Hey my CA header is comming in tomorrow and i was wondering how long you think it will take for me and my buddy (works at a dealer) to put it in, assuming we dont run into any major problems? thanks

 

not that long. maybe 2 hours at tops, if that.

 

is it something that an experienced mechanic should do or can anyone do it just by following directions, with little experience of course

 

if you don't have a problem getting the bolts out shouldn't take more than a half an hour... if you have problems, it could be a lloooonnnnngggg day!

 

haha I couldn't have said it any better. The bolts that came w/ my CA header were not threaded correctly to fit into the CA/XTC downpipe I was also installing. Therefore, to even get the header on, I had to bore out the holes slightly to even FIT the bolts in. If I had tried to force the bolts in without boring the holes out slightly, I would've stripped them completely. After talking about this issue with Kenny, the head guy over at CA, he said the next batch of CA headers will not be threaded, and will rely solely on the lock washers, like most aftermarket headers do, to keep everything tight. That day I also installed the CA/XTC 2.5" de-cat downpipe and my ARK N2 cat-back.......so with the encounter of this problem..........it certainly was a looooooooong day for installs. Thankfully I had friends helping, otherwise my car would've been on jack-stands the following day and I wouldn't have made it to work, lol.

 

How long ago was this install?? I'm thinking of getting the CA 4-1/XTC 2.5 cat combo and I'm curious if they fixed this "threading" problem.

See a big difference in gains??

 

umm those bolts are for the catback connections, the header comes with studs that your stock DP nuts will fit on ... if not home depot sells the nuts they were a 10mm but I don't remember the pitch off hand.
maybe 30-60 minutes tops to install as long as non of the DP bolts are frozen.. word of advice... Hit the bolts up with some good penetrating oil about 30 minutes before you start the install.

 

bolts, studs, w/e you know what I meant. I wasn't talking about the bolts that connect to the cat-back, b/c those came with the cat-back, not the header or downpipe. I can't really give you info on gains, b/c like I said, I put everything all at once. The entire system performs nicely, but as for each individual component judged seperately, I cant really help. However Hoffa, I have everything you have on your wishlist, minus the Corsa cat-back (I opted for the ARK N2 as i've always been a canister style muffler fan), and I can say that all are quality components. You'll love the stance the sportlines give you, and the DC Sports strut bar dresses up your under-hood area nicely.

 

strange man.. I haven't had a problem with those before and I've installed about 8-10 of them already... eh but these things do happen from time to time

 

basically you can throw out the window how long it takes...because whatever someone tells you, its gonna take longer.

I haven't encountered one person yet who hasn't had issues with the downpipe bolts unless they were using air tools.

 

D.P. bolts FTL./.. I changed my **** out when the car had like 5k miles on it so they weren't all corroded and f'd up yet

 

sweet.... 7 months old, 22k miles in MN weather...

i might as well take it in and have someone else do it

thanks for the info guys

 

8-10 CA header installs!?! Wow. Theres alot of SS/SC's around where I live, and a few 2.4SS's, but all are bone stock. No one in Fauquier really cares about modding them it seems. They think the fancy spoiler and big wheels gives them enough power out of the box to beat just about anything. The most modded SS in my area (asides from mine obviously) has........wheels.........gasp. From what i've seen, all the modded ones on the forum are in neighboring counties. btw, I ordered the header the week it came out, so I probally got the test bed lemon model, which is why I had fitment issues, lol. But all in all, it performs nicely, it was just a pain to put on.

 

they were all getting sick of getting their asses handed to em by me...lol..

I"ve had every damn part under the sun on this thing at one point or another... but now on to phase 2 no more boltons....