97GLES

iTrader: (5)

who has the best price and what do they charge to put the pipe on. thanks for the info.

plrod Black 95 SE

i don't know but i'm interested in the responses

97GLES

iTrader: (5)

is it a 1 pc. or a 2pc.

emax02

iTrader: (1)

The new Stillen Y-Pipe is a 2 piece,which is designed to fit from 95-01+.I got ripped off by my local speedshop and paid $351 for it but if you bought it direct;y through stillen it probably costs about $300.As for the price of install that really depends were you go.I would expect to pay $40-85 for the install or you could just do it yourself but it's painfull.

SleeperSE

- I don't see why this would be so tough. Jack the car up, wait for the exhaust to cool, unbolt the stock Y-pipe, bolt in the new one, and bam! Then go driving. (Don't forget to reset your ECU by disconnecting the battery for two hours. You probably would want to do that while you wait for the exhaust to cool.)
- If this one is about $300 directly from Stillen, do you think that Cattman will lower his prices? I'm just worried that this Stillen pipe will hiss just like his first gen version.

MaxinRelaxin

between the old stillen y-pipe and this new one u guys are talkin about
more hp???

Jane97SE

SleeperSE: It may seem easy to install a y-pipe, but you may run into a few complications (i.e missing bolts and flange gaskets, rusty stubborn bolts, fitment problems..just to name a few).
I don't think Cattman will lower his prices. Stillen just raised their prices, so the cheapest you might find is $300. You might want to check with gotrice? and see if he can give you a better deal.


MaxinRelaxin: The difference between the old y-pipe and the newer ones is that it is ceramic coated.

Do a search and you will find more than enough info on y-pipes.

emax02

iTrader: (1)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by SleeperSE
[I] - I don't see why this would be so tough. Jack the car up, wait for the exhaust to cool, unbolt the stock Y-pipe, bolt in the new one, and bam! Then go driving. (Don't forget to reset your ECU by disconnecting the battery for two hours. You probably would want to do that while you wait for the exhaust to cool.)

You act as if you have installed a Y-pipe before on your max, believe me with 10 degree weather and Ice all over the driveway{and your but for that matter} and everything is rusted on like a **** it's not easy,sure the idea of the install is not complicated but it's another story when your down there with no lift or air tool it can be to say the least a pain in the A$$.Just take Cheston for example the poor guy got a hernia for crying out loud hehe.

MaxedBandit

Yup...I refer to this as the "Oh $hit" factor. Always run into this when I work on cars...might just be me, but everything has a little "Oh $hit" in it...

Jane97SE

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MaxedBandit
Yup...I refer to this as the "Oh $hit" factor. Always run into this when I work on cars...might just be me, but everything has a little "Oh $hit" in it... [/I][/QUOTE

LOL! That doesn't only happen to you. Trust me. Whenever we fix something, something else decides not to work or it is more difficult than it needs to be.

ereet

rusty bolts are pretty big problem. I had to take mine to a shop and they heated em up with a plasma/blotorch to take em off. I don't have that kind of equipment at home, but if you do, give it a go =) .. If not, check to see wether you can get the bolts off before you commit to doing it yourself.

Dave B

Installing the Y-pipe is cake....if you've got the tools. You'll need atleast a 16" jack to lift the front and a good set of jackstands. You'll need a can of Liquid Wrench, a breaker bar, set of long and short metric sockets, various length extensions, rubber mallet, and a "short" 12mm wrench.

First lift your car and put it on jackstands. Let ALL your exhaust pipes cool off to "cold to the touch". Spray on Liquid Wrench on ALL the nuts you will remove. With the rubber mallet, hit the stock Y-pipe close to the spots where the nuts are. Don't hit it hard, just hit it firm and at a constant pace. You are trying to build a frequency to the let the Liquid Wrench seep into the threads. Wait 20 minutes and spray again and hit the y-pipe some more and let it sit. After 1 hour or so, attempt to break loose the nuts. All mine came off pretty easily even though they were severely rusted over 3 years of salty Kansas winters. The trick is never to force the nut. Use a constant pressure.

I found the hardest part of the Y-pipe install was rerouting the O2 sensor wire connections after I removed the stock Y-pipe. When you remove the stock y-pipe, it is easier to disconnect the O2 connector packs on top of the engine and then drop the stock Y-pipe with the O2 sensors still inside the pipe. Doing this limits your chances of messing up the O2 sensors by letting them hang free as you try to install the new Y-pipe. It took me a good 30 minutes rerouting the 02 connecters back up to the top of the engine and out of the way of moving parts. You'd think that would be the easy part.

