Some of you know that I recently swapped out my GHL Bullets for Corsa Pace Cars with GTR tips. Some of you also may recall that I was having a heck of a time aligning them. Well, I thought you'd like to know how things have progressed since then.

I contacted the Product Manager at Corsa, and explained my issue. Thanks to this forum, I also sent him copies of some other members' posts that indicated that other people may have the same issue. Displaying high integrity, the Product Manager prompty got with his Quality Control team on the issue. That very day they brought a C5 into their fab and test fit a couple of systems, including a GTR-tipped version. They found that if the elbow pipe (a connector that goes between the over-axle pipe and the the muffler) is not contructed properly, or the wrong elbow pipe is used, you can have all sorts of issues, including mufflers too close to the rear fascia, misaligned tips (both vertically and depth-wise), mufflers hanging too low, and cockeyed tip positioning.

Today they are shipping a new elbow pipe. Additionally, I noticed what appear to be slight manufacturer's defects on the tip construction, and also that the tips might possibly be out of position on the mufflers' exit pipes, so just to be safe, they are sending new mufflers, as well.

While this alignment issue has caused me much wasted time under the car, installing, de-installing, re-installing, not to mention hours of alignment attempts, thus far I am impressed with the way Corsa has been handling this issue. I mean, they jumped on it right away!

The Product Manager said that my report has them going back to the design and manufacturing teams just to be sure that there is not more they can do to possibly improve design, as well as ensure that their strict ISO9000-compliant manufacturing process is being upheld so that other customers don't experience the same thing.

At this point, I am really hoping the new mufflers, tips and elbow pipe are indeed better manufactured units, because both Corsa and I put quite alot of effort into trying to resolve this issue.

Below are pics I sent to Corsa that showed them how badly this particular unit fit, as well as the lack of production quality of this particular unit. I'm posting these so that if anyone else has this issue, they might know where to look.

Note how I had to "pigeon-toe" the mufflers just to get the tips to appear at the same depth (forward and aft):


Because the mufflers are crooked forward and back, see how close the outer edge of left muffler is to the rear fascia?




Outer edge of right muffler is also close, but not as close:




Note how the front of the left muffler hangs lower than the right. Also, see the paint run inside the right tip, as well as how the tips are rotated slightly down to the right? :


Notice how the right exit pipe extends through the right tip farther than the left:




(continued in bost below...)

 

If you look at the top of the tips, you can see that they are not on the same plane:


Look how high the right exit pipe inserts into the tip, compared to the left exit pipe:


This may have been a "Friday-Afternoon-Before-a-3-day-Weekend" unit.

I'll post whether or not the new parts take care of the fitment issue, once I receive them next week.

If anyone has any questions, let me know.

 

Wow! I'd have been pretty upset if I had paid good money for an exhaust with those issues.

You did a great job documenting all the issues. I hope Corsa improves their process and that the new parts they are sending you correct all of your problems. I hope they gave you some type of refund or other incentive after all the problems you have had.

Good luck!

 

I have corsa's love the sound, but I agree the tips and mufflers are a PITA to align and I was never 100% satisfied with the aliment.

 

You have some very valid complaints here!

Tom

 

I noticed in the last pic that there appears to be a paint defect (run) on the black plate inside the right tip.

I just put on some Pace Cars w/TigerSharks yesterday and they were a PITA to align as well. Good luck to you.

 

Sheezzz, you'd think after dishing out that kind of $$ they should bolt on with out any issues. I have not heard of any other system causing this much time to adjust the friggin exhaust tips!!!

 

That's because you haven't been watching.

I went through two sets of Corsa's and two X-pipes. Though I liked the
exhaust, I never got them properly aligned.
When they were close enough to look good, there were really close
tolerances to other body parts and I had to use muffler clamps really
torqued down to hold in place.

I finally went with a GHL exhaust and it bolted in easily and aligned
perfectly. I only had to re-tighten the clamps once, a year after
the initial install.

 

This is really interesting. I was considering a set of Touring Corsa's this summer but really don't want any alignment issues. Keep us informed on this topic. Thanks 99 Nassau Blue

PS.. Glad Corsa is working to solve the issue, but the basic question remains.

Why were they off when they left the factory and apparently others have had similar issues. ? Is this an isolated incident / special cause or part of "normal production"?

