seems to be the heat shield surronding the downpipe. is it safe / wise to remove this completely or should i get the reattle fixed.

cheers
colin

 

Its apparently better if it is left in place, keeping the heat from the engine bay etc..

But most poeple who have a decat downpipe have it removed, some put lagging back on but most dont.

IMHO should not be a problem to remove it - when fitted mine used to crackle so much when on a hot tickover poeple asked me what was wrong with the car..

 

I had same problem with my Sti V3, I was sure it was that same section, but turned out to be the turbo pipe sheared in half!. It gave EXACTLY the same sound as a heatsheild rattle, I had 2 garages spend AGES trying to find which part of the exhaust it was.....but it wasn't!