PolyFM_TC

Ok guys. Here is the deal. I really, really hate rasp! I like power!

I recently installed the Alphawerks header (Very nice btw) and y'all know that now I have rasp. I currently have a stock exhaust and can't really afford to drop more coin on a complete aftermarket setup at the moment.

I went to the local muffler shop and the guy pretty much told me there was NO WAY to get rid of the rasp, he said that adding any aftermarket exhaust is only going to magnify the rasp (duh!) and that switching an aftermarket resonator for the stock one would be pointless because the stock resonator is already pretty big. He said that he would not want to take my $70 and put on another resonator and leave me with the same problem. Has anybody had a good experience with adding an aftermarket resonator to a stock exhaust with a header?

Everything that came up on the search button (trust me i checked and checked) did not have any other solution other than people saying to "just add a resonator." Has anybody actually done this or are people just assuming this will help? Before I spend the money I would like to know.

Thanks for helping me out with any solutions you may have. But please, I am only looking for solutions that people have done and/or seen first hand, not just speculation.

For those that did find salvation in adding a resonator, what brand, model, and size did you use! Thanks

Scroll down for the actual problem and my shops solution!

2JZ

add hi flo cat...?

WeDriveScions

It's strange that you have such rasp..... My Megan has none with the stock exhaust.....

Having and additional resonator will only help the issue, I don't see why the guy didn't take the money from ya!

05-RS1

the rasp will go away eventually once you have some carb build up. it just takes a while.

PT

HKS will take care of the rasp

PolyFM_TC

The header already has a lot of carbon build up on it, I bought it off of a guy who was selling his tC. I just got back from another muffler shop and I think that they have discovered a problem with the design of the alphawerks header.

First I revved the engine while he stood behind the car. Then he made me pop the hood and rev the engine again. Of course he could hear the rasp but it was not coming from INSIDE the exhaust, but rather from the header itself. YES all of my connections are tight but what he did next completely blew me away.

He asked one of his techs to go and get him two big flathead screwdrivers. When the tech brought them back he asked me to start the car back up and rev it again. To my amazement, most of the rasp was GONE. I got out of my car and went around to the engine compartment where I saw that he had wedged the screwdrivers in between the header downpipes. He explained that the rasp I was hearing was being caused by the downpipes vibrating against each other and then being amplified in the exhaust pipe. He asked me who made the header and said that I should contact them immediately and explain the problem to them. This explains why a lot of people on here have an unusual amount of rasp with their AW header compared to other brands. He said that he could fix the vibrating by seam welding the pipes together where they almost touch, thus eliminating any way for them to vibrate against eachother. I am going to contact alphawerks about this on monday and see what they have to say about the issue. Even though I am not the original purchaser of the header, I am still a user of their product and I have an issue that others may have too.

So for all thoughs of you out there that have an AW header with rasp, I challenge you to do what he did and see the difference it made! I am not saying that ALL the rasp that I heard was due to this issue, but the unusual amount not heard by other brands of headers was caused by a faulty design! I just hope AW will be responsible and help us scion owners out by coming up with a solution, or maybe a redesign like megan!

davedavetC

iTrader: (4)

so let me get this straight. when he stuck the screw driver between the header and S-Pipe? is there a difference between the downpipe and spipe? i kinda noob when it comes to this stuff but im always up to learn more lol did he put anything between the 2 or just puting the screwdriver there fixed it? im confused lol

PolyFM_TC

No. He stuck a few screwdrivers in between the four stainless pipes that form the header. The four pipes come out of the head, converge and dive down to one collector and then connect to the s-pipe. He wedged the screw drivers where the pipes curve over eachother and where they run vertically downward towards the colector, thus eliminating the vibration between the header pipes and themselves. I am sorry if this is not clear but if you still dont understand I will take some pics tomorrow and post them.


Edit:


The red circles are where we he stuck the srew drivers to stop the vibrating.

DTRUONG_112

little rasp still though rite?

PolyFM_TC

Yes, It still has a little rasp, but then again I have not had the pipes welded together yet, we shall see what Alphawerks has to say on monday before I do that. I still imagine that there might be a little left, but nothing like what I have now.

Voltairecim

Post some vids of before and after.

reagulator

getting a peforated cone resonatore WILL reduce the rasp. get the long high quality one such as a 22 inch magnaflow magnapak. It fixed my rasp like a charm. Just by comparing the stock resonator and the aftermarket one you will notice that the magnapak is WAY heavier and beefier.

Tomas

Heheheheheh...

Isn't it nice to walk into a shop and have the guy actually know what he's doing, Jason?

Good luck on getting that all taken care of! Sounds like you are on your way. :D

Acsilva84

hi flow cat

davedavetC

iTrader: (4)

sorry man im still a little confused on this whole thing. did he stick the screwdriver at those spots and like pry the pipes away from eachother? sorry man if i sound really annoying.

Simplyscion

^^^^^yes...basically he is just prying the runners away from eachother and using the screwdriver to create a solid point where there would be no room for rattleing and would create less friction...Im thinkin about wrapping my alphawerks when I put the s/c on next week. I bet this would help the problem...I wouldnt go out and start trying to pry the runners apart with a screwdriver though to try and bend them for good. The welding idea may be good as long as its done cleanly.

hahaitzskippy

wow good find!!!

EnderSavesTheDay

ermm he's not prying the runners, merely deadening the sound. In this case he actually increased the friction to stop the rasp, but of course there's still a lot of violent shaking that's why there's still a bit of rasp.

I don't know if welding is such a good idea. He may end up ruining the header. I don't know much about cars and I'm no mechanic but I think it would be a better to dampen the spaces with like a piece of high resistance rubber or whatever. It would be way cheaper and way easier to fix and it would probably give your header a longer life. His weld could end up cracking after a long while and you'll have some more rasp (it would be a worse, sharper sound too I'll bet).

Simplyscion

I think you misunderstood me. I wasnt saying he was trying to bend the runners with the screwdriver, I was just trying to state that I hope that people dont think that he WAS trying to bend the runners. Im gonna try doing the header wrap method as I have some left over from when I did the turbo on the xB

PolyFM_TC

Given the small clearance between the runners I dont know if you are going to be able to wrap them all the way down which would be necessary to kill the vibration. I have also thought of wrapping the runners but again I didn't think that it would be too easy to do. Keep me posted.

hahaitzskippy:
I will take some before and after vids for ya, just give me a few days to contact Alphawerks.