Hey guys..

Just got my car back from NISSAN yet again.

Here's the deal. A while back i posted up a problem with rattling at about 2000RPMS without load on my 2k3 VQ35DE 6 speed.

Well turns out one bolt had fell loose from the subframe to teh steering rack.. THey rethreaded it and fixed it. But the rattling remains.

Now they ordered a new REAR PRECAT - part of the stock manifold under warranty to cure the rattling.

I spoke with the service manager, and he said he would be willing to install the hotshot headers for me instaed of the OEM crap.

My dilemna is this. Is the hotshot headers really that crappy to install? This is a NISSAN dealership, and if the fitament is crap, they are going to rape me on service fees.

ALso, how does the headers hold up in canadian winters with salt?

THanks.

ED

Is this a free install then? If so cant beat that. It looks like this latest batch is crap fitment wise. Perhaps SR20DEN will post up or you could PM him. They will probably get it sorted out but these things can take several weeks. Have you thought about Cattman's headers? I was going to order HotShots also but with the recent news I may shy away from them.

They are ceramic coated and that usually works out to 4-5 years of no serious rust. Guys like 03blksete have them on the upper East Coast and love them. We know Cattman has the thicker flanges and I have a Gut feeling his ceramic coating may be better also.

I'm surprised the service manager even agreed to install aftermarket headers as most dealerships frown upon any type of modification and would probably instantly throw up the red flag saying "warranty voided."

Based on SR20DEN's feedback on the HS headers, I would either have the dealership put the OEM rear precat in, or maybe look into the cattman headers as there haven't been as many issues with their install. Cuz let's be realistic: Not only would you probably get charged out the A$$ by the dealership for the header install, but the 2nd they run into a fitment issue and can't do the install for whatever reason, you may end up with unwanted labor charges for the time spent working on those headers.

Just my .02

INterseting..

My dealer installed my stillen brakes for me, and they are aware and actually love my frankencar intake...

In fact the mechanics wanted me to do an exhaust LOL...

the hot shot headers are going to have a little rattle too. they touch a heat shield and rattle a little. My car is the one Matt was talking about having the crap fittment. but he fixed it. know this they look great and seem to make great power but the are a pain to install even for Matt who has done i think 6 sets now.

I guess you have a good dealer

MiniRX7 what are you going to do?
My idea for the day is to paypal SR20DEN to draw up where the 02 bungs need to be for Cattman headers on a 5.5 gen. With 2 orders, yours and mine and anybody else who wants to, we would have some clout with Brian to make these changes and expedite the order.
Everybody wins plus we get the thicker flanges.

I think i decided to go with the OEM for now because the rattling may be caused by something else..

Don't want them to blame the hotshot for rattling.

I was one of the first to have the hotshot headers and I have seen 3 different sets of headers and IMO the hotshot have the nicest ceramic coating out of the others brands. Now as for the flaws...

HotShot
-****ty flex section thats too short and stiff that causes slight vibration
-****ty flange connecting to the main cat
-gaskets are ****ty but I heard they started sending out some type of copper now instead of paper
-collectors on the headers look kind of choking IMO but they make great power
-02 sensor location on the front bank header runner needs to be moved up approx 6" to clear the AC line, and be able to keep the 02 sensor clip attached

Am I happy about the purchase yes, but all this could have been avoided with 15 more mins of R&D.

Matt