njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

This thread is for all the Cali Spec guys on here. I finally broke down and ordered the pipe.

The Warpspeed pipe does not replace any of the pre cats on Cali Spec cars. It only replaces the stock Y section for better flow. It's a direct bolt on and hangs nicely from all the factory hardware. Actually it's a very snug fit! Mine wound up against the cross member so we had to grind a bit of that brace away so the pipe wouldn't hit it and make noise. No big deal, just an extra 10 minutes with a dremmel.

The install was a bit of a pain. You definately need a tourch to heat the bolts up on the Cat to get them off. There's no way those rusty nuts were going to move no matter how much penatrating oil was used. All the OEM shields came right off and were reused with the new pipe. The o2 sensors go right back in the same location they were on the OEM pipe.

I don't know how you guys install these pipes without a lift and a tourch! It's a job best left to a shop that has air tools, a lift and a tourch especially if your car is older. My 99 has 75K on it and the hardware shows it. The rest of the system looked fine.

Driving Impressions:
I started the car and couldn't tell anything was done. Engine sounds the same, no rattles, and system tone had no change. You can hear a slight difference at the muffler. While idling you can hear more of the individual cylinders firing. It's not a husshhhhh sound anymore but rather a slight pulsating engine sound, kind of hard to explain. Driving it sounds no different at all. Around town at lower RPM's and initially taking off does sound slightly more throaty. Again it's so minimal that unless it's your own car, nobody would realize the change. I opened it up a few times on the highway, the pipe remains quiet, no buzz perhaps a slight wushhhh. As far as power goes, honestly I need to drive the car a bit more to see if I could really feel anything. The gains from this pipe should be in the 10hp range. One thing is for sure, it does look good under there!

Defacto

sweet. I need to get one for my '99 cali spec SE...my car and yours are pretty similar, except mine's not an SE-L....

mzmtg

iTrader: (11)

Those of us that live down here where they dont use salt on the roads shouldn't have issues with the bolts. My 170,000 mile-old cat bolts zipped right off with an air ratchet

You will definitely start to notice the harder pull in the next few days .

Confused

iTrader: (4)

you might have broke deezo's no y pipe record

RichMax

iTrader: (2)

thanks njmax-- I ordered mine yesterday and it should arrive Thursday. Hoepfully i can get this done Fri. any other tips/advice? If you had it bad getting those bolts off.... damn!

Vyrus

iTrader: (4)

I live in Va and replaced my y-pipe 2 months ago, when my car had 73k miles. No air tools, no torch - just a ratchet, jackstands, and some WD-40. It took a while, especially waiting for the bolts to soak, but nonetheless it worked perfectly. Happy with the power, not the sound.
-Cyrus

mitch33x

iTrader: (5)

I thought everyone had a ypipe by now

DR-Max

iTrader: (3)

I thought most of the restrictions came from certain areas which are pinched because of the precats? Thus, a straight F-pipe promises noticeable gains. I couldn't see replacing just the Y section to be of huge benefit but I could be wrong since I haven't really read all the threads pertaining the Warpspeed Cali-spec y-pipe. Would the Cali-spec Budget y-pipe have the same precats?

Eric425

What do you mean it doesn't replace the precats on the cali spec cars? Are the california spec precats not located in the y pipe? Where are they then? And if so, then the gains from the cali spec pipe must be very minimal then, right? Since the main reason the fed specs got so much power from the pipe is because it removed the restrictive precats. If all the california spec pipe does is to improve flow, it should give about the same gains as a catback. The exhaust piping is only as good as it's most restrictive portion. So the california spec pipe would give only 3-5 hp? Maybe it's different with warpspeeds' pipe? You said you used the heatshields from the old pipe? The shape of my factory pipe and the y pipe I got from budget look completely different. The heat shield on the stock pipe was shaped different because it had to stretch around those bulges, which I thought were the precats?

BuNGsVQ

iTrader: (4)

I wanna know too...because if it yields only 3-5hp, I wouldn't go through the hassle of putting it in my CA spec. Can someone clarify?

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

Come on guys, you'll never feel 3-5 hp difference so if he feels it, even just a little, it's 10 possibly more, proven 12-15fwhp on non-cali spec maximas. .

Eric425

Read his post. He doesn't feel anything.

"As far as power goes, honestly I need to drive the car a bit more to see if I could really feel anything. "

What I want to know is where the precats are on the cali spec cars if they are not on the y pipe?

SterlingMistMax

dont know about the y pipe you got but mine got rid of 1 of the precats there are 2 . one on the ypipe and one close to the motor on the front ,the front one is still there.

