So I got it installed today, it was somewhat a lengthy procedure but not to bad. I had to make my own gasket from the head to the header. I got some gasket material and took a rubber

mallet and hammered against the header where it bolts up and cut it from that pattern.
Everything fit pretty well, wish I would have taken some pics of install but I’ll let someone

else do that.The whole process took about 2-3 hours. It doesn't feel too different other than maybe a little loss on the low end and some gain on the top end, a little more time behind the

wheel should give me a better feel of the gain.

The nuts that hold the header to the head needs to be tightened to 115 in. lb.

The new bolts that go from the downpipe to the header should be tightened to 36 ft. lb.

 

after you drive it for a while, you will see the biggest gains from mid-high range

 

Yeah, just hope I didn't loose too much back pressure at the low RPM's. The stocker is mighty restrictive at the collector, I'll see what happens when I dyno it next.

 

It's probably too early at this point, but do you think it was worth the money, or would you say going w/ some other mods to "compliment" a header down the road would have been a better choice?

 

The stock header is so small right before the back end of it. So the TOG has to do some improvment, its just hard to tell at the high RPM's how much it really is doing. I'm going to get an exhaust soon and both of those together should show some good improvement. I've always been told when you do something to allow more air into the engine you better do something to allow it to get out faster so when ever i do something I try to do a complete upgrade and not just one part of it.

 

Yea, as you drop the CAT and open up the rest of the exhaust, you'll notice more gains. It seems like the CAT is pretty restrictive (most are).

 

If you disconnect the battery for a while and let the PCM reset it should re-learn the car faster and you will see better gains from the header.

 

Before you installed your header, did you notice any pinholes in the welds on either flange? Without even looking too hard I've noticed a few pinholes. Makes me very weary to install it anyways.

 

Yeah there might have been a few but none of them appeared to go all the way through. I should have a good idea if it leaks or not after i get all the nuts retightened today. It leaked alot at first and i thought it might be a lemon but after i tightened it down some more it is almost unnoticable. I did find it stange though that the collector gets a cherry red after driving it somewhat spirited, which makes me guess that its somewhere in the 800* F area. I wouldn't think that this should happen, it didn't on my V8 in my truck which has the same type of headers.

 

Does the exhaust note sound any different with the header?

I want to install a nice header down the road to go with my Corsa cat-back. I'm a bit leary of the TOG and SCDYNE after seeing some photos and hearing people complain about leaks. I'm waiting out the header battle to see who comes out on top.

Also, are you still using your upgraded motor mount full time? Or was there too much vibration for every day driving?

 

There might be a slightly lower tone at idle but thats it. Well i guess i can't hear it while accelerating since i have a CAI but i don't think there is much difference. Yes i have my tranny mount on all the time. It's either gotten alot softer or i have just gotten used to it. I'll pay more attention the next time i drive it but it has softened alot.

 

Interesting. You had to make a gasket.......
Hopefully you made it with header gasket material, otherwise it won't last a week.
Seeing pictures of the oft touted TOG header, well, it's a piece of crap. The only thing that makes it look good is the coating. Bad welds, the ports aren't even consistant. And it turns cherry red? Say good bye to the nice coating after a short time.
And from the other forum, it seems that TOG has gone **** up.
I could build a better header myself.
The GM extrudehoned manifold is looking better all the time! WAY BETTER! For a bunch less $$$$ and I bet the gasket comes with it.
Merry Christmas!
Ron

 

no, it doesn't come with a gasket. I got one the other day, just waiting on my cat-back to come in so I don't have to go under the car twice. I'll take some pics if you want.

 

Yeah i used some good exhaust gasket material from napa with a sheet of metal that runs through the middle. Seemed like some good stuff when i was cutting it.

 

Please post some pics of the manifold , I would like to see it , I bet others would to .

Thanks

 

it's supposed to only flow 30 more cfm.. that's nothing considering the collector is only about 1.5" anyways. that thing is really restrictive

 

its stock, just honed and extruded...I have the pics...gimme a sec and I'll post them.

 

if you can get some pics of the primary ports and the collector port.. i would like to compare them to my stock pics

 

here are the pics.
I started a new thread. There are 17 pics.

https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/2-0l-lsj-performance-tech-47/gmpp-extruded-honed-manifold-not-56k-friendly-10060/

 

I've had it installed for three days now and i just checked for leaks, i couldn't find any and everything seemed to be fine. I think i'm going to keep it for now. I'll check it again when i get my exhaust put on.