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Just came back from muffler shop after taking the long way to swapping out OEM NPP with a new Borla S-Type (NPP) . See “Borla Bummer” post to see what I had to go thru if interested. The purpose for this post is for anyone that has installed this or a similar system and had to adjust the tips to reflect the OEM tip separation. I did not want the muffler dudes wacking stuff with big hammers after powder coating the tips. Nor do I want to assume, The outside tips are the ones not welded on so that is where the adjustment needs to happen in my mind. As always thanks in advance.
For those not reading the previous post I referred to and are curious if it is worth a $2k investment ? From the 20 minutes I had with the car driving home before it rained and the awesome cold start tone...this is going to real fun getting this system broken in !! No regrets despite the hassle to get it on!!
You're going to have to loosen up your mufflers at the x pipe and rotate your muffler pipes around. You're going to have loosen the two bolts in the center as well. Its easier with someone watching from the back to say when its level. These can be adjusted to get them straight across. Once you make the adjustment then you can tighten every thing back up. I removed my two bolts in the center so I had the most flexibility and then reinserted them once I was happy. You have your tips looking like there not straight across. As I stated its fixable.
At least yours appear mirror-symmetrical, left to right... I didn't take pix of my OEM when I got my '18 new. They were AWFUL, requiring that I redrill the mounting holes to get anywhere close to looking the same, side-to-side.
You're going to have to loosen up your mufflers at the x pipe and rotate your muffler pipes around. You're going to have loosen the two bolts in the center as well. Its easier with someone watching from the back to say when its level. These can be adjusted to get them straight across. Once you make the adjustment then you can tighten every thing back up. I removed my two bolts in the center so I had the most flexibility and then reinserted them once I was happy. You have your tips looking like there not straight across. As I stated its fixable.
Thanks for the info ... thank the best way to deal with this is while on the lift...which I have not got . I have reached out to the shop that did the install and as long as I am there to supervise should be a pretty quick process ...thanks again
I had the same issue when I installed my Borla ATAK system. For awhile I ran around with the outside tips as you have them.
‘finally got under there, loosened everything up and got them straight. It takes some work and easier with 2 sets of hands. You will get it, just takes times.
‘I have a little over a year on mine and they do sound awesome!
Thanks for the info ... thank the best way to deal with this is while on the lift...which I have not got . I have reached out to the shop that did the install and as long as I am there to supervise should be a pretty quick process ...thanks again
It can take some time and patience, but you can get the tips aligned pretty close.
I did the install myself with the car on ramps, but, for sure a lift makes it easier.
For adjustments, you have the two bolts between the mufflers, the clamps for the over the axle pipes at the mufflers, the clamps for the over the axle pipes at the mid-pipe. I also loosend the mid-pipe hanger at the transmission.
To get the tip protrusion correct, you remove or add spacer washers to the two bolts that fasten the center brackets together..
Mine are not perfect, since the gap is a touch wider in the center, but I can live with it. But the four tips are close to level and protrude evenly.
PM devnull. He is an expert at aligning Borla exhaust tips. He gave me instructions which I passed on to my dealer service department on how to do it correctly.
Last edited by ShadowGray19; May 19, 2020 at 07:38 AM.
I had the same issue when I installed my Borla ATAK system. For awhile I ran around with the outside tips as you have them.
‘finally got under there, loosened everything up and got them straight. It takes some work and easier with 2 sets of hands. You will get it, just takes times.
‘I have a little over a year on mine and they do sound awesome!
Heading down tomorrow to get them taken care of ....thanks
PM devnull. He is an expert at aligning Borla exhaust tips. He gave me instructions which I passed on to my dealer service department on how to do it correctly.
I just installed a Borla system last night and my biggest issue is the tips are hanging too low and resting on the valance. Any ideas on how to raise them?
I just installed a Borla system last night and my biggest issue is the tips are hanging too low and resting on the valance. Any ideas on how to raise them?
hey bud!
can you post a pic of the tips and how they are hanging now?
you can raise them a little, I’ll post the process (just need to get back home to my system, in an hour or so)
Here is a pic but its not a great one. The tips are resting on the valance. Need to get them moved up. Also, the right most tip is off from the others but its even off from the tip right next to it which is on the same muffler.
You can also loose the outside tips and push them up for a final alignment and then use an impact gun (lightly) to re-tighten the clamps. The tips themselves allow for some adjustment. Once you have the mufflers lined up closer, you can move the tips.
You will want to loosen the xpipe connections as well, and have someone pull down on that section while tightening. That will raise up the whole assembly out of the back a little. My suggestion is to loosen all of the hanger bolts (xpipe connections, one axle, rear hangers, and the bolts between the mufflers), then you can move the exhaust around a little (including up). Start tightening front to back until all are tight.
Don't to anything with that right side tip until all of the above is done. Once that is done you can loosen that one by itself as Ninja said and align it to the others.
I get a little crazy with alignment, but it does work!
Also, here are the steps that @ShadowGray19 and I put together... Hope it helps!
Here is how to adjust exhaust tips. It takes 2 techs to do it correctly:
1. The 2 - 13mm bolts on the center plate between the inner tips need to be loosened along with the 4 rear exhaust hanger bolts behind the mufflers and the 2 over axle clamps (loosen only, do not remove any of the bolts)
2. The first tech then pulls the mufflers closer together while rotating them (Counter Clock Wise for the right and Clock Wise for the left). This will lift outside tips away from the bottom of the valance and straighten all the tips out.
3. Once the exhaust tips are properly aligned, the first tech holds the mufflers in place while the second tech re-tightens the two 13mm center bolts between the inner exhaust tips.
4. One of the techs then re-tightens the 4 rear exhaust hanger bolts and the 2 over axle clamps and the job is done.
Note 1: If after the above steps, the 4 aligned exhaust tips are still too close to the bottom of the plastic valance:
** The first tech can loosen the axle back exhaust connections to the X-Pipe. The second tech pulls the pipes down together and holds in place. This will " rock back" the mufflers and pull the tips up a little.
** The first tech re-tightens the connections to the X-Pipe.
Note 2: As a last resort (should not be necessary):
** If the level pipe tips are still too close to the valance, the final solution is to carefully bend down the rearmost muffler hangers. A tech can do this by sticking a pipe over the hanger for leverage and prying down.
** The tech has to be very careful with this since a little bend will go a long way.
Thanks for the suggestions. I worked on it again and its better but still not level to my satisfaction. The other issue I'm having is the right side NPP valve is hitting the valence. Did anyone else have this issue?
Thanks for the suggestions. I worked on it again and its better but still not level to my satisfaction. The other issue I'm having is the right side NPP valve is hitting the valence. Did anyone else have this issue?
Hey bud,
I literally use shims to keep the distance between the pipes even, and a jack to lift those outside pipes (particularly the right which ALWAYS runs low). You can do this to set it and then tighten the clamp by hand without anyone else. I took this pic to show exactly how I do it.
Looking at your current pic, if you lift both outer tips (can do that with just those clamps) using this method you would be able to level all 4. Just shim between them so they are the same distance from each other too.
Did you have an issue with the valve controller on the right side hitting the valence?
Yes, you want to 'tilt' the tips so that the valve is raised up a little. If you look inside the tip, the valve should point closer to 2:00 than 3:00 (3 being level).
On mine, if I tilted it enough to stop rubbing, it was obvious that the tip was different than the others. I'll play with it some more sometime, just over it for now! It should not be this hard to install an exhaust system...
Borla tip adjustment
