y pip too low! need advice

**sezo** · 03-09-2015, 09:06 AM

hey guys. 99 z28. Bought it used..had some light mods like air intake, long tube headers, y pipe, high flow cats, and slp tips. He was in jersey, i live in nyc. there are far more pot holes here. therefore, when i purchased the car, i saw the pipe was already really low. i had a feeling that mightve been a problem, but whatever. Now, driving in the city, etc, anytime hitting a pot hole or going over the sewer caps (sometimes they stick out) it scrapes my y pipe real bad and it scares me...it is a texas speed y-pipe, and the pacesetter long tube headers i believe don't help with this since it pushes it lower...if i had a choice to replace the y pipe for better floor clearance, without losing horsepower, etc, what's a good one to go with? im also scared this is gonna be expensive as i believe everything is welded.

***SMWS6TA*** · 03-09-2015, 09:50 AM

How old is the Y pipe? TS&P had a redesign a yr or two ago. I have the same set up. The Y pipe should be adjustable IF the previous owner hasn't welded it. It may mean tweaking it around till you get it to where you want. Also you can either fab or buy a hanger that mounts to the same spot as the stock hanger did to help hold it in position. I just had a shop weld a piece it.

A couple of other things that affect ride height. Tire/wheel size and springs. Each can lower you clearance.

**pajeff02** · 03-09-2015, 12:04 PM

As Scott stated, you'll have to get under the car and see if it can be adjusted. I fiddled with my Kooks setup for quite a while to get it perfectly into position.

**2002ssslp** · 03-09-2015, 07:04 PM

Take it to a good exhaust shop and have them do their magic if you don't have the time or space to work on it. Not a hard fix but its not easy either.

**kingls1** · 03-09-2015, 07:43 PM

Is the car stock ride height? Tire size?

**35th-ANV-SS** · 03-09-2015, 08:59 PM

I second the hanger idea if the exhaust is welded together. There will still be some play in it to raise it up likely. Also, something could have came loose over the years causing it to droop down lower.

**sezo** · 03-09-2015, 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by 2002ssslp

Take it to a good exhaust shop and have them do their magic if you don't have the time or space to work on it. Not a hard fix but its not easy either.

idk why i didnt think of this. ill take it asap see what they can do for me. also hopefull check for any cracks or holes since ive scraped it couple of times now.

i cant do it myself as i dont have a garage, and im still a rookie to more experienced things like that.

also, wheels are 275r40, and yes i believe it is stock height...

**kingls1** · 03-10-2015, 06:44 AM

If the stock ride height and with your tire size you should be able to have plenty of ground clearance. So your local shop should be able to get it tucked up. Only other problem is how low the headers exit causing the y to hang lower. I'm not familiar with Pace setters fittment but never really heard of any problems like with the SLP long tubes with them hitting.

**chuckie669** · 03-10-2015, 11:03 AM

Like everyone else has said, the shop may be your best bet. 99 percent sure your catching the cats.

Since i believe the lt andaftermarket y relocated em to almost the middle of the car that seemed to be what i always hit

**sezo** · 03-11-2015, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by kingls1

If the stock ride height and with your tire size you should be able to have plenty of ground clearance. So your local shop should be able to get it tucked up. Only other problem is how low the headers exit causing the y to hang lower. I'm not familiar with Pace setters fittment but never really heard of any problems like with the SLP long tubes with them hitting.

Took it to the muffler shop today. I took it not only to see if it may be adjusted, but i've been hitting so many potholes and sewer caps that i was 100% sure there was something wrong with the tubes. it even sounded different. Sure enough, the connection right before the high flow cat was pretty much disconnected, which makes me sure that any time the pipe scratched the ground, it was around that area. He did a good job with putting it back and twisted the clamp around so it didnt stick out. He put a small weld on the clamp as well to make sure it stays. However, we checked under and there is pretty much no space for any adjustment. The Y pipe coming from the headers is literally up against the under body on both sides. Even though i'm glad he fixed the disconnected pipe, i used to have the y pipe banging on the under body problem, which is now even worse after he fixed the disconnected pipe and fiddled with it, which sucks.

i attached 3 photos that i took of the whole system underneath a while ago (before today's fix) just so you guys may see in general what i'm dealing with. I'll grab another photo when the car is on the ground so you guys can see how much clearance there is. When looking from behind the vehicle you can clearly see the pipe sticking out. I guess it is normal with this setup *shrugs*. You guys tell me. I'm a rookie at this. This is actually my first car, i'm 21 and still learning. I really just know the general basics. Thanks again everyone. BTW* i've had posts about the y pipe banging and still havent gotten a fix to it. Any time a accelerate hard into 2nd from stop, i get a hard rattling of the y pipe underneath the car, then it goes away after that shift. :|

**chuckie669** · 03-11-2015, 10:54 AM

Id be curious about your ride height also.

My 3in y used to make the bang on acceleration also. Was the engine tourqing causing the driver side pipe to slap the floor board

Can't remember the gasket exactly, but the muffler shop had a thick heat resistant gasket like material which they said they used for a lot of mustangs. they cut me a few inches out and i wedged it between the pipe and floorboard.

**sezo** · 03-11-2015, 03:10 PM

Originally Posted by chuckie669

Id be curious about your ride height also.

