Hey all, it's the newb again. So with my next couple paychecks, I'm almost 100% decided up on the Injen CAI, and leaning towards this Pacesetter Polished Armor Coat Header offered at turbotechracing.com. I only have one slight concern: in the description, it says no cutting and welding required, but I've read otherwise on these very forums. Aside from people passively mentioning that it was more work than necessary, no other descriptions have been provided. Anyone with experience in this mod care to chime in? Recommend? Thumb's down? Punch myself in the face until I bleed out of my ears? Give up on cars and play Guitar Hero?

 

That is a generic description, you do have to cut that particular setup. Fairly simple though, cut just before the cat converter, the header downpipe will slip over the stock exhaust. You can then clamp it (included) or have someone weld it at the joint.

Install takes about 1-2 hours.

Only get the ceramic coated, as the painted one will flake off and be bare metal in a few hours of running. Ceramic will stay shiney for a long time.

 

How much is the hp gain

 

6-8 HP on a stock setup we would estimate

 

I'm tryin to get the paceseter polished header,but I'm not sure of where to get it from? Plus someone said that there's two options on the header....Which should I get if ther are options?

 

www.turbotechracing.com

 

you can get painted or ceramic, agian we ONLY suggest the aromor coat ceramic. We have both in stock 99% of the time. www.TurboTechRacing.com

 

I've got one on my car, anything specific you want to know?

As far as installation goes, it is not direct bolt on. You will need a sawzal or dremel to cut the stock downpipe right before the cat. Then once you bolt the header to the head you will need the extension piece welded in at the place you cut the stock downpipe. I was provided with a clamp to clamp the extension piece and the stock exhaust together, however the clamp wouldn't even fit over the extension piece so I'm not sure how that was supposed to work.

The header itself seems to be of pretty decent quality, I'm not too fond of the whole ball joint thing with the extension piece. It seems prone to leaking in my opinion. I also am not too crazy about how it altered the sound of my exhaust in the lower rpm's. However for the money and if you're lookin for some extra gains you should get it. If you're looking for a header theres really no other choice anyway. Also I've got the Injen CAI and Pacesetter and they both provide about similar gains.

 

Awesome, that's just the kind of response I was looking for, Ion. I know that every car reacts differently to the same mods, but it's nice to know that a ballpark of 16-20hp after CAI and header is possible, if not likely. Since I don't have a new exhaust, I figure any change to the sound could only be seen as an improvement over the stock sound, but again, it's good to know that it will change things up a bit.

One last thing...how negatively does installing the header affect the warranty situation? My understanding is that each piece of the car techincally comes under warranty, so once that piece gets modded/replaced, warranty = void for that area of the vehicle. Is that accurate?

 

you got it pretty much right on.

it all depends on the dealer though, some places will refuse to work on your car period if they know its modded. some places care less, it all depends on how **** your local dealership is.

technically, thats how its supposed to work though...

 

Cool, that's what I figured. With your welding situation, could it be that your Ion has some differences in installation when compared to the 2.2L Cobalt? I know I'm reaching here, but my welding experience is limited, to say the least. Thanks again for your input.

 

Thanks so much...I'm going to order one in about 2 weeks before I head back down south for skoo...

 

nope I've taken a look at a Cobalt engine bay and its the same...if you can't weld then you gotta find a way to make it to an exhaust shop to have them weld it for you.

like I said earlier I was provided with a clamp but it didn't even fit over the extension piece I was provided with. you don't want to clamp anything in your exhaust anyway as thats just asking for an exhaust leak.

some pics just for whoring purposes

 

i did it all aty once.... bought my cat and put it in my room.... bought muffler and put it in my room. and then when i got the header brought it to a shop had header on and welded to a 2.5 inch and then through the cat to a 2 inch and then 2 inch to my muffler.... takes a few hours... but better to do it all at once you feel the gain more