just got mazdaspeed sports muffler installed
 

just got my exhaust put on today at the dealership. when i got home something smelled a little off while i was backing into my parking spot. i got out and it looks like the exhaust was melting the inside of the plastic piece of the bumper. shouldn't the dealer have trimmed that? also after driving it for about an hour the tips are turning a goldish color. I saw a post about someone saying their rb exhaust did the same thing and he got rid of it with URL=http://www.englishcustompolishing.com/usca/hotchrome.html]hot chrome[/URL] I was just wondering if this bronzing was normal and if this stuff is a one time thing or if i have to do it each time i wash the car.

The smell is probably just the typical new exhaust smell. They do it for a few days. The bronzing is also normal. :)

I clean mine with mothers metal polish cleaner, looks good after that.

How do you like the muffler... sounds .. anything?

Ordered mine, should be here before the weekend.

its good i definitly like it. My friend has a supercharged scion tc with a trd muffler on it and his is louder. it's not that loud at idle, but it is louder than stock. and you can definitly tell that its there when you hit the gas. the looks are really good. you cant see any muffler, only the two pipes. only thing is the bronzing, but hopefully that will go away as soon as i polish them

The bronzing will go away after you polish them. They will eventually turn gold again, not very often though. You will probably have to polish them every other month.

bronzing will appear on every aftermarket stainless steel tip, so just polish them and clean them when you wash and you'll be fine. as for the plastic part burning... some people have had that happen, but i don't remember people having that happen with just the exhaust. especially a mazdaspeed exhaust.

They are supposed to cut 1" off the plastic exhaust shroud. They forgot this on mine, take it back and make them cut it.

what kind of polish do you guys recommend for exhaust tips? Can I just use regular chrome polish or what?

Hey vengeance I actually heard that this isn't true, just as long as they align it right it should cause any problems.... if you take it to a garage or something how will they know to do that?? just a question maybe you have more knowledge than i do?

its in the instructions

^ i didnt trim mine when installing my ms sport... i have had no issues with melting. been installed since first batch. alignment is spot on.

same here!

but as it has been seen to actually happen you can understand why its in the directions, yes?

yes... but.... if it is in the design of the system... should it not happen to everyone? or no one?

There is no question. Its in the directions for a reason. Id hate to be responsible for someone's bumper melting. However, I didnt cut my bumper, the exhaust has been mounted correctly, and maybe I have just been fortunate. I recomend that everyone follow the instructions. If you do the install without cutting the tips, than hopefully you wont experience any problems.

right^^. it was one of the reasons for the delay to market with the system. thoguth it was all ready to go and then a test car melted. more testing more testing then they found cutting the inch elimanated the possibility. it may not happen on every car but it can

You haven't driven hard enough if you haven't melted the plastic yet. :molepoke: