Originally Posted by CLEAR

I feel the same way. If they can tuck huge mufflers out of sight, why cant Borla, Corsa and so on. Just examine any picture posted on this forum, A majority of the time you can see the mufflers hanging down. Ive mentioned this in a few posts and it seems no one else notices or cares. I dont mind seeing them from behind but when you can see them from the side, I cant stand. The NXT STEP barely shows from the side BUT its a small can, and not a huge muffler hanging down. Look at the Borla stingers, they are usually hanging down quite a bit. My hat is off to Patches. He did a beautiful job of installing the catback. No matter what I do, It wont allign perfect, but it alligns good. Every exhaust shop I have spoken with agrees that most catbacks dont fit well but can be tweaked. Ive worked with several catbacks and have never had perfection like stock. I can get a new catback looking good on a C5 in 45 minutes but getting it perfect can take several hours. Pete on the NXT STEP there is 'some' adjustment on the flanges that bolt to the H pipe. The holes are slotted. Other system Ive seen are not slotted. This means one of two things...The more expensive systems "uh fit better" and dont need to be slotted or NXT is just giving extra adjustment.

Originally Posted by PETE O.

Ya know, Clear, I noticed the loose fit at the flange. In fact I even put some stainless flat washers under the bolt heads. I tightened these up first to keep the over the axle pipe from touching the trans oil pan flange. I'll loosen these up again and then try for more adjustment. I don't think that the pipe hitting the oil pan flange will hurt a thing. Theres litle or no movement right there. I think the stock one hit there, too. Thanks for the encouragement!

Originally Posted by PETE O.

I put the initial install on mine a couple of weeks ago. I've still got some adjusting to do. Havin' a bit of a time gettin' `em tucked up out of site. I can still see the lower part of the muffler when looking at it from the rear, if I get down on my knees. The tips are lined up nicely although they need to be raised just a bit. My problem is now that I have the mufflers tucked up in there and level, as I feel they should be, the over the axle pipe on the R.H. side hits the underside of the center trunk storage relief. It's at the bend at the top of the pipe just barely touching the corner of the trunk relief. The left pipe comes very, very close, too. I'm afraid it's going to burn a hole in the fiberglass. I can lower them a bit and eliminate this problem but I really don't want them to show that much. They sound awesome! I haven't driven it since I adjusted the setup causing the pipe to hit the underbody. They look good though.Gotta get this puppy fixed, right. Might have to take it to Reno to a quality muffler shop and have them build a different set of pipes to go over the axle. I don't know why they designed them like this. There's plenty of room up under there to do it right??? I ordered some really trick clamps from JEGS as I couldn't get the supplied ones to hold. This started out to be a good deal, but it's turning on me. I guess you get what you pay for, huh.....

Originally Posted by slowtealz28

This system is crazy because when I had stock manifolds and got to around 3200rpm under a load the cars sound would completely change. It would just get louder and more racey sounding. Now with headers and no cats, right around 4000rpm the car just sounds insane. I pitch totally changes. I need to get an in car video with a decent camera so you guys can hear it.

Dave

Originally Posted by Slick Rick

Hey Pete, Over the axle pipes shouldnt be close to anything. I have tons of space. Its possible you have them crossed. There not marked so its not hard to do. Also in order for tips to sit straight the muffflers do need to be angled down a little bit. Hopes this helps.......

Originally Posted by PETE O.

No, Rick, they're on the correct side(s), I'm pretty sure. I don't think I could have got them as close to perfect as they are if I had them reversed. Maybe I'd better check it out again. I compared the flange angles to the stock pipes before I installed them. I messed with it enought to where the tips lined up perfectly and the mufflers were actually level.
Before I tightened any of the clamps I stuck my other floor jack under the outer edge of the mufflers and lifted them to level before I tightened the clamps . At the same time I adjusted the tips to what looked like perfection. I did have them pointed down maybe a 1/2" too low but I corrected that. There's not that much room between the axle and the trans pan on the right side. I can't tell you why the pipe hits the bodywork. Probably because I lifted the muffler up too high. I'll fight with it again this afternoon.
Thanks!

Originally Posted by CLEAR

I feel the same way. If they can tuck huge mufflers out of sight, why cant Borla, Corsa and so on. Just examine any picture posted on this forum, A majority of the time you can see the mufflers hanging down. Ive mentioned this in a few posts and it seems no one else notices or cares. I dont mind seeing them from behind but when you can see them from the side, I cant stand. The NXT STEP barely shows from the side BUT its a small can, and not a huge muffler hanging down. Look at the Borla stingers, they are usually hanging down quite a bit. My hat is off to Patches. He did a beautiful job of installing the catback. No matter what I do, It wont allign perfect, but it alligns good. Every exhaust shop I have spoken with agrees that most catbacks dont fit well but can be tweaked. Ive worked with several catbacks and have never had perfection like stock. I can get a new catback looking good on a C5 in 45 minutes but getting it perfect can take several hours. Pete on the NXT STEP there is 'some' adjustment on the flanges that bolt to the H pipe. The holes are slotted. Other system Ive seen are not slotted. This means one of two things...The more expensive systems "uh fit better" and dont need to be slotted or NXT is just giving extra adjustment.

Originally Posted by Patches

This is what I tell folks that PM me with questions about how to get the NXT's properly aligned. Take your time and start with everything loose. Work your way slowly from front to back and progressively tighten - but only partially, so, as you get the system somewhat snug, you can make small adjustments and continue to tighten the clamps until you have it locked in place.

In all my years of installing C5 catbacks, I've only had one system (Borla Stingers) that truly came from the factory incorrectly bent. Borla sent me a replacement system for those and I had them aligned in just a few minutes after I installed them.