350z header install
 

Hey everyone this is my first post as im new to the nissan world. Vq35de im doing a head gasket soon and was wondering if its possible to install megan racing headers when i pull the head off, rather than pull subframe and what not.

Yes, it is possible, but not easy. Good luck!

Possible is all i need. Should be a good learning experience, thanks.

Have a search on youtube, various ways to install them.
This guy does it potentially the way you might want to try ?
Wobble socket/impact wrench a must I think.


& this one too:

Theres a thread a few months back (I'll try to find it)where a guy did headers and he was like 20-30hours into it and he wasnt done ... I'll try to find it...

the sh!t thing is, it yeilds minimal gains ... so you spend a few hundred dollars on parts, 20hours to uninstall/reinstall and you get no gains ... I dont know why people think swapping out headers is this mystical source of huge hp/tq gains?

Do people not think Nissan has thousands if not tens-of-thousands of manhours researching, designing, testing, perfecting exhaust flows? (and for that matter the intake as well?).

and Megan (and all the other aftermarkets) know something that nissan doesnt? or has smarter / better engineers working for them??

but good luck!

Nissan aren't tuning it for maximum gain, there's a compromise. It's not a top end Ferrari.
The DE headers aren't as good as they can be, and nor is the tuning map on the ECU - it's mostly compromise. Surely you get that ?
And someone stuck on it for 20 hours sounds like they took their sweet time without the correct tools (imho).

i am going to go on a limb and say the noob prob doesnt have the tools or expertise

I think theyre tuned for minimum emissions output and reliability with respect to a warranty...but that doesn't mean they aren't squeezing every ounce of power out they possibly can under the aforementioned constraints. If they could have gotten 287hp out of a 3.2 liter engine and called it a 320z they surely would.

And yes, Nissan has to hedge their bets in that they don't know where/what environment the car will be driven, the grade of fuel that is used, the maintenance and upkeep performed - and to be fair they cant predict that.

I can see 20hrs+ if the exhaust is a botch to get out, removing all the stuff to even see the headers, rusted bolts, the engine mounts, and inexperience.

Imagine getting it all together and having a defective exhaust flange gasket

Nismo and Tomei headers will give small gains but across the chart. PPE long tubes will give more.
Gabe3 on g35driver posted a lot between Ichiba (?) and Tomei with before and after dyno's.
I have Tomei's but my dyno after reflects other intake mod's so that's useless.
Headers will pay off the more air and fuel an engine can use. Wrapped headers are the only one's you should consider. Tomei's come with wrap now.
Cheap headers (all except those mentioned above that I know of) might cost you power. Larger tubes and unwrapped tubes will loose scavenging ability.
Spend the $ on quality tested and proven headers and wrap them or save the $ and spend it and your time elsewhere.

Ppe is the only way to go header wise, but he wont dump the cash for them

Noxious gas is present even with cats but is much worse without. I like my lungs, I don't want to get nipped by the state inspection Natzi's and I do not care for my car smelling like a lawn mower. Tomei and Nismo make power on a stock block bolt on DE. Wrapped headers keep the bay cooler than stock shielded manifolds. If you can install them yourself, I think they're worth it and I would do it again but I've got more room in the FX so the install isn't too bad.
On limited funds, headers are not the go-to mod for power.

Here's a reply from gabe3 off the g35driver site and below off something from my350z. He's got a thread that has more info on g35driver somewhere with more info. The below is Ichiba vs Tomei. No other mod was done between the headers so the dyno chart below is a true comparison. My only question is, did he lose power between the stock manifolds and the Ichiba's and the Tomei's made up for the loss + a bit?
He also mentions stock power on a mustang and his then current power after mods, but on a dynojet. No 12% correction for the mustang so who knows how accurate all this is. One thing's for certain is both headers on the chart below were on the same dyno.

" Before and after Ichiba Headers (most similar to Stillen headers in terms of design) vs Tomei V2. Sorry, wish I had a stock vs Tomei V2 but i don't. Obviously the better one is from Tomei https://g35driver.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif "

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...o/IMG_4994.jpg

" Prior and during all of the upgrades I've had a few dyno runs on a Mustang Dynamometer and the numbers came out to be 209HP/183TQ stock and after the list above 258HP/219TQ, for a net gain of 49HP/36TQ.

-Jim Wolf Tech Popcharger
-Stillen Z-Tube
-Motordyne 5/16th Spacer
-Motordyne MREV2
-Ichiba Headers
-Ichiba Test Pipes
-Motordyne XYZ + Resonator
-Motordyne Dual Gamma Exhaust
-Motordyne Coolant Control Valve
-Mishimoto 350Z Radiator
-Mishimoto 350Z Fan Shroud
-Mishimoto 350Z Radiator Hose
-Nismo Low Temperature Thermostat
-Stillen Engine Dampener
-Unorthodox Racing Underdrive Pulleys
-Unorthodox Racing Flywheel
-Southbend OFE Stage 3 Clutch
-Concept Z SS Clutch Line
-Nismo Pivot Bearing
-SxExCx Ground Kit
-Osiris Tune "

The point of my posts are if you want to do headers, do'em, but don't cheap out on some meagans, stillens or some ebay shitz. :wwe:

stillen headers are cheap/bad/chincy?

I wouldn't say they're cheap but it seems as though people don't gain anything from them, much like most other "shorty" headers out there. They might be shitty though. I know their cat-back systems corrode, I'd say rust but stainless steel doesn't rust, unless it's really cheap **** so yeah, I suppose you could say "stillen headers are cheap/bad/chincy?". Ha! :bowrofl:

Tomei is so confident in their product that they include the header wrap and stainless ties with their pipes whereas most others will void the warranty if they find they were wrapped. :gotowned:
There's a tell tale sign of quality right there I do believe.

" Stainless steel can contain other elements such as nickel and manganese, but chromium is the key element which makes it rust resistant. ... As long as there is sufficient chromium present, the chromium oxide layer will continue to protect the stainless steel and prevent it from rusting. "

I had my stillen true dual and it was good after 8 years on the car seeing minimal Colorado winters ... I thought stillens stuff was in the top tier...what do you think of DC Sport?

They might be good then. I don't know cause I've never owned'em. I recall reading about the cat-backs corroding but maybe the circumstances were different? I don't know anything about DC's headers. All I really know is PPE's for the most power and it's a battle for a far 2nd place between Nismo and Tomei. I chose Tomei for reasons mentioned above and the published testing they did and the multiple prototypes they made.

I always thought stillens stuff was good but I havent bought much from them in the recent years.

I'd love to spend (wait, no I wouldnt) the coin on some tomei or Z1 but seeing that I'm going to be hacking off most the collector portion and putting a v-band on it I'd rather buy something a little more economical...

For those interested in the Tomei, a gots lots on my thread pg 10; https://www.infinitiscene.com/thread...230572/page-10
Here's some pics;
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....c0d0560d78.jpg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....d2f11d7310.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....714f88048a.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....a524eaa0b8.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....867d5e3b81.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....2be7d7362a.jpg