New exhaust packing on my bumper?

[Calderone]

I'm not sure if this is normal. Sorry if this is a stupid question haha. So I recently bought and installed an AWE single exit touring exhaust. I've had it on for about 250miles so it's still "breaking in"

I live in Illinois so my car is full of salt from the roads, but I've noticed something more than just salt on the bumper and trunk of my car. It's only on the side the exhaust is on.

I'm wondering if some of the packing material they use in the muffler/resonator is coming out of the exhaust and sticking to my car. Is this a problem? Should I tell AWE and get a new muffler that's packed correctly? I'm new to exhaust systems so I'm not sure if this is normal. Here are some pictures. Any help is appreciated!

[flowhigh]

I'm sure someone will say that's normal, but you paid for that? Hope you get the performance you're looking for. I'd contact the supplier you purchased from.

[old guy]

I would not consider that normal. I have installed numerous performance exhausts over the years and have never encountered anything like that.

Definitely give AWE a call.

[Calderone]

I have emailed AWE, I'll post the update when I receive one. Thank you!

[choppstixxx]

I wonder with the colder temps we are all getting, weird things like this will happen. Hopefully it's just a defective exhaust.

[Calderone]

I wonder with the colder temps we are all getting, weird things like this will happen. Hopefully it's just a defective exhaust.

Maybe. It has been -10 Fahrenheit to +15 Fahrenheit the entire last week. So pretty much the entire time this exhaust has been installed.

[Calderone]

It's blown all over the trunk all the way up to the tail light. I'll take a full size picture and post it soon

[choppstixxx]

It's blown all over the trunk all the way up to the tail light. I'll take a full size picture and post it soon

I'm sure it doesn't help that our cars are covered in salt/snow/water and just probably sticks to everything on the back of your car.

[Calderone]

[JeriQo]

I'm not sure if this is normal. Sorry if this is a stupid question haha. So I recently bought and installed an AWE single exit touring exhaust. I've had it on for about 250miles so it's still "breaking in"

I live in Illinois so my car is full of salt from the roads, but I've noticed something more than just salt on the bumper and trunk of my car. It's only on the side the exhaust is on.

I'm wondering if some of the packing material they use in the muffler/resonator is coming out of the exhaust and sticking to my car. Is this a problem? Should I tell AWE and get a new muffler that's packed correctly? I'm new to exhaust systems so I'm not sure if this is normal. Here are some pictures. Any help is appreciated!

these pictures gives me anxiety.

[Calderone]

these pictures gives me anxiety.

I can't wash the car or it will freeze instantly :(

[choppstixxx]

I can't wash the car or it will freeze instantly :(

Don't have any DIY ones with the garage doors you can close? That's what I've been using lately and it's actually really nice. Good pressure washers with hot water, can hand wash it with my own bucket/soap. Dry it in a decently warm area before I pull it back out in the 10* weather.

[vdubjetta02]

Looks like the baffle material from the muffler came out..... Some mufflers don't have that fiberglass batting in them, but some do.

[SounderMN]

Don't have any DIY ones with the garage doors you can close? That's what I've been using lately and it's actually really nice. Good pressure washers with hot water, can hand wash it with my own bucket/soap. Dry it in a decently warm area before I pull it back out in the 10* weather.

You don't want to do this when it is near zero temps. You can freeze locks, freeze and tear rubber, or tear the felt around the windows. Water can creep into small crevices, and then freeze. When water freezes, it expands and bad things happen. Consider the water in your sunroof drains, for example. Don't wash the car in 10 degree weather!

[tominabox1]

You don't want to do this when it is near zero temps. You can freeze locks, freeze and tear rubber, or tear the felt around the windows. Water can creep into small crevices, and then freeze. When water freezes, it expands and bad things happen. Consider the water in your sunroof drains, for example. Don't wash the car in 10 degree weather!

what do you think happens when it snows and melts and freezes and melts and freezes...

[choppstixxx]

You don't want to do this when it is near zero temps. You can freeze locks, freeze and tear rubber, or tear the felt around the windows. Water can creep into small crevices, and then freeze. When water freezes, it expands and bad things happen. Consider the water in your sunroof drains, for example. Don't wash the car in 10 degree weather!