99 Nassau Blue

 

Yes, I actually mentioned in one of the first pics.

 

Don't worry, I will be comparing the new parts to the original parts VERY carefully. I will keep everyone posted on this thread.

And, for those who have Corsas already and said alignment was a PITA, or could never be achieved, this is my point:

They SHOULD align, but it has been found that something is not right with one of my elbow pipes. According to the Quality Control manager at Corsa, who personally looked at the install on the C5 they brought in to try to simulate my issue, he said he discovered that the defect makes it so that "there's no way the tips could ever be aligned properly no matter what you try".

I must say, too, at this point, that the person who recently bought my GHL Bullets is darned lucky he won't have to deal alignment issues like these, and he doesn't even know it!

Now, I must say that although the unit I received was lacking in finish quality, the real purpose of this post was to let everyone know how proactive Corsa has been in resolving this issue. It only took me one attempt to get the attention of the Product Manager. Granted, letting him know that I had publicly posted a thread on this forum, and received several replies from others who said they were also having alignment issues may have helped garner his attention, but it's been almost too easy dealing with them.

I just hope at this point that they really did discover a design or manufacture flaw, and have indeed corrected it. I guess I'll know this upcoming week.

 

I'm going back to the shop that installed mine and sharing your post with them. During the install they aligned the bottom of the tips (Pro) with a straight edge but the tips toe in when a straight edge is placed across the face of the tips. Do you still feel the corsa's sound the same as stock?

 

Looks like crap! You just made my decision to go with Borla now.

Thanks for this thread!

 

No, now that I've had them a while I can say they do not sound like stock, except when you're just cruising...then, my engine isn't running, I don't think.

However, I still can't believe people think they're that loud. Some people said they shake their house when they start their cars... yeah, right... maybe if you back into the garage, rev the engine when you start it, and live in the house the first little pig built!

Seriously, they're quieter than the car I drove that had Magnaflows on, but then again, that was a '98, and they have much less insulation than my '01. They're also WAAAAY quieter then the Flowmasters I had on my C4, and also MUCH quieter than my GHL Bullets were.

Again, my perspective is still from when I am driving, as I still have not had a chance to hear them from outside the car.

What do you think? You have the same setup, right? WCC X-pipe on a stock n/a motor? Do you think they're much louder under normal driving conditions? I don't mean under WOT, as ANY exhaust will sound louder than stock under WOT, although I would rate the Pace Cars as average under WOT.

 

I am very pleased with the sound from my system and the neighbors have taken notice as well.....something is different with the Vette on the block. It's not loud enough to be offensive but loud enough to be noticed. At cruise it's pure pleasure...no drone AT ALL. I go for 4-6 hour runs at highway speeds and wouldn't be able to handle the drone that some systems put out nor the continuous volume from the exhaust. Sure, there's some louder, meaner systems but I'm very satisfied. The fact that I can now hear the car idling or better yet at WOT with silence at cruise is pure bliss. Best of both worlds. When they were first on the difference from stock was so noticable to me I thought I might have made a mistake. 6 hours in the morning to Sedona Az. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

I have the Pace Cars with Tigershark tips and I've seriously been considering headers because they aren't as loud as I feared.

 

i've seen a bunch of Corsa systems, don't like the 90deg pipe w/ the 2 slip fits, Borla and B&B always seems better, Bullets for me

 

After evaluating the different systems for weeks, I had decided to order Corsa Tigersharks, but not now. Back to the drawing board.

 

I had the exact same problem with my Corsa Pro tip set. The sent me an over the axle pipe, and muffler for drivers side and the problem was the same as yours, except more noticiable with the 4 tips. I finally went to a muffler shop, the guy took the over the axle pipe and put into a pipe bender and took some of the bend out, and he got the alignment close enough, but not as perfect as I would have liked. I have got to believe all or most of the Corsa's have the same problem no matter what tip set. I fussed for a long time with Corsa, and finally gave up and had shop fix the problem. On my set the muffler was touching the facia and bending the pipe finally got it away from the facia. Let us know if they fixed the problem. I bought my set in early 2003 and drove it the the 50th in Nashville and showed to Corsa guy on sight, still problem not fixed by Corsa.

 

Corsa's are the best and their service is top notch, glad its gonna end well for ya

everyone makes mistakes.... its more important to find folks that will fix em..