Cowl exhaust clearance

Final fitting my lower cowl today and discovered that the right exhaust stack only has about 1/2 " clearance between both the engine mount and the cowl no matter how I rotate it. The left stack has about an inch clearance. It is the standard Vetterman exhaust and a 9A mount and the cowl has a good fit to the fuselage. Have other encounter this and is there a method that I have not discovered?

My RV7 (O-360) vetterman crossover exhaust is closer to the right side of the cowl near the outlet bump because of the heat muff. I spent quite a bit of time twisting the exhaust to maximize clearance but I didn't gain a lot. After about 10 hours the cowling discolored the most underneath the # 2 cylinder where the two exhaust come together not where the pipes were closest to the cowl. I suppose there is not as much air moving in the forward part of the cowling causing the heat buildup. I added the heat shield foil from vans.
Pic of discoloration under #2 cylinder even though the exhaust is much closer to the right side of the outlet of the cowl.

Heat shield in place.

Consider the Van's heat shield

Where the clearance was closest on my -6A I added one of the small Van's heat shield, which i had modified by riveting a piece of high temp silicone (red) to the outside surface of the shield. The silicone pad serves two purpose: it is relatively non-conducting; it provides a "friendly surface if the engine moves enough during start-up/shutdown to contact the cowl.

The paint previously blistered in this area. Since I made the change, I have 100+ hours without any paint discoloration. I think I posted about this 2 - 3 years ago.

Larry Tompkins
544WB -6A
W52 Battle Ground, WA