I am soooo ****ed... its not even funny. I'm all excited today.. gonna install the y-pipe.. take my whole car apart.. get the stock Y pipe off.. look at the two.. and realize.. its not even close!!!!!!!!
The thing I dont get.. the pipe that Cattmen sent me is labeled yg5.. fed.. 5th gen on the invoice.. all over the place, there's even a sticker on the pipe saying yg5-fed..

You tell me.. look at the picture.. whats wrong?

 

But how much HP would a Y-Pipe add, everybody says its good power MOD, but i just wanted to know is there a predicted range of how much HP.
Roger

 

from the pic, it looks like you have a car with cali spec emissions and that you removed the entire front pre-cat. First of all, you got the wrong pipe. You will need the Cali spec emissions y-pipe. Make sure you have cali spec emissions by counting the number of O2 sensors. If you have 4, then you have cali spec emissions. Next, you want to put the front pre-cat back on the front manifold and remove the stock pipe from the fron flange at the bottom. Don't get rid of the front pre-cat.

 

I agree with UMB, you have a Cali Spec car. The pipe you need will not replace the front cat.

 

No doubt about it, UMD_MaxSE. That's a Cali-spec stock Y-pipe in the pic. And unless foozed is prepared to purchase a Fed-spec front exhaust manifold and do a whole lot more work than he bargained for, your advice to him is correct.

 

10 to 12 hp at the wheels.

 

I purchased the car in July of 99 from a dealer in Pennsylvania? Why would it be a cali spec?? Is there any definitive way to tell?
So.. the pipe that Cattman sent.. it fits a 4th gen (looks like it anyway.. the neighbor has one).
Should I order the cali pipe? Actually.. I stripped one of the bolts in the exhaust manifold.. so I need to take it some where to have them tap it (re thread) to get the 3rd bolt in.. OR... how much would a fed spec manifold be?
Argh.. what a day!
Anyway.. atleast I got my fogs rewired, and re wired the fogs on my friends sentra too..

 

The Fed-spec Maxima doesn't have pre-catalytic converters. Yours does. It is therefore, by definition, a Cali-spec Maxima.

If you want to see a complete writeup of the Cali-spec to Fed-spec conversion, check out:

http://www.desertpearlmax.homestead.com/Fed_YPipe.html

 

open the hood and count how many plugs there are for O2 sensor wires. If you have 4, then you have cali spec emissions. I am in MD and mine is also cali spec. Check it out:

http://www.cattman.com/images/produc...ec-diagram.jpg

The fed spec 5th gen pipe may fit a fed spec 4th gen. I am not 100% sure though. A used fed spec manifold can be gotten from a junkyard for around $60 -$100 I think. But, you will have to relocate two of the O2 sensors to behind the main cat so you dont get any check engine lights. Or, just get a cali spec pipe.

 

Oh my god that's friggin' gay. I ran out to my max to check the # of plugs. I have 4 and I live in NJ! I'm super-piissed. Think I'll go punch out my dealer.

 

Don't forget that ALL 2001 Maximas are Cali-spec.

 

Ahem, my faux-pas. I will apologize to the dealer immediately.

 

i don't know...looks like the right pipe to me~

by the way, that y-pipe in the pic, it's a fed-spec y-pipe. a cali spec y-pipe has only one bend(near the y) and the other side is straight....the pic shows two bends...

 

Just go to a junkyard and get a Fedspec front manifold. I think you can do that.

 

In the pic, the stock pipe has the front pre-cat attached to it. This should have stayed bolted to the front manifold. If only the pipe was removed at the bottom flange instead, then it would be clear that this is a cali-spec y-pipe.

 

Well, correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that the Cali spec cars produced slightly less HP due to the extra restrictions..
IF so.. I am more than happy to convert my car to the Fed spec.. I don't think it will be more work that I bargained for.. Two questions I guess..
Is converting to Fed worth it? I'm not too concerned about the cost of the manifold..
Second: How exactly would I relocate the 2 O2 sensors behind the cat?

 

check out the link desert pearl posted earlier. He has done the conversion. You won't gain much by doing so. Although, it will take some more work. The front manifold must be removed. Also, to relocate the 2 O2 sensors, you must have holes drilled in the b-pipe right after the main cat. The sensors must be behind a cat so that you don't get a check engine light.

 

In case you go looking for it, I'm the person who posted Desert Pearl's website. And IMHO, it's just not worth the effort to convert from Cali-spec to Fed-spec, foozed. You'd be much better off returning your Y-pipe and getting a Cali-spec Y-pipe instead. The conversion from Cali-spec to Fed Spec doesn't provide enough of a performance difference to make it worthwhile. And it will be much easier to reinstall your stock Y-pipe should you decide to do that someday if you haven't modified your entire exhaust system to convert from Cali-spec to Fed-spec.

Don't forget, today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.

 

aight...i just pulled out the instructions for my Stillen Y-pipe from my garage(cough cough...)...
the instruction reads that on 95-98 Maximas, you need to use the small downpipe to replace the front cat.
on 99-01 Maximas, you leave the front cat on the car, thus you don't use the small downpipe provided..

 

I'm going to return the pipe and get the Cali spec pipe...
I appreciate all your comments.

Now I can go back to the waiting / anxiety stage :-/

 

It should be well worth the wait..... you will like the final results

 

Cut enough piping off the front of the Y pipe to allow for the front precat?

 

And put a flange back on... from the looks of it he might need to bend the front section of the pipe to get it to align with a flange on the manifold+cat (he probably don't want to crash bend it and restrict/mess up the flow either...). IMHO Seems like too much trouble to go through to avoid returning it. Besides waiting is half the fun

 

OK, should be obvious by now that Cattman Performance sent you exactly what you ordered. We do our best to point out the difference. I even have a diagram on my Y-pipe web page that illustrates the difference between the two engines and advisories to check it out.

Yet, the thread is headlined "Cattman sent me the wrong y-pipe"... makes it sound like my fault. A little clarification, and perhaps an apology would be a gracious gesture.

Don't feel like the lone ranger, problem is that when they are referred to as "Cali" pipes, many assume that they are only sold in California. Truth is, CA/NLEV spec emission cars are required by law in much of the Northeastern US and have been for a few years, just as they are in California.

And, although you won't find a new "Federal"-spec car for sale in the states that require the stricter emissions, you can run across "cali"-type cars on dealers lots in any state in the US. As someone noted about the 2001s, its only natural for the manufacturers to switch over to one type (which has to be the stricter version, obviously).

You'll just need to send it back, I DEFINITELY would advise against trying any of the creative solutions other readers proposed. ;-) You REALLY just want to pay the extra shipping both ways and send it back for the right one. Write to me at cattmanperformance@earthlink.net and we'll get this squared away. I've got CA/NLEV pipes in stock and we can send one immediately if you want to carry both on your CC until we can credit for the one you're returning. Either way, write to me.

Brian C. Catts
Cattman Performance

 

Don'yt know if this holds true for the 5th gens, but the 4th gens have a white sticker on the hood that states whether or not you got a Cali spec. If the word California is on it, you have a Cali spec, if you do not, you have a Fed spec.

 

yup... its on 5th gens also.... in fact, I think all cars are required to have that info there....