Overall, the y-pipe install took me 3 hours including prepping the nuts and shooting the **** with my dad as we watched a basketball game.

Chances are most shops won't attempt to install the Y-pipe because you are tampering with a emissions device. It's a $20000 fine if they are caught.

BTW, my Stillen Y-pipe fit perfectly. No rubbing anywhere. There is a hiss at WOT that sounds similar to a low boost turbo. Recently I wrapped my Y-pipe fex section in header wrap and the hiss is completely gone. I also took off my HKS intake and installed a modified version of the stock airbox. Let's just say my car is quick and incredibly quiet doing it. I love it.


Dave

plrod Black 95 SE

Dave, thanks for the input. What cat and cat back are you using? Stock or otherwise? I'd like to do the Y pipe but can't decide on whose to get. I'm after performance but w/o sacrificing sound. I'm planning on wrapping the whole SS unit with header wrap, what do you think? Specifically, why is the re-routing of the sensors so tough. Is there not enough lead wire to work with? I'm planning on installing an R/T cat also. See my mods below and tell me what you think. Too loud or what?

Bernie Lomax

Is there a Y pipe that just bolts up and doesnt make buzzing noise? This seems to be the only complaint I've heard about Y pipes for the Maxima.

plrod Black 95 SE

From what I've come to understand, and I'm still investigating, the buzzing comes from the flexible connector piece which is either incased or made of a braided wire which I suspect vibrates from the exhaust flow. I've also heard that this doesn't happen if this flexible connector is lined. Either way, if and when I install this mod I will wrap this connector with header wrap, a product used to reduce heat which also acts as an insulator. You just have to clamp it on each end of the flex connector so it doesn't come off. Just don't use header wrap with a non stainless y pipe or flex connector - it supposedly causes moisture to remain on the outside of the pipe and will corrode the metal.

So then the question is: Whose Y pipe uses a "lined" flex connector?

SleeperSE

- Lucky for me, my friend's dad owns a shop and he lets us do work on our cars over the weekend. He is a saint. We get to use his lifts, his tools, and all the other nifty shop gadgets. Plus, we're in Florida, so cold weather ain't exactly a problem. ;-)
- BTW, the fine for a shop doing the work is actually $250,000. Check the EPA website, if you like.

95greense

plrod, are you sure about not wrapping a non-ss y-pipe? I'm thinking bout getting a non-ss warpspeed y-pipe but i hear that thier pipes make the buzzing sound. if wrapping is definately not an option then i probably won't get thier pipe. let me know if your sure about it or if anybody else has any opinions on this let me know.

Thanks for the help.

BriGuyMax

iTrader: (1)

ok guys, I have two things to say about y-pipes.

first of all, GET STAINLESS STEEL! I've been in correspondence with Brian Catts of Cattman performance for about a month now, and he actually STOPPED selling his Jet hot (Ceramic coating) y-pipes becuase of all the problems he was having with them. Stainless steel is the only material that car relaibly hold up to the extreme heat from the exhaust manifold.

Second, I ATTEMPTED to install my y-pipe myself yesterday (Cattman S/S), and if I hadn't had my impact wrench, I would have gotten nowhere. I got the six manifold bolts off no problem (with impact wrench of course), but the cat bolts were rusted SOLID and all the impact wrench did was STRIP the bolts, so now I have to go to a shop today and have someone torch the bolts. What a hassle. For the average do-it-yourselfer (who doesn't have a torch) if you car has some miles on it (mine has 60,000) and you live in a salty winter climate. I would HIGHLY reccommend just paying a speed shop 50 bucks to put it on....you will save you self hassle and lots of bruises, believe me...I am SORE today and I didn't even have to heave at the bolts, the impact wrench did it for me.

plrod Black 95 SE

While I don't have personal experience with this, I was thinking about wrapping a non SS pipe and someone commented to me that due to the condensation build up between the pipe and the wrap it would rust and not last too long. I can see where this could happen so I agree with that assesment. If you plan to wrap it, as I do, get the SS version.

By the way, whose Y pipe is quietest?

Maxima97GLE

So which one is better the Cattman SS or the re-designed Stillen?

plrod Black 95 SE

IMO the 409 SS is the best one, Warpspeed at 355.