My 3in y used to make the bang on acceleration also. Was the engine tourqing causing the driver side pipe to slap the floor board

Can't remember the gasket exactly, but the muffler shop had a thick heat resistant gasket like material which they said they used for a lot of mustangs. they cut me a few inches out and i wedged it between the pipe and floorboard.

Sounds like my best bet. Wish i wouldve brought it up while i was there today. Looks like ill go back there and see what he can do for me. Not sure if he'll have anything. It's kind of a hole-in-the-wall type of place in the middle of corona, queens, NYC. But it's cheap and he knows what he's doing.

**chuckie669** · 03-11-2015, 04:02 PM

Someone may have a better idea than a rubber stop of some sort. Lots of smart car guys here

I was told mine may have been due to worn motor mounts. They suggested poly replacements, but i was too lazy at the time.

**kingls1** · 03-11-2015, 04:58 PM

Your pipe don't look like it is to low I'm thinking your car is lowered some what if you are dragging that bad! You should have room above pipe so it don't hit the floor. Here is a picture of mine, I'm at stock ride height and with resonators and never ever hit and absolutely no hitting on floor.

**sezo** · 03-11-2015, 05:18 PM

Originally Posted by kingls1

Your pipe don't look like it is to low I'm thinking your car is lowered some what if you are dragging that bad! You should have room above pipe so it don't hit the floor. Here is a picture of mine, I'm at stock ride height and with resonators and never ever hit and absolutely no hitting on floor.

wow besides all that i'm jealous at how beautiful and clean the underside of your car looks...<3
anyway back to the point, for some reason your pipe looks as thick as mine but it does look a little more tucked in than mine...weird...cause mine is literally up against the underbody. :\ hence the slapping when i accelerate hard. i'll get a photo of the car on the ground to see how it looks. When i say it's "low" i dont literally mean that it's almost on the ground...i just mean that when you look under the car you can clearly see it and going over any bump or into a driveway that is steep enough or even over a sewer cap it scrapes the Y, towards the middle area i believe. But maybe that's just the way it is since it is a 3" pipe. I'll get those photos asap

**sezo** · 03-11-2015, 05:20 PM

By the way: I went to a mechanic that's pretty familiar with LS1s and he told me that i "dont even have a y pipe". From my photos, is this true? When i purchased the car i was told the setup was" long tube headers, y pipe, into high flow magnaflow cats, into slp quad tips. The slp tips i can confirm as it says "slp" on them. But other than that i'm not too familiar with the rest. Your y pipe looks pretty different than mine. Can you shed some light on this for me?

**kingls1** · 03-11-2015, 05:38 PM

Not sure why he said that! looks like a y pipe to me!

maybe he ain't that hot on Ls1's..my y is 3 peice it came with my OBX headers and is mounted to a Magna Flow cat back. Get some measurements from the pipe to the ground as well as the bottom of the ground effect center of the door to the ground and I will measure mine and we can compare to gauge your ride height.

**cammed goat** · 03-11-2015, 05:41 PM

Originally Posted by sezo

Took it to the muffler shop today. I took it not only to see if it may be adjusted, but i've been hitting so many potholes and sewer caps that i was 100% sure there was something wrong with the tubes. it even sounded different. Sure enough, the connection right before the high flow cat was pretty much disconnected, which makes me sure that any time the pipe scratched the ground, it was around that area. He did a good job with putting it back and twisted the clamp around so it didnt stick out. He put a small weld on the clamp as well to make sure it stays. However, we checked under and there is pretty much no space for any adjustment. The Y pipe coming from the headers is literally up against the under body on both sides. Even though i'm glad he fixed the disconnected pipe, i used to have the y pipe banging on the under body problem, which is now even worse after he fixed the disconnected pipe and fiddled with it, which sucks.

i attached 3 photos that i took of the whole system underneath a while ago (before today's fix) just so you guys may see in general what i'm dealing with. I'll grab another photo when the car is on the ground so you guys can see how much clearance there is. When looking from behind the vehicle you can clearly see the pipe sticking out. I guess it is normal with this setup *shrugs*. You guys tell me. I'm a rookie at this. This is actually my first car, i'm 21 and still learning. I really just know the general basics. Thanks again everyone. BTW* i've had posts about the y pipe banging and still havent gotten a fix to it. Any time a accelerate hard into 2nd from stop, i get a hard rattling of the y pipe underneath the car, then it goes away after that shift. :|

I looked at the second pic and your system looks patched together. Like someone fabbed up a Y with pipe and bends and just welded it together. The driver side of the Y looks lower than the passenger, but I am sure it's the camera angle. The passenger cat should be even with the driver side, not further back. You should also have band clamps on your pipes, not regular clamps that could catch on raised surfaces. I think if you got a pair of oval high flow cats, and with some adjusting, you'll be good.

**pajeff02** · 03-11-2015, 05:46 PM

The Y-pipe is the forked connection between the header collectors and the mid-pipe (2 into 1). You absolutely have a "Y" pipe.

**kingls1** · 03-11-2015, 05:48 PM

I tried to zoom it in but the iPad keeps dropping the photo to where I can't see it clear, I did notice the cats were not even, my resonators come off each header then into the y pipe.