Whats up guys. Finally got my obx headers in today. Pretty damn expensive after shipping and duties and exchange rate but **** it! Its just paper.. Ive wanted to get a set since i got the car back in august july 2015. Ive been slowly chipping away at other things. Ill give you guys a small background on the car since im new here. Its a black 2002 maxima se. Leather interior. Has the 6spd hlsd. Stole the car from this cool old college proffesor for $1500CAD! Mint exterior no rust(at the time) and 186,000km on it. He said it had a motor done but no recepts so who knows. I do know it pulls hard tho. It Needed to replace the rad, brakes, powersteering hose and the exhaust leaked at the flexpipe when i got it. Since then ive installed a gab/drop-in filter and midpipe. The nwp bop and nwp torque link. 3" cattman and test pipe and thats it.

Going to have the headers installed but was going to hold off on buying a wideband and installing my safc-2 (already bougbt that) untill i address some suspension issues with the car. Dying to get a wideband and street tune it myself.

Overall some of the welds arent the prettiest and others are mint??? The guy welding these up must have smoked a rock half way through lol. but all the welds do seem strong and the headers seem fairly well built tbh.

One other thint worth noting the outlet is now upsized to more power friendly 2.5" piping
Rear primary bung still looks to be in the same spot as other gen versions so not sure there . Should i have this rewelded 90° around or can i get away with it?

Peace.

 

Let us know how they go on/fitment, etc.

 

Nice find. The 6-speed with HLSD is a great setup.

Those headers look very nice. It's been tough to find good headers since Cattman and Hotshot pulled out but those are the best I've seen for a while.

 

I have an '02 and put mine on a few months back. They were from sparktec last summer.
There was a gap where the front header and y-pipe connect. Enough to stick your pinky finger in. I tightened it up but it was hard to squeeze them together. Im afraid it will crack now since its under stress.(suggestions?)
I did have to relocate the bung on the other header 90 degrees and remove what I think was maybe a heatshield in that area. Also had to cut some wiring tape to make the primary 02's reach. I dont like this and will be trying some Bosch universal 02's because the wires are like 2 feet long. However, I read the longer cables might throw a code from voltage loss. We will see. No other modifications needed but ymmv for better or worse.
Im using two stainless steel 02 spacers from amazon(like 8 bucks a piece). They are the same thing as the non foulers but actually made for this purpose.(use only one per sensor and no drilling required) No codes yet.

 

Not being able to see it it's hard to say for sure but if maybe you put a couple of think gaskets or made some kind of spacer down by the cat side of the exhaust that might push it up that much closer. Maybe by doing that it'll close the gap by the header without cutting and splicing a piece of tubbing. You said it's only a pinky space, maybe you could slide the catback portion of the exhaust forward enough to close it without any gaskets or a spacer. Just a couple easy ideas.

 

For that gap, I'd contact the manufacturer and see if they'll send you an extra flange piece to use as a spacer. It shouldn't be that big of a deal since they already have them on hand. Put a gasket on either side of it and you'd be good to go.

If they won't do that I'd cut a spacer out of aluminum stock but that's a lot of effort if you're not set up to do that kind of work.

You could also take the gasket to an exhaust shop and see if they have a flange to use as a spacer. It may be a standard size.

I wouldn't be comfortable with it squeezed together like you have it. It's putting a lot of stress on it and may lead to cracks over time.

 

If extended correctly, they will work. I have two maximas with extended wires.

I tried the bosch universals and they didn't work for me. I don't believe the sensors are the same at all b/c the tips are different.

 

"I wouldn't be comfortable with it squeezed together like you have it. It's putting a lot of stress on it and may lead to cracks over time".


^^^^^^^This is why I recommended putting extra gasket or spacer on the cat side. It wouldn't put the stress on the collector.

 

Thanks Korn. What sensors work for you then?

