Midway through my FLP header install I discovered that the y pipe isn't going to jive with my SLP SFCs. I have to drive it down to the exhaust shop to have them cut off one of the cross braces. Is it ok to drive it like it is right now, with only the headers and cats connected? I know it's going to be loud as hell, but my past experience with driving around with open headers on my old 73 Camaro is what bothers me.

I was told something about "sucking a valve" if I ran it open headers without tuning it a bit. Sure enough, the 20 mile drive I had to make in it led to something going bad in the engine because it never ran right after that.

Of course, this car is EFI so it should lean and richen it as needed right?

 

I drove my car with open headers to the exhaust shop after I was done, but i didn't have my o2 sensors connected at the time either. You should be fine. are your headers longtubes? if they are I would reccomend disconnecting the 02 sensors anyway cause the o2's will get messed up readings because it will be too close to the "clean air" outside since the o2 bungs are right near the end of the collectors, and that will mess them up anyway and make you car run like crap.

 

You can potentially burn a valve up. But that can happen with more than one instances...

You'll be okay, driving it to wherever it is you'll be finishing the exhaust at.

 

I was under the impression the car wouldn't run without the front o2s since they determine A/F ratio. I know the rears are unnecessary though.

So just keep rpms low and I should be ok?

 

I ran with open headers for a week (about 30 miles total), and have no problems. I plugged the front O2s in, and never even got a SES light! But I'm still wondering how that happened...