Greetings. I'm sort of a rookie everyone. It's good to be aboard. I enjoy reading all the posts. I've done a few mods to my 96 SE 5-speed. Next on the list is going to be a STS, Y-pipe, and high-flow cat. As far as the STS goes, I know it's a bolt-on and I've read the instructions on the install, but sometimes tasks aren't as easy as the instrucions. I'm many can relate. I've been able to do the mods on my car myself so far with little trouble except the exhaust because the bolts were seized from heat. I had that done for me. But my question is how difficult is the STS installation on a scale of 1-10? Can the average do it your selfer do this type of work or should I have it done? Thanks for your time guys and gals.



1996 SE----MODS-----
Stillen hi-flow intake, Stillen SS catback exhaust, UR pulley, Stillen RSB, Courtesy FSTB.

 

I am still waiting to install mine but when talking with others it seems on average it takes about 45 minutes. The install should be pretty easy. One thing though, alot of peole say to remove the cat when doing this. I know you said you had exhaust problems before because the heat made the bolts become unremovable. If this is the same on the cat it might make removing it a little tough. Dont panic though. You can do it without removing the cat but add about an extra 25 minutes onto your install time if you do. Maybe others can tell you how to do it this way but if not then PM member "vinipux" he did his this way and can maybe help you.

SuDZ

 

Thanks for the heads up. I think I'm ordering a Pacesetter STS this weekend. Where did you order yours from and what brand did you buy?

 

I got my STS through custommaxima and installed it myself. The hardest part was dealing with the cat. I had an R.T. H/F cat waiting to be installed so I did remove the oem one. It's a very nice mod, enjoy!

 

If you are taking down your cat and Y-pipe, the added install of the STS is EASY. Some of the linkage bolts may be rusty but nothing a lil' squirt of Liquid Wrench or other can't handle. You may have to leave the heat shield off though, as the Pacesetter on the short throw will inevitably bang the shield and your car will sound like crap. I did and have had no problems with heat at all. I'd recommend a nice short throw with the ball just covering the very top edge of the threads. At first, it may seem like it's too hard to shift and too short a throw, but after a week of man-handling it, it is perfect and beautiful. You are installing two awesome mods for a max: STS and Y-pipe. You will absolutely love them! Consider the low-sitting (and also threaded) Sola Luna Crinkle ball shift know. It will complement the STS and complete the deal...

 

I wouldn't take it past 60% of the max short throw. Any less of throw will most likely interfere with your cat heatshield. I had to remove mine due to clearance problems and I'm only at 50%. Another bad side to too little of a throw is the fact that the shifter doesn't have the leverage it once had therefore it makes your syncros work much harder. I know of quite a few cases of guys getting to greedy with thier STS only to have the syncros wear much quicker than normal. There's a reason to why the STS is really stiff when you shorten the throw dramatically.


Dave

 

Woohoo I installed my STS last night, it's a pacesetter STS.
I set it to the last last thread, to give it the shortest throw.
Oh lord, i'm not used to it. I just have to move it a little bit to change gears. Wicked cool!

I had the help of my brother who has done a ton of mechanics in the past. I let him work on it, since he has more experience and would feel more comfortable doing the replacement job. Needless to say my bolts were a b!tch to remove, and ended up taking us like 4 hours to do. 30-50 minutes alone just trying to get the heat shield to fit. Eventually we just cut a hole in it and it fit perfectly.

As a side note, i also took the time to change my spark plugs.
Weird, but my back, right most spark plug had oil on it, and the others didn't. (the one hardest to get to and remove)

car is running pretty sweet now.

 

Where did you order yours from?

 

I dont know if its good that your brother has done a lot of mechanics.lol Congrats on the y-pipe. Take Care

 

where are you planning to order from? most places are backordered for like 2 months on the pacesetter STS

 

When I got mine back in october(i think), I got it from JCWhitney. But check out there, Summit, and NOPI. Those are the online places that I have seen that carry it on the site.

p.s. If you go to summit and it says $90, then call them and ask for a price match to JCW, they will do it, that was what I was going to do if JCW didn't have one.