Mattx - I bought two vibrant gaskets and a new flange. Do you think I can fill the gap with that? ...sandwich the flange between the gaskets and put that in there?

Im all ears.

EDIT: Ah I see Derrick suggested that already. Ok then. Thank you!
....I bought 2" size flange and gaskets. Im pretty sure thats right.

 

Used OEM ones If you snag several from the junkyard, then you can extend them without worry. If one throws a code saying it's bad (heater circuit), then pop another in.

 

Mattx - I hate to question your authority but, I dont understand why I would try to space it out on the cat side. This would push the y-pipe and rear header forward and still create stress on the collector or both collectors once tightened up. Right now the headers/y-pipe hang naturally off the engine with this gap even when disconnected from the the cat. So shouldn't I just fill the gap? Forgive me if I dont get it and school me if necessary. Thanks for the knowledge.

 

Gotcha!

 

I'm under the impression that the ypipe is coming up short to meet the headers no? In other words when you go to put the cat back on you're pulling the ypipe and headers toward the catback correct?

 

I dont have to pull back the y to reach the cat. If anything I have to pull the y forward to meet the front header collector. Ill try to be more clear....if I took the motor out and only had the y and headers on, there would still be a gap between the y pipe and the front collector/header.

 

Ohh I see what you mean sorry I had to reread what you meant. Yes then I would try and put a spacer or a couple of gaskets in between the header and ypipe. Or try to leave everything loose including the headers and tighten them each a little at a time to keep them evenly sequenced.

 

Perfect. Will do this soon. Thanks again.

 

The flange has to be the same pattern as the flanges they used on the headers. Flanges come in many different patterns and it has to be right for the bolts to go through. I'd remove the gasket and take it with you to pick out the flange/gaskets.

 

Well I already bought the flange after I installed the headers. However, I did buy one that fits multiple patterns. Will have to wait until next week to see if im a winner. I have front brake pads and my bi yearly cleaning of the my non-nissan vvt solenoid to do. Previous owner didnt use OEM VVT solenoid and now every time my oil gets a little dirty I throw a p0011 until I clean it and change the oil. Anyway, thanks for the knowledge. I will post a pic or two when I do the job...hopefully next week.

 

That should work. The two bolt pattern is easier to match up than a three bolt pattern.

 

They're on.

Had them installed by a friend at his shop. Started at 1pm was off the hoist at 530pm. The right tools gentlemen is what this install is all about.
I can definitely see how this job would have gone to hell very quick on ramps in my driveway. 10 hours would be an understatement with handtools

. First impression was wtf did I just do to my daily driver.Mated with the 3" unresonated cattman and a Short ram intake, it is rude and obnoxious. Perfect! Spent the entire night cruising around and Im loving the setup. It sounds like a bloody race car but at least it can back it up. I can see an electric cutout and stock muffler in the future. If not it will have the fattest diameter resonator that can fit. But I'm just gonna enjoy it for the time being.

A fair labour price made it worth every penny. Hearing guys pay upwards of 600 for an install is pushing the worth of these headers.. I herd horror stories of guys getting quotes after already buying them. And In2016 good luck selling them on kijiji or craigslist. I made sure I got a price I was willing to pay before I ordered and I suggest you do the same. I had a friend price which is not worth mentioning because it doesn't mean squat. I will say a reputable shop in my area quoted me at $750 shop rate was 95/hr.
Get a quote first!!!


Then Get headers!!

 

I did it by myselfno help inmy driveway it was reallyyyy easy and love thesound!

 

Those gaskets will still burn out, though. I got tired of that **** and bought copper.

 

Yea those will burn up quick hope you used some ultra copper permatex.

 

Or just get multi-layer, steel Grimmspeed gaskets. They are on point.

 

I got my multilayered from rockauto

 

Thank you rockauto sales representative

 

Not a REP just love the service, fast shipping, good quality, great inventory and the best of it all prices you can't beat any where else on the net.

 

Where did you purchase them from?