5th Generation Maxima (2000-2003)Learn more about the 5th Generation Maxima, including the VQ30DE-K and VQ35DE engines.
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When I had my headers installed at the shop it took 9-10hrs for the whole installation.
your shop didn't know what they were doing....or they ran into some problems...becuz I went through two header installs and both ran 6 hours each (no lift and no air tools)
your shop didn't know what they were doing....or they ran into some problems...becuz I went through two header installs and both ran 6 hours each (no lift and no air tools)
mine took 2 days... 3 hours of hard labor the first day and 8 hours of drinking none stop beers... and 3 hours the next day... none stop beers before and after working on the car... in the end *BORAT's voice* GREAT SUCCESS!!!
your shop didn't know what they were doing....or they ran into some problems...becuz I went through two header installs and both ran 6 hours each (no lift and no air tools)
I would like to do it myself, but i work at a slower pace and would have taken me probably a whole week lol.
I called several shops, and was told the same thing close to a 10hr work. All the shops told me that the rear manifold was a PITA to take out.
I called several shops, and was told the same thing close to a 10hr work. All the shops told me that the rear manifold was a PITA to take out.
It is a PIA to take out... But certainly does not take 6 hours to swap the rear manifold.
They might be quoting you to remove the upper intake manifold to get to the rear exhaust manifold and you don't have to do that. Just tilt the motor so the rear bank faces you more after you remove the engine brace with the front and rear motor mounts.
WTF.... Tilley, Cutler, and I took 6 hours to do my headers, motor mount inserts, go to Arby's for lunch (we ate there), go to Lowe's, go for a test drive after the install, AND go for a spin in his turboed '99.
We used jack stands and hand tools mostly, an impact was only used to drop the subframe. You people need to take it to people who know how to work on these cars and save yourself some money.
Heck, if I had more time I should start doing installs for cheap.
Clutch
Insert ES motor mounts
Headers
02 simulator
In between we had small lunch- pizza was delivered to my shop.
In 10 hours you could remove the engine, remove the manifolds off the engine on the engine stand, reinstall the engine back in the car and STILL have bout 5 hours left.
i know HS is no longer an option so i ordered the only other obvious option last week from Mr. Catts over the phone. Now dont rape me too bad but i was wondering if you experienced header peeps out there really think the cattman headers are worth 1/3 more than HS? I dont know how accurate the hotshot website is but when i last visited it quoted their headers at 550? Mr. Catts seems like a reasonable respectable maxima enthusiast and i know now that HS is out he should and can charge more for his header and i honestly dont mind paying 799$ for headers considering the hp gained and all that jazz but i was wondering if there is really that much of a difference in the cattman vs. HS setup? From what ive seen in the dyno threads they seem to give similar gains? Mr. Catts said the next batch of 50 should arrive late this week and be shipped by the end of the week. Another ?...has anybody ordered off of this latest batch and what did you pay? I hate to sound so cheap and dont mean to bad mouth Mr. Catts because from what ive read hes got a pretty good rep and seems to offer quality products for our cars but being a college student and comparing them to HS, $250 is almost a months rent for me and really goes a long way while in school. I know ill be happy w/ them even if i have to drop 1G, i was just hoping someone out there has some helpful info for me. Thanks yall.
i know HS is no longer an option so i ordered the only other obvious option last week from Mr. Catts over the phone. Now dont rape me too bad but i was wondering if you experienced header peeps out there really think the cattman headers are worth 1/3 more than HS? I dont know how accurate the hotshot website is but when i last visited it quoted their headers at 550? Mr. Catts seems like a reasonable respectable maxima enthusiast and i know now that HS is out he should and can charge more for his header and i honestly dont mind paying 799$ for headers considering the hp gained and all that jazz but i was wondering if there is really that much of a difference in the cattman vs. HS setup? From what ive seen in the dyno threads they seem to give similar gains? Mr. Catts said the next batch of 50 should arrive late this week and be shipped by the end of the week. Another ?...has anybody ordered off of this latest batch and what did you pay? I hate to sound so cheap and dont mean to bad mouth Mr. Catts because from what ive read hes got a pretty good rep and seems to offer quality products for our cars but being a college student and comparing them to HS, $250 is almost a months rent for me and really goes a long way while in school. I know ill be happy w/ them even if i have to drop 1G, i was just hoping someone out there has some helpful info for me. Thanks yall.
The two main differences between Cattman and Hotshot are one, materials used to make the headers. Cattman uses top quality stainless steel, while Hotshot used a cheaper "normal" steel and then just ceramic coats them.
The second main difference is Hotshot made the headers in-house, they just had to send them out for the coating... Cattman has to outsource them to fabricators making them much more expensive to produce.
Cattman stands behind his products, so you are also buying peace of mind. Hotshot stood behind their headers for me also... But now they are out of business and we are left alone with no support for them.
The two main differences between Cattman and Hotshot are one, materials used to make the headers. Cattman uses top quality stainless steel, while Hotshot used a cheaper "normal" steel and then just ceramic coats them.
The ceramic coat is just gonna help prevent rust right?
My friend is doing a baseline dyno for me in his stock 5.0 gen for me to compare it.
I'd like to see a dyno too, however, comparing a different 5th Gen's baseline is not the same as comparing your baseline because we've seen in the past that the variance can be pretty significant between cars. You can draw some general conclusions, but you have to take those with a grain of salt. Just sayin'.
