket, you can get a ford one. I did that then I put my axleback on, all I had to do was redrill one of the holes. it was off by a 1/6 inch.

 

[Kansei]

The best tip to "lock down" the exhaust from drifting from side to side would be to put a couple metal pipe clamps on either side of the hangers...I even did this with my stock exhaust to line things up perfectly....It works wonders and is only like a couple bucks....Good luck...My RB exhaust is coming soon...After the MAM midpipe is intalled......

also zipties... that's what I'm rocking. The big long and wider zipties though.

 

[garukun]

The best tip to "lock down" the exhaust from drifting from side to side would be to put a couple metal pipe clamps on either side of the hangers...I even did this with my stock exhaust to line things up perfectly....It works wonders and is only like a couple bucks....Good luck...My RB exhaust is coming soon...After the MAM midpipe is intalled......

Can you post pics of your setup?

Thanks,
gerald

 

[ProtoType5]

It's really simple.....

Visualize this

Steel Pipe clamp - Kartboy hanger - Steel Pipe clamp

You just put the clamps on either side of the Kartboy hangers on both the exhaust's steel rod and the car's...You can do both the top and bottom of each hanger and it will be rock solid....As stated zip-ties could replace the pipe clamps, but they are only a couple bucks for like 12 of them... If necessary a picture would happen tomorrow...Just let me know if you really want to see it....

 

[SlowPro98]

It's really simple.....

Visualize this

Steel Pipe clamp - Kartboy hanger - Steel Pipe clamp

You just put the clamps on either side of the Kartboy hangers on both the exhaust's steel rod and the car's...You can do both the top and bottom of each hanger and it will be rock solid....As stated zip-ties could replace the pipe clamps, but they are only a couple bucks for like 12 of them... If necessary a picture would happen tomorrow...Just let me know if you really want to see it....

Yes please

 

[akacage]

I installed the Kartboy hangers and it didn't help, so, since I live five minutes from Racing Beat I drove over and talked to the guys in sales. They had me drive a block down the street to the production area, where the shop foreman raised my car up and fixed the issue. I guess I had the connection for the axle-back to the s-pipe a little off. While I was waiting I was given a tour of their production facility, including a new rotary engine they are building, a 1000hp rotary engine, and their R&D Racing Beat RX-8. All in all the guys at Racing Beat are awesome, they didn't have to fix my issue, but they did.

 

[WetsuitxNinja]

If you are planning on doing it yourself, just take your time and use some penetrating oil on the bolts, they maybe be alittle rusted on there. I installed my exhausts myself but the only issue I had was that the exhaust hangers I had would allow the exhaust to sway too much and hit the exhaust cutout (megan catback w\ a rather large tip)

When you put the new one on go from the front of the car towards the back, seems to align better that way. Some mechanics gloves will save your knuckles as well...

as far as the hose clamps on the exhaust hangers, thats exactly what I did, I used a piece of wood to get the right space and then clamped it down. Worked pretty nicely. Plus the exhaust didnt move anymore when I stepped on the gas.

 

[worker_robot]

hey ProtoType5 - could you post pics of your metal clamp setup like you promised!

 

[worker_robot]

hey guys - i got my RB catback on a couple of weeks ago, and just wanted to what the "most common" problems are for the racing beat.

does it get louder as it "breaks in"? it feels like it's gotten louder and i'm nervous that something is loose...it's not TOO loud, but definitely louder than it was when first installed. my low gear power seems slightly off too - could it be a gasket thing?

 

[ottawaP5]

hey guys - i got my RB catback on a couple of weeks ago, and just wanted to what the "most common" problems are for the racing beat.

does it get louder as it "breaks in"? it feels like it's gotten louder and i'm nervous that something is loose...it's not TOO loud, but definitely louder than it was when first installed. my low gear power seems slightly off too - could it be a gasket thing?

It's most likely a gasket as I didn't lose any low end power at all. To be sure just change them. It does get slightly louder over time but it's hardly noticable.

 

[worker_robot]

is there any surefire indication that it could be a gasket? on that video that is linked up when people ask how a RB catback sounds, the guy who made it says he was missing a gasket so it has popping sounds...mine doesn't do that..

 

[mualan]

Gasket

I may have done something pretty stupid.

So my RB has been installed for a few months now and has been making a horrendous clicking noise whenever it gets warm. Inspection of the exhaust pipes right underneath the heat shield show some black residue at the connection point ... in other words, an exhaust leak.

Which means something's up with the gasket. I've tried tightening all the bolts and everything, but the leak's still there.

When I installed the RB cat-back, here's a poorly drawn pic of the RB provided part that I put into the connection point (under the heat shield)... what I thought was their gasket. The only thing was, I remember it barely covering the hole. It fit into the circular grove on the hole opening, but didn't sit flush with the edge... like it was a smaller gasket than it was supposed to be.

Did I mess up? Do I actually need the stock gasket? Is there another part that covers more of the hole area?

I'm going to disconnect the pipe tomorrow to check on things, and make any necessary Autozone runs with a friend. Any help would be appreciated!

-mualan

 

[ottawaP5]

I may have done something pretty stupid.

So my RB has been installed for a few months now and has been making a horrendous clicking noise whenever it gets warm. Inspection of the exhaust pipes right underneath the heat shield show some black residue at the connection point ... in other words, an exhaust leak.

Which means something's up with the gasket. I've tried tightening all the bolts and everything, but the leak's still there.

When I installed the RB cat-back, here's a poorly drawn pic of the RB provided part that I put into the connection point (under the heat shield)... what I thought was their gasket. The only thing was, I remember it barely covering the hole. It fit into the circular grove on the hole opening, but didn't sit flush with the edge... like it was a smaller gasket than it was supposed to be.

Did I mess up? Do I actually need the stock gasket? Is there another part that covers more of the hole area?

I'm going to disconnect the pipe tomorrow to check on things, and make any necessary Autozone runs with a friend. Any help would be appreciated!

-mualan

Just buy a new gasket and retighten the pipes. You may have put the gasket in incorrectly and when you tightened the pipes it may have crushed a part of the gasket.