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When I recently switch back to the stock PSE exhaust, I decided to clean up the stainless steel tips before putting them back on. I tried a new approach and it worked so well I thought I'd post it, although others have figured this out previously.
I used some Mother's Metal Polish (Mothers 05101 Mag and Aluminum Polish) along with a 1" Dremel felt polishing wheel. It just plowed through the staining on the exhaust tips. For the result the level of effort was surprisingly low. Note that it is probably best to remove the tips to do this, so it probably isn't something you'd do too often.
Just use a rag to rub a little metal polish on a section of the exhaust tip, then come back over that with the Dremel at medium speed until the staining is removed (which is pretty quick!). At first I applied the polished directly to the Dremel felt but that was a bit too messy since it slung off and made a mess.
The only additional thing I had to do was use some solvent to remove some dots of tar that had spattered on the tips. The final results came out pretty well and I don't think it had any negative impact on the metal itself.
Probably similar to what you used but I have really liked Mother's Marine PowerMetal Liquid Metal Polish (91048). I tried all sorts of metal polishes that all did a good job cleaning up but then the metal surface would just build up crud again pretty quickly. The marine polish probably leaves something behind to prohibit corrosion. I don't have to polish tips very often any more.
On a related note what is the best product for cleaning the black GTS exhaust tips? I just hit them during my normal car wash process but there is def some crud built up on the outside.
On a related note what is the best product for cleaning the black GTS exhaust tips? I just hit them during my normal car wash process but there is def some crud built up on the outside.
Ive taken dedicated clay bar and done my exhaust tips in the past with pretty good success, specifically when I was running catless in my e46 M3.
Im sure theres probably some debris that can get on a exhaust tip that it may not remove due to the thermal cycling involved with exhaust components, but if its just some stubborn gunk it might be worth a try. Ive always been amazed at the stuff clay bars remove.
Those look a little too far out? And very scratched up. Time for ceramic powder coating.
Yeah, I'm thinking they are out a little too far too but the photo angle even makes them look more so. I'll tweak them inwards a bit more though.
The tips are brushed stainless steel so 99% of the "scratching" you see is just the brushing from that. The polishing introduced no additional scratching. I see there are a couple of smears from hand oils that I didn't clean off properly after installation before taking photos like I should have so those aren't helping your perception of them either.
The OEM finish is surprising bad in the first place for tips that retail over $700 each. Too bad I didn't take some "before" photos so you could have seen how cruddy they had gotten before doing this. But I guess I got lazy and let them get that way in the first place.
For my car with its brushed clear mono bloc HRE wheels, I decided to stick with silvery accents rather than going dark... but your tips did come out nicely with the coating. How well they stand up to repeating cleaning cycles? At least with the metal I'm not worried about polishing off or damaging the coating like I would be with a coated product.
For my car with its brushed clear mono bloc HRE wheels, I decided to stick with silvery accents rather than going dark... but your tips did come out nicely with the coating. How well they stand up to repeating cleaning cycles? At least with the metal I'm not worried about polishing off or damaging the coating like I would be with a coated product.
Makes sense regarding your HRE wheel finish.
My ceramic coating is still photo perfect after 47,000 miles and 3.5 years.
after trying aftermarket and coming back to PSE, and being back in PSE for a month or so how do you feel about the two now?
Did you feel like the car lost power going back to oem?
My earlier tests in another thread did show measurable gains under the same conditions with the aftermarket exhaust. But I can't say I feel it in the seat of my pants now that I've rolled back. Here's why:
I've decided that I now appreciate the now seemingly modest sound of the PSE more than I did before. With a louder exhaust, I was taking it a lot easier on the car when I was out around town because I semi-consciously worried about being too loud, so I made less use of any existing or additional power I had. But out in the open or when I was in a more aggressive mood it was great! With the stock PSE back on I can now zip about more like I used to even if I'm actually a little slower at WOT.
For those that may be interested in more sound than the PSE and are less conservative than I am, I've got the louder exhaust I was using for sale at a great price on the Rennlist Classifieds here: https://rennlist.com/forums/parts-ma...l#post14458428. That post also references a video comparing the sounds. It will fit both PSE and non-PSE cars and includes remote switching capabilities for non-PSE cars.
09-19-2017, 05:32 PM
Car care "tip" - as in Exhaust Tip
