I'm sure this has been answered before, so if it has, I'm sorry.

But how come we cant just plug up the bung that is on the rear collector (the one that is too close to the steering rack), and just plug the rear primary o2 sensor into the next bung downstream?

This would save us the hassle of getting another bung welded on 90degrees to the right.

You would probably need to extend the wires for the rear primary o2, but other than that I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Correct me if I'm missing something.

 

Actually thats what CMax03 and I did to mine three weeks ago. Pretty much because I was too lazy to get another port welded nor did I feel like finding someone to do it correctly. I used a oil plug to plug it up and we extended the plug a little further down to the next bung. Took the one that was there air locked it in a baggie and zip tied it to radiator support. Cleared the service engine code and haven't had a problem since.

 

Yeah, you're correct...forgot about that harness extender (Sentra)! Sorry!!!

 

So you have your secondary O2 Sensors in a zip lock baggy and have no CEL???

So you must've used a sim right? Otherwise I dont see how you get no CEL with your O2 sensors in a baggy...

 

Yeah... I just ordered an 18mm O2 Sensor plug from Summit. It was cheap. Most exhuast shops will have them already though. I just wanted to be safe...

 

Thread bumpage.

Installed headers today on my AE, took 8 hours, including welding in a new WB bung and installing the rest of my exhaust (test pipe/cat-back).

I didn't hook the sims up yet, so my SES was throwing codes for heater malfunction. This struck me as odd, if I hook the sims up will the code go away? I used to get high voltage/sensor failure codes but now it's saying the heater circuit is malfunctioning so I'm wondering if the sim will even help here.

I love the sound though. Ooh boy.

 

No you'll need to clear it!

 

If I sim it and clear it, will it just come back?

 

in for sound clip

 

As long as the secondaries are plugged in, you shouldn't get any heater codes.

A regular O2 simulator wouldn't help there, you'd need a heater sim; basically a big *** resistor on a heatsink.

 

My secondaries are plugged in...

Edit: could it be that the secondary connectors were switched around accidentally?

 

The secondaries do not need to be plugged in! If you all mean plugged into the ypipe, then absolutely no...As long as the wiring is connected to the sensors, you can hang the sensor under your battery tray or plug them into your ypipe. The Simulator will take care of the return signal from the sensor to the ECU! If you want to remove the sensor completely there will need to be a resistor of equal value of the heater soldered in as a substitute!

 

I mean plugged into the harness. I have suspicions that the connectors for the secondaries were reversed and thus messing with the ECU.

I'll try that and report back.

A standard O2sim will not intercept a heater failure signal.

 

How does that happen? The connects are color coded! Sure you connected your sim to the proper wires?

 

Go to RadioShack and buy (4) 10 Ohm, 10 Watt ceramic resistors. Wire 2 of them in series for each sensor.

Place them between the 12volt wire and the heater ground. (For each sensor)

Install the o2 sim for each sensor.

Heater codes gone.

Secondary o2 sensors gone.

 

Thanks I'll give that a try and report back.

Edit: I'm an idiot, my secondaries weren't actually plugged into the engine harness.

Now I'm only throwing typical codes. I'll install sims asap.

Headers are awesome, especially with Cattman cat-back. Running 11.9 at WOT, dips to 10.9 AFR at redline. Emanage Ultimate coming soon!

 

Hi guys, first post and a minor thread bumpage.

Having read this entire thread in one sitting , I had a couple of questions.

First, prior to the header install, were any of you experiencing the 'annoying exhaust sound' it seems many have associated with bad pre-cats? If so, did this clear that up?

I think I figured out most of the jargon, although I'm still not sure what SSIM or VIAS means. I'm guessing at SS Intake Manifold, but what is SS? Just old fashioned 'Super Sport' or something similar? As for VIAS, I haven't a clue and any help would be nice. When I searched for it, I found discussions using the term, but not explaining what it meant.

Thanks for your help and all of the outstanding information in this thread! As you may have guessed (if you care, lol), my 2k Max is making that awful rattling, knocking, ARRGGHH!! exhaust noise and from what I've read elsewhere on the forum, installing headers should fix it. And if I'm going to get the problem fixed, might as well go for more power too.

I'm not a DIY, but this information will certainly help keep me from getting ripped off when I have this fixed in the next week or two. Thanks so much.

 

SSIM == Secret Sauce (among other random meanings) Intake Manifold.

VIAS == Variable Induction Air (control) System.

 

Bump for sound clip inside the car. Taken with my phone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfcdQIFI_zw

 

sounds good inside the car... any outside ones???

 

Not yet. Too busy driving it

I'll try to get some with my buddy's camcorder soon.

 

So its settled, these headers are The Bee's Knee's when it comes to fitment and price?

Have cattman's over priced headers been knocked off the pedal stool?

 

^^^ i doubt if anyone can knock cattman off a pedal stool... lots of ppl are far up *bleep bleep bleep*... no matter what you'll hear how the fitment is better with cattman so they'd pay twice the amount for just that... i must agree that the guy makes quality stuff, however doesnt means nobody else does

EDIT: to answer ur questions they've been the "bees Knees" since datdude20 guinea pigged em

 

im with you on that. there's a fine line between servicing a community and just plain robbing them.

