Installed ARK / Ripped Drive Shaft / Vendor Review
03-04-2016, 01:41 PM
#1
Registered Member
Thread Starter
Installed ARK / Ripped Drive Shaft / Vendor Review
What's up fellow G's. As the title states, y'all probably like wtf... 
Anyways, lets do it section by section.
Installed ARK GRIP CBE
As some may have known, I took advantage of the 30% tax return sale + free shipping offered by ARK. Seemed like a pretty good price for this type of system.
Unpacking Exhaust
View from back of car looking towards front
View from front of car looking towards back
Final Pic Installed
Overall, exhaust sounds nice and deep with the "new" burning smell as most exhausts have. But I have another question. The mid pipes seem to awkward / funny looking as they aren't symmetrical. One of the hangers was actually an inch longer than the other. Under the car, it looks funky for some reason. No exhaust leaks so far or anything though. Just wondering if this is common with most ARKS? anyways, very pleased.
Ripped / Torn Drive shaft
As I was getting ready to install my exhaust when I noticed something under my car while it was on the lift. It caught my eye because it looked sort of like 2 rips on a piece that was unknown at that time. Here is a picture of it:
Up-close
Little better pic of an overall idea
Now, according to Infiniti, this is part of the driveshaft. This RARELY happens according to them. But who knows. I have 62,000 miles on the vehicle which is a 2011 G37S Sedan 7AT. If I didnt install my exhaust, I would've never found it as my car was at the stealership a week ago and they did not see it.
According to Infiniti, this rip can cause vibration on all levels. Meaning, the car will start to vibrate while in operation. Now that I think of it, I have been having vibration in the car as you can sometime feel in / hear it with the cupholders. Anyways, it's getting fixed under powertrain warranty on Monday. If anyone is having huge vibration problems, this may be a solution!
Vendor Review
Charles at B2AutoDesign is the man. He did his upmost best to make sure I was satisfied as well as update me on all the info needed. Will for sure be doing business with them in the future. They are on top of their stuff and are generous and great people. Thank you once again Charles.
ANYWAYS, sorry for the 3 threads in 1. Just felt like it was easier
Anyways, lets do it section by section.
Installed ARK GRIP CBE
As some may have known, I took advantage of the 30% tax return sale + free shipping offered by ARK. Seemed like a pretty good price for this type of system.
Unpacking Exhaust
View from back of car looking towards front
View from front of car looking towards back
Final Pic Installed
Overall, exhaust sounds nice and deep with the "new" burning smell as most exhausts have. But I have another question. The mid pipes seem to awkward / funny looking as they aren't symmetrical. One of the hangers was actually an inch longer than the other. Under the car, it looks funky for some reason. No exhaust leaks so far or anything though. Just wondering if this is common with most ARKS? anyways, very pleased.
Ripped / Torn Drive shaft
As I was getting ready to install my exhaust when I noticed something under my car while it was on the lift. It caught my eye because it looked sort of like 2 rips on a piece that was unknown at that time. Here is a picture of it:
Up-close
Little better pic of an overall idea
Now, according to Infiniti, this is part of the driveshaft. This RARELY happens according to them. But who knows. I have 62,000 miles on the vehicle which is a 2011 G37S Sedan 7AT. If I didnt install my exhaust, I would've never found it as my car was at the stealership a week ago and they did not see it.
According to Infiniti, this rip can cause vibration on all levels. Meaning, the car will start to vibrate while in operation. Now that I think of it, I have been having vibration in the car as you can sometime feel in / hear it with the cupholders. Anyways, it's getting fixed under powertrain warranty on Monday. If anyone is having huge vibration problems, this may be a solution!
Vendor Review
Charles at B2AutoDesign is the man. He did his upmost best to make sure I was satisfied as well as update me on all the info needed. Will for sure be doing business with them in the future. They are on top of their stuff and are generous and great people. Thank you once again Charles.
ANYWAYS, sorry for the 3 threads in 1. Just felt like it was easier
Last edited by SkyG37; 02-23-2019 at 08:49 PM.
The following 5 users liked this post by SkyG37:
ANMVQ (03-05-2016),
Bionicman (03-04-2016),
blnewt (03-04-2016),
Rochester (03-04-2016),
slartibartfast (03-04-2016)
03-04-2016, 02:17 PM
#2
Administrator
iTrader: (9)
Excellent quality photos here, really letting people see this exhaust from a practical perspective. Well done. And big thumbs-up for cluing people into that drive-shaft problem. It's the first I've heard of it, and is enough of a big deal to be worth remembering. Thanks, OP.
So much better than your "I found this piece of trash on the road, did it fall off my car?" thread. LOL
So much better than your "I found this piece of trash on the road, did it fall off my car?" thread. LOL
Last edited by Rochester; 03-04-2016 at 02:32 PM.
The following 2 users liked this post by Rochester:
guy from norcal (03-05-2016),
SkyG37 (03-04-2016)
The following users liked this post:
SkyG37 (03-04-2016)
03-04-2016, 02:41 PM
#4
Ok, I saw this thread and had an interesting revelation. It gets really old and annoying when people post the same questions over and over, the typical one sentence question with no pictures, easily found if a single ounce of effort or searching was attempted. It never gets old seeing car part **** and reviews, even if it's parts we've seen a bunch of times.
We all appreciate you being the latter type of new member. Thanks for the pics and review!
We all appreciate you being the latter type of new member. Thanks for the pics and review!
The following users liked this post:
SkyG37 (03-04-2016)
03-04-2016, 03:07 PM
#5
Registered Member
Thread Starter
Excellent quality photos here, really letting people see this exhaust from a practical perspective. Well done. And big thumbs-up for cluing people into that drive-shaft problem. It's the first I've heard of it, and is enough of a big deal to be worth remembering. Thanks, OP.
So much better than your "I found this piece of trash on the road, did it fall off my car?" thread. LOL
So much better than your "I found this piece of trash on the road, did it fall off my car?" thread. LOL
Also, just a little fact, the rip in the driveshaft is caused by wear and tear, not really driving habits. They also said if you live in a hot area, it could crack it since it's made with rubber and the heat can crack it? Just a little heads up. I'll let you guys know how it goes on Monday. I'll get part numbers for you guys as well JUST in case it happens in the future.
Thanks for the kind words guys!
03-04-2016, 03:27 PM
#7
Registered Member
Thread Starter
Will post review in the link blwt ASAP!
And I get you Ryne. I'm apart of a car audio forum and in the general section , you have no idea how many of the same "vs" threads appear when there's about 40 more on the site. Thanks boss for the kind words! Appreciate it.
And this exhaust is nice. What I have to say the major difference is in the low rpms. Still breaking it in but I've noticed that above 5k, the sound is still enhanced but you get more of the VQ sound out of it. On the lower RPM, I get that deep bass grumble sound. Prob >4K rpm. But like I said, only around 50 miles on this bad boy. Can't wait to get a pair of RHFC / HFC.
Only downside is you watch your mpg go down. I can assume you know why so it's not really a downside haha
And I get you Ryne. I'm apart of a car audio forum and in the general section , you have no idea how many of the same "vs" threads appear when there's about 40 more on the site. Thanks boss for the kind words! Appreciate it.
And this exhaust is nice. What I have to say the major difference is in the low rpms. Still breaking it in but I've noticed that above 5k, the sound is still enhanced but you get more of the VQ sound out of it. On the lower RPM, I get that deep bass grumble sound. Prob >4K rpm. But like I said, only around 50 miles on this bad boy. Can't wait to get a pair of RHFC / HFC.
Only downside is you watch your mpg go down. I can assume you know why
so it's not really a downside haha
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03-04-2016, 04:32 PM
#9
Thanks for sharing the driveshaft cushion info. I didn't perform my ARK Grip install, I will have to crawl under my car to see if I suffer the same cracked rubber problem. I don't have a vibration problem yet on my 2011, but I do live on the Gulf Coast and does indeed get a bit warm here.
03-04-2016, 04:42 PM
#10
Registered Member
Thread Starter
Thanks for sharing the driveshaft cushion info. I didn't perform my ARK Grip install, I will have to crawl under my car to see if I suffer the same cracked rubber problem. I don't have a vibration problem yet on my 2011, but I do live on the Gulf Coast and does indeed get a bit warm here.
But the odd thing is...... These "reasons" are the complete opposite of how my car has been. My car has 62,000 miles on dash right now as well as I live in San Francisco, Bay Area, CA. This city is not hot what so ever. 75% overcast / foggy / raining.
SOOOOO, I have no idea why my car has it but it does, and it is getting repaired under warranty which I am happy about.
03-05-2016, 12:50 PM
#14
Registered Member
Thread Starter
I have to say, this man right here, has helped me out a lot. Haha ANMVQ helped me pull the trigger on the CBE when I told him the price. but yeah, thanks ANMVQ, you were one of the main reasons why I got this exhaust !
