488 PISTA NOVITEC EXHAUST THREAD (VIDEOS OF SOUND INSIDE) - TAG Motorsports

That is apparently what has happened and apparently not an isolated event either but not a very common one. Unless it is because most people don't do full PPF??? Maybe?

 

When the GPFs are removed, the ECU generates the same codes regardless of what muffler system is on the car. So what ever plugin module you use (Techtronic, OBD wizard..etc) it’s a stand alone unit that looks for certain codes and clears them. However Novitec charges you double for their Techtronic if you don’t purchase one of their exhaust systems with it. I hear the Capristo OBD wizard is cheaper with no upcharge, the F8 unit should be out in the next month or so.

 

I never thought about it that way, It makes perfect sense.

 

Any drone or resonance inside the cabin at cruising speeds/RPM?

 

Confirmed. Two forum cars have had this issue. Mine and another owner who sold his car after being unhappy with the sound + the PPF issue encoutered. I can tell you that the PPF installer and supplier I used is among the most reputable in our area. The other owner lives in another region, so the PPF film + installer was not the same.

Two key takeaways worth knowing.

1. I can't change that I purchased the system, but I do wish that I did it through @TAGMotorsports. I would have at least had their support on the issue. As I mentioned in other threads, TAG helped to answer questions for me when I had the issue. Because I didn't purchase through them though, there was not much else for them to do for me, which I understand. Novitec America + the reseller that I purchased through were of no help. They left me out to dry with a $13,000 USD tubes, damaged PPF with a fairly big repair bill, the bill to remove the exhaust and install my OEM exhaust, and the headache of wasting time away from work to drive back and forth everywhere to coordinate all this. Total hole in my pocket was nearly $17,000 to $18,000. I don't care how rich you are, you didn't get wealthy by being lazy or careless with money. This a lot of money.

Both Novitec America + their reseller made it difficult to reach them and ultimately stopped returning calls. I ended up getting my money back through my credit card.

2. The center section of the Novitec system with the flaps is easily 2x the volume of the OEM center silencer. As a result, the can sits right up against all the walls of the cavity in the vehicle. Normally the OEM center silencer leaves a lot of air between it and the walls of the cavity. One of those walls is the subframe that supports the bumper.

If you own a Pista with an OEM exhaust, warm up your car on an easy drive, then put your hand on the painted center section of the bumper, above the license plate and right below the carbon fiber and Ferrari cavallino badge that sits under the spoiler. You'll notice that it's pretty warm there. There's not much airflow over the exhaust. In the 488 GTB/Spider, there is a vent right there, presumably to deal with trapped heat. The F8 looks more like the Pista in this region in that it has no vent.

While I'm sure the system without flaps could be OK becasue it takes up much less space, I don't care to put any further $ into Novitec. You pay 2x for most of their stuff to line their pockets and to pay for YouTube media content and fancy advertising. They don't actually support any race teams that would really challenge their engineering. I and another forum Pista owner paid the price of their lousy design.

 

We have gotten a very slight drone, but nothing significant at all. With the valves closed ZERO drone with catted and catless setups

 

Thanks Secret. I appreciate your input. I remember our previous conversation and I believe (AND HOPE) that it may have something to do with the bulky valved exhaust and ventilation as well. However, the F8 may have slightly better ventilation than the Pista as it has the grills on each side, just below the tail lights. Here's to hope.

 

Agreed, I bet those can certainly help.

If you do end up getting it, tagging a few of these behind your bumper in different areas may be an interesting study, esp. with the OEM exhaust. I didn't get a chance to do this as I was frankly unwilling to let the Novitec system get hot enough to damage other components like wiring etc in the car.

https://www.mcmaster.com/5957K71/

 

I wonder if the gold plated novitec versions offer any additional heat protection.

 

Thank you for the information. I was just about to buy an exhaust system from them. Thank goodness I didn’t. So sad to see that customer service is terrible as it was where you had to go through your credit card company to get a refund.

Luckily your credit card company stood by you when customer service from the vendor didn’t.

 

It absolutely does add some heat protection

 

I am sure, at a very modest price

 

It comes in around $3300 additional.

 

Secret, Glad to hear you got your money back. Whatever vendor you used I don’t want to do biz with them. I’ve heard Novitec can be slimy and horrible...actually non-existent customer service from dealer level to consumer.

 

That is why you address with seller/distributors.

 

I understand that... but Novitec should of ultimaely helped out. The company I work for (musical instrument company) would of definitely helped out if the music store (dealer) did not step up and help out in which the music store would of called me if it was my product with an issue and we would take care of the issue with the store to the consumer. In some cases a store/dealer drops the ball on an issue and the consumer calls us the manufacture directly we 1st get with the store to find out why they did not respond and we get the ball rolling on taking care of the consumer right away or we take care of the consumer directly.

It is horrible that the seller...performance parts dealer, didn't seem to help out and then ultimately the manufacture Novitec did not step up to help out after being contacted with Secrets exhaust issue.

I do not know who the seller/dealer was but we all know Novitec was the part (exhaust) with the issue and they were alerted and chose to ignore and not respond to the issue with the customer/consumer. That is very very bad and puts a really bad light ultimately on Novitec. This is not the 1st I have heard of Novitec's lack of customer service.

 

What I meant was that seller/distributor should have handled this for the client. I agree that the manufacturer should have the duty and feel responsible to at the very least return the call/email. It is of poor form. No doubt. In addition, the seller/distributor should have gone the extra mile to ensure everything was done from their end to get an acknowledgement or answer from Novitec.

 

Yes we are on the same page... ;-)

 

Definitely important to buy from the correct seller. Where Secret bought from is well known and I would have thought reputable, but apparently it is not the place to do business. I am not deterred from buying a Novitec product, but I will be careful about where I buy it from for sure, knowing that problems have occurred.

 

I agree! That is why I recommend TAG in CA. I have heard good things about Vivid Racing in AZ (can't personally opine) and really good things about Wheels Boutique in Miami.

 

TAG has been fantastic with my 6000 questions. One of the others listed was Secret’s problem

 

Sean from TAG is great!

 

I agree. If you purchase a TV from Best Buy or Target, and they ultimately sell you a defective unit, like say one that causes a house fire, ultimately the manufacturer of the TV needs to step up and take ownership of resolving the issue.

Now multiply the cost of that by 2x - 5x (depend on what kind of TVs you like), and consider the fact that neither the reseller or Novitec owned up the issue.

Anyway, I have personally found both TAG & Wheels Boutique as incredibly supportive resellers in my experience with purchases/discussions of other products. Just to be clear, I did not purchase my Novitec system through either of them.

After checking just now, it looks like the retailer I purchased from apparently is no longer a forum sponsor here. Not sure if they intentionally stopped or if their last sponsorship expired. If you search any posts they've made, it also indicates that their username is now banned. Again not sure when it happened (wasn't my doing).

Since this is a TAG thread about Novitec, I will respectively leave things at that.