Avera

Many have tinkered with positioning and landed with different preferences

I found lowing them a bit does not impact the ‘full open’ experience from having the collars all the way to the top . . . and provides some theoretical peace of mind that a little play still occurs that will prevent the stems from seizing. I doubt the stem would ever seize in place but, again, just a little theoretical peace of mind.

Avera

StilettoPat

981Kman and I did the mods on our cars at the same time, which allows for some travel of the valve assembly, and to the best of my knowledge, neither of us has experienced any negative issues of any sort as a result of performing this relatively simple modification.

981KMAN

You are welcome. I am glad that my idea is helping so many folks! You can try different positions and get slightly different sounds from the exhaust. That's the beauty of the Collar Mod - Its Adjustable!!

I think if you lower your collars from what is shown in the picture you will not hear much change in sound, yet allow the valves to move a little more. All I can say is play with it and find the position that YOU like best.

baege

kudos to this fella for putting this together, not sure if you are a member on here


amazingly detailed explanation which really helped me see what was involved

I have to confess for a non-handy type, it looks a little intimidating to be able to accomplish under the car with no lift.

I also find myself leaning towards the disconnect lines and plug method for reversabiity...getting these collars out later would seem to be quite the feat if you wanted to revert to stock

I also have to confess I am starting to wonder if either method is worth the hassle, if you are just going to leave it at that for now...seems like having the valves open all the time is really just a subtle difference in overall enjoyment of the car on an otherwise stock exhaust

MrFunk

I decided to put the collars on the stock exhaust system while I figure out my exhaust (most likely Kline in the next couple months). The car currently has no OAP's..., it's fully stock... I placed the collars favoring the more conservative setting... probably 5mm from most conservative (all the way down). I can hear a change in volume still when the valves open, but in the "closed" position I now have just a bit more exhaust note... I don't particularly like the tone of the OEM exhaust which is why I didn't want them more open all the time... I think this more conservative setting works well with a completely OEM system. My $0.02

981KMAN

Adding or removing the Collars are quite ease. Takes about 5 minutes each side with the car on the ground. So the collar mod is easily reversible and adjustable as to valve position.

I agree that locking the valves full open all the time, by plugging the vacuum lines or by mounting the collar up against the actuator mount is not the best option. While the YouTube video shown above is nicely done, it misses one of the main benefits of my Collar Mod - that is, the adjustable feature to allow the valves to be held open at various levels. So you can set the exhaust sound to your individual taste - 30%, 50%, 80% open.... anywhere that sounds best to you. The video demonstrates the Locked Full Open option, yet does not explain that other positions will provide other exhaust notes, and you can still have some exhaust note attenuation without the obvious "step" around 3700 RPM. If you are going to lock the valves full open all the time and live with the Drone, you might as well just plug the vacuum lines....... Kind of misses the cool feature of the Collar Mod - its adjustability.

baege

it seems to me an added benefit of having the collars further up the shaft is easier access to the tightening screws, I think part of what makes the installation in the above video look difficult is that when the collars are placed all the way down it's tough to tighten or loosen the screws.

but I am curious as to why you say you might as well plug the vaccum lines as opposed to using the collars if you are going to have the valves open all the way all the time?

bubbledragon

the collars can come off with enthusiastic driving, in my experience.

thisisntatestlol

Was going to ask if people are applying loctite to the screws? About to install on GT4RS once It's back from PPF.

BoxKing

A good hand tighten has worked fine for me on both the factory system, and my current aftermarket setup.

981KMAN

Possibly you did not tighten the screws enough or left any packaging/storage lube on the screws before installation? I have not experience any movement or loosening of my collars (~9K miles), yet I used the Black Oxide versions as they grip the shafts better.

Possibly some blue Loctite if you need a little extra reassurance.

981KMAN

All I meant is that if you choose to hold the valves open 100% of the time, it is the same as plugging the vacuum lines, and you are not taking advantage of having the valves partially open with some movement to keep them from freezing in one position. Plus you live with the 100% open Drone, that can otherwise be reduce/eliminated with the valves partially closed.

The advantage of the Collar Mod over plugging the vacuum lines is the adjustability of the Valve Opening level. You can eliminate the sound change @ ~3700 RPM, and most of the Drone by letting the valves partially close, and not keeping them at 100% open.

eXstasy

Oops. Wish I had read this before ordering my stainless steel versions. You're right, I would imagine the black oxide holds the actual shaft better. Hopefully mine do not fall off or slip.

BoxKing

To refresh for those looking to buy the collars.
I installed these on my OEM & Kline, without any issues with them moving or falling off.
https://a.co/d/3VLSVSO

SpyderSenseOC

Wow. That is a lot of video and a lot of talking for something that is very simple and does not require removal of the rear section. Great for someone with almost zero mechanical ability, I guess, but a bit of overkill. We're talking two screws here.

I tend to agree that if what you are seeking is totally open valves all the time, the easiest method is to simply disconnect and plug the vacuum line(s). For me, wide open all the time was just too much (too loud at times when I just want stealth) and I ended up taking the collars off and just sticking with the Akra OAPs. YMWV. But I am also still toying with the idea of trying to introduce a vacuum delay valve that will make the opening and closing a much more gradual thing. The stock setup is way too flip of a switch for me and doesn't seem tied to throttle pressure like it should be in my opinion. I want my exhaust to get louder as a result of more demand from my right foot and not as a result of a solenoid opening a couple of valves.