Mingofish Atlanta RCF build
08-12-17, 04:37 AM
#211
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
It's not as loud as with valves open. Guess the crack is small so not as much noise comes through. Actually sounds different, more raspy.
Think I'll go get some duct tape...hahaha
08-12-17, 12:21 PM
#212
Ming,
Tried calling you. GTHAUS is going to fix the issue.
-Josh
Tried calling you. GTHAUS is going to fix the issue.
-Josh
__________________
Your #1 Dealer for Aftermarket Performance Products
Orange County, CA
Email: info@merakiautoworks.com
Text/Call: 213 394 2886
Website: www.MerakiAutoworks.com
Your #1 Dealer for Aftermarket Performance Products
Orange County, CA
Email: info@merakiautoworks.com
Text/Call: 213 394 2886
Website: www.MerakiAutoworks.com
08-13-17, 09:22 PM
#213
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
How awesome is that!!!! You da man Josh.
I just watched an episode of Car Fix where they made a custom Ti exhaust for a 1400hp Supra.
They were talking about "backing" the weld with argon. That means the front & the back of the weld area has to be surrounded by argon gas during the welding process.
Not sure anyone in Atl is set up to deal with that...
Hope GT Haus comes through with a swap that doesn't entail waiting 6 months...
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Meraki Autoworks (08-14-17)
08-14-17, 03:44 AM
#214
Topspeed has a custom fabricator that makes Ti exhausts. I bet they could fix it for Gthaus rather than remove the exhaust from the car. Not sure if that would be an option, but just letting you know. Can't wait to hear it next week, so get that thing fixed ! Haha
08-14-17, 07:26 PM
#215
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Thanks Edson,
I was gonna call them anyway. Didn't know they had a Ti guy though. Thanks for the heads up.
Josh told me today that GT haus wants me to ship the exhaust back in order for them to repair it.
There's no way I'm doing that. Packing that up and shipping to Chicago; then for them to ship it somewhere else (likey Korea??) to get it repaired and then come back would take forever.
Plus shipping cost would be horrendous, not to mention months of down time.
I called Top speed & spoke to Cicio. He told me around $200 if I brought him the muffler. $500 if they got to dismount and reinstall. Prices are a bit high but I don't guess I have a choice.
This way my car is only down a week or so.
Got track day Wednesday so guessin this Thursday I can take muffler off but then you won't get to see it following Monday... Will see. Got an important track day on 9/1 so I definitely need the exhaust fixed by then.
I was gonna call them anyway. Didn't know they had a Ti guy though. Thanks for the heads up.
Josh told me today that GT haus wants me to ship the exhaust back in order for them to repair it.
There's no way I'm doing that. Packing that up and shipping to Chicago; then for them to ship it somewhere else (likey Korea??) to get it repaired and then come back would take forever.
Plus shipping cost would be horrendous, not to mention months of down time.
I called Top speed & spoke to Cicio. He told me around $200 if I brought him the muffler. $500 if they got to dismount and reinstall. Prices are a bit high but I don't guess I have a choice.
This way my car is only down a week or so.
Got track day Wednesday so guessin this Thursday I can take muffler off but then you won't get to see it following Monday... Will see. Got an important track day on 9/1 so I definitely need the exhaust fixed by then.
08-16-17, 04:23 AM
#216
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Heading to AMP today to work out the F.
Gonna test out the Tom's chassis braces. Hope it's noticeable.
Was on the SCCA website poking around last night. Found this pic from the last session 😬
Gonna test out the Tom's chassis braces. Hope it's noticeable.
Was on the SCCA website poking around last night. Found this pic from the last session 😬
08-23-17, 05:13 AM
#217
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
I had a track day with the Tom's stiffening braces installed as well as the Blitz front strut tower bar.
My impressions from the 4 short sessions that day were positive for sure.
The car noticeably feels "stiffer", especially in long sweeper like chacains & larger esses.
It's hard to describe but before the bars, I can almost feel the car "flex" so when the rear end wants to drift, there's a "lag time" (for lack of a better description ) between my steering/throttle correction vs the car responding.
