I've noticed a weird sound when turning and accelerating aggressively, to the left to be more exact. Brought it to the shop, jacked it up and had a look. on the left driver side headers, you can see that the heat padding is kinda burnt from contact, while on the right, there is no padding and the gap is slightly less.

So I assume the sound is from the headers hitting the chassis from the whole engine shifting to the right due to the g-forces. What can I do about this, since there is no more room to shift everything to the left? I assume after racking miles up, it will cause scratches on the header, will that cause rusting?

Thanks,
J

 

after installing did the shop do a subframe alignment or adjustment?

 

Let's just assume no for now, and i'll ask them later. How much would it be? Researching it looks like just 4 bolts that gets loosened.

My other question is since the drivers side clearance is also so tight that the padding is melted, so wouldn't moving it to that direction just shift the problem from one side to the other? Or is it designed so that there is 'just enough' clearance once the gap between both side are equal?

I see myself bringing the f to the track in the future to see how well it does, so it'll be under much higher g forces then what it's seeing with spirited driving on the streets.

Thanks

 

^^ FYI..

It doesn't take that much force for the engine & trans to shift left & right..

It already happens on simple left & right turns... with normal street driving..

~ Joe Z

 

So that means I'm screwed cause the clearances don't have room to play with?

 

You don't need to turn to twist the engine in the mounts. Just step on the gas. Remember our buddy Newton? Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So when you step on the gas, the engine winds up on the mounts as it supplies torque to the drivetrain. Not much you can do about that short of different engine mounts.

 

So that's probably why I sometimes get it during sport+m mode redline shifts too.

Is it worthwhile to try making the clearance left and right equal, and risk having the contact turning left AND right?

 

Equal is not your best bet. The engine rotates toward the passenger's side under acceleration, so get some clearance left, and more clearance right to allow for the engine flexing in the mounts under acceleration.

 

Would it also mean the engine flexes to the left under hard braking then?

 

How are you the only one to have rubbing problems from sikky... there are over 50 people with the headers now and your the first to have a serious rubbing issue. Was the install done correctly. I know for a fact during installation there are a few pieces of heat shielding taken out... was this piece one that should have gone?

 

Only in manual mode when the torque converter is locked up, but it still won't be as much as accelerating because the cylinder pressure on deceleration is nearly nothing compared to acceleration. In the old school days, drag racers would limit the left hand engine mount with a chain to keep the engine from twisting too far.

 

He wouldn't be the only person to have a rubbing problem with the sikky headers. A local guy had a defective set that caused rubbing.

 

^^^ learn something new everyday. I was unaware there had been some bad ones. I have one of the earlier sets, they have been on for 2 1/2years and about 25k now and i have never had an issue with anything.

 

^^^ Ask JM Lexus about Sikky headers and you'll have your answer, they've installed at least 4 sets already and about the same number of issues.

 

So here's the update:

I brought it to the shop, and they've tried moving the subframe toward the driver's side to the max. After, I get no sound turning right as usual. Turning left I get less sound when hammering it, and sometimes no sound when turning slowly/smoothly. So since the bolts are maxed already, am I screwed?