I def. agree with ya, but I will note I dry my car pretty thoroughly (all the door jams/trunk/hood/gas door) especially since I have detailed cars for the past 15+ yrs. I also use an electric leaf blower to force blow out a lot of water from areas that you can't reach.

[Spawne32]

that is utterly awful, hopefully you can get it off the bumper and it didnt cause any damage. They are probably outsourcing the production of their exhausts to china, thats some piss poor manufacturing.

[Calderone]

I called AWE and I talked to someone named Dan. Dan claims it's normal and it will stick if it's wet or damp outside. I sent them an email with pictures earlier but have not heard back from the email. I wonder if I'll get the same response from the email. Dan says it's just the loose packing coming out and states it's normal.

Still mind boggling how this is "normal"

I'll update again once I receive feedback on my email I sent them

[BeerBrent]

That's crazy.

[Spawne32]

I called AWE and I talked to someone named Dan. Dan claims it's normal and it will stick if it's wet or damp outside. I sent them an email with pictures earlier but have not heard back from the email. I wonder if I'll get the same response from the email. Dan says it's just the loose packing coming out and states it's normal.

Still mind boggling how this is "normal"

I'll update again once I receive feedback on my email I sent them

Scratch AWE off my list of potential exhaust systems ill ever use. That is not normal at all. You should never be blowing the packing out of the exhaust if the product was made correctly.

[Calderone]

Here's another picture

[Calderone]

Here's another update:

[G_Wagon]

Wow...the aftermarket car parts industry really is struggs

[Spawne32]

The whole point of the fiberglass packing in the resonator is for exactly that purpose, to help reduce the resonate frequency of the exhaust inside the cabin. If your shooting the fiberglass packing out of your exhaust, it means the resonator has failed internally. The fact that they are even trying to shrug this off as "normal" disgusts me. I'd put these guys on blast all over the net if it was me.

[hyperunion]

that is utterly awful, hopefully you can get it off the bumper and it didnt cause any damage. They are probably outsourcing the production of their exhausts to china, thats some piss poor manufacturing.

That's something they are definitely not doing!!. I've seen the production facility myself, and it's top notch, had my exaust made and installed at the very facility!..
The lifetime warranty they will definitely stand behind!..
In a time of well known American companies outsourcing pretty much anything they can find to other countries, it's great to see awe really making an effort to keep manufacturing local!!

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[Spawne32]

That's something they are definitely not doing!!. I've seen the production facility myself, and it's top notch, had my exaust made and installed at the very facility!..

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If it's supposed to be a high quality product then obviously it shouldn't be shooting the packing of the resonator out of the exhaust lol I've had cheaper exhaust systems then what AWE sells these things for, fully stainless that never had issues like this, sometimes with 3 mufflers fully packed. I'm just stunned they tried passing this off as normal.

[bakedziti]

I'm just stunned they tried passing this off as normal.

Couldn't agree with this more. While I doubt AWE would cover the labor to have this removed and then reinstalled, I personally would have the whole damn thing removed and sent back to be replaced under warranty now rather than later. Their customer service may be "top notch", but leaving a customer without any piece of their exhaust while it's being "analyzed and replaced if need be" may eventually correct the issue but it will never compensate the customer for the trouble or other accommodations that may need to be made. I have never dealt with AWE, so I really can't comment on their level of service, nor their manufacturing quality, but I would personally think pretty hard before dropping $1K+ on their products if this is "normal".

[ducati]

That is not even normal even with cheap exhausts.

[flowhigh]

what do you think happens when it snows and melts and freezes and melts and freezes...

Your car explodes! Just kidding. I wash my car in this weather every week at the local drive through. Have to get the undercarriage and all.

Windows will freeze so don't try to use them. Auto door lock actuators, gas door and everything else is fine. I use the colder windshield wiper fluid and it still freezes. I stay away from the extreme stuff since it clearly written on the label that it is bad for your car finish.

If you are a garage parker you definitely want to wash. When ice melts that is when all the salt becomes acidic. This is especially the case if you are a magnesium chloride "Brine" state. This is where the salt starts to dissolve and acidic properties begin to take affect. Brine starts in only 20% humidity where as rock salt remains crystallized to 70%.