Now with the bars installed, that lag time is shorter and car is more responsive to those corrections. Overall it's just a better, more crisp chassis that gives more feed back.
Is it a dramatic difference? No.
But for guys that are road track junkies, it's definitely worth the investment.
For street guys, don't bother.
My front control arms will be here in another few weeks. Can't wait to see how car drives when I can get 3 degrees on the front!
Also ordered the resonated mid pipe from ARH to replace the non-resonated meisterschaft one. Now may be I won't get black flagged for noise...
My impressions from the 4 short sessions that day were positive for sure.
The car noticeably feels "stiffer", especially in long sweeper like chacains & larger esses.
It's hard to describe but before the bars, I can almost feel the car "flex" so when the rear end wants to drift, there's a "lag time" (for lack of a better description ) between my steering/throttle correction vs the car responding.
Now with the bars installed, that lag time is shorter and car is more responsive to those corrections. Overall it's just a better, more crisp chassis that gives more feed back.
Is it a dramatic difference? No.
But for guys that are road track junkies, it's definitely worth the investment.
For street guys, don't bother.
My front control arms will be here in another few weeks. Can't wait to see how car drives when I can get 3 degrees on the front!
Also ordered the resonated mid pipe from ARH to replace the non-resonated meisterschaft one. Now may be I won't get black flagged for noise...
Last edited by Mingofish; 08-23-17 at 05:18 AM.
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ModInJapan (08-23-17)
08-23-17, 03:31 PM
#218
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Poor ol' rcf on the injured reserve list...
Meisterschaft going to Top Speed tomorrow to get the Ti crack repaired.
So much for GT Haus fixing it.
They wanted me to pack up & send back to them. Right...
Took me 4 months to get exhaust when I paid them in full. No telling how long that will take when it's a free warranty issue.
Meisterschaft going to Top Speed tomorrow to get the Ti crack repaired.
So much for GT Haus fixing it.
They wanted me to pack up & send back to them. Right...
Took me 4 months to get exhaust when I paid them in full. No telling how long that will take when it's a free warranty issue.
08-27-17, 09:30 AM
#219
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Reinstalled muffler yesterday. No drama. Sweet.
The repair weld isn't so pretty but I guess it gets the job done.
The repair weld isn't so pretty but I guess it gets the job done.
08-27-17, 10:21 AM
#220
This is DISCONCERNING...
Thank you for the FEEDBACK...
Thank you for the FEEDBACK...
Well...was suppose to be a good day installing goodies & but found some not so good news.
The Tom's braces install was cake. Will give driving feed back next week.
2 pics are the front brace & center brace. Forgot to take pic of the 3 rear braces.
Changed the tranny fluid, differential gear oil & the tvd diff's fluids.
Tranny fluid was sorta "used" looking. Not bright red like new but had a tinge of brown color. Didn't noticed much solid debris. It was time though. Glad to get all the break-in stuff out. Put back Toyota WS atf.
The main diff's gear oil was terrible. It had so much debris in it, a solid chunk of sludge came out attached to the drain plug. No good. I'll be changing that gear oil again real soon to flush out more of that sledge. Put in Redline 75W85.
The TVD fluid looked brand new when it came out. Didn't see any metal flakes. It got refilled with WS atf also.
while I was under the car, found a cracked weld in my meisterschaft Ti exhaust. Yeah...not happy.
Was wondering what's up since I noticed my exhaust note changed a bit recently.
Thats the trade off having super stiff Ti. It doesn't give and cracks easy. Will have to find someone who can weld Ti.
Also tried a 285/30 tire on my advan +35 rims to check clearance. No go. Scrubs the fender liners at full lock. Gotta stick with 275 at my current ride height of 26".
The Tom's braces install was cake. Will give driving feed back next week.
2 pics are the front brace & center brace. Forgot to take pic of the 3 rear braces.
Changed the tranny fluid, differential gear oil & the tvd diff's fluids.
Tranny fluid was sorta "used" looking. Not bright red like new but had a tinge of brown color. Didn't noticed much solid debris. It was time though. Glad to get all the break-in stuff out. Put back Toyota WS atf.
