We're getting ready to order another batch of the VQ30DE headers from New Zealand that have become quite popular with the 4th/5th gen gang.

I can order VG30E headers too, but only with 50% advance deposits. I've got one person signed up, but wanted to see if more were interested. Price will be $750 with the installation kit, slightly less than the VQ version. Be aware that the deposit is guaranteed by Cattman Performance, but there will be 20-25 days between putting it down and completion of production, and shipping will take one week to one month, depending on whether it goes by air or sea.

Like the VQ version, these are complete with the header manifolds and y-pipe -- everything from the heads to the cat -- and all installation hardware and gaskets. They're ceramic coated by HPC in NZ and that's warranted by HPC-US and the finish is as beautiful as it is corrosion-resistant and heat retaining. [I include a pic of the VQ version below.] For what its worth, they sound great -- all the new owners comment on it, "it makes my car sound like I've always wanted it to...", and that's just the way it is.

Since we haven't imported this version yet there are no dyno results, but they're made by a top notch performance designer over there and their VQ headers definitely make good power (dyno chart for the VQ test below). They went out the door real fast once the work got out.

Anyone who is interested should contact me at bcatts@cattman.com.

Here is the VQ [NOT VG!] version:



And here are the VQ dyno results [NOT VG!], showing gains over a stock y-pipe:



Brian C Catts
Cattman Performance

 

If you post pics of the dyno for the VQ people may be more inclined to purchase them.

Just my $.02.

 

that costs about as much as the value of most the VG owners on this board j/k

Make them for the VE, dammit!

 

I would be interested in seeing how these perform. I know it's about time someone makes good headers for the VG...

 

there cars, that is...

 

Good idea, I did! Thanks.

BCC

 

except for the twisty highway onramp they have, those look really good. I guess thats for equal lenght hunh? Eitherway the Dyno doesnt lie (ok, well $tillens does )

 

I'd rather not throw down money on something that's non dyno tested. Especially with all the crap that's going on with the 5th gen headers

 

Yeah, we've found that there's no point making equal length y-pipes to go with with stock manifolds, but when the primaries are equal length, keeping it that way back to the last collector has some real benefit.

BCC

 

again, how many people do you need before you order for VG?

 

I don't need any minimum number, whoever's interested can get in on the terms I described. Actually if a bunch of people suddenly signed up, I could probably reduce the price a bit, but I'm not expecting it to be a quantity order.

Seems like there's seldom anything new for the gen3 Max, since the VG version is also available from my NZ suppliers I wanted to provide a chance to order. Sorry its so expensive, but its a very complex part and the cost is quite reasonable for what you get.

I'm adding these to a larger order of VQ headers for inventory so it doesn't matter how many get ordered. I'm quite confident that the VG header is a good part, but not confident enough in the demand to order them without a deposit, so that's why I'm promoting it this way.

Brian C Catts
Cattman Performance

 

i'm sry i have no interest in buying these, they are waaay to rich for my blood, but they sure are pritty looking.
-just wondering... the pacesetter VG headers would do about the same dyno numbers right?..
-and do the cattman VG headers have a flex section built into them? or is it just one solid piece
-omg.... 750 a set... how the hellll is anyone going to buy that!?? pace setters sell for 400 shipped

 

VE baby!

 

You get what you pay for man...
good 3-1 collectors themselves run $2-300 each, let alone the rest of the piping.
Play around on Burns Stainless website for a hint of what top quality costs... http://www.burnsstainless.com/

 

The VE owners are getting jealous because the VG is getting more potential for horsepower.

 

Dam, I wish I saw this 2 weeks ago. I would have jumped on it. Just purchased the warpspeed y & subframes. Oh well.

 

Sell the Y and buy the headers.

Jaguax... give it time man, give it time. I gotta figure out how to weld better first. maybe buy me a TIG welder once I dig myself out of the money pit I'm in buying other parts right now.

 

but Pacesetter's reputation with producing quality is worth about $.04 shipped

 

well you could bolt on those header and still not have as much power as a stock VE


but yeah mabey some VE headers Catman.

 

It is the classic complaint -- "if I can't afford it, the price is a rip-off" Sorry its outside of your price range, and $750 is indeed a lot of money, but because you don't want to spend that much doesn't mean that it isn't a good value.

Yeah, you bet the Pacesetter headers make the same power... why would you automatically assume that? A header = a header = a header? Sorry, that's not the way it works. Pacesetter's design and build quality speaks for itself.

Look at the pic, sure ours has a flex, they wouldn't work without one. We also break the part down into four sections (all with flanges) so that it will fit in a 18" square box for shipping purposes.

Do your research, $750 for a header set like this is a great deal.

BCC

 

I think their greatest value may be for those who are building their engines beyond the VQ's power.

Intake, head job, cams, headers... You'd be romping on Qs. Slap on an s/c and adios!

