ok...so we have the HS headers for the 02/03s. what about us suckers who bought the early 5th gens?


BTW...search is down.

 

we have the cattman headers (see my sig)...and the HS are said to fit the earlier ones as well, although no one has tried it yet....

 

BTW...search is only available to donating members

 

hey 2k1maxgle... are the headers worth it... or is it better going off with the y pipe?

 

2k1maxgle;

what do you think about the cattman headers? did you have a y-pipe before? do you think that it was a worth while mod? sorry for all the questions, but i'm very interested in the cattman headers for for the 00-01 maxes, but i already have a y-pipe and dont want to spend all that money for just a few extra horses. thanks

 

My impression on the Cattman headers is great. I had the Cattman y-pipe before these (my car is a Cali-Spec) and i definately feel a considerable amount of power over the y-pipe. Now take note that my y-pipe only eliminated 1 precat, whereas the headers eliminate all of them. I also had the y-pipe with the same catback i have now with the headers so there was no other variation with my exhaust except for the y-pipe being swapped for the headers. Overall the headers are a little pricey, but all in all i think they are definately worth it. There is definately more power there over the y-pipe and not to mention the weight reduction that the cattman headers will also offer, its unbelievable how heavy the stock manifolds are. I wish i had some before and after dynos but i dont, but i can tell you that the butt dyno approves. Im automatic as well so any of you 5 speed 5th geners should notice the headers even more than i did. Again...i think they are worth it over the y-pipe especially if you are trying to the most all motor power out of your Maxima, but if you dont see spending that much for them give the hotshots a try (they are said to fit just fine, and they are around $200 cheaper than cattman). Feel free to ask questions...i just hope i could answer a few of those that have already been asked.

 

HS fit, but if your car has EGR it will not work. Check under the hood of your car- emissions label, to see if you are one of the unlucky ones to have it. 01 Cali specs don't have EGR, 00 federals have it. Not sure bout 00 cali specs and 01 federals. I'm installing the HS headers next week on my 01. If U install HS headers on a car that has EGR, your car will not pass emissions, check engine light will always be on also. U can get a muffler shop to extend the EGR tube so it connects with the y-pipe of the headers if U wanna use HS headers. For anyone who has EGR just stay with Cattmans. 02-03 have no EGR. 04s have EGR.

 

I will be installing HS headers on a 2k1 AE shortly.

And according to the 2k4 ESM I discovered that the '04 Maxima does have EGR.

 

so what is EGR, and how would i tell if i have it??

 

if you have 4 o2 sensors then you dont have egr. that would denote a cali spec car. all 2k1 are cali spec and some 2ks are. sr20den will installing my HS headers this weekend hopefully and i will try to my best to post up any issues.

 

take pics of the process, that would help a lot of us.

 

Logging in to see how the 2 2K1's do on install.

 

yeah i have a 2k calie spec so that means that HS headers would fit??

 

Good luck on the install of the HS headers in a 2k1...Your car is definately in good hands with SR20DEN

 

So for a 2k1 cali spec are the bungs on the HS headers in the right places for the O2 sensors to work right?

 

ill do my best to get pics but im going to as involved with the process as possible. matt has done work on my AE before that i have been very happy with no i have so no worries about the install. if he does mess something up, ill just change his oil early one morning. i have been told by matt (SR20DEN) that one of the primary o2 sensors must be lengthened to fit to the header but both downstream o2 will be relocated to the b pipe behind the cat. i am sure they will make power and i will doubling up the gaskets on the cat because if i get another exhaust leak then im rolling it off a cliff. the main thing that ill try to recount is what is what has to be modified for them to fit.

 

ok just wanna get something straight here...im thinking of doing the hs headers on my 01...now i have also bought a y pipe and high flow cat but is not on yet...if i get the hs headers do i still use the y pipe or no...im allitle confused with that whole thing thanks TIm

 

Yea, I know what you. I was installing my catback and tried taking pix as well. Anyway, good luck and on your install. Just keep us updated!

To Tim01MaxSE:
headers include y-pipe. For 00-01 y-pipe is best bang for the buck, but I guess we should wait and see how the 5.5 gen fit our cars and see how much better they are over other headers (stillen for example) and/or y-pipes.

 

When U get the headers they come with a Ypipe designed just for the headers. This topic has been beatten to death.... U can't use a aftermarket ypipe designed for stock exhaust manifolds and expect it to fit with Stillen, HS or Cattman headers. Best gain on a 3.0L is a nice large Garrett snail.

 

I have a 00 cali-spec...02-03 hotshot headers fit my car with no modifications?

