rusnak

It does not appear that he touched the factory HEs, so he probably has not had to remove the exhaust stud nuts. I get so queasy just putting a socket on those. You're right, pros don't seem to hesitate to heat them and remove them at will.

When I removed my original 30 year old catalytic converter nuts and bolts, they were so far gone I'd say they were no longer dimensional. And that area is a pain to get to. I used a set of Metrinch sockets and broke the bolts in two with my long flex heat ratchet. Now I use anti-seize on them but I'm going to switch over to bronze nuts and SS bolts for the cat.

Ed Hughes

You're right, too many threads. There's one on headers on Pelican.

GregB

The M&K workmanship is beautiful. TIG welds on stainless are a thing of beauty when done well.... I was really impressed. Someday I dream of owning a TIG welder and having a spare 1000 hours to practice my technique.

As for the installation, the only frustration was only having a rudimentary set of metric tools. I own a small set of metric shallow sockets (12-point, ugh) and only one set of combination wrenches (some of the box end were also 12-point). I didn't touch any of the exhaust studs on the heat exchangers...so it was literally just a matter of removing 3 bolts each from the flanges in the photos, and the flange that connects the factory muffler to the cat..... 9 rusty bolts in total, plus two large band-clamps around the muffler.

The issues are with access to the bolts (not much) and never seeming to have enough clearance to apply a socket wrench with either a 3" extension, 6" exttension or even just a deep socket 13mm socket. What I learned in a hurry was that 12-point sockets are great at removing the corners from rusty 6-point bolts (save your 12-point sockets for 12-point bolts, and get a proper set of 6-point sockets!)...and given the difficulty with access for almost any socket/extension/ratchet combination I tried my shopping list became:

• 13mm combination wrenches (Qty 2) - 6-point on the boxed end
• Complete set (10mm - 19mm) of 6-point shallow sockets
• One 13mm deep 6-point socket
• One 10mm deep 6-point socket (for the DME removal)

PB Blaster on the fasteners helped. I think I broke one bolt of the nine, but the new kits come will all new stainless stuff so I didn't care. In a few cases I had to piggy-back two combination wrenches together (closed end on the bolt, open end interlocked to closed end of a second wrench) for leverage. Once I got some movement on the bolt....another small squirt of PB Blaster would penetrate a lot more effectively and the game was over.

Wear eye protection! Rusty exhausts and hardware are no joke, and when you're upside down looking up...stuff will fall in your face.

The new exhaust only had a single clamp to hold it in place vs two for the factory muffler. My guess is that due to it's shorter length and weight only one clamp is even necessary. I had to remove part of the factory support bracket to allow the new canister to sit the way it wanted (pretty easy).

The DME removal was challenging only because of how tight is was to get the deep socket into position and still get a ratchet on it. Once broken loose, you can use the socket by itself to spin the nut loose. It's easy to fat-finger things and drop the nut into no-man's-land...if you don't already own a telescoping magnet tool, you might end up buying one.

Driving impressions (8/18):

It's nice sometimes to take a few days off before doing an assessment of a new modification. Adrenaline from a recent installation success has a funny way of clouding perceptions.

Cold start: Cranked (and started) right up. Definitely louder during the warmup program (~1000 RPM)... not objectionable, but clearly not stock either. Standing outside the car gave me a good sense of it, there is a deeper bass sound than stock...the kind of thing that YouTube videos would have a hard time conveying.

Driving down the road, I short shifted it through the gears and the sound isn't really all that different from stock on the inside of the car. You can make it a quiet, pleasant drive if you want to. When the car was warm and I gave it the beans, there is no mistaking that something has been changed.... a LOT more aggressive sound, especially near the redline. Not buzzy, still deep like the idle sound....just MORE sound and what I believe is a stronger pull through the midrange (2500RPM and up). My car has always felt "soggy" and lethargic in that range. If I mashed the throttle in 2nd gear at, say 2500RPM...there was a pause where I felt like I could wait for the engine to build revs and get "on the cam" before it would pull strongly to the redline. Now, it seems to have that feeling much more urgently and I don't feel that momentary hesitation while the car is trying to build revs and power.