Eric425

Close to the motor on the front? Where, exactly? On the fed y pipe, both pre cats are located in the y pipe. I see the short headers attached to the side of the engine block, then there is just the straight y pipe bolted to that, cat, b pipe and resonator , muffler & tip.

1996blackmax

iTrader: (2)

I think the reason his Cali spec y-pipe keeps the precats is because his car is a 99. I think the 99's emissions stuff is kind of like the emission components of the 5th gens. I also have a Cali spec Maxima but I have a 96. Both of my precats came out with OEM y-pipe, and for me the power increse was there .

DR-Max

iTrader: (3)

I went to the Cattman website to get some clarification. I downloaded their online catalog which is a PDF file and saw the following on page 4:

1) 1999 - 2001 Maxima/I30; CA/NLEV or 50 state emissions spec only - the part# is YG5/CA. There's a picture of it which I'm unable to link to because the whole thing is PDF, but its a short pipe which seems to go from the cat up to the precats. The OEM precats stays.

2) 1999 - 2001 Maxima/I30; Federal emissions spec only - the part# is YG5. But there is no picture for it.

3) 1995 - 1998 Maxima/I30 all (both CA and Federal) - the part# is YG4. The picture for this part number depicts a long pipe which goes from the cat up to the exhaust manifold.

Here's the confusing part: it says that "1995 - 2001 Y-pipes eliminate factory installed "pre-cats" and are not intended for use on public roads or highways. Primary catalytic converter remains in place and functioning normally." I guess they just put that as a disclosure that they are not responsible if one fails emissions due to this. However, the pictures of the YG5 and YG4 clearly shows that one retains the precats and one doesn't. So go figure.

Here is the link to Cattman's online catalog (make sure you have Adobe Acrobat or a PDF reader before you click on this link: http://www.cattman.com/doc_txt_pdf/C...Brochurev8.pdf .

-Dennis

Eric425

Ok. That makes sense. So 99's aren't going to get the same gains as 95-98s, but the pipe is legal to run on the street since it doesn't remove emissions?

DR-Max

iTrader: (3)

It seems that way however, aftermarket manufacturers have always put their disclosure statements on their products to cover their asses. Its like a company that makes lift kits for trucks and saying that they are not for offroading, it defeats the purpose of lifting a truck in the first place.

nissanfreak

iTrader: (4)

Now I feel awful for ordering a cattman y-pipe knowing that the gains are going to be minimal. Is there anyone who has dynowed it to see the actually gains?

happyricefob

iTrader: (7)

Horsepower Comparison: Stock w/Stillen Cone vs Stillen Cone and Y-pipe



this dyno is borrowed from our dear mr. motorvate. as you can see gain of y-pipe doesn't kick in until 3,500rpm. in other words, during daily driving you won't feel the gain of the y-pipe too much. but if you go WOT a lot u'll definetly feel a difference between stock and aftermarket. (at least for me i did)

tom consider you have ca spec 99 maxima, the car itself is already slightly more restrictive than non-ca spec and non-99 SEL maxima. it mite be a factor. i don't know just a thought...

DR-Max

iTrader: (3)

That dynojet graph is for a 95 Maxima SE 5-speed, with a Budget Performance Y-pipe. Based on Cattman, the 95 - 98 Maxima Y-pipes (CA or Fed specs) eliminates the pre-cats, so the gains are desireable. Any models above that retains the pre-cats, so the gains aren't much at all, not even noticeable. So the question is, do the Budget Performance Y-pipes have the same variation? If so, the variations between CA and Fed spec models are industry standard and that anyone with a 99 and up Maximas really won't benefit from a Y-pipe.

nissanfreak

iTrader: (4)

Here check this out:
This is what the "Y"-Pipe looks like for the 1999 CA/NLEV Maxima. The official name for this part is "Front Exhaust Tube Assembly". Note it is a two-piece design which includes the forward pre-cat as a separate assembly. Both the Stillen and Cattman replacement pipes for CA/NLEV vehicles do not eliminate the forward pre-cat, as they do on Federal Spec cars. It stays in place exactly as-is and is necessary to maintain the car's OBD II compliance. The rear-pre-cat, however, is removed completely from the aftermarket design. The car will still pass emissions with flying colors, and will be a lot more powerful. The mighty VQ30DE engine is dying to be unleashed, and will be once the stock pipe is replaced.
and....
check this pic out(its an old pic. but you get the idea):
http://www.greghome.com/images/Maxim...Comparison.jpg

DR-Max

iTrader: (3)

Ok so that is for a 99 and up models, correct? And if I remember correctly the OBD II, isn't used til the 99 models came around, is this also correct?

