FYI to peeps that own the MS Exhaust...

I bought mine in 2008. Around spring 2009, it started to develop a rattle. The rattle is not heat shields, or broken chunks of the CAT. It's a rattle cause by cracked welds between the final exhaust tips and the canisters (before the bend).

At first, I thought it may have been a manufacturing defect, so under MS parts 1 year warranty, I had mine replaced in spring 2009.

Now onto my 2nd MS Exhaust, the rattle is back, and the same issue is happening. The same welds are cracking making the exhaust tips dislocate themselves from the canister slowly.

The rattling noise occurs only under load between 1000 - 2000 rpm, and it happens again somewhere between 2200 - 2800 rpm. There are precisely two frequencies to which it rattles. Therefore, in city driving during rush hour, you look like a ricer with a shitty *** exhaust as it rattles everytime you move 10 ft and stop.

The rattling sounds like a tin can ringing. After one drives the car for awhile and the exhaust is all up to temp, if you stop to get out and kick the tips you can hear the same rattle.


The solution is to reinforce the joint with additional welding. I had the joint welded with additional solder today, and it fixed the rattling.

I hope this information is useful for someone in the future.

Car is:
- Canadian winter climate
- Daily driven

I don't know if environmental factors play a role in the rapid deterioration of the weld joints.

 

Sound like a good reason to buy the Racing Beat not the MS LOL
Sorry to hear about the problem, hope mazda will resolve this issue.

 

Driver abuse issues im sure!

 

So how do you abuse an exhaust?

 

THIS LINK is one way.

 

Daym.

 

daaaaaaaaaaaaaam

 

I'm having the exact same problem with my Exotic Speed exhaust.....

 

Nasty

 

 

that rattling you are hearing is most likely the rivets holding the titanium tips
I have the agency power exhaust and it does the same thing; no way around that

 

Thanks footman..where do you get it weld then?

 

My friend's shop. If any of you need it welded... just $20 a pop. He welded mine, and of course backs up his work.

If you need your exhaust tips weld/reinforced, let me know and I'll help you arrange it with him. He is located near McCowan / 7 (Bullock drive).

 

So far, there has been no reports of this from any Racing Beat owner. Perhaps there is truth that the RB Exhaust is a higher quality product than Mazdaspeed's.

I know the RB is individually welded by a person, while the Mazdaspeed one is machine welded by robots on an assembly line.

Shame on you Mazda!

 

Thanks for the info Footman! Will send you a pm when I'm back from HK.
That rattling sound is killing me.

 

How bad is the rattling? That would annoy the hell out of me if when I decide to get a exotic-speed.
________
COACH PURSES

 

Do you mean "annoy" the hell out of you?

 

You need a friggin NSFW tag on that **** son.


Using GReddy SP2 here. No issues. Though, my exhaust has never seen winter.

 

I am on my 2nd Greddy SP2, my first one went about 76,000 miles before THIS happened ( its safe for work).

 

Cool...thx footman and will keep this in mind if mine does the same. Glad you found a cheap fix!

 

Do you have a manufacture date on your exhaust? I've got the exact same (dual canister) MS exhaust, and I don't have any of the rattling sounds. I checked the welds last time the car was up on the hoist, and other than the standard discolouration, they seem to be intact. Were the welds completely cracked and flaking off or just slighty cracking?

 

omfg that picture was NASSTY!

 

Amkorp,

The weld edges had noticable cracks. As in, you can see that weld material has expanded and is no longer flush with the canister.

I don't know if you drive your car in the winter or not, but I suspect this only happens to those who have MS Exhaust and drive in our winter. My hypothesis for the failures is the constant rapid expansion and cooling of the exhaust in the winter.

At speeds, in winter, air flow underneath car could be like -20 C, so the underside of the exhaust metal is being cooled off while the exhaust gas from the engine is like 900 F on the inside. The large temperature difference between the inside and the outside maybe causing fatigue to the weld material.

Moreover, all MS parts are *technically designed* for competition use where the climate is relatively consistently warm/hot. Never below 0 C.

 

Ya that makes a lot of sense. I don't strictly store the car in the winter. I roll it around on occasion during the winter months. I suspect that may be why my welds are holding longer. I just checked my 1995 acura's exhaust welds last night, and they seem to be cracking in various places and that car is driven all year. What are your thoughts on the extra welds you got put on, do you think they will hold or will they be back to cracking in a year?

 

The extra welds should hold at least a year. I wouldn't consider this a design defect, as MS parts are not meant to be used in all-weather climate.

If you compare the stock exhaust with the MS exhaust... the stock one has an extra plate that forms like a 45 degree angle bolstering the exhaust tip with the canister. This means, there are now 3 points of weld: a) The pipe to the canister, b) one edge of the angle plate welded to the canister, and c) the other edge of the angle plate welded to the tip.

This triangle form probably gives it the strength and rigidity to last all-year round driving without vibrations for a lot longer than the MS one (after all, all exhausts in the end will break/crack over time).

Even if it cracks again next year around this time, simple spot welding will only cost me $20 to fix. It's an affordable maintenance for the MS Exhaust if driven all year round.