Ok so i finally got my headers on and boy do they sound great. Sounds like a 350z i love its freaking awesome. Install time was about 8 hrs. (i didn't do but thats how long they said it was) But I have a couple questions:

1. Car seems like before or even a little bit slower than before I got headers on. I know the ecu needs time to adjust but i thought that i would feel a little difference right after install. Am i just being paranoid?

2. Im getting a rattle from the back I can't really describe it anyone else with headers have this problem? its def metal on metal, someone suggested that it was the cross member but i took that off with the catback install. Anyhelp?

Car feels great i haven't gotten a CEL yet. so im happy Ill try and get a vid or something up.

Thanks guys

 

1. Thats weird...you should immediately feel a difference in mid-range and top-end power....thats what I felt when I installed mine...ECU needs to adjust but there should be noticeable power right off the bat after installing it...

2. If the cross member doesn't help...then its your heat shields....grab your muffler and start wiggling it...do you hear something? If so, then its the heat shields rubbing somewhere against your bpipe/muffler...if you wiggle the muffler and it dead silent, then it's something else....try pin pointing the source by doing that...

what did you do to solve the secondary o2 sensors? extend the wires or simulated? Also do you know if your primary o2 wires (baby blue connectors) have been extended? I'm interested in knowning....good luck!

 

Probably the heatshield over the rear muffler section, or if you have Cattman exhaust system- it might be rubbing on the heatshields around the gas tank also. I removed all my heat shields and I don't have any problems.

Wait for the ECU to learn the found power, it will come

 

Extending wires. going for a straight pipe and putting them there. No power gains after install. I had an exhaust leak with my yipipe before the headers so im thinking that is the proplem my car is just leaned out right now. Ill check that out in the morning

 

That's pretty awesome. I'm getting Hotshots for my VQ30. Well, it's never gonna sound like a 350 or G35 but it will sound different for sure.

 

if you extended your secondary o2 sensors...and plan to go with a straight pipe then u will need a simulator to prevent the CEL from lighting up....

also do you know if your primary o2 sensors have been extended? I believe 2k2 primary o2 sensor wires are real short so its almost impossible to reach the o2 bung in aftermarket headers...I know my cattman had to be extended

 

Can someone give me a step by step instruction on how to relocate the O2 sensors?
Thanks

 

theres nothing to it...really....basically you extend all 4 wires on the oxygen sensor so that it is long enough to reach the o2 bungs all the way near the bpipe...make sure you have 2 o2 bungs already welded on the bpipe...and remember to solder and heat shrink everything

 

I thought that with 03's the wire was long enough. I still have both wires that came with the hotshot kit.

 

When he came over to show me, I noticed that the O2 sensor is just barely long enough to on the header. It has just been welded onto one of the bungs. The other O2 sensor is just hanging as of now, I guess he will work that out later

 

feeling no power could be what typically happens after headers on 5.5 gens. the engine is running extremely rich. i had the same thing happen the hotshots went on my 3.0. i was running 11:1 a/f after 5k rpms. you may want to have a dyno done and see if an afc purchase is in your future.

 

any pictures available? thats good knowing that the primary o2 sensors are able to reach the bungs no problem...mine had to be extended no matter what...i do have cattmans though

 

When I spoke to John at HotShot he said that the headers are supposed to make the engine run leaner.

 

most of the dynos including mine that i have seen show the opposite to be true.

 

Not sure, we will see what happens when I put mine on.

 

it can run either way...ive seen dynos or both people running rich and lean....

the reason why some people run rich is becuz the ECU over compensates...i guess it detects a lean condition and throws in tons of fuel to prevent the engine from running too lean (engine wear)....rich conditions are safer than lean....its not too good for gas mileage though

 

The fuel mix is probably all messed up. Get it run on a dyno and you'll see a rich or lean condition. You'll need a SAFC or similar piggyback computer to tune it correctly. As steven88 said, running lean is dangerous. Running rich is safer but they both rob power.

You'll eventually get the check engine light. I ran for about a week before mine showed up. I fixed it with an O2 simulator. No big deal.

 

Rattling could = exhaust misalignment. Jeff had to weld a washer onto my b-pipe hanger to straighen up my exhaust so it did not bang on the underside.

 

The ECU takes about 15-20 mins of driving to adjust, but if you're driving over 40% throttle and over 3000 rpms, that doesn't even matter, it'll "adjust" right away.

 

Id say it took about an hour for mine to adjust, now it runs sweet. I love the way it sounds and the speed. I raced a person who shall remain annomous, from a stop (he was at 5psi) and i beat him. I had him till about 4th. So im happy Im going to get some pics of the 02 right now

 

5psi!?! taaarrrbow? or suppah charger?

 

IIRC, the primaries don't have to be extended on the Hotshots because their O2 bungs are up high on one of the collector tubes. The Cattman headers have both O2 bungs where the 3 tubes meet (I think this is the proper design, but we wont get into that), and so the primaries need to be extended. The front primary can be "re-routed" if you cut the black tape off and run the sensor wires down more directly and then re-tape it up, but the rear primary pretty much has to be extended via cutting and soldering.

 

Turbo maxima

He will chim in later i bet....

 

Ok here are some pics sorry there blurry i couldn't see where i was aiming the camera.



You can see that there is still a little slack left.




These are the other two 02's that are going in my straight pipe on monday.

 

into your straight pipe with a simulator right? cuz hooking them up into a straight pipe without a simulator will trip a SES eventually

 

Yea....

10 char

 

I might be missing something here, but why bother extending and bung-ing into the straight pipe AND using an O2 sim when you can just use an O2 sim and zip tie em under the engine cover? There is no benefit from sticking em into the straight pipe, as far as I can tell.

 

So it looks more factory like...mine looks like a chop job with the sensors zip tied under the engine bay

 

I heard hes using one of these...

 

Yours are were all three come together, this is where just one is so i wouldn't have to lengthen it.

 

I think you're getting confused here. Steven is talking about the secondary (simulated) O2 sensors being all messy and zip-tied. Your statement here is referring to the primaries.

 

More like this:







He was running low boost.

 

I ordered one of those too.... along with this wing in CF:

 

Doubledecker=50gigabillion hp y0!!!

 

Call me stupid and stroke me sideways.... but I think that wing looks alright if it wasn't for the 2nd story.

Who paints their Maxima pink ? was this car sighted in San Francisco ?

 

agreed...it looks almost stock without the 2nd story...

 

Okay okay that was me he raced. Yes he did pull me off the line but he only pulled a car due to my wheel spin, it really took me into 4th before I made back the distance. Ben's car has really improved performance-wise and there is a noticable difference when I raced him with his y-pipe vs. his headers, he is definitley faster. From a from I would pull hard instantly with his y-pipe vs now from a roll I would slowly walk. Kudos to the job well done!
BTW- the car sounds amazing. Its an amplified 350z exhaust tone with a whole lotta air underneath it. It sounds beautiful.

 

Thanks justin. He was running low boost FYI all....

 

On a side note- I run 7-9 psi usually and turned off the EBC to keep it somwhat fair. We raced at 7psi and Ben can let you in on the outcome of that race....

Beat me to it Ben haha.

 

Sadly, it was sighted here in Virginia...