The main diff's gear oil was terrible. It had so much debris in it, a solid chunk of sludge came out attached to the drain plug. No good. I'll be changing that gear oil again real soon to flush out more of that sledge. Put in Redline 75W85.
The TVD fluid looked brand new when it came out. Didn't see any metal flakes. It got refilled with WS atf also.
while I was under the car, found a cracked weld in my meisterschaft Ti exhaust. Yeah...not happy.
Was wondering what's up since I noticed my exhaust note changed a bit recently.
Thats the trade off having super stiff Ti. It doesn't give and cracks easy. Will have to find someone who can weld Ti.
Also tried a 285/30 tire on my advan +35 rims to check clearance. No go. Scrubs the fender liners at full lock. Gotta stick with 275 at my current ride height of 26".
09-07-17, 06:30 PM
#221
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Howdy folks, just an update on my exhaust.
Many of yall know I've been having issues with excessive noise and getting flagged on track.
My solution was to get a different mid pipe that has resonators to lower the sound level.
My original mid pipe was a meister musa.
The new one is from ARH.
Here's my feed back on ARH.
First, the customer service was good. Phone calls were returned promptly and delivery of goods was fast (5 days).
Upon arrival, everything looked fine, although initial thoughts were the quality of workmanship was a bit lower than I had hoped.
The pipes were raw stainless (not polished) which I expected from their photos.
The connection between flanges & pipes were rough looking on the inside. Looks like welds were ground down with a de-burring tool but nothing else done beyond that. I expected a better "ported" type finish.
Upon installation, I realized they sent wrong size clamps for the rear section. They sent 4x 3" clamps but pipes reduce from 3" to 2.5" in the rear. I had to reuse the Meister clamps or I would have been stuck.
Also, they sent 4x bolts for the rear flanges between mid pipe and axle back. Those bolts were too short due to the way they terminate the pipe ends into a "bulb" like tapered shape which becomes the gasket seal. The oem pipes used an aluminum cone shaped gasket that sits in a grove-much better imo.
After bolting everything up, we realized the mid pipe rubs the chassis in 3 spots.
One we fixed by moving the car's center chassis brace just a fudge.
The 2nd spot we just pounded the heat shield as far up against the body as possible and it gave 1/16" clearance.
The third spot still rubs currently, making a grunting sound when I turn left. No good...
Looking into getting a slightly longer rubber hanger thingy to drop the rear section slightly. Hopefully that will give the room needed so it doesn't rub.
If...If I cannot get the AHR mid pipe to stop rubbing, I'm probably going to cut the resonators out of it and have them welded onto the Musa mid pipe. Will see...
Fwiw, the exhaust volume is way suppressed, which was my objective w/o giving up much hp vs the old meister one.
Now I can drive with the valves closed and sound like oem or open valves for a lil fun!
Before, I couldn't even open the valves. It was too loud with valves closed.
I think the hp is slightly less on top end vs the meister but on street driving, it's not noticeable at all.
But the sound! Car sounds like an F1 car now. It is not nearly as throaty but the higher note makes it sound way more exotic, not like typical American v8 deep rumble.
Will try to get a sound clip sometime soon.
Feel like I got such a strange mix of exhaust parts...
PPE header
AHR mid pipe
Musa Ti axle back
Many of yall know I've been having issues with excessive noise and getting flagged on track.
My solution was to get a different mid pipe that has resonators to lower the sound level.
My original mid pipe was a meister musa.
The new one is from ARH.
Here's my feed back on ARH.
First, the customer service was good. Phone calls were returned promptly and delivery of goods was fast (5 days).
Upon arrival, everything looked fine, although initial thoughts were the quality of workmanship was a bit lower than I had hoped.
The pipes were raw stainless (not polished) which I expected from their photos.
The connection between flanges & pipes were rough looking on the inside. Looks like welds were ground down with a de-burring tool but nothing else done beyond that. I expected a better "ported" type finish.
