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MSDS Headers + New Exhast

N

narsnail

New CEG'er
Joined
Apr 19, 2009
Messages
26
So now that my car has had most of the drivetrain replaced, I want to try and get some more power out of it. At the moment I have the stock exhaust minus the resonator and 2 cherrybombs. I hate how it sounds, droney and raspy, and there is no tone, just a terrible sound IMO, would have researched much more had I gone back. Also, the car will sit at higher rpms now. Say in 5th at 100kph, it should be ideling at 2500rpm, but after I had the exhaust redone, it sits at 2600/2700rpm (Was this because I did not get it tuned?)

Here is a couple of pics of it.

6600080_jpg.jpg


Picture011.jpg


So I would like to completely overhaul the exhaust to open up the engine and get the most out of it.

To confirm I have a 98 CSVT.

1. MSDS Headers, the website claims about 30 wheel hp, and I searched on the forum, but never saw any real numbers. Are they worth it? They are quite expensive, but I am willing to shell out if they really make a big difference.

2. I was going to order the tubing from TruBendz, but I have heard some people had fitment issues? I dont mind taking it to the shop if there are some modifications needed, but I would need to budget for it if so.

3. Kind of the same as 2, should I just order the full cat-back system from Trubendz? I would like to do Borla because of the deep but aggressive tone it has.

4. I have read a few installations about the headers, and I would like to attempt it myself, but I do not have a cherrypicker/engine harness, so the engine will be staying put. Would I be able to install these myself without pulling the engine?

5. Would the piping need to be fully welded, or would clamps be fine, im assuming fully welded.

6. Last question, now it would need to be tuned after this, what sort of shop would do such a thing? What sort of sofware would be required to do this tune? I am located in London, Canada, and there are some mod shops around here, im not what services they offer. I will most def check them out soon.

I think with the headers, the new y-pipe, and resonated borla system, should open up this car quite a bit and sound a lot better, I am excited to see what it can do.

Thanks in Advance
 
Nautilus performance sells the MSDS shorty header for $260 for Contours, Cougers and, Mondeo's...I'm planning to get a set come tax time... Uncle Sam permitting.
 
2000SVT449 said:
Nautilus performance sells the MSDS shorty header for $260 for Contours, Cougers and, Mondeo's...I'm planning to get a set come tax time... Uncle Sam permitting.
Click to expand...

I checked out Nautilus after I had posted, and their y-pipe is cheaper as well, so that saves me quite a bit of money. Yup tax money being used here as well, damn government.
 
I've got several of the mods you are thinking of. My 98 SVT has MSDS headers and y-pipe, and a full Trubendz kit. The only thing that's stock on my exhaust is the pipe that goes from the y-pipe to the cat, and the cat itself. I have a single central Magnaflow muffler. I had a Flowmaster, but didn't like the drone. The Magnaflow is loud and deep. Very nice sounding. As for the HP gains.... eh. I didn't feel that much different, but my butt dyno is not the most refined in the world, either. Mine is just clamped together, no leak issues. I also have not had mine tuned - I've got a CEL because I haven't installed the MIL eliminators yet, but it runs great.

You can install headers yourself without removing the engine. You will get a few skinned knuckles, and maybe teach the neighbor kids some new words, but it's possible. I had a lift and impact tools available to me when I did mine, so it made it lots easier. There's threads around here about what all you'll need - I think FIND has done lots of them, he'd be a good one to ask. Search first, though, because there's LOTS of info out there already.

Here's a couple videos that I've got of my SVT at a track day in September, just after the install. First is a short clip of outside, second is inside (it's long, but the sound is VERY true to what you hear when you're driving - it was only my second time around the track, so I hadn't gotten everything just perfect quite yet:)).


 
I read for about two hours about possible combinations, and it seems true duals plus headers is the only real way to gain any noticeable horsepower and torque.

Now here in Canada, im not sure how strict emissions tests are, but I would have to remove all of the cats it seems for this true dual setup. Would I need to buy a test pipe for both sides? The rest seems somewhat straightforward though, I would have to get a shop to make the piping work, but this actually seems like a less expensive option than a cat-back system.

And unfortunately I dont have those rims anymore, they were 18s and I dented a few of them and then the tires were wrecked because of it (Toyo Proxes are $300 each) so I couldnt keep them. Looked real nice on the car though.
 
jsujo said:
does the MSDS Y pipe have the spot for the O2 sensor?
Click to expand...

It does, but in most cases you'll have to install a MIL eliminator to prevent your CEL from staying on all the time. You can buy them from Nautilus or make one yourself if you're comfortable doing it.
 
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