hey everybody i have a 96 camaro 3.8l and i just got the magna flow cat-back system for it and where the new exhaust connects to the s pipe, that goes into the catalytic converter, there isn't enough room to put the u shaped bolt to mount the new exhaust to the s pipe becausethe factory protective plate that mounts directly under where the s pipe hits the new exhaust is in the way because the new exhaust system sits a little lower.... all i wanna know is does thatprotective plate serve a purpose to the new exhaust or is it just there to get in the way?

 

just remove that plate, install the u bolt then reinstall the plate, it may not seem like it serves a purpose, but the manufacturer put it there for a reason, so it does something

 

Are you talking about the pc of metal that is screwed to the floor pan that follows the contour of the S pipe? If so, that is a heat sheild. Keeps heat from your floor boards

 

no im not talking about the heat shield im talking about the plate that screws in on both sides of i guess the rear floor boards and the plate basically just offers extra support/protection for the exhaust because the exhaust sits up above it

 

since you have a V6 that structural brace isn't AS important...but I would leave it in there...

How is there not enough room? I dont see any reason why you cant make a Spipe to fit where the current spipe is?

 

magna flow tried to tell me in the directions that the 98 and newer camaros had the s pipe welded onto the cat. but their obviously wrong because my 96 has the s pipe welded onto the cat. and the problem is that the u-bolt that mounts the new exhaust to the s pipe sits too low causing the plate that mounts under the exhaust to hit the u-bolt, basically i just need to cut the old s pipe off of the cat and weld the s pipe that came with the exhaust to the cat because the new s pipe is longer and will shift the whole exhaust to the rear of the car which is what i need to do so that the pipe that goes over my rear axle doesn't his my heat shield or scrape the rear of my axle which is what its doing now all because magna flow was incorrect about me not having an s pipe welded to my cat. so basically right now the system is as if it were too short because it all needs to be shifted back which is what the new s pipe will do