[drewmeyer87]

Hey Guys,

Aside from taking them off and adjusting away from the sub-frame, has anyone found a solution to getting rid of rattle? I have moved mine as far as I can towards the driver side and I'm still getting pretty crappy rattle.

I was thinking exhaust wrap or some very high temp resistant rubber to wedge between the DP and sub-frame.

If anyone has tried anything and it has worked for you, let us know what you did and what parts you used.

Thanks in advance!

[JamesM3M5]

Take them off and dent with a hammer in the offending spots? Maybe your motor mount is really weak from all that torque? I noticed the wires going to my thermostat were rubbing the subframe from engine torque - sits 3/8" away until you get on it and the motor rotates down on the passenger side.

[Gugs]

Center them.

[drewmeyer87]

Originally Posted by JamesM3M5

Take them off and dent with a hammer in the offending spots? Maybe your motor mount is really weak from all that torque? I noticed the wires going to my thermostat were rubbing the subframe from engine torque - sits 3/8" away until you get on it and the motor rotates down on the passenger side.

Funny, I was thinking the same thing... I might try this. or take a pry bar and wedge between the subframe and jam them as far driver-side as I can and tighten them down.

As for the comment on "Centering them" have you installed 3" DP? There is like 1/8th inch of wiggle room on each side and they shift over time once installed.

[Kevin@AKMotorwerk]

if you push them all the way to the drivers side you have to watch because there is a torx bolt that the front dp will hit and its hard to notice at first, and it WILL rattle just as bad, centering really is the best advise, but depending on the dp fitment, sometimes you may have to "MASSAGE" them with a hammer

[oshusttoley]

my dp rattle on certain bumps like from passenger side. bmw said its cuz my after market exhaust, BS and they said my engine mounts are shaven off....is there a solution to this?

[drewmeyer87]

Just wanted to give you guys an update after a few days of testing.

I went to local auto parts store, picked up 2x 5"-7" adjustable hose clamps.

I looped them around the DPs in two locations, one close to the flanges that connect to the mid-pipes and one a bit higher near the driver side O2 sensor.

Both clamps were tightened down to near the minimum of the 5" clamp, but this was plenty. Added a good 1/8th inch of clearance on each side (near the sub-frame and the torx bolt)

So far have been running this for 3 days and all I can say is WHAT A RELIEF! All rattling and idle drone caused by the DPs is GONE!

Hope this helps some others, it's a cheap $5 fix that will save you hours of tweaking and "massaging" with a hammer to get 100% proper dp fitment.

[Rotorocious]

Pics?
What did you loop them to?
From the pipes to what?

[drewmeyer87]

Sorry, I'll take pics a little later.

I meant I looped the clamp around the two DPs to bring them closer together.

Something like this:

[drewmeyer87]

Here you go:

[ksalih]

I thought the purpose of centering them was to prevent them from touching...maybe this intuitively works as well...I need to give this a try!

[drewmeyer87]

They aren't touching, still a good gap between them throughout the whole pipes.

[turbobird14]

I was planning on trying this myself but i figured it would be to easy to actually fix!! Thanks for the ambition haha

[Randomaccess335]

I hose clamped mine together also.

I had no rattle without hose-clamps while car running still on jack stands, but things move around alot while driving, wot, bumps, and pot holes...... So I did it as a- just in case-
Almost a year now and still no rattle
R

[JunkStory]

Many many thanks to this thread, the OP and the above poster.

I installed VRSF v2 and they rattled when car was idling in drive. The pipes were touching the subframe and the bolt on the otherside. I bought 3 clamp hoses just to be safe, and from 15 mins of test drive, there is no more rattling. I would put a 4th clamp hose in there if I had more time and patience. Overall, I am very happy.

[JunkStory]

Also, the installer had to remove a bolt holding down the heat shield because it couldn't be reinserted after the catless pipes were installed. So I used a zip tie (it's the black thing in the image) in its place to help hold the heatshield in place (otherwise it would rub the pipe). Hope this would help others who experience similar issue.

[BMWM.D.]

Makes me very glad that I have a quality set of American made downpipes....

[LMB335IS]

There must be a big variation in tolerances between either vehicles, downpipes, or a combination of both. I installed the same dps on my car a few months ago and have had zero issues with clearance or rattle. Didn't need to remove any shields or bolts/nuts.

[blaster3500]

Originally Posted by BMWM.D.

Makes me very glad that I have a quality set of American made downpipes....

I must agree I have zero issues with CPEs

[JunkStory]

Originally Posted by LMB335IS

There must be a big variation in tolerances between either vehicles, downpipes, or a combination of both. I installed the same dps on my car a few months ago and have had zero issues with clearance or rattle. Didn't need to remove any shields or bolts/nuts.

Yep, 2-3 millimetres is the difference between total silence and car rattling like a 1960 chevy pickup truck.

[Tiago@VRSF]

If the long pipe is clocked too close to the passenger side, it'll touch the bolt and it will prevent the short pipe from moving far enough to the passenger side. Easy fix is to just loosen up both clamps, remove the 4 bolts on the rear and rotate the long pipe towards clockwise (if looking forward from behind the car). That will not only clear that bolt but it will allow enough room for the short pipe to get away from the sub frame.

I've fixed 2 installs from "experienced" installers in the past couple months and both of them had the same issue you're describing. Clamps are not the way to resolve this

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Originally Posted by drewmeyer87

Hey Guys,

Aside from taking them off and adjusting away from the sub-frame, has anyone found a solution to getting rid of rattle? I have moved mine as far as I can towards the driver side and I'm still getting pretty crappy rattle.

I was thinking exhaust wrap or some very high temp resistant rubber to wedge between the DP and sub-frame.

If anyone has tried anything and it has worked for you, let us know what you did and what parts you used.

Thanks in advance!

Which downpipes? From your sig it looks like you are running VRSF? Are these the V2? Also are you sure they are rotated and aligned properly. A lot of times if the install is not perfect pipes will rattle. Some brands are more prone then others but the VRSF V2s are pretty good in terms of not rattling.

I also don't think you should be clamping them like that. It seems like a bandaid solution instead of a proper fix. Those clamps will fall off as they are not rated for the heat cycles and extreme environment thats under the car.

Mike