Hey,

Trying to ask a question that I really haven't seen answered. So far it seems as though I would like to get the ZZP Catted downpipe. I believe catted over non-catted is better chance of not throwing CEL?

Ok for the real questions...

1) How hard is it to install the downpipe. Am I going to have to lift engine? Is it something you can do with a little time and patience by just carefully getting to the bolts and sliding it out?

2) I do plan on getting a tune sometime in the future. As far as what I have seen on here it doesn't matter which mods you do on this car it will always be 260 hp/torque because of torque management. The question is if I want to put the downpipe on now and tune maybe six months from now am I going to see anything negative such as loss of hp/torque, or driveability issues?

Your help will be greatly appreciated. I just purchased the car in November of last year. It's a 2009 Balt SS/TC coupe. I bought it with 1.5k miles for $17k. It was a killer deal that I had to drive four hours a way to get. I took my time shopping for this car and absolutely love it. I get mixed reactions. Some good like wow they made this car right and it's just a cobalt. I love this car for what it is. Interior isn't the best but you get over that with the drivetrain and powerplant.

Sorry for the rant. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

-Dave

 

downpipe isnt hard to change, just put mine on...make sure to get some extensions and a swivel. Im tuned with mine and ur numbers on hp/tq are way off lol. Once your tuned expect 300-315 hp and 330-350 tq on a midrange tune. Im gonna dyno mine asap and see what mines putting down.

 

ZZP makes a great DP, either catted or not, you may pop an occasional CEL for the rear O2, I think I did once catless after a few months. When you get tuned, you can have the code killed. Go catless if you can. If Catted pay for the spun metal cat. They put up with more heat.

If you drop the turbo end of the DP first, it makes the rear bolts easier to access. Like was posted, long extensions, 6 pt sockets & a swivel are your friends. I think it's a 15mm, but it's been a while. Unplug the rear 02, remove it with the pipe from the car & swap it to the new pipe on the bench, much easier than doing it under the car.

The stock tune will learn down after time, but the turbo will still spool faster. The tune will take care of the 260/260 limit when you get to it.

 

A car chassis lift makes install much easier but I installed mine on jacks in the parking lot of my condo complex. the CEL it will throw is either a P0420 or a P0233 or something like that I believe, can't remember off hand. I just took my time and didn't need a swivel or anything but it would have made it easier. its seriously like 7 bolts and the O2 sensor. Not too bad.

 

Thanks for the response guys.

I know once I am tuned I can forget about torque management. What I am asking is...

Will it hurt to have a downpipe on my car before the tune. Will there be any negative side effects.

If I get the catless will it smell like crap in the car all the time? If I get the catted I think I was only a 3hp difference +/- a few with going with catted vs non. More information would be appreciated. Thanks guys

 

ah yea, ok sorry read that wrong. For the first 10 min my car ran like ****, but once the computer figured everything out the only difference I noticed was sound until I was tuned. So you'll be fine

 

Say I get the catless downpipe.. Do I just hide the wires under the car with zipties? Will running catless hurt the car at all? Sorry for the numerous questions but you guys are way helpful. This is my first post. I have been scouting this forums for month soaking in as much as I could.

 

catless or not doesnt matter, the only wires you'll have is the O2 sensor and u just run it the same place as it is with the stock dp. Mine has a decent growl now being catless, dont have any experience with the catted ones.

 

Removal of cel for cats??
I know hptuners will remove it...
Does zzppcm or trifecta remove it?
Does anyone sell the cel eliminators for people on a stock tune?

I just figure I can leave the cel running until I have to go for an inspection but the thing is... What if another once comes on behind it I will never know unless I buy a scanner and scan my car once a week or something.

 

I might sound stupid but... If I get catless DP won't it remove the bungs for the cats?

 

im on trifecta, and it can be removed which is what I'm having done now. I pretty sure all tunes can do it, im just running with the CEL on right now, dont see any difference in performance with it on so not too worried about it.

 

You mean for the 02 sensor, and no, the ZZP pipe comes with the rear 02 bung. You can add a second bung for another 02 if you had the need, but since our primary 02 is a wideband you don't need two on the DP.

 

I personally have the zzp catless with the o2 bung. It's a great DP, I've been more than happy with it. You won't hurt the car at all running a catless DP without a tune, it will just throw a CEL for the cats being gone, which you can tune out with either Trifecta or HP Tuners. ZZP's tune is HP Tuners as far as I know, and yes they can tune it out also. Your best bet for a tune is either trifecta or HP Tuners, since both are custom to your specific car. Your cats are built in to the DP, there are no wires or anything since they are not an electrical part. The only wire is the one for the o2 sensor, which you will be putting in the new DP.

 

Actually the zzp downpipe doesnt come with any 02 bungs at all you have to choose the option to add one. I bought a catless dp from them and when i got it it didnt have a bung at all that was my honest mistake for not reading. And if you run without your 02 sensor in your gonna be in a world of **** my car wanted to die 24/7 and was running a AF of like 12 at all times

 

Wow I feel like a complete idiot. Duh cat has no wires lmao!! Okay wow, alright final question. Seems like you guys have persuaded me to get catless. How many o2's are there on the stock DP. So if say there is one which I am assuming. I order ZZP Catless down pipe and add one bung on the rear? Now I am not completely uniform to ZZP. I also read that other companies actually angle the sensor so it doesnt throw a code? You guys are great keep em coming and I hope I didn't repeat a repetitive threat as I didn't see questions asked like this really.

 

ZZP's is angled also.

 

if you are GOING to get tuned via hpt or trifecta, just go catless w/ angled bung. ZZP has a decent one, or the megan one is cheap and nice as well.

cat has no wires? what do you mean?

theres 1 o2 bung on a standard downpipe. Our cars come with a stock wideband so no real need for a 2nd one unless you want to run a gauge or something.

Um I did my install on jack stands, loosen the dp to header bolts...only loosen, then take of the dp to catback, then remove all. I think thats how I did mine. also WATCH the o2 wires, do not get them twisted up, there have been many people that f'd up their o2 sensor via install because of getting the wires binded up. reuse the gasket, put some antisieze on the o2 sensor thread and your good. Oh and torq to the right specs..

 

09BaltSSTC, since your a n00b... just playing

The only negative.. "not really a negative but you will make less boost"

Since you will be gaining HP from the DP, the engine/turbo doesn't have to work as hard to meet the 260/260

In all honesty.. just wait till you are ready to get a tune...+ there may be even a better DP out "not saying the ones out are bad lol"

 

.........so why wait to get it?

 

Not really a newb. Kind of a mix between brain fart and new to playing with four bangers. I have an 89 foxbody that I built up. Thanks for the help guys I appreciate it.

 

I have one recommendation for the DP install: unhook the O2 sensor from the plug and take it out with the downpipe before unscrewing it. You can easily twist the wire too much and break it. The plug is a little hard to get to but very doable. I installed a ZZP catted on my buddy's car and it took about 30 minutes from jacking it up to letting it down. You can reuse the upper and lower gaskets if the car isn't too old, but I'd order new gaskets before hand if the car is a couple of years old. Nobody stocks them.

 

do not let it idle with the windows down or door open. car smells alot different catless. some people do not notice the difference but to me it smells bad.

 

very easy remove/replace

 

zzp 3" catless dp ftw!
I love the smell compared to stock, she stanky lol

Stock-----------------------------------------------------------------------------ZZP Catless DP

 

So what is the main difference between a ZZP catted downpipe and a MPx catted downpipe? I was reading up on them last night and could not really tell a difference between the two, except that ZZP allows you to choose different cat options.