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Success replacing stock exhaust tips with Carbon Fiber Tips
This has been talked about before, but just wanted to give my two cents on this. I really hate the hideous stock C8 Stingray exhaust tips, personal preference I know, but that's me. I don't have an issue with the exhaust so I figured I'd purchase some aftermarket tips (they cost me about $150 and look great) and just give it a whirl. After some research and trial and error I figured it out and truly it's not that hard and you do NOT have to remove anything! You'll need a Dremel 4000 (don't use the 3000) or something similar with metal cutting wheels. I love the Dremel because it has a quick connect head that makes it super easy to swap the cutting wheels. There is a single short video of someone in Florida cutting the tips from the inside, but it doesn't give any details. Through trial and error I did exactly what the video shows and to my relief it wasn't bad at all. Probably a couple of hours total. Cutting the tips off takes the longest and you'll go through many of the metal cutting wheels. I'd have at least a dozen on hand, probably two dozen to be safe. They wear out quickly and I changed them a LOT! Set the Dremel to 30 and let her rip. Take your time cutting just to the inside of the inner ring in the stock tip. After it's off I HIGHLY recommend grinding down the outer ring (the orange grinding tips that came with the Dremel work fine) to clean the shavings and the welds behind the ring. Once that's done it's pretty easy installing the aftermarket tips. Big lesson learned is to put the inner (closest to center of car) on first! Tighten with a ratchet (my tips had 5/8 in nuts), which is easy with the other tip off. After the inner is tightened down put on the outer tip. The outer tip needs to have the clamp adjusted so the nut is facing straight down. The only way to access it is this way so you can use a wrench (the ratchet won't fit). This takes longer since you can only make small adjustments but it's not bad at all. A little patience and it will be tight before you know it. I took a while removing and adjusting both sides after they were on to get
them as close to perfect as possible. I'm extremely **** about that. After you get them on the first time it's not bad at all taking them off and on to adjust, you get better at quickly tightening the nuts. That's it, I'm not a mechanic, though I'm decently mechanically inclined, but trust me if I can do it anyone can. If you take off the rear bumper and use a Sawzall in my opinion you are doing too much work, but to each his own. Once I got going and figured out how to lay down and cut it probably took 10-15 min per tip to come off......I wasn't in a rush, I just went slowly and methodically. The final result is in my opinion a night and day difference in how the rear end looks. I absolutely love it!
Looks awesome! We've been chatting and I'm doing this project Saturday. Rather than the Dremel, I've been told by others that have done this project, get the Hercules die grinder from harbor freight and a diamond cutting wheel. Cuts it down to 2 minutes per tip and you should only need the one wheel. I ordered this one from Amazon
Lenox Tools 1972914 METALMAX Diamond Edge Cutoff Wheel, 1.5" x 3/8" Don't get this wheel, it sucked, still figuring out a better solution.
Damn, I wish someone would have told me that.......oh well, best of luck. If it's 2 minutes per tip then you'll have the entire project done in under an hour.......
Complete failure today. I discovered there was no part that came with the die grinder to attach the cutting wheel. The local hardware store didn't have anything so cobbled together a screw and nut that fit, but couldn't be tightened down enough to hold the cutting wheel without slippage.
Then went to home Depot (for the 2nd time today) and Lowe's and neither had the piece I needed in 1/4" so I bought a few different pieces and managed to use parts from each to get the wheel tight on the die grinder. I was also going to buy some extra wheels but the only small wheels were for a Dremel and the hole in the center was too small for the die grinder.
So back home I started cutting again and wore out the $17 wheel after only getting thru the bottom of one tip. I was using my GoPro for all this intending to share the process but now I'm sort of stuck as I don't want to spend hundreds on cutting wheels. I may need to fall back to the Dremel idea. I'm disappointed this is much more difficult that I was expecting.
I also failed at lowering the car today, couldn't get the plastic piece around the coiliver threads off. The Paragon video makes it look simple with two screw drivers to pry it off. Not remotely simple. At least I got my 20mm spacers in successfully.
Thanks for the update @rawbar . I appreciate it when people share failures as well as successes - I always find that insight very valuable. I've thought of doing this (after seeing someone else post it up more than a year ago) but wasn't sure how difficult it would be with a dremel, so I never attempted it. I was also wondering whether a muffler shop could cut off the tips from the inside of the tip with a torch, or if that would be impossible.
Thanks for the update @rawbar . I appreciate it when people share failures as well as successes - I always find that insight very valuable. I've thought of doing this (after seeing someone else post it up more than a year ago) but wasn't sure how difficult it would be with a dremel, so I never attempted it. I was also wondering whether a muffler shop could cut off the tips from the inside of the tip with a torch, or if that would be impossible.
I'm going to swing by a muffler shop I think. I was planning on publishing my video with all the problems as well, as you say, it's important especially if you're not very handy like me. These videos I watch, everyone makes everything look so easy.
Have you properly measured the "outside diameter" of the OEM pipes? I ask because the tips you've shown are 2.5" inlet diameter, and will have to fit over whatever the stock pipes are. Most C8 aftermarket exhaust tips have a 3" inlet diameter.
Folks have already figured this all out. 2.5 and 2.75 to 4 both work. 2.5 doesn't work. It's the same diameter of the pipe you've got after you cut the tip off so it won't fit over it, only up against it.
Ok, not done trying to do this yet. Just found 50 2" wheels on Amazon for about $35. We will try it one more time, just without the costly diamonds in the cutoff wheel.
Anyone, a close up photo of what the new tips look like installed? The photos in the OP don't show enough detail other than the factory tips are gone. By more detail, I'm thinking about the new tips being carbon fiber.
I just wanted to provide a quick follow up. I am still going thru this process, I haven't given up. I have now managed to cut off one tip. But I don't believe the replacement tips I purchased (and previously said above would fit) will actually fit. I sent a PM to the OP of this thread as I believe he bought the same dimensions I did, so maybe there is something I don't understand. I've been using my GoPro to video the process, and once done will make it available on youtube. Probably unedited. But because I'm doing this outside, sitting on the ground, in new england, I'm only working on days where it's hitting close to 50 degrees, which is why it's taking so long.
Folks have already figured this all out. 2.5 and 2.75 to 4 both work. 2.5 doesn't work. It's the same diameter of the pipe you've got after you cut the tip off so it won't fit over it, only up against it.
Can't you loosen the clamp and spread the pipe on the new tip and jam in on? The listing says they fit 2.5" pipe.
02-08-2024, 04:06 PM
Success replacing stock exhaust tips with Carbon Fiber Tips
