Hi Guys, I've recently purchased a challenge sports exhaust for my 355 spider and my local mechanic has asked for advice on the easiest way to remove the original ferrari eaxhaust and refit the new exhaust. From an initial look he thinks that the rear bumper will need careful removal to allow the stock exhaust to be dropped due to clearance issues - is this right???, or can the exhaust be removed without attacking any of the bodywork?? A step by step guide would be really much apprecizted. Also, any advice on an air filter mod to match would be great?? Cheers Doug.
I did my own cats in the garage on jack stands, so I had the exhaust completely loose but not out. You do have to remove the rear bumper, but it is not too bad a job. I cannot remember exactly where they are, but I do remember that for the rear bumper there is nothing hidden or tricky. Once you get the silencer out and the new one in, you will want everything loose to get the alignment correct, including the bolts where the cats and the bypass pipe hooks into the back of the headers. Put the bumper back on before you tighten it up, then get the alignment correct and snug all the bolts. Some of the bolts will be harder to get at, but if you want perfect pipes, I think this is important. I highly recommend replacing the cats with hyperflows if you have any thought of doing it later. The sound is great, the cats are much higher quality, and the motor pulls better. It is certainly unproven, but I think overheating factory cats contribute to failed headers. At least that's what I told myself when I replaced the cats! Enjoy!
And happily, the Hyper Flow cats are now shipped worldwide for free. Call us for the details, or drop us an email.
I'd suggest if you need to tell your mechanic how to do it, then just do it yourself (or charge him for the info!!!). I believe on the website www.the348.com there was a pdf on doing the clutch, which included the how to on removing the bumper (which you will need to do) and exhaust.
No need to drop the bumper. Take heat shields off from the top first. Then the hanger bolts and pipe bolts. Slowly drop it down on a jack. Scott
cheers guys. I think i'm going to go down the bumper removal route. - next question - does anyone have a diagram or schematic that shows the various bolts etc for removal of bumper??, or advice on how best to remove it without damage?
I removed the bumper to replace my exhaust. Never did it before. It was just a careful job, looking for bolts, etc...
