Accufab Install

[EasyEric]

Fellow members,

With the help of Bill (FFCobra) I installed the Accufab X-pipe yesterday. The most difficult part of the install is removing the original muffler. In my case this was made MUCH easier by the use of Bill's 4-post lift which was excellent.

Removing the clamshell helps a lot and using 3 people for the removal is essential. Also during the install, we had to loosen the transmission mounting bolt and lower the transaxle a wee bit to remove the muffler. While loosening the muffler from the cats, one of the mounting bolts, which was frozen, just snapped.

The X-pipe pipe is well constructed with perfect welds and a shiny finish. My only suggestions for improvement would be slightly fancier tips and polished mounting brackets.

IN USE OBSERVATIONS: The car sounds terrific! You CAN carry on a converstaion in the car and there is no drone but there is a teeny-tiny resonance at around 2K (probably the cabin or pipe resonance mode). People will definately aurally notice the car if you are getting on it. Under hood temperatures appeared normal, but since I was stuck in SERIOUS Friday afternoon Atlanta traffic, I think the temps I saw were "anamolous". I suspect they will be lower. I will report back later based on my normal driving habits and routine. Overall, I love the pipe and the sound!

Bill with foresight, took pictures and has posted them here: http://www.ffcobra.com/eric.htm

An unrelated note, Bill noticed that my car (2005 VIN #1712) had the fancy, beautiful machined control arms.

I would like to thank Bill and and his lovely wife (and infant son) for their hospitality. I would also like to thank his friend Gault for being the 3rd pair of hands in the clamshell removal/installation process.

Regards,
Eric

 

[ETW]

Thanks alot for the sound clips Eric! It sounds amazing

 

[Kirby Vieira]

Looks great, sounds great! Can't wait to hear it in person. How much time did the installation require?

 

[lamboman]

Heard it today...SOUNDS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[prmoldoaks]

Wow where do I get myself one of these?????

web site?

Thanks

 

[Shadowman]

Thank you for the video clips and the project pictures; very nice and much appreciated. It answered a lot of questions for me.

The only lingering question is the cackling or popping sound heard on deceleration; was this primarily when cold or is this present whether the gal is cold or fully warmed up? I ask because of the proximity of the cats to the open pipes with no resonators. I wonder if when the gal is in OBDII open loop mode and running a bit rich during the warm cycle up if this is the situation however if once in OBDII closed loop mode and the fuel has been trimmed back if this goes away. Furthermore when at speed and you briskly remove your foot from the throttle does this system produce a continuous cackling and popping?

I like the at idle sound and of course when you wick the throttle a bit and I am just not big on cackling and popping thus the reason for the question.

Again; a most sincere thank-you for sharing the process; you have a wonderful gal.

All the best

Shadowman

 

[FFCobra]

I'm not sure that my camera really provided the best sound quality. But in person, this exhaust rocks. It really wasn't hard to install. Now that we have done one, I think we could do another in about 3.5 hours. First timers need to allow about 5 hours.

If you try to tackle this yourself, just take your time and follow the directions on the Accufab web site. It would be very helpful to have an air compressor and an air wrench. This made quick work of the old exhaust-to-header bolts.

Be sure to have three people ready to lift the clam shell off the car and later when you re-install it. The clam shell may not have to come off, but I'm glad that we did because now I know how easy this is to do.

- Bill

 

[FFCobra]

I forgot to add my comments about the quality and design. (Eric - let me know if you want me to edit this out.) I don't mean to complain about the Accufab design, because for the price it is very nice. But maybe Accufab could address some of these issues for future buyers.

I'm impressed with the sound quality and the pipe quality (welds and finish). It looks like they really did a great job on the pipe. It fit perfect and the tips some out exactly where they should. No exhaust tip alignment needed.

Accufab is a good company, but they are geared towards the Mustang crowd. They sell a lot of stuff to the guys on my web site who are building Factory Five kit cars using Mustang parts.

When putting the GT exhaust together, Accufab should have "thought" about the average Ford GT person, which means they should pay more attention to exhaust mounts they include and the bolts/nuts, like they did on the pipe itself. The bolts should look better than off-the-shelf Ace Hardware fasteners. The mounts can be seen from the engine bay and they are not very nicely finished.

Accufab supplies bolts with washers and nuts with a flat washer and lock washer. They should have sourced a flat-head bolt and used a "One-time-use", or torque-to-yield (TTY) style fastener. These are best used on high-heat, high-vibration areas like heads, exhaust, headers, etc. Otherwise you could develop loose bolts and eventually leaks.

