heres the run down, i had a rattling noise coming from underneath my car and i had the dealer check it out (warranty) they found that my cats were gone and they would replace them at no cost. Now what they also found was that my y-pipe needed to be replaced as well ( has a small crack in it). The dealer wants $709 to replace it with an OEM y-pipe, and i cant pay that much. I'm on a budget so my first idea was to get something like a redline max alum. y pipe for like 200 bucks. Then i saw the cattman for 300. Well through surfing the web i found XS power makes the headers and y-pipe for the 5.5 gen for $279.99 plus shipping. Any one here use these? My boy has it on his 3.5 altima but the car never runs right so theres no telling on the gains. Fitment was actually very good and quality seemed decent. Any help or insight would be awesome. Thanks guys.

 

Dont do it man. Save a bit more and get hotshots. I have learned the hard way..............You get what you pay for, just do it right the first time.

 

hotshots are the way to go

 

I have the Hotshot headers and have no complaints. The Headers include the Y-Pipe as well. I purchased mine locally and had it installed at a local shop.

 

All you guys with headers, is it safe to run without a piggy-back? I know our cars run rich with headers...

 

Rich>Lean Yest it is safe but you wont get the full benefit w/o A/F tuning

 

XS power= SS autochrome= poorly built product

 

I believe hotshot stopped making headers for our max's. Either that or they do not respond to my emails. I purchased a set over the summer and that seemed to be their last batch from what I've heard.

 

Here's what you could do. Have the dealer replace the cats with new ones. Buy the headers (Hotshot or cattman) and sell the cats as almost new. You'll probably cover the cost of the headers, o2 simulator and a piggyback. The headers come with a Y-pipe so you won't have to pay to replace that either.

 

I am happy with my Hotshot Headers and suprise people all the time next me on the highway when I go WOT. I still have to tune my VAFC-II to get the full benefits, though. Go with Hotshot, you won't regret it.

 

I think someone has one set left on a GD, if I am not mistaken, you should jump on it. Im waiting for Cattman's.

 

$450.94 plus shipping at http://www.nissanpart4u.com for an oem y-pipe.

 

Did any of you idiots read his post? If he doesn't want to pay $709 for a y-pipe from the dealer what makes you think he will want to spend more on headers?

indecent just get a y-pipe from a good vendor like Cattman.

 

Few points to note before calling people idiots.
#1 Thread title states "HEADER CHOICES"
#2 The reason these "IDIOTS" are recomending hotshots is because they are only around 500ish not more than $709.

 

yes, indeed

 

hot shot doesn't sound to bad but it's on the edge of spending a little to much. mostly due to the instal of the headers. I dont mind installing a y-pipe, it's no big deal but installing headers myself is a pain in the ***, it's almost a whole day of jack stands and busted knuckles. in order for headers to run right theres alot more in order then just the headers now were talking about tuning and possibly future problems. thanks guys for the input!! i appreciate it!!

 

Maybe this will help.........................check it out
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=498581

 

how come hotshot shows the max headers on their website? if it is indeed discontinued, then i am unable to order from their site?

 

If you really want to fix it cheap have a local exhaust shop weld the crack. Unless it's really rusted they should be able to weld it for under $50.00.

I have a stock Y-pipe sitting in my garage I'll sell you. It's in great condition with no rust or anything (north Florida car). It has the heat shields, and nuts/bolts. Send me a PM if interrested.

 

#1 Thread title and the actual post are totally different. (I could start a thread saying I bought a brand new car, then have the post say I bought a 1985 Subaru)
#2 They are not going to install themself.

 

As far as choice of headers goes, I went with Cattman. I already pre-order mine and can' wait to get it. HotShot is $549.00 and Cattman is $799. The difference in price is $250

Right now I'm looking to get VAFC for tuning and probably will install this myself.

Getting new headers for performance will be expensive overall. Unless you can do the tuning and installation yourself. Then you will save yourself a lot of money.

The Cattman headers that I order came out to be about around $840. I can't remember the exact amount. This included the headers, O2 simulators and shipping.

For installation I called around to different shops to see how much will it be to have them installed. It came out to be between $500-$570. It takes a whole day to installed, about 10hrs or so.

Now you will need to have it tune, most people recommend it the VAFC-II which has more tunning points than SAFC-II. This items will run you about 200+ on ebay or 300+ retail. The installation ran about $75.

The last thing will be tuning which runs $150 an hour. Another shop quote me 200 the first hour and 150 for any additional hours.

If you add this up you will spend a pretty penny for it. Unless you can do most of the stuff yourself.

Also about the OBX/SS Power/ SSAutochrome I would not get them.
Check this links.

http://www.hotshot.com/Hotshot_site0.../obxmedia.html

http://www.bblgroup.us/ssautochrome.htm

http://92civic.tripod.com/

http://www.bbbenc.org/commonreport.html?bid=3001613

 

every one says get hotshots. Good luck with that. I've been emailing them ofr almost a month now and they havent got back to me on whether they are in stock or not..

 

Being a 3.5 owner that wanted cheap headers, I got the XS racing headers. They are not equal length, so they have no good sound to them, and my front header had a leak in the collector welds.

They aren't the best, but they are worth the money you pay for them. If I could do it over again, I'd get equal length headers like cattman or hotshot.