ok ive been getting a lot of messages in my inbox from people asking how i like the custommaxima headers.

first off and gonna start by saying that for the work that goes into installing headers i wish i had saved up a little more and bought the cattman.

the install went smoothly until i went to line the rear flange up between the manifold and the down pipe. the flange was twisted counter clockwise about 20 degrees. no matter what kind of twisting and finagling i did i couldnt get the downpipe to line up. so i had to send the downpipe to the machine shop to get the problem fix. this resulted in another $100 into these pieces of crap and another day without me drivin around my car.

positives, you do notice the power gain, tho i guarantee from the way people talk about cattman that the gain is no wheres near that, but nonetheless the pieces are quality made.

negatives, they didnt fit worth a damn. an easy 6 hour header install turned into a 3 day nightmare just because custommaxima wont put the time or the energy into some decent R&D for their products. they want to make "quality" pieces for us maxima enthusiasts but have somehow fallen short.

i will not buy anything from custommaxima ever again, not only because the product they provided me with is sub-par, but also because their customer service is even worse than their products (which i wont even get into in this post). do what i didnt do and take the time and money to invest in a reputable company who stands behind their work.

 

True to everything you said....

 

Cattman and NWP exemplify product quality and customer service when it comes to aftermarket Maxima parts. Looking through the very, very odd website at CustomMaxima, and reading comments like this, I'm not sure what that company bases its reputation on.

Has anyone noticed that 9 of the 40 discussions in the "Group Deals/Sponsors" forum are CustomMaxima threads?

Something is not right.

 

I feel you B

 

Sucks to hear about that.

 

Car looks good... I like

EDIT: i get a lot of header questions myself, i try to tell people that unless you buy cattman it wont fit right so if u feel like ur the one to cry about a few modifications then dont buy it, i tell em that anything other than cattman will leave you using every possible swear word in the books... when i read threads about fitment issues and all that crap i moreso blame the buyer than the seller (i do blame the seller too) as you knew before you bought the product that there will be fitment issues, harsh but hey thats why one costs less right... custommaxima is a shady company to me and ill probebly never buy from em as all their parts are the exact same ones made on ebay... how come they cant encrest the logo on one of their products???

 

I'll agree 100 percent that it's my fault. I would have loved to be able to afford te cattmans but hell, this economy ain't exactly boomin. So for now I'm gonna have to deal with my poor fitment and bees sound in my flex pipe. Oh well lol

 

bro i agree with you 100%, look at my mod list in my sig and see which headers im using on my 5.5...

 

And Brian will defend/stand by his products b/c he knows (and we know) they're worth it. C-M?...well...

 

relative statement here as to be honest with you, ill probebly never buy cattman headers, sorry... great product dont get me wrong but i dont like headers that much

 

Yeah, if I were to do it again, I'd probably go OBX, cuz apparently there are equal length ones available now. But no regrets with Cattman. They're friggin' amazing!! I'm just missing my life savings and right arm. (but that's ok, cuz I drive an automatic )

 

lol I remember a thread where you and BC where peacefully going at it. I guess it's -$$/harder install vs. +$$/easier install

And you're suggestion is founded...those things ain't cheap. I've been wanting to pull the trigger on headers for awhile but the 'payin' the cost to be the boss' hasn't been enough for me to pull the trigger. But I would presume (and agree) it's a great product and BC stands by them

 

Exactly.... I did talk to him over the phone and all and he is as cool as the other side of the pillow but u basically hit the nail on the head.... if you remember what BC said in that thread should be enough to make a decision... brian said his products wasn't design for ppl on a budget nor was price an issue as he used quality materials hence why it costs more and that's understandable but if ur on a budget do what works...

 

Damn that sucks, should of went and tried SSAC headers for like 250 since you were on a budget. And to me also Custommaxima is a Joke, was going to get the Hi Flo Cat for 50 bucks than asked Nmex something and he said I got Cattman's so hit him up and ordered one with the 3in!!

 

A 3" test pipe can be found all over the net........... or even at ur local exhaust shop

 

I was able to get my Cattman headers from a nyc max user used. As I was deployed it equated to less than my combat pay for a month. But ordering that 3 inch catback as well I hear you on balling on a budget broke. Maaaaaaaaaaaaaan. Its a good chunk of change but the change in the car is ridiculous with both of thesee mods. But I know that there'd be no issue and if so bc is a stand up dude....those guys over there...real unfamiliar

 

 

Got my headers/ypipe (OBX) used from craigslist...best mod so far and at half price,just took my time searching everyday till I found em.... Installation came out to more $$ than the headers/ypipe

 

So even the obx headers wont fit aswell as the cattman headers?