There is a short stretch of country road just before my house. When I pass the last driveway and have a clear straightaway I often will mash the gas (from 2nd gear ~35mph) and let the car pull as hard as it can for the final stretch of road before my own driveway appears. Usually, it takes me most of the stretch to hit the redline, and I have a short coast-down period where I let the car slow under compression braking before turning into the driveway. Today, I did that same exercise, but the car hit it's old redline MUCH earlier on that same stretch of road. I coasted down from speed....but then actually found myself having to "drive" a little bit more to reach the driveway. The whole process of building revs just happened a lot quicker and took less road.

I guess that is my best assessment of this exhaust/chip change. I don't really know what sort of absolute HP increase was acheived, but I seemed to gain a lot of mid-range driveability that didn't exist before.

-G

ricster

Good assessment Greg. That's basically what I have done to my 86 and it was done so long ago I can't remember what the stock setup felt like.

Carrera3.2LG50

Greg,

Thank you very much for your detailed reply - I certainly appreciate it, especially the part about the tools. I have a fair set of tools but I can see a good excuse to beef up the set a little bit if I do this myself like you did.

Also, your driving impressions seem to coincide with most of the other folks on this board and Pelican who have done a similar modification.

LOL. I have not heard that in a while. I moved to NC from Maine a couple years ago and I also lived in NH for a while as well many years ago. Gorgeous state. My wife is originally from NH and we've discussed moving back to New England.

Enjoy the drive!

whalebird

That is a nice review GregB. I would have to echo rusnak and Ed in the bolt removal steps. The Heat exchangers should not have to come off the car, if they do, let a seasoned shop do it. It's not hard with a torch(blue wrench). However the cat bolts should come right off. If the tool will fit(use a six sided socket/wrench, not a 12-point), the best deal is for all of them to break - or just cut them like Ed says. This is an easy job and a satisfying one at that. I will add to the discussion that a 3.2 does benefit from an exhaust. If not in quantity, at least in quality of power. Throttle responce seems a little crisper and the sound from a well made exhaust is worth it alone if nothing else.

GregB

I think I'm remembering "give it the beans" from some episodes of Top Gear....probably the Bugatti Veyron episode.

I like the way Jeremy Clarkson and the rest of those guys talk.

Carrera3.2LG50

Used to hear that a lot in Maine as well. Thanks again for your detailed post earlier.

Ed Hughes

You need to budget for some tools. Get a SET of sockets both std and deep, 1/4 and 3/8 drive for starters. Universal joints are a must too. Also get a set of standard combination wrenches (with the box end angled) and a set of combination Gear Wrenches, preferably with the swivel box ends. A set of stubby Gear Wrenches comes in handy as well. Buying tools individually is more expensive, and Sears regularly has sets of Gear Wrenches for less than $40.

Look at a project prior to starting-if you think you need a tool, buy it. Before you know it, you'll amass a decent set of implements.

GregB

Agreed.

Over the past several years, I've amassed a very nice collection of SAE tools and almost all of it was the result of "needing" something I didn't have to get a project finished.... torque wrenches, pry bars, swivels, extensions, tap & die sets, 220V MIG welder, plasma cutter, 20-Ton Hydraulic press, hydraulic tubing bender.....yikes, the list goes on!

I've always lusted after nice complete sets of Snap-on wrenches and sockets, but for now I use their ratchet handles with a few sets of Craftsman sockets. It's a good cost-effective way to enjoy the feel of a well-made wrench without dropping hundreds of dollars all at once.

For a long time, the 911 has been too intimidating to work on myself.....the parts are expensive, and the price for a mistake could be VERY high. I am slowly working through that fear and starting to get more comfortable with the idea of turning wrenches on it. This exhaust & chip project was a good confidence builder.


-G