Pre-Header install checklist

[pyroguy]

Originally Posted by mbowen89

Which setup?

Solo mach XL, cold air intake, ported tb. I was curious how the in cab noise would be effected when LT's were installed. So far the current setup isn't too loud where you feel like you have to shout to have a conversation and I prefer that. However, I want to be able to have a distinct V8 sound, especially when I get on it.

[JCunningham]

Thats my set up. Its not much louder then stock until you step on it then its perfect. I dont want to be annoying people with a loud exhaust and I want to hear my music and talk on the hands free. Id say this is perfect for the adult touring Camaro owners. No offense to the nascar loud people on here. The cam did not affect it much at all.

[MattSS]

fell off the face of the earth for a couple days there and just saw all the new replies. Thanks everyone! I'll come back here after I've got it done and tell you what I think of it. Currently I feel like the Solo cat back makes it a little quieter than stock, but with a much better tone. I'm hoping things don't get too loud. I just moved out of my house into an apartment and don't need to piss off all the neighbors. Also a little worried about the speed mountains they've erected. If I don't creep over them I bottom out with stock suspension.

[black.]

Your also gonna need a beer, band-aids, and a swear jar. Swear jar money is for the next mod.

[8balldeluxe]

Mechanic gloves takes place of the band aids but you will still need funds for the swear jar

[dentnshell]

After breaking both of my front O2 sensors, using PB Blaster and a torch... I will say you will need something more powerful than WD40 overnight. My 2014 had 14k miles on it... Still broke the front Sensors. I would get a better penetrating oil.
Also have a backup plan for "If" the sensors break. I found Amazon to be the cheapest, but since it was the weekend it was more than two days out..

I don't know what kind of roads you have been on, but I was appreciative that my engine compartment was very clean. Especially when you think about what might fall into the dipstick hole while you are trying to work that thing back in.

Before you remove the oil dipstick tube, get under the car and take note of where it goes. I watched from below while my wife removed it from above. It will help when it is time to put it back in. It is easy to pull from the top, but an understanding of where you are trying to get it back into will be helpful.

[MattSS]

Promised I'd come back to this thread with a review after I got the job done, so here we go... Thanks again for everyone's input. You guys helped a ton!

I think in the end we spent about 8 hours on the job, but that included hitting up 3 stores and the dealership for a replacement sleeve clamp for the cat-back. My buddy managed to shear one of the bolts off during disassembly. He paid for it with a nasty welt on his chin though (3ft breaker bar + sheared bolt = him seeing little birdies and stars).

Disassembly was where we had most of our trouble. My car is 6 years old and its my daily driver here in Illinois. I'm sure things would have been much smoother on a newer car or one that hasn't experienced 6 years of Illinois weather.

Getting a ratchet into some of the spaces was very difficult, especially on the passenger side where there is less room.

Also, the steering shaft made it really tight to get the old manifold out, but in the end we managed it without disconnecting the shaft. I think we had the car up about 16in. If we'd had 3 or 4 more inches it would have been much easier.

To get the O2 sensors out I sprayed with PB blaster the night before and then hit the bung with a torch after we had the old hardware out. They were still pretty tough to break loose, but when they popped they came right out. No problem with the threads. I picked up a O2 sensor socket from O'Reilly's that turned out to be mostly useless. Maybe it was just the quality of the one I got, but with the slit up the side it couldn't hold onto the sensor. In the end I used a good sized set of channel locks and some creative leverage.

We reused the factory gaskets. The ones Kooks sent didn't instill much confidence. As far as I can tell I don't have any leaks, though at first there was some smoke rolling off of the headers. Didn't smell like exhaust or oil. It dissapated after a 15 minute drive and hasn't come back, so I figure it was probably something from the manufacturing or coating process.

We tuned using a mail order tune from Ted Jannetty (THANKS TED!). Updating the tune takes a while and the car goes through some goofy behavior (warning lights cycle, the service stabilitrak and reduced engine power messages display, etc...) Just have faith and wait till it's done and you'll be richly rewarded.

The other people I've seen on these boards saying headers unleashed the beast weren't kidding. Between the headers/cats and Ted's tune, the throttle is more responsive, the sound is amazing, and it pulls like mad.

For anyone on the fence about doing this mod, here's the best way I can describe it: We finished the install on a muggy, hot, humid day. The car drove like it does on a crisp cool day in late autumn. I can't wait to have some good driving weather around here so I can see how it performs under those conditions.

I remember someone asked about cabin noise. You definitely hear the valvetrain more, but it's not overwhelming at all. Cruising is really no louder than stock in the cabin, but when you get on it, everybody is going to know you're there. In fact, the slightest blip of the throttle makes a significant difference in how loud it is. I'm going to be idling my way through the neighborhood from now on and starting the car before I open the garage door.

All in all, I'm extremely happy. This car finally sounds like it should have from the factory and I love the extra power and responsiveness.

Thanks again all!