Oh also, Brian was saying that he recommends going to the stealership for the install as compared to like a muffler/performance shop. Stealership would prolly charge a lot for labor etc. right? I think Im way out of my league trying to do this in my apartment parking lot haha, although the experience would be nice.
Oh also, Brian was saying that he recommends going to the stealership for the install as compared to like a muffler/performance shop. Stealership would prolly charge a lot for labor etc. right? I think Im way out of my league trying to do this in my apartment parking lot haha, although the experience would be nice.
Dealerships tend to know our cars better... But, they also don't always have the most competent people working there.
I would take the car and the headers to a few shops and get quotes. For just a header install you should not pay more than $350.
I'd like to see a dyno too, however, comparing a different 5th Gen's baseline is not the same as comparing your baseline because we've seen in the past that the variance can be pretty significant between cars. You can draw some general conclusions, but you have to take those with a grain of salt. Just sayin'.
You are very right. I personally believe the main discrepency is in the wear and tear of the VIAS. My friend happens to have a 5-speed with about 50,000 miles. So theoretically his VIAS should still be ok (assuming he didn't mash it too much)
Hopefully we get some good results. I will definitely post the results up for other .orger's to look at.
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Stance/Fitment - epitome of low, wide, and slow.
I had my headers for several weeks now, I got say I like it. I can feel that extra kick. I will post the Dyno sheet tomorrow.
I'm currently I making 225hp/ 211TQ on their Dyno, previously a few months ago I dyno my max with the cattman y-pipe and made 202HP/176TQ. It was the same shop and same dyno operator.
I forgot to ask for the run files, I was so excited to test the car out when I went to pick it up. Soonest I left the shop, I could tell it was a different car and liked it.
I'm taking my car to the track saturday to see how I do. It will be my first time
I had my headers for several weeks now, I got say I like it. I can feel that extra kick. I will post the Dyno sheet tomorrow.
I'm currently I making 225hp/ 211TQ on their Dyno, previously a few months ago I dyno my max with the cattman y-pipe and made 202HP/176TQ. It was the same shop and same dyno operator.
I forgot to ask for the run files, I was so excited to test the car out when I went to pick it up. Soonest I left the shop, I could tell it was a different car and liked it.
I'm taking my car to the track saturday to see how I do. It will be my first time
wow something is wrong with your tq with your previous dyno
Well I drove my car for the first time with the new Cattman Gen 3 headers...
I love them!
I took off HotShot headers for the Cattman's mainly for the Stainless appeal and the EGR fitting.
Mid range (2,500--> 4,000) feels "meatier". You can feel the torque gain that Brian was aiming for. They look Flawless and fit flawless, Grade A quality, and Brian was right... The EGR fitting is a "work of art".
I will be getting some new sound clips this weekend, but the new headers sound really nice. MUCH less cabin noise than the HotShots and I don't have the exhaust leak sound that I had with the HotShots, and no it was not an actual exhaust leak... After countless hours of trying to find this leak I guess it is just a really noisy flex section...
Over all I am really happy I made the switch and I am really pleased with the Cattman headers. A dyno should come in the spring when I get and install a VAFC… So don’t bug me about one yet.
car sounds great, but the #s dont impress me. my 02 with a y and short ram (both according to most) dont make ANY power yet i did 218whp/228tq 3.5 FTW
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2K2 SE 6 speed Grey Lustre SE Every option minus navi, black leather, HLSD, Hotshot headers, Cattman Catback, Frankencar WAI, HP autoworks STS, ES motor mount inserts, ES shifter bushings, FSTB, RSB. JIC FLA-1 coilovers, A34 Brakes Hawk HPS pads, TR Motorsports MT1's, Toyo 4s, 64,000 original owner miles.
it's about 10 something to 1 AFR at redline...which is where DEK's make there peak whp....need to bring it up to 13...should bump him up another 10whp if you ask me
it's about 10 something to 1 AFR at redline...which is where DEK's make there peak whp....need to bring it up to 13...should bump him up another 10whp if you ask me
. Don't worry tuning is coming soon along with a "belt snail" and an EU
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Stance/Fitment - epitome of low, wide, and slow.
His numbers are still pretty decent for a N/A DE-K, from what I've seen around here at least. We still need more DE-K bolt on dynos.
Thanks! At least someone knows what's up with a 3.0L lol, my friend asked me if that extra 1/2 a liter really makes that much of a difference... I said:
YES
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Stance/Fitment - epitome of low, wide, and slow.
dose anyone know of headers that dolt to a stillen y-pipe without modding anything, i havent had any luck finding anything. or am i just out of luck...
dose anyone know of headers that dolt to a stillen y-pipe without modding anything, i havent had any luck finding anything. or am i just out of luck...
Any of the shorty style headers like Stillen, SSAutochrome, Stone Mountain Racing, etc might fit with an aftermarket y-pipe. I'm not sure why you'd want to go through all the trouble of an install for hardly any extra gains though. You could probably also just do a Fed spec conversion for less money and have the same results.
, Hotshot headers, Cattman Catback, Frankencar WAI, HP autoworks STS, ES motor mount inserts, ES shifter bushings, FSTB, RSB. JIC FLA-1 coilovers, A34 Brakes Hawk HPS pads, TR Motorsports MT1's, Toyo 4s, 64,000 original owner miles. 
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