[shivaswrath]

That's muffler material that eventually burns in after the break in period....why it's leaking out is weird. And why AWE thinks it's normal baffles me.

[SleeperCar]

Something is fishy hear, I have awe exhaust and love every single inch of it. It’s Mated to a milltek DP which is then mated to eurocode HFC.

I know tons of people with awe and have never heard of this.

Two questions:

1. You have touring edition, like I do. who installed it?

2. Is the rest of your exhaust system stock? If not, what else do you have?


I think one of two things have occurred, but I’m curious on OPs answers first.

[Calderone]

Something is fishy hear, I have awe exhaust and love every single inch of it. It’s Mated to a milltek DP which is then mated to eurocode HFC.

I know tons of people with awe and have never heard of this.

Two questions:

1. You have touring edition, like I do. who installed it?

2. Is the rest of your exhaust system stock? If not, what else do you have?


I think one of two things have occurred, but I’m curious on OPs answers first.

I have the touring edition. A shop that does a lot of euro cars and exhaust installed it.

My exhaust setup is, APR Cast Downpipe(high flow cat) then goes into a 3" APR midpipe straight pipe that comes with the Downpipe. Then it goes straight into the touring edition awe single exit dual tip exhaust. They installed it perfectly fine. Never dropped or mid handled. Here are before and after pics of the install.

I just washed my car today. I'll see if the packing material is still coming out.

[adamazing]

Something is fishy hear, I have awe exhaust and love every single inch of it. It’s Mated to a milltek DP which is then mated to eurocode HFC.

I know tons of people with awe and have never heard of this.

I'm running the exact same set-up and I never experienced anything like this either.
Of course, it was installed in the middle of summer with no rain and obviously no salt - but I never noticed anything even close to packing material diffusing over my rear end.

[Spawne32]

I'm running the exact same set-up and I never experienced anything like this either.
Of course, it was installed in the middle of summer with no rain and obviously no salt - but I never noticed anything even close to packing material diffusing over my rear end.

why would weather or road salt effect in the internal packing of the muffler though? you could install this thing in outerspace and it still shouldnt blow the packing material out if it was made correctly

[Calderone]

why would weather or road salt effect in the internal packing of the muffler though? you could install this thing in outerspace and it still shouldnt blow the packing material out if it was made correctly

It might be because of the negative degree weather. That's the only thing I can think of. The packing material settles when it's warmed up or heated (AWE claims this)

Maybe since the outside temp of the exhaust is cold and the inside temp is hot/warm. Maybe that has something to do with the packing not settling correctly or fast enough. That's the only thing I can think of for AWE to back up their claim. I don't think anything else would cause it, other than a defective exhaust.

[SleeperCar]

It might be because of the negative degree weather. That's the only thing I can think of. The packing material settles when it's warmed up or heated (AWE claims this)

Maybe since the outside temp of the exhaust is cold and the inside temp is hot/warm. Maybe that has something to do with the packing not settling correctly or fast enough. That's the only thing I can think of for AWE to back up their claim. I don't think anything else would cause it, other than a defective exhaust.

Either that or you park near a dryer vent and don’t know it....

I’m unsure but all I can say is mine never had symptoms like this.

[adamazing]

why would weather or road salt effect in the internal packing of the muffler though? you could install this thing in outerspace and it still shouldnt blow the packing material out if it was made correctly

Oh, no I wasn't implying the weather had any effect on that part. I meant that if my setup did spew out packing material, maybe I never saw it because my car was never wet, and that never created an environment for it to paste itself to my bumper like it does for OP.

Probably not the case, just just relaying my own personal experience with my AWE's.

[Project Quattro]

The packing material settles when it's warmed up or heated (AWE claims this)

Definitely does in my experience. Mine got significantly louder and better-sounding over the first 2-3,000 miles after install.

But, to the OP's point, I had it installed in February '17... it wasn't insanely cold but it was winter and I never saw anything like that. +1 for a defective muffler.


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[bshanna]

i had an AWE dual single exit touring (with black diamond tips), installed in january in denver and had zero issues like this (FWIW, i also had an APR cast downpipe).It really does sound like something is wrong with that exhaust?

Also, if anyone is in the market for a great condition AWE dual single exit touring (with black diamond tips), let me know :)