MattSS

[christianchevell]

new headers always smoke you should see painted ones....lol. Hopefully the tune takes into account delayed response from the front O2 sensors being further down stream as this code can pop up even with the rear disabled in a tune. Happy Motoring! And do not forget to go back and retorque the bolts!

[mbowen89]

Don't forget to tighten a spark plug and have it pop out after couple hundred miles.

[MattSS]

Yep, I'll be checking the bolts and spark plugs again in a week or so.

One other thing I noticed that I wasn't expecting is a FWOOP! sound when I tap the gas in the split second before I hear the engine rev. Had a friend do it while I was under the hood and as best as I can figure it's just air rushing in the intake and past the throttle blade suddenly. At first I was afraid it was an exhaust leak, but I'm not smelling any exhaust up front and I'm not throwing any codes.

OK, I'm going back out to drive around cackling maniacally. Might be some insane giggling as well. Permagrin FTW!

-MattSS

[mbowen89]

Do you think it sounds more raspy at high rpms?

[fastjohnny]

Originally Posted by Russell James

The trick to the O2 sensors is getting the exhaust hot before cracking them loose.

Cold pipes will have a death grip on the threads.

Take the car out for a drive. Then get it up real high on 4 stands. Have 4 decent size stands available. Then once up and nice and secure on stands... run the engine again for a bit. Shut it off, and right away crack the O2s loose and run them out.

Then start the rest of the install.

Dipstick reinstall can be a bit fun too. Use a flashlight to find the path to the hole, and maybe a helper down below.

Use a small amount of anti seize on the spark plugs and header bolts. And be careful, don't force or over tighten either. It's just aluminum threads in the heads. Make sure they are turning in easy by hand before putting a wrench on it.

Real tall jack stands are your friend for this job. I think mine have been set around 24".

Hey Matt, I have a couple questions, where did you get your headers from, and did you get them coated? Also how much did your tune cost? I am thinking about whether I want to get a tune or get it dyno tuned.

Originally Posted by MattSS

LoL, mine is a 5 1/2 year old car that just crossed over 30k miles. It's my DD and I live in Illinois, so I expect 'like butter' will not be a phrase I'll use after I get done. 'Holy rusted metal, Batman!' is much more likely.

Originally Posted by Homeless Man

No don't run your car before the install then he'll have to wait a long time for it to cool unless he want to burn himself. He said his friend has a torch. And your not supposed to put anti seize on the spark plugs but put some on the header bolts.

Originally Posted by JCunningham

Thats my set up. Its not much louder then stock until you step on it then its perfect. I dont want to be annoying people with a loud exhaust and I want to hear my music and talk on the hands free. Id say this is perfect for the adult touring Camaro owners. No offense to the nascar loud people on here. The cam did not affect it much at all.

Originally Posted by MattSS

fell off the face of the earth for a couple days there and just saw all the new replies. Thanks everyone! I'll come back here after I've got it done and tell you what I think of it. Currently I feel like the Solo cat back makes it a little quieter than stock, but with a much better tone. I'm hoping things don't get too loud. I just moved out of my house into an apartment and don't need to piss off all the neighbors. Also a little worried about the speed mountains they've erected. If I don't creep over them I bottom out with stock suspension.

Originally Posted by dentnshell

After breaking both of my front O2 sensors, using PB Blaster and a torch... I will say you will need something more powerful than WD40 overnight. My 2014 had 14k miles on it... Still broke the front Sensors. I would get a better penetrating oil.
Also have a backup plan for "If" the sensors break. I found Amazon to be the cheapest, but since it was the weekend it was more than two days out..

I don't know what kind of roads you have been on, but I was appreciative that my engine compartment was very clean. Especially when you think about what might fall into the dipstick hole while you are trying to work that thing back in.

Before you remove the oil dipstick tube, get under the car and take note of where it goes. I watched from below while my wife removed it from above. It will help when it is time to put it back in. It is easy to pull from the top, but an understanding of where you are trying to get it back into will be helpful.

Originally Posted by christianchevell

new headers always smoke you should see painted ones....lol. Hopefully the tune takes into account delayed response from the front O2 sensors being further down stream as this code can pop up even with the rear disabled in a tune. Happy Motoring! And do not forget to go back and retorque the bolts!

[MattSS]

Originally Posted by mbowen89

Do you think it sounds more raspy at high rpms?

I'd say more 'racecar' than 'rasp'. I think the HFC's cut out the rasp. Then again, I haven't had the opportunity to have someone else drive it while i follow behind. I've only heard it from the cabin.

[MattSS]

Originally Posted by fastjohnny

Hey Matt, I have a couple questions, where did you get your headers from, and did you get them coated? Also how much did your tune cost? I am thinking about whether I want to get a tune or get it dyno tuned.

Hey fastjohnny,

I picked up a set of Kook's headers with HF cats from Maryland Speed during the Black Friday sales last year. They were coated as part of the deal. I went with a mail order tune from Ted Jannetty here on the forums. Pricing for the tune was JRE's standard. This should be a link to the tuner/tune page on their site:

http://www.jreperformanceparts.com/2...-flash-gm.html