 

I love these headers. Top end is awesome.

Honestly though if I had the money I'd go with Cattman because those are truly bolt on. These headers fit really well but notching the crossmember = PITA!

 

WTF is a pedal stool? Do you mean pedestal? Or is that OBX Style Grammar? Tell OBX too step up to the plate and make an entire exhaust like Cattman did and does and will always do! Sometimes going cheap is more time consuming than going top of the line! You do get what you pay for and sometimes it's just a matter of time to find that out! Hope their still around in 10 more years...Cattman has been here making the Maxima a cooler and more potent car to own for more than 10 years now...So chill out and give Brian more respect and credit for all his hard efforts...he isn't turning out **** like some of these other Maxima performance part designer/creator/manufactures and during these hard times only the strong will weather the storm...So after the dust as settled we'll see what you really installed on your car! Hope you marked down your mileage and date of your install....

 

easy tiger...Firefox changed my spelling. Excuse me for making a mistake. But anyways, i'm sold on OBX. I will be buying them regardless of fitment. No way im spending 800$ on the same piece of bent metal i can get for 350$. It just doesn't make sense. If OBX can afford to do it, so can he. Like i said, there's a fine line between helping someone and just plain robbing them because of your "scarcity".

 

"…robbing them", eh? What's your basis for making a strong accusation like that (twice)? Does charging more than you want to spend mean that we're "robbing" the Maxima community? I don't think so. I can buy two Maximas for the price of a nicely equipped M45, but just because I can’t afford that M45 doesn’t mean that Infiniti is trying to screw me. If a quality product costs a lot to produce, and the price reflects it, how is that robbery?

If that's not it, your comment about scarcity (WTF?, we'll make just as many as people want to buy) must mean that we're robbing the Maxima community because we're making outrageous profits on our exhaust parts. Making high quality exhaust parts in small batches (in the United States) is incredibly expensive, and there is no profit. We meet expenses, and I pay myself a modest part-time wage, but "profit" refers only to money that's left over after paying expenses, and there isn't any. In addition to production expenses there are substantial fixed and variable costs that must also be covered by the sale of goods.

To make an accusation like that with confidence (as opposed to talking out of your ***), you'd need financial data about our cost of manufacturing and other business expenses that you could not possibly have. [And a basic grasp of microeconomics to understand how to use that information.] Even if we were making a huge profit (I wish), that’s capitalism, not robbery.

We run a pretty tight ship expense-wise – no fancy store, no expensive company vehicles or toys, and I’m sure not getting rich after 12 years of this – so I’m here to tell you that when you buy a Cattman exhaust part, at least 75-80 cents of each dollar is going to the production/packaging cost of the part itself, before we’ve paid any other expenses. With cost factors like that, the question is not “why are you ripping people off”, it’s “why are you wasting your time with this”, and I wish I knew the answer.

So, Commissar shadyonedeath, if your point is to go after the capitalists, I’ll point you back at OBX; if their profit margin didn’t exceed ours, they wouldn’t be in business. If your point is to say that you think the OBX header is a better deal than the US-made Cattman part, then just say so, that’s your opinion, but don’t accuse of us robbing the Maxima community and don't suggest that the OBX part is equivalent to the headers we sell - we're not, and it isn't.

Our customers are not fools that we've tricked into buying our exhaust parts. They come to us because they've done their research and decided that, for them, our exhaust parts offer the best value. This is demonstrated by the fact that at least 30% of the exhaust parts we sell replace cheap imported parts that someone tried first, and we've already sold Cattman headers to customers who have installed and removed the new OBX headers that are discussed in this thread. I have no doubt that some are pleased with their OBX headers, but I can tell you for a fact that some are not.

I hear stories about cheap imported exhaust parts from customers every single day: bad fitment (or won't fit at all); mediocre performance; exhaust leaks through cracked welds or warped flanges; missing EGR ports; ugly sound that hisses, buzzes; resonators and mufflers that get louder over time as the cheap fibreglass deteriorates; crappy flex sections that fail quickly; excessive heat radiation through paper-thin tubing, etc., etc. Once the Cattman part is on, we often hear back about how it was worth every penny due to its quality/performance and the absence of anger and frustration.

I'm sorry, but stating that you don't care about fitment, and that you're getting the same piece of bent metal from OBX that you get from Cattman, fits right in with your accusations of robbery - ill-founded comments that illustrate what you don't know, not what you do.

The only thing that matters to me is to make the very best quality exhaust parts available for the Maxima and other Nissans we target; we do, it’s a simple fact, and nothing about this OBX part challenges that. If we have to make exhaust parts like the OBX and other Chinese-catalogue parts to stay in business, I’d rather close the doors.

Brian C Catts
Cattman Performance

 

The main reason that OBX can sell "the same piece of bent metal" for $350 is that they did not spend the money to conduct the research, build and test prototypes, and all of the other work that Cattman has done on their products. They copy the design as close as they can, leaving enough difference so they cannot have any legal action taken against them.