As far as VEs go, the problem is that they never imported more than a handful to New Zealand and there's nothing to model off of there.

BCC

 

I wonder if VE headers would help? Being that the stockers are tubular anyway

 

Brian, did you ever get around to doing a stock/cattman y/headers dyno for the VQ? That would be very interesting to me, and I'm sure others as well.

I hope someone will do this for the VG as well.

 

2k2-2k3 maximas have precats....


if you want to argue it, I will get SR20DEN in here, and you can tell him that his car does not have pre-cats. (btw, he gutted all of his cats).

 

Mr. Cattman,

What's the deadline to jump on this offer?

 

I see your point, to a point...

I was thinking about tubing, and in that sense the VG's no better. You are correct about the presence of the precats, but I believe incorrect about the extent of their impact. The impact of the precats became clear when VQ owners experimented with replacing the front manifold on the CA/NLEV cars and the pre-cat below it. Removing the front precat required replacing the front manifold with a Federal emissions version and then using a Federal-spec y-pipe to finish it all off. The result, freely admitted by the guys who tried it and dynoed the result, was squat. The improvement was almost unmeasurable.

So no, I do not believe the presence or absence of two precats will not make a 10hp difference. In terms of the difference in power between VG and VQ y-pipes, obviously they could have the same % impact, but the absolute gain in hp would be less on the VG. I can't really comment on what that difference is because we do not make a y-pipe for the VG so there is no comparison to our y-pipe for the VQ.

As I've mentioned, I think the most significant gains from these headers will be on "built" VGs, particularly if the redline is raised.

As far as the dynos go, someone asked me to post those, but they are definitely not meant to speak for the VG version! I include them only to demonstrate that this company knows enough about what they are doing to product an effective header for the VQ30 engine. I absolutely would not want to mislead anyone, that's why I tried to label it clearly. There is nothing in what i wrote that would suggest otherwise.

Brian C Catts
Cattman Performance

 

No, a couple of customers offered to do the comparison (though I haven't seen anything yet) and we haven't had a local car to put them on to replace a performance y-pipe.

BCC

 

Hey we try our best, thank you very much, but there are so many things about our operation that need to be improved I'm not comfortable with being held up as a best practice example. Plenty of reasons to shoot at that target. I can't accept a single compliment on product presentation until we retire that lame website of ours and get the new one up.

Please, no fighting about this.

And, by the way, the 02/03 do have precats, but for the first time neither is integral to the y-pipe and its my preference not to disturb them. [Remember, we're the ones that won't sell test pipes.] I'm sure that makes 2-3 hp difference, but is not the major reason that the y-pipe makes less power on that engine when compared to the stock y-pipe (the main reason is that the stock pipe design has improved some, but not enough).

Brian C Catts
Cattman Performance

 

I really need to finalize the larger order so production can get underway prior to the holidays (in New Zealand Xmas begins the summer break so not much gets done in January), so I'd need to have the order and deposit in hand by the end of next week.

Like I say, just write me at catt@cattman.com if interested and I can provide instructions on the deposit.

Brian C Catts
Cattman Performance

 

brian,

i emailed you. i'm getting the VG headers. the price is spot-on, brother.

 

Cattman just got bumped up a notch on the level of service by participating in this thread, IMO.

If I had a VG, I would definitely be willing to buy headers from you. Perhaps if I get a later generation Maxima, I will choose to buy some products from you in the future.

C'mon guys, stop fighting (and making this thread a bit more OT), and buy some headers!

(/free bump)

 

Agree'd on the Cattman service though, after reading/participating I've gained massive respect for Cattman

 

Yeah these things are a real piece of work.****ing junk.Take it from me 750 dollars for a product like the headers cattman is selling is a super bargain!

 

i put a deposit down for the VG headers from cattman. additionally, i have the pacesetters here in a box. but i will go with the cattman instead. i have never tried either, but i have far more confidence in cattman. and the extra few hundred bucks seems far worth it.

i think the main hangup with pacesetter is the less-than-satisfactory customer service. and the parts themselves are not as pretty looking, nor do they have the flow design of the cattmans.

i have the warpspeed y-pipe and b-pipe currently on the car. they are great. and loud. i'm hoping for an even better result with the headers. we shall see. matt suggests that i dyno the car before and after to really see wtf is going on.

 

Bonzelite, the headers come with a y-pipe, which prompts me to call dibs on your used one.

 

i'm aware of that. hmm. i have 2 maximas. one is bone stock. a red VG 5spd. i'm more likely to part with the pacesetter headers. i'd let those go sooner than the y. i may reuse the y on the other car.

if i do not use it, you can be the one who gets it. i will note that.

 

It's posts like this that we need to see more of. People admitting the true facts instead of trying to push their products to the maximum level.

+ 1 respect from me...

LEMAR