 

^^^ No. Definitely not. I'm probably the 489th person to say this on the forums, but apparently with the OBXs you have to grind off part of your crossmember and motor mount. I believe you have to have an O2 sensor bung on the headers relocated by 90 degrees. There's a really nice OBX headers install writeup on here, so just search and you'll find it. Cattman Headers are a perfect fit. (and perfect in every other aspect too)

 

Custom maxima exhaust parts = GARBAGE.. i sold mine before even installing them for the OBX headers, they recently came out with the dual exhaust but i do not trust anything from their website its all cheap.

 

damn i was just shopping around on the site good thing i read this, ill save my money

 

They really aren't all that bad i got some stuff from them for my 4th gen and had no issues
180 for headers that need little minnor adjustments aren't really that bad. I heared from another orger it cost him all of 40 buck to fix the rear flange and he was good to go.
you have to shop around i guess for prices $180.00 + $40.00 = $220.00 not bad at all for headers especially if your a DIYer's your goin to make power it gets rid of pre catts and its cheaper then spending 400 on new precatts if yours are going out

 

They should sell a part that fits out of the box. That's all there is to it.

 

There are parts made like that, made by Cattman.

 

Custom maxima put out garbage parts and stole people's money in the past and they continue to do so to date.

 

So your saying their still stealing from people it under new owner ship now ...
I heard they did in the pass but i have got a few things since then and every thing was ok. shipped on time and at my door step in 5 days i told them last week about the whole thing about the headers and they gave them to me for 150.oo included shipping. cost another 50 to get flange fixed and im good to go 200 for a set of headers.
Yea you mite not be go to go right out of the box but what you think your goin to get for $180 and with the two peace design it a breeze to install and it get rid of pre cats

 

i actually bought this other brand x3 racing. noticed a difference and they fit perfectly for like 250. noticed the gain and what not....

 

Link? Might be a good solution if my precats ever go out again. Like others, I'd love the get the Cattmans, but spending $800 on an 8 year old car that is getting close to 200k miles is pretty hard to justify.

 

Do it Scott!!!! Just spend a few extra $$$ to perfect it! Maybe change that flex section with a higher quality Vibrant Performance turboflex couplings with interlock liner which is engineered for boosted exhaust systems.....so on a N/a setup it should be bullet-proof.....

 

i didnt even see any thing on the 3x racing headers for the 00-03 car at all.
will see the custom maxima headers mite be the next bang for your buck if i can get 15 hp out of it and and costing me all of 50 bucks for the flange to get fixed.
The design almost reminds me of the SSAuto/XS Power design but better im guessing the power will be in the same area more then likely

 

I have the custom maxima headers & y pipe set up & had no problem with the install. I do know that some headers & y pipes, you cant install by tightening the bolts as you go. Like with the CM headers & y pipe, I had to loose fit everything. Once everything was on, I then tightened all nuts & bolts. didnt have any of the problems that most you the guys are talking about.

 

Thats cuz you have the 95-99 set up

 

Yeah with a fully swapped 03 3.5

 

How do you like your performance? You can obviously feel the power difference compared to Oem exhaust manifolds?

 

I can feel a little difference high end, but i doubt its giving the 10-15hp gains they say. For the bucks it was right up my alley being that the pre cats on the oem had finally failed & going with a used ome y pipe from the jy was not an option. my exhaust got louder, but I got it back in tone with a Greddy muffler . Oh Just last week I had to get my flex section replaced cause I hit a 2x4 on 45 & a piece got stuck in it. but other than that is all good.

 

You wont really feel a 10-15 horse power gain really, when i run the nos on the streets in the 95 using a 25 shot, you can barelly feel it.. on the exhaust it the sound that gets you.. And you think you can feel the power.. custom maxima headers by design it seams like it would be a quieter exhaust then the competitors,{sound sometime translates in to power in the minds of people} no offence to know one
I think 10-15 + is very achievable the design is like an copy of the SSAuto/XS Power but a little better { length y-pipe}and if my mind severs me right they made around 15 hp .

 

Sorry to revive an old thread, but do you need to add any bungs for o2 sensors on any of the manifolds? says on the website you do, but Id rather ask someone who has installed them, I have a 2k3 which mean the bastard is cali spec if im correct.

 

I see all the necessary bungs (2) in the picture....
http://www.custommaxima.com/product/...s/Default.aspx.....
I would do this mod....and it will make more power over a stock cast iron exhaust manifold w/precats....First thing I would do is cut the rear manifold ypipe flange off as parallel/square as possible....Mock fit the ypipe and index the flange and tack weld it in place, recheck with another test fit and have the rear ypipe flange fully welded ($25-$50) and call it the day!

 

That's actually a great idea cmax03 , A while back when I was running these headers. They fit perfect (almost) just were the y pipe met the cat , the holes were off by a **** hair lol. Just had to drill them out little bigger and they fit fine. I would say there a great replacement if u have failing pre cats and want some increase in power.