That being said, these headers have been found to make a respectable amount of power on the vehicles of those who have them installed. Also, when you can buy 2 sets of these headers for the price of 1 cattman, they become that much more appealing to those who do not want to break the bank for this upgrade. Longevity is another issue entirely, that I will not get into.

I am glad that we have a company like cattman that is still willing to look at, and make something for the maxima, when aftermarket support from other companies is waning. I just wish I could afford the products, because they are quality products, but they are just out of my particular price range.


looks like I was beaten to the punch(i type too slow)....

 

I'm not going to argue with you Brian, I didnt mean for you to get so upset but you have way more margin of freedom than I do on this site and i just don't want to be banned for going against you. Do I deny your product is far superior in quality and fitment? No. But I do find it hard to believe it costs you that much to produce parts. Its called Supply and Demand, and you sir know quite well how to play and exploit that game.

I am entitled to an opinion (in the United States), and ill leave it at that.

 

Cute. You accused us of robbing the maxima community, and you didn't expect a reaction? Makes about as much sense as saying it was the same bent piece of metal for either price, and then admitting ours is "far superior in quality and fitment".

If you find what I say is hard to believe, there are only two possibilities, either I'm a liar, or you don't know anything about the costs of materials, production and running a business. Since I'm not a liar, I'll state a fact, not an opinion - you have no idea what you're talking about.

Tell you what. You can probably find a picture of our headers someplace, so do something constructive instead of hiding behind the fear of being banned. You should share your knowledge of metal fabrication by estimating our production and other costs, and provide an itemized list - it doesn't need to be exact to be useful.

I'll share some specs to get you started, with your knowledge of the industry you should be able to figure out the rest. We use all 16ga T304 annealed tubing, flanges are 3/8" thick and nickel-plated, US-made flex section by MicroFlex, all TIG welding, labor rates typically found at the center of the auto performance universe (SoCal), custom-made 3-1 collectors and hand-built 2-1 merge collector. Don't forget the cost of crate, pallet and freight to get the parts to me, and double-walled custom boxes plus the labor to pack them for retail sales. As someone else pointed out, be sure to amortize our product development costs over the first year of production. Don't forget to factor in rent, insurance, SEMA membership and show attendance, utilities, IT, and a few dozen other fixed expenses.

Since I don't make much money doing this, our costs must be WAY too high. I really look forward to you shedding some light on this, and then I can cut our prices in half without compromising quality. Or maybe I'll just continue exploiting these poor saps since most of them aren't wise to our game like you are.

I'm inspired by this. I'm going to visit my favorite restaurant tomorrow and show them the grocery ads so they can bring their menu prices down to the actual cost of the food and stop ripping people off.

Brian C Catts
Cattman Performance

 

....this is classic.....i forgot all about this thread

 

Just go the cheap route already on your car. Let us know how it turns out 5 years from now. Car sounds like its an investment for you and you're looking to go cheap, go cheap man. Dont dog on people that have done research and actually own a company trying to stay alive as well as keep these quality parts for our car. It's people like you who just dont get it and just add to the pile of morons that make our community look bad for big companies trying to do good for us.

(will all know who the "you" is that im reffering too)

 

Cattman,

Are you still making the VQ30/VQ35 headers? I am interested in a set with a 3" outlet Y pipe only to the flex joint(no pipe from flex joint to cat), so I can weld it up from there to suit my cars floorpan. Would also ideally like to have the primary pipe lengths increased by about 2" if possible.

 

I clicked to reply, and as it went to that screen I thought - wait, didn't I see a Holden in that post, guy must be an Aussie, and sure enough, good on ya, mate! Holden indeed, that thing sounds like a monster.

I'll send a PM to address your questions.

Brian

 

oh wow...these guys are really going at it. Buy what you can afford...that makes sense to me.

 

Believe it or not, I couldn't agree more. I'd be the first to acknowledge that our exhaust parts aren't for everyone due to the expense. I just don't like to be accused of ripping people off because we focus on the upper end of the market.

Brian

 

I love Cattman products. I have the cat-back and it's easily better sounding than any custom cat-back, off the shelf muffler, or other setup available for this car.

It sounds epic when I punch it, but at cruising speeds my JWT intake is louder

But I bought v2OBX headers.

 

kissing **** going on now... i have one question Brian C catts... Why??? Why only focus on the "upper end of the market", why just the guys with the big pockets, i understand business, i really do but dont you think that some ppl would love to buy your products but honestly cant afford the prices (we do have school kids and young ppl who is kinda on their own and dont have that much extra $ to spend) i never had nothing with any of your products now anybody's products, just $$$...

 

why in 5yrs??? do you have a 5yr warranty on any of your cattman parts??? can you gurantee any performance part for 5yrs??? you holla at me in 5yrs (if you even keep ur car that long) and lemme know if you never ever touch any part of your exhaust... i dont see how $400 is going cheap... with all due respect that is still a decent price, and to some its still a sacrifice but more attainable (you do realize that at some point there were $120 headers right) if price = quality why not return your cattman headers for some stillen ones??? why are you now going cheap???.... people get $$$ and quality so mixed up