Fitment issues with Top Gear catted 200 cell x-pipe.

[deMort]

Cats bolt to the manifolds .. it would need the manifold to be " out of shape " to alter the angle upwards .

I think i see what you mean but that moves back to the exhaust is not correct .

The angle of the flange to the topgear system is certainly out ,, whether that's your manifolds or the Top Gear i can't say though .

If you mean it's too large then it would be by a lot as from memory there's a fair amount of clearance there .

 

[thefleshrocket]

I don't recall any real issues when fitting my system (Topgear manifolds and 63mm 200 cell x-pipe cats), hoping you get a satisfactory outcome :thumb:

Do you have clearance between the top of the cats and the heat shield that's right above them? Would you mind trying to take a picture of it, if possible?

I will be raising the car up for some suspension work so I can take a look then, it might not be for a week or two though

Great, thanks! The whole reason I avoided the 63mm x-pipe was because I read that it could be more prone to CELs than the stock-diameter pipe. Have you had any issues with CELs?

No CEL's :thumb:

Nice. Do you have any regrets? How's the powerband?

 

[Newbe]

I think my profile picture shows my Topgear Xpipe fitted?

I agree with Demort.

The reason your old system fitted was due to the manifold and CATS being warped together. Once you've split them out and fitted the Xpipe it doesn't line up with your warped manifold.

When I fitted my one it was slightly out but I managed to tighten up the bolts in sequence and it fitted. I would suspect now it's had heat go through it the manifold has probably aligned slightly better, although I wouldn't know unless I put the old parts back on.

As for power bands you will notice a very slight difference but being a person who's tried many mods you'll never really get that much out of it, although it does sound great!

Good luck.

 

[thefleshrocket]

A member on the rennlist.com forum said that the circumference of his cats were 13.5", which works out to a diameter of 4.3". I measured around my cats, and they are about 14.2", which works out to a diameter of 4.52". I don't think that's enough of a difference to make them fit as opposed to not fit, but it's still statistically significant.

However, I pulled my x-pipe to take some better pictures of it, and it appears that the design of mine is noticeably different than the one pictured on the Top Gear website. Specifically, the 180 degree bend in the middle appears to be sharper, and the distance between the cat and the parallel-running exit pipe is a lot tighter, in the picture posted on the Top Gear website compared to my pics. The page for the 200-cell x-pipe with 54mm tubing: https://www.topgear.co.uk/porsche-91..._type=exhausts I've posted several pics from Top Gear and of my x-pipe from comparable angles to illustrate the difference. (The last Top Gear pic is from the 200-cell x-pipe with the 63mm pipe, because there wasn't one of the 54mm pipe from that angle. In that pic, the angle looks tighter, and the cats look smaller, too.) The location of the O2 sensor bungs is different, though I'm not sure if that means anything.

 

[thefleshrocket]

A couple more pics. These are comparing the 63mm x-pipe (because the 54mm wasn't available in this angle) to my x-pipe, where it's clear that the gaps between the cats and the exit pipes are much smaller on the x-pipes pictured on the Top Gear website. Also, a picture of the jig that they use for test fitting, which doesn't appear to take into account the location of the cats, hence why it would be easy to test-fit an x-pipe and think that it's okay when it's actually not.

 

[YPVS]

There's a clear difference there.

Could this be that your pipes are for a different car? Is the 996.1, 996.2 and 997 exactly the same part?

 

[coullstar]

Just checked mine and it looks to be the same as yours in terms of spacing etc, there is a not a lot of clearance from the top of the cats that I could feel so were maybe looking at a tolerance stack up here on all the bits you have as mine fits okay.

As said maybe something on yours is just very slightly out which pushes it out a bit.

 

[thefleshrocket]

There's a clear difference there.

Could this be that your pipes are for a different car? Is the 996.1, 996.2 and 997 exactly the same part?

I thought about that, but looking at the pics of the 997 x-pipe, the angles are clearly different than the 996 x-pipes, and different from what I have.

 

[coullstar]

Crap picture of mine but it does look same as what you have. Joys of living is a cold wet place with all the crusty bits.

 

[thefleshrocket]

Crap picture of mine but it does look same as what you have. Joys of living is a cold wet place with all the crusty bits.

Yeah, the 180 degree bend angle, and the gap between the cats and exit pipes do look similar to mine.

You're sure your cats don't press against the heat shield above them?

The part number from Top Gear just specifies 996, so there doesn't seem to be two separate ones for the 996.1 and 996.2.

How long have you had your x-pipe for?

 

[jezgreen911]

Looking back through my install pictures, a little heatshield reshaping was required :thumb:

 

[MrC986]

I have to confess I didn't have any issues with the fitment of my 200 cell Xpipe cats from Topgear apart from the unusual sleeve arrangement on the join between the cats & the boxes (TG ones). Once they're fitted, I'm sure the OP will be pleased with the results. I fitted mine in my garage solely with a trolley jack & axle stands, & removing the rear wheels.

 

[cobrars]

Alright,


yeah, I had issues too.... I returned the first set as per issues pictured below, They just did not line up.

I was sent another set which actually turned out to be exactly the same. I was told to just fit the bolts on an angle if needs be, basically fit the bolts any way I can and just keep tightening them all a little at a time.

To be fair they did pull themselves in and ended up fitting ok, to which at the time were genuine manifolds.

I did not have any issues with the heat shields though.

 

[Jamie]

So strange - I had no issues fitting mine whatsoever. In fact it took a couple of hours to fit (most of that was dealing with rounded/rusted flange bolts) and less than an hour to remove it...

One thing I have noticed and don't know if it would be causing you the issues you're experiencing but I removed the mounting bracket from the engine when mine was fitted.

 

[thefleshrocket]

Alright,
yeah, I had issues too.... I returned the first set as per issues pictured below, They just did not line up.
I was sent another set which actually turned out to be exactly the same. I was told to just fit the bolts on an angle if needs be, basically fit the bolts any way I can and just keep tightening them all a little at a time.
To be fair they did pull themselves in and ended up fitting ok, to which at the time were genuine manifolds.
I did not have any issues with the heat shields though.

Are you not concerned about stress on the headers? I feel like that's just asking for them to crack, being under constant load like that.