Just installed my ceramic coated Pacesetters day before yesterday and I got the exhaust work done yesterday morning.

You can click on the link in my sig to see the pics

I bought them from Speed Inc. They had a little mixup, which delayed the arrival of my stuff, but they got right on it and even threw in the blockoff kit for the headers(Which I forgot to order... ) These are the new design, which is supposed to fix the installation and clearance problems some people have been having.

My passenger side manifold had a stubborn bolt so it prevented me from disconnecting it from the Y pipe so that added an hour to my installation. I eventually got it with the help of a friend. He also helped me hold them up there while I slid that sharp-a$$ gasket into place and bolted them up. (I sliced the **** out of my finger...my friend too!)

All in all it was easy except for the drivers side motor mount bolt, which was removed to lift the engine for better access. I also had to move the alternator a little to get the bolt out, as there was no room to pull it all the way out otherwise..

Once the engine was lifted a little, the drivers side was a cinch, I didnt have to notch anything or modify anything at all (Except for that bolt that some idiot put in backwards..

Theres not much to say about the passenger side.... it went in like a glove.

No rattles or anything...theres plenty of clearance between the collectors and the floorpan.

Lastly, the sound...

Before all I had was stock manifolds with stock Y Pipe, into a 3" pipe connected to the muffler, then dual 3" outlets & tips.

Now with the new Y pipe with no cats and the new headers, it sounds awesome! Before I had an exhaust leak, which compelled me to redo the exhaust, now it sounds nice and quiet around town...nice and mellow, but a little bit of throttle and it opens up to a mean scream. Its not really loud per say, but it has depth and tone that mixes well. GM should have made it this way.

I love the way it cleans up the engine bay after blocking off the AIR tubes and EGR. I plan on moving the coil packs under the cowl and polishing or painting the valve covers to finish it off.
I already polished a few other things, so I think I might just paint them to balance the engine bay out, so its not cluttered with too much shiny stuff. I like the ones Katech makes but the price is too outrageous.

If anyone gets a set of these new ones and gets stuck or something(which is hard to do, it was easy..), email me and Ill give you a call if you need help.

 

Looks nice Man it must be nice to use a lift for the install

 

Thanks man...I love the new look under the hood, its gonna look great with those coil packs out of the way.

Actually I used a jack and about 6 10" pieces of 2x4 and two jackstands. My jack would not go up high enough, hence the blocks of wood.

The pic of the car on the lift is at a buddy's garage for the exhaust welding
I wish I could have used it but his shop is too busy for me to be putting around with my header install.

Funny thing is...I had to saw off the Y Pipe before the muffler.....I had nothing but a hacksaw BLADE....no saw, just the blade! So I was working on that for a good 30 min.
I have no tools! I am like an artist with a canvas & paint, with no brush. arrrgh. I am getting a respectable little garage going though.....one tool at a time

Actually, jacking the car up was THE hardest thing to do for the install because I had to keep switching between the car ramps, and trying different combinations of blocks of wood and stuff I had lying aroudn to get the car up high enough and still be comfortable(read: safe) crawling under there and churning away at rusty bolts. I totally didnt trust my little floor jack, so I went out and bought some jackstands, which I needed anyways because my old ones are MIA.

BTW I still need to get some 02 sims.....forgot

 

Wow, headers and still running the stock air lid.

 

Sheeeut, If I had the money I would have gotten headers first too!

 

Nice work man..HAVE FUN

 

Greed: Yeah actually I bid on a lid on ebay but i didnt win, im just going to keep on till i finally win a good deal.

meanwhile, I am going to try and sell a ground effects kit I got, some shifters, other misc stuff, and the stock stuff off my car for some extra cash then hello cam kit and tuning....

tomorrow: an oil change and look for deal on 02 sims. Ive found relly good deals but Im waiting to find out if my bud wants to give me his. (Just give'em damnit)

BTW I am looking to buy a TPI 3rd gen Camaro if anyone is selling theirs

 

UPDATE:

Have put about 1000 miles on it after the install and not a single scratch on them yet! (I did scratch it once before installing them....about 1/2inch long hairline scratch, but that dont count )

Plenty of clearance between the frame and the headers...

No slapping the floorboard either. but I need to go back and get a pipe moved a little further down (light rattle from the muffler)