1996blackmax

iTrader: (2)

I think that you will still get noticeable gains. For example changing the stock b-pipe with an aftermarket one gives up to 5 extra horsepower, and that thing only has one area that has a crimp on it. Ofcourse the aftermarket b-pipe has smoother bends too. Now the OEM y-pipe has the two pre-cats that restrict exhaust flow, but the other really bad thing it has is the T-type connection at the bottom of the second exhuast pipe. The one that is closest to the firewall coming from the exhaust manifold. There is nothing smooth about that junction. I would think that due to that being made into a smooth bend, and both connections from the exhaust manifold coming together to form a Y, would cause a lot less turbulance when compared to the OEM y-pipe. That is just my .02 cents. Maybe Tom can comeback in a week and tell us if he feels any difference.

nissanfreak

iTrader: (4)

correct that is for 99 and up cali spec maximas. As for the obd II I always thought that it came out in 1996.?

nissanfreak

iTrader: (4)

Thanks 1996blackmax I do feel a little bit better now

DR-Max

iTrader: (3)

I also agree with you on that observation. However, its seems as though there's really no choice but to design it that way because of its tight location between the right side of the engine and the firewall. I think a smooth bend can still be made however, it might hang down closer to the ground, worse case is that it will hit something like the front stabilizer bar or something around there.

1996blackmax

iTrader: (2)

I think that the Maximas went to OBDII on later 95 models if I'm not mistaken. I also thought that all 96 and up Max's were all OBDII. If anyone knows join in. I am going to go look at my Haynes manual, I will also take a look at the Nissan service manual that I have.

1996blackmax

iTrader: (2)

What I am saying is that the aftermarket y-pipe's second runner (the one closest to the firewall) comes down into a smooth bend and then joins the other runner (for lack of a better word) and forms a Y right before the flex section. Where as the OEM y-pipe's second runner just comes down and forms more of a T-connectiuon directly with the front runner, which I think causes a lot of turbulance.

1996blackmax

iTrader: (2)

The Haynes manual states that 1993 and 1994 models are equipped with On-Board Diagnostic System I (OBD-I). 1995 and later Maximas are equipped with the 2nd gen OBD-II. My Haynes manual covers 1993-1999 cars. The Nissan Service Manual can be a pain to search through (the one I looked at first).

DR-Max

iTrader: (3)

Now that I looked at the picture that nissanfreak had posted above, I see what you are saying. The second "runner" does have a smooth curve before it joins the Y part. The OEM couldn't have this because of the pre-cat.

DR-Max

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for checking, now I know. My Chilton was useless on this subject, no info whatsoever.

1996blackmax

iTrader: (2)

No problem, . I like the Haynes, it gets to the point, and is easy to navigate through. My Nissan service manual is great to have, just a pain to find stuff in it sometimes though. It is a little bigger than the Haynes and about 3X as thick.

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

Well after driving around with the pipe for 2 days, I can feel a difference. The engine just seems smoother all around, as if a restriction is gone. Guess thats what the pipe is supposed to do and it's doing just that!

To clear up some confusion about the pre cats, Budget makes a pipe that does eliminate 1 cat on Cali spec cars. You have to relocate an o2 sensor in order to use this pipe. Cattman might also make a similar pipe. Warpspeed's pipe only replaced the Y section and leaves both pre cats and o2's in the same spot. Personally I'd rather have both pre cats on the car to keep both front and rear cylinders even as far as exhaust goes. I didn't want one 1/2 of my motor breathing better then the other 1/2. Keeping it all even helps keep the VQ smooth and quiet. Thats one of the things that made me buy the car in the first place. That sweet, smooth, quiet VQ engine. It's still sweet, smooth and quiet, only now it's performaing a little bit better! The Warpspeed Cali Spec Y pipe is silent. Another nice undetectable mod.

RichMax

iTrader: (2)

mine just arrived from WarpSpeed today, gets installed tomorrow on my CA-spec... I'll let ya know how it goes...

Daze4u2nv

<~~~~~newbie question.......how do u tell if its fed spec or cali spec???????????

RichMax

iTrader: (2)

Check the VIN. There's a sticky on reading the VIN number. There are other telltale signs as well, depending what year your Max is.

dypkny

Yes I am bumping a 10 year old thread lol....if I get the warpspeed cali spec y pipe should I pass inspection in NYS

1996blackmax

iTrader: (2)

10 years later & I'm still here . What year do you have? I was able to pass emissions multiple times with my 96 here in California. Mine eliminated both precats. Readings were noticeably higher, but low enough to pass. I just made sure to go for a nice drive right before the inspection.

dypkny

1999 nissan maxima CALI EMISSIONS living in New Jersey