Upon installation, I realized they sent wrong size clamps for the rear section. They sent 4x 3" clamps but pipes reduce from 3" to 2.5" in the rear. I had to reuse the Meister clamps or I would have been stuck.
Also, they sent 4x bolts for the rear flanges between mid pipe and axle back. Those bolts were too short due to the way they terminate the pipe ends into a "bulb" like tapered shape which becomes the gasket seal. The oem pipes used an aluminum cone shaped gasket that sits in a grove-much better imo.
After bolting everything up, we realized the mid pipe rubs the chassis in 3 spots.
One we fixed by moving the car's center chassis brace just a fudge.
The 2nd spot we just pounded the heat shield as far up against the body as possible and it gave 1/16" clearance.
The third spot still rubs currently, making a grunting sound when I turn left. No good...
Looking into getting a slightly longer rubber hanger thingy to drop the rear section slightly. Hopefully that will give the room needed so it doesn't rub.
If...If I cannot get the AHR mid pipe to stop rubbing, I'm probably going to cut the resonators out of it and have them welded onto the Musa mid pipe. Will see...
Fwiw, the exhaust volume is way suppressed, which was my objective w/o giving up much hp vs the old meister one.
Now I can drive with the valves closed and sound like oem or open valves for a lil fun!
Before, I couldn't even open the valves. It was too loud with valves closed.
I think the hp is slightly less on top end vs the meister but on street driving, it's not noticeable at all.
But the sound! Car sounds like an F1 car now. It is not nearly as throaty but the higher note makes it sound way more exotic, not like typical American v8 deep rumble.
Will try to get a sound clip sometime soon.
Feel like I got such a strange mix of exhaust parts...
PPE header
AHR mid pipe
Musa Ti axle back
Last edited by Mingofish; 09-07-17 at 06:35 PM.
09-08-17, 08:48 AM
#222
Howdy folks, just an update on my exhaust.
Many of yall know I've been having issues with excessive noise and getting flagged on track.
My solution was to get a different mid pipe that has resonators to lower the sound level.
My original mid pipe was a meister musa.
The new one is from ARH.
Here's my feed back on ARH.
First, the customer service was good. Phone calls were returned promptly and delivery of goods was fast (5 days).
Upon arrival, everything looked fine, although initial thoughts were the quality of workmanship was a bit lower than I had hoped.
The pipes were raw stainless (not polished) which I expected from their photos.
The connection between flanges & pipes were rough looking on the inside. Looks like welds were ground down with a de-burring tool but nothing else done beyond that. I expected a better "ported" type finish.
Upon installation, I realized they sent wrong size clamps for the rear section. They sent 4x 3" clamps but pipes reduce from 3" to 2.5" in the rear. I had to reuse the Meister clamps or I would have been stuck.
Also, they sent 4x bolts for the rear flanges between mid pipe and axle back. Those bolts were too short due to the way they terminate the pipe ends into a "bulb" like tapered shape which becomes the gasket seal. The oem pipes used an aluminum cone shaped gasket that sits in a grove-much better imo.
After bolting everything up, we realized the mid pipe rubs the chassis in 3 spots.
One we fixed by moving the car's center chassis brace just a fudge.
The 2nd spot we just pounded the heat shield as far up against the body as possible and it gave 1/16" clearance.
The third spot still rubs currently, making a grunting sound when I turn left. No good...
Looking into getting a slightly longer rubber hanger thingy to drop the rear section slightly. Hopefully that will give the room needed so it doesn't rub.
If...If I cannot get the AHR mid pipe to stop rubbing, I'm probably going to cut the resonators out of it and have them welded onto the Musa mid pipe. Will see...
Fwiw, the exhaust volume is way suppressed, which was my objective w/o giving up much hp vs the old meister one.
Now I can drive with the valves closed and sound like oem or open valves for a lil fun!
Before, I couldn't even open the valves. It was too loud with valves closed.
I think the hp is slightly less on top end vs the meister but on street driving, it's not noticeable at all.
But the sound! Car sounds like an F1 car now. It is not nearly as throaty but the higher note makes it sound way more exotic, not like typical American v8 deep rumble.
Will try to get a sound clip sometime soon.
Feel like I got such a strange mix of exhaust parts...
PPE header
AHR mid pipe
Musa Ti axle back
Many of yall know I've been having issues with excessive noise and getting flagged on track.
My solution was to get a different mid pipe that has resonators to lower the sound level.
My original mid pipe was a meister musa.
The new one is from ARH.
Here's my feed back on ARH.
First, the customer service was good. Phone calls were returned promptly and delivery of goods was fast (5 days).
Upon arrival, everything looked fine, although initial thoughts were the quality of workmanship was a bit lower than I had hoped.
The pipes were raw stainless (not polished) which I expected from their photos.
The connection between flanges & pipes were rough looking on the inside. Looks like welds were ground down with a de-burring tool but nothing else done beyond that. I expected a better "ported" type finish.
Upon installation, I realized they sent wrong size clamps for the rear section. They sent 4x 3" clamps but pipes reduce from 3" to 2.5" in the rear. I had to reuse the Meister clamps or I would have been stuck.
Also, they sent 4x bolts for the rear flanges between mid pipe and axle back. Those bolts were too short due to the way they terminate the pipe ends into a "bulb" like tapered shape which becomes the gasket seal. The oem pipes used an aluminum cone shaped gasket that sits in a grove-much better imo.
After bolting everything up, we realized the mid pipe rubs the chassis in 3 spots.
One we fixed by moving the car's center chassis brace just a fudge.
The 2nd spot we just pounded the heat shield as far up against the body as possible and it gave 1/16" clearance.
The third spot still rubs currently, making a grunting sound when I turn left. No good...
Looking into getting a slightly longer rubber hanger thingy to drop the rear section slightly. Hopefully that will give the room needed so it doesn't rub.
If...If I cannot get the AHR mid pipe to stop rubbing, I'm probably going to cut the resonators out of it and have them welded onto the Musa mid pipe. Will see...
Fwiw, the exhaust volume is way suppressed, which was my objective w/o giving up much hp vs the old meister one.
Now I can drive with the valves closed and sound like oem or open valves for a lil fun!
Before, I couldn't even open the valves. It was too loud with valves closed.
I think the hp is slightly less on top end vs the meister but on street driving, it's not noticeable at all.
But the sound! Car sounds like an F1 car now. It is not nearly as throaty but the higher note makes it sound way more exotic, not like typical American v8 deep rumble.
Will try to get a sound clip sometime soon.
Feel like I got such a strange mix of exhaust parts...
PPE header
AHR mid pipe
Musa Ti axle back
09-08-17, 04:57 PM
#223
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Hi Lou, thanks for the reminder!
The Mesti mid pipe is actually SS and not Ti so I'm good.
Only my axle back is Ti.
Pretty sure the local place that welded the crack can make Ti flanges so I could have them make the resonators essentially a bolt on part if I had a Ti mid pipe.
Any other resonated mid pipe out there you like that will bolt up (besides Apexi)?
The Mesti mid pipe is actually SS and not Ti so I'm good.
Only my axle back is Ti.
Pretty sure the local place that welded the crack can make Ti flanges so I could have them make the resonators essentially a bolt on part if I had a Ti mid pipe.
Any other resonated mid pipe out there you like that will bolt up (besides Apexi)?
09-11-17, 08:11 AM
#224
Hi Lou, thanks for the reminder!
The Mesti mid pipe is actually SS and not Ti so I'm good.
Only my axle back is Ti.
Pretty sure the local place that welded the crack can make Ti flanges so I could have them make the resonators essentially a bolt on part if I had a Ti mid pipe.
Any other resonated mid pipe out there you like that will bolt up (besides Apexi)?
The Mesti mid pipe is actually SS and not Ti so I'm good.
Only my axle back is Ti.
Pretty sure the local place that welded the crack can make Ti flanges so I could have them make the resonators essentially a bolt on part if I had a Ti mid pipe.
Any other resonated mid pipe out there you like that will bolt up (besides Apexi)?