 

Open up your hood and look for a emissions label- it will have all your vaccum line routings, it should also have EGR labeled on it- even thou its electronic and not vacuum like the older ones where. There should be a black valve under the throttle body mounted on the rear head- if the car has EGR on it. Anyone have a decent picture of the throttle body ? I will point it out on a 00 Federal Emissions car. If U have EGR, my advice is to skip over to Cattman headers, cause its a pain in the as.s to get HS to work right- even if U weld on the EGR bung onto the primaries- which is tough to do on a EGR equipped 5th gen. Muffler shop will charge ya alot more than the diff between HS and Cattman headers !

 

So, with EITHER the HS or Cattman, the front 02s must be lengthened, correct?

 

Upstream 02 sensors sit in just about the same spot as the OE ones, the rear bank O2 accutally sits in the header vs the Ypipe like stock so there is more wire left over ( both HS and Cattman are like that ). The wires they tell ya to extend are the downstream- after cat 02 sensor ones, and then install them behind the main cat. But what if U don't have any cats U ask ? U install a 02 sensor eliminator kit from www.02simulator.com and just leave the 02 sensor hanging somewhere in the engine bay. Make sure its not touching anything plastic or something that is going to melt. O2 sensors get hot due to heater elements in them- used to make them warm up faster - which puts the engine into closed loop operation much quicker. BTW Icey U know where I can get a turbo Ypipe for a Max ? I looked everywhere and I reather get one that is pre-made.

 

Okay, so the FRONTs do NOT need to be cut and extended, ONLY the rears, correct? I don't mind extending the rears, but I'm not touching the fronts.

Nobody sells JUST the reverse ypipe, however if you find some pictures, it's not very complex to make your own off the stock exhaust manifolds. Clearance under the tranny is the only real issue.

 

I guess I'ma have to sacrifice my Cattman Ypipe for this project- I got a new goal on my mind...and since I always owned turbo cars in the past I wanna see what I can get out of the VQ, I'm armed with a few engines and trannies if I need em I need a new front exhaust manifold off a FED spec 00..... know of anyone Icey ?

 

Yep, www.car-part.com has a TON.

You can use any 95-98 or 99-00 Fed front manifold:
http://www.car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?userSearch=int&userPID=1000&userLocatio n=All+States&userIMS=&userInterchange=BED%3E%40&us erSide=&userDate=1997&userDate2=1997&dbModel=54.24 .1.1&userModel=Nissan%20Maxima%20(1982%20Up)&dbPar t=327.1&userPart=Exhaust%20Manifold&sessionID=118& userPreference=price&userUID=0&userBroker=&iKey=&u serPage=5

 

if i recall correctly, matt said one of the primary o2 had to be lengthened for the cattman install he did on 2k1maxgle. he assumed he would have to lengthen the same one on mine but he did not remember which bank it was. maybe he will be able to clear that up but thats what i remember from dinner last week.

 

So far EVERY install I have done has required lengthening of the front primary O2. However BlackBirdVQ tells me that the new HS headers don't have this problem. I will certainly let everyone know what i find.

 

Yeah one of my primarys had to be lengthened. It was the primary on the front bank.

 

I haven't had problems with lenghtening the O2 sensor wire on bank 2 sensor 1. I do remove it from its orignial harness connector position and this gives it more slack in the wires- Bank 1 sensor 1 has tons of room.

 

Couldn't you swap the rear 02-sensor wire/plug to the fronts, so you'd have the extra length you need?

Then just cut/lengthen the original front wire/plugs for the rear 02 sensors.

 

Hey...hotshot headers on a 2000 cali-spec...is it possible?

 

I am installing the HS headers on his car right now. If there is an update on these, they must have sent him the old style because they still have the paper thin Y pipe flanges, mis-drilled head flanges and the bank2 O2 bung hasn't been moved. On the 2k1 it interferes with a AC compressor line. I had to modify the O2 to make it fit.

 

as long as the HS headers physically fit on the 00/01 im happy. EGR is easy for me to get around....so are inspections.

thanks.

 

Some headers need to be modified in order to fit on the head- the bolt holes are not correct so U need to grind them out. HS told me that they fixed the problem on the headers but there have been others who got em and they didn't exacly fit. How ya going to get around EGR ? U can extend the pipe from the EGR valve down by the Ypipe. If U do not connect the EGR valve MIL light will be in yo face !

 

I think if you have a EGR, cattman headers would be better for you.

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?p=2935855

Overall I still think the Cattman headers fit the best but I still haven't seen the perfect header kit from anyone.