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Invidia Catted DP cooking axle boot?

9K views 25 replies 15 participants last post by  hishaun84 
#1 ·
I installed an invidia catted dp a few months back and last time I was under there for an oil change I noticed there was grease all over the undercarriage next to the inner axle boot on the passenger side. When I removed the axle to get a better look there was a small hole that looks like it was bubbled out from heat. The cat sits about an inch or two away from the axle boot, so it seems likely that it melted the hole. I bought the downpipe in the classifieds and the previous owner had it coated, so I'm not sure maybe it wasn't a quality coating? Or even with a good coating there's a risk this would happen anyway since the cat sits so close? Anyway, the downpipe and cat are now heatwrapped for extra protection so I am going to replace the boot and see what happens. The dealership wanted $482 for a brand new axle which is a bit ridiculous. Has anyone else had this problem? There doesn't seem to be any info anywhere on GR STI front axles or cv boots, so apparently nobody ever has any issues like this.
 
#2 ·
Was the Cat coated from the previous owner? I was always under the impression that you should not wrap or coat a cat as it creates too much heat in the cat, which may possibly damage the catalytic converter. I would take the car for a spirited drive and see how hot the cat is getting, it is possible the cat was already damaged and is heating up way more than it should, which would damage the CV boot, as I have never heard of this happening with a properly fitting/working downpipe. Hopefully someone else can chime in with more information.

Thanks,
Rick
 
#5 ·
Mine failed in this same way at new jersey motorsports park during my last track outing. I have the same invidia downpipe. Boot bubbled and melted a hole in it, causing the axle to spin grease all over the cat, and underside of the car. Lot of nasty smelling smoke ensued. Very hot temperatures. Could have easily been a nasty fire, but i caught it as soon as i noticed.

You are not alone. I will be wrapping the cat with heat wrap now. If it fails, so be it.
 
#7 ·
I've never measured, but its probably about that close. It lasted about 15-20k miles before the boot failed i would say. From the first day I put the downpipe on i said to myself, "There is no way that isn't going to cause a problem down the road."

I can take pictures once i get a new axle or boot. I havent decided if i want to replace just the boot or the whole thing with a reman.
 
#8 ·
I was planning to fab a heat shield to go between them, but now I'm thinking about just replacing the dp. Only problem....I have to change it RIGHT NOW since I have a tune on Monday at P&L

Here are some pics of mine. I can barely get my finger between the boot and cat. Can you tell how this compares to yours by looking at the pics?



 
#12 ·
That's why the Cobb, AQ Motorsports, TurboXS, and any other DP with the cat in the place of the second cat of the original DP are best. You can mitigate the heat on the boot by wrapping the DP.
 
#20 ·
I contacted invidia regarding this issue and they are telling me that you should not wrap the cat. He also stated that if you are stage 2 pushing ~18psi that the cat should not get hot enough to burn the CV boot. If you get a protune however, you will need to go cattless due to the increased heat.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Damn. And I've a CNT catted on the way, too. I'm not going to wrap the cat. I don't do fab work, either, so I guess I'm stuck for now. I'll maybe look for a different DP soon and sell the CNT.

EDIT: No, I'm just going to heat-wrap the vertical part of the DP, then plan for an eventual cat failure. I'll ensure I've a different catted DP by then, which will have the cat further downstream. Has anyone had a cat fail on either an Invidia or CNT because they heat-wrapped it?
 
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