There was not an installation manual with the exhaust. This should be put in the box instead of the customer having to download it. Should they include a small tube of anti-seize in the kit? I'm not sure if we should have put some anti-seize on the bolts, so we didn't. But other exhausts/headers that I've had required the use of anti-seize on the bolts/nuts.

They should also provide torque specs on all bolts you are removing and replacing.

It's not a big deal, but they could have done a little better job. But I guess for the price--why complain? And the sound is outstanding. So after Eric's big smile, I doubt he's complaining about anything!

By the way, Eric's engine bay looks outstanding with his new chrome/polished caps on the water tanks and the oil tank. And his oil cooler is killer!

I'm also jealous of his a-arms. He has a late VIN 2005 and has the cool looking milled aluminum a-arms. I have cast arms that don't look that cool.

I met a guy at a car show two weeks ago who said his company made all of the a-arms for Ford during the recall. He said they made more than just the recalls, so Ford used the rest on production cars. I guess Eric was lucky enough to get a set. They look like a piece of art from a race car. I love it!

- Bill

 

[FFCobra]

It does sound good.

So..... does this system have any muffling in those pipes, or is the catalyst the only real muffler?

No mufflers, just the cats + tuned pipes. To be honest, I was expecting it to be much louder when he started it the first time. But it was very reasonable. Accufab did a great job of making sure the pipes were tuned right.

By the way, I heard Lamboman's Ford racing system on his yellow car today. Man, that is loud and mean! I followed him on the highway for a few miles and it was very cool to hear. It really is a race car exhaust, not meant for the street. But when you have TWO Ford GT's like him, you can have one that is wild and one that is less wild. :biggrin

- Bill

 

[EasyEric]

Bill,

Your suggestions that Accufab include instructions and different fasteners with a better finish are my sentiments as well. Also, I believe that with your shop set-up (4-post lift and awesome tools), two knowledgeable people and no difficulties we could do it in just under 3 hours. If you decide to get this pipe, count on me coming over to help with the install.

Kirby,
I will come over so you can hear the pipe when you return.

Shadowman,
The crackling and popping appears to be more a warm-up thing. The car was quite cool in Bill's sound clips. After driving the car (warmed up) with the pipe for a few days, I can tell you that on decelerarion, the sound mostly changes pitch and depending on RPM, "burbles" rather than "cracks" or "pops".

Eric

 

[Shadowman]

Thank you for the reply; this is exactly what I wanted to hear.

BTW; when you pulled the rear clam shell off is it lite weight and easy to move around or was this process a cause for some anxious moments? Did you find the pins to remove as AccuFab indicates; meaning a bit awkward and if so were there any issues during the process? Lastly there was mention of being able to do the swap without removing the rear clam shell; what is your take on this?

Thanks again

All the best

Shadowman

 

[californiacuda]

The clamshell can easily be removed with 3 people, 2 to hold the shell and 1 to remove the pins. It is quite light and easy to handle.

 

[Shadowman]

Thank you

Shadowman

 

[427Aggie]

I don't know if I would say this was easy..I did this basically by myself except when I needed help with the clamshell...and that wasn't fun

It took me about 6 hours in a fully loaded shop with all the tools and 4 post lift....some of the panels (The back vented one) are a freakin nightmare to get to some of the screws on..and I have the scrapes to show for it.

I agree the instructions could be better but they weren't that bad for what you are doing...and the exhaust sounds..OH SO GOOD....

The pins on the clam didn't want to come out and getting that half closed crap to slide out REALLY SUCKS>..the driver side just didn't want to hit...

Now that I have done one..I agree with 2 people just doing the work until shell you can have it out in about 3-4 hours....

I also had to drop my transmission.

matt

 

[EasyEric]

Accufab pipe update...

I've now put a couple of hundred miles on the new pipe in the last few days and have some further observations.

1. The pipe continues to please in terms of sound. People that do not see the car now turn to look when they HEAR it.

2. Coolant Temperture as indicated by my gauge seems to be about the same, but rises slower and falls faster. HOWEVER, my Butt Dyno can tell that the IAT (Inlet air temp) is definately lower. Before the pipe change, I could tell the car's timing was being retarded as temps rose. So even though the pipe only marginally affects coolant temps, It measurably and beneficially impacts underhood